High Society…

So far Advanced Cases 1 has been much less stressful compared to this time last year when I was struggling to get to grips with Block 2 Blood, Lungs and Heart. We have less lectures this term compared to last year which has freed up time to do a bit private study (maybe), potentially do some exercise (unlikely) and get involved in some of the societies here at The Medical School.

As treasurer of the Psychiatry Society I have been involved in expanding the society this year, this has ranged from relatively simple tasks such as setting up a society email and twitter account to the more complicated tasks of applying for funding from the Royal College of Psychiatrists and then applying for a Business Bank account to manage this funding.

Receiving the funding from the Royal College has made such a big difference already, we were able to provide a nice range of refreshments at our most recent event on campus, a Psychiatry and Academic Medicine Taster evening.We’re also able to reimburse travel expenses for our members to attend a Forensic Psychiatry Symposium at Birmingham Medical School.Utilizing the resources and events throughout the region is really important and allows us to increase the number of opportunities available for our students and makes the most of our central location!

Another society I’m involved in is a new society called MedMinds.This society has been set up as an outreach scheme to to educate children and tackle stigma around Mental Illness. I’m one of the coordinators responsible for training volunteers and my official duties start this week by attending the training session for the MedMinds group at Birmingham Medical School who are helping us set up our own branch of MedMinds here at Warwick.I’m really looking forward to gaining more teaching experience and getting involved in outreach work, something I feel quite passionate about.

This past week we have had lectures on Psychiatric Illnesses.In addition to learning about symptoms and diagnoses we have also had lectures about the inequality that exists between physical and mental illness.People with mental illness receive worse treatment for physical health problems and are subject to stigma and abuse in many aspects of their lives. I hope projects Like MedMinds can help to change this.

I’m also hoping to do some teaching for the OSCE peer support sessions.Students in phase 1 attend clinical skills every Friday but after that it’s up to students to practice their examinations and histories in their own time which can make it hard to know if you’re doing it right for an exam!I found the OSCE support sessions last year so helpful for my Formative and summative OSCEs so I’m happy to give back by helping out with these sessions and giving tips and encouragement where I can.

As well as taking on active committee roles I also enjoy being a member of other societies and benefiting form the learning opportunities they provide.The Warwick Surgical Society organized a “Recognising the Ill surgical Patient course”.This was an amazing opportunity, a whole day at University Hospital Coventry that consisted of lectures on common pre and post surgical problems and then an afternoon filled with simulated scenarios.This was excellent revision and also great preparation for hospital in January.A full day course plus lunch only cost £10 for members.

Opportunities like this are invaluable and while you may feel very busy in medical school the reality is that later on you won’t have the time or the opportunity to attend events like this so I’m trying my best to make the most of it while I’m here!

Joanne

Megan Earle : 30 Nov 2015 09:54 |  Tags: Joanne Mbchb Student Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem