Hi my name is Joanne…

Hi my name is Joanne and I’m a first year medical student here at WMS and I still can’t believe I’m able to say that! This is my first blog post and I hope you enjoy hearing about my experiences (positive and negative) of been a fresher all over again.

The path to medicine for me has been quite long with a few twists and turns along the way. At school it was my lifelong ambition to become a doctor but whilst studying my A-levels, working part time and volunteering something changed and I wasn’t so sure. I didn’t feel able to commit to a 5 year medicine degree and instead decided to study a degree in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Sheffield. I made the most of my first degree and developed an interest in medical research. After my degree I decided to pursue a PhD in Neuroscience at Newcastle University (my home town).

After another 3 long years I finished my PhD and went out into the real world for the first time as a Postdoctoral researcher, but something was different. I didn’t feel like my research was really making a difference to patients. I was talking to clinicians about my work and where it could lead but found myself wishing I was in their shoes as they went off to their clinics to actually put their research into practice and I headed back to the lab. I knew then that I wanted to study medicine, but I had to be sure. Making the decision to return to university and change career was not easy but the time I spent volunteering with patients and shadowing clinicians and speaking to other graduates studying medicine convinced me that even if I was crazy I wasn’t the only one!

Receiving my offer from Warwick was a dream come true. Warwick’s emphasis on early contact with patients really appealed to me. Also the fact that the course is graduates only mean that you have people from a variety of backgrounds who all have their own unique experiences to bring to the course. This has really helped with our case-based learning sessions, in my group we have students who are qualified chiropractors, teachers, civil servants as well as students who have recently graduated and have great study tips for those of us who have been out of education for a while.

The medical school here at Warwick has a real community atmosphere to it, as I walk from the main campus past ducks and geese on the pond and through ancient woodland up the hill to the medical school the contrast between Warwick’s campus and the city-based universities I’m used to could not be more apparent. I’ve become a regular at the café here at the medical school and already have my favourite spot in the BioMed Grid (the library and study area here at the medical school) and the first term isn’t even over yet! Life as a medical student here at Warwick is hectic, I have learnt so much already, but there is time to enjoy ourselves too - more about that in my next post!

Megan Earle : 09 Dec 2014 09:23 |  Tags: Joanne Mbchb Student Warwick |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem