JUST a week after having a Commonwealth Games bronze medal placed around her neck in Glasgow, Nottinghamshire doctor Rachel Parish is back in the thick of the action in Accident and Emergency.
The 33-year-old - who worked in the Queen's Medical Centre's Emergency Department for the last year while training for the competition - came third in the women's double trap shooting.
And after weeks of "living in a bubble", Rachel has been thrust straight back into the day job.
"It's like a different world," she said. "You're in a total bubble when you're at the games. It's brilliant when you get everything done for you - it's sort of like a holiday, but I've come back and had to sort everything out so it's a bit depressing."
She added: "Everyone is very excited, particularly when I walked into A&E yesterday. I feel like a celebrity."
Rachel started shooting when she was 15 after taking on the hobby from her mum and dad, but even after winning gold and silver medals at the Melbourne Commonwealth games in 2006, she could easily not have been on the podium this year.
She said: "I had actually stopped shooting completely [because the sport was removed from the games] but then I found out it was back in for Glasgow so I started shooting again in April last year. It was quite difficult but it did come back quite quickly."
She added: "It is difficult to fit it all in and you have to be pretty determined and organised. I've been shooting three or four times a week and run and go to the gym."
Rachel is working toward being a consultant having been a qualified junior doctor for eight years.
And despite being high profile in her sport, she still loves a job that has seen her working in Nottingham's hospitals on three occasions, spending the last year in the QMC's Emergency Department.
She said: "I am very lucky in that I have had very understanding rota co-ordinators and colleagues that have been helpful and willing to swap shifts so I can train and compete.
"It is difficult to balance it - but I do love my job. It's the variety that we enjoy I think and you never know what is coming through the door. Also I get to work with people who are friends, not just colleagues."
Rachel is now spending a six-month month stint at the Royal Derby Hospital's Emergency Department before returning to the Queen's Medical Centre for another year, when she will become a consultant.
And while there is much work on the horizon, she has no intention of giving up on her shooting ambitions, especially with the intense winning feeling still fresh.
She said: "I'm very determined to get better and improve my scores and try and win more things.
"It is incredible - it's really hard to describe. You do get a sense of relief that you've not completely messed up and it's a little bit of amazement."
She added: "It is intense - you are nervous. It was different in Glasgow because it was basically a home games. My family and friends came to watch which does not happen very often. Having a crowd and my friends and family there - it does give you a lift."
