Why I . . . play video games

Jamie Sherrington is a GP at Okehampton Medical Centre in Devon who also works at children’s hospices in Devon and Cornwall as a doctor in paediatric palliative care. He finds his work “incredibly rewarding.”

At the hospices, he’ll go on the Playstation with the kids. “Playing video games means you can be on the same level with them, and it helps them to see me as a normal person and not a ‘scary’ doctor,” he says.

He recalls one child with severe disabilities, “who in the real world couldn’t walk, but in the video world could fly. Playing video games meant they could be a superhero.”

There is joy that comes from working at the hospices, and then there are days that can be very difficult. “You come home and you’re not yourself. Playing video games is how I unwind,” Sherrington says. “My wife Ana, who is also a doctor, says she can tell if I’ve been playing video games for a time, because I’m much calmer and happier.”

Growing up in the 1990s, Sherrington said most kids of his generation played video games. At medical school, playing video games helped him to study. “Throughout my entire medical degree I played a game called Skyrim—an action role playing game where you save a magical world. It was great escapism.”

During his foundation years, and since qualifying as a GP four years ago, he has found gaming to be a good way to separate the medical world from his home life.

He plays all sorts of games. As well as action adventures, there are also “cosy games” which have relaxing tasks and include activities like nurturing animal characters.

A smart phone or computer are all that is needed to join the gaming world, but there are also consoles which cost around £600, he says. Some games are free, while others can cost up to £100.

As a gamer you don’t need to play alone. “Through social media, I’ve ended up amassing a group of medics who play video games, who come from all over the country and across the world,” he says.

Sherrington’s love of being a clinician is also reflected in his gaming. “If there’s a game that has a doctor role or healing role, I almost always go for that. And with games that require you to ‘build’ a character I always build a healer.”

He recommends other doctors take up gaming as it offers excellent escapism. “Some of these games are like blockbuster movies, and you aren’t just watching the main character—you are the main character,” he says. “It can also be quite sociable. I don’t have much time to meet up with people, but you can play for an hour or two with people online and socialise with those you might never meet.”

Gaming has “something for everyone,” Sherrington says, and it can open up worlds with limitless possibilities. “Sometimes these games can allow people who can’t walk, to fly.”