In need of some support

Well it’s the last day of my Easter holidays, and exam fear has set in. My revision plan over Easter may have proved a little over optimistic but overall I’m pleased with the amount I have covered. One of the main things about medical school is that for a lot of learning comes down to repetition, and lots of it! I haven’t been able to do this as much over the holidays as I had planned but I hope that the work I have done has laid a good foundation to really consolidate that knowledge over the next six weeks (eek!).

Despite living like a hermit over the holidays working from home has worked well for me, personally I find working in a library with others a bit distracting, I find myself much more interested in total strangers conversations rather than my own work. I do find it helpful to work through clinical cases in groups though, other people will pick up on information that you considered irrelevant. Learning how to answer questions based on clinical cases is very different from anything I’ve done before, you really need to pay attention to the small details in the case as the answers are often right there in front of you, it’s easy to miss marks by just not reading all the information thoroughly.

Another thing that helps to develop this skill is Peer Support. Peer Support is run almost every week as a revision session for first years. The current second years teach us important topics from the weeks lectures. This is a really great resource; the second years really focus on the examinable topics and show us where to focus our learning so we don’t waste time. They are always willing to answer any other questions we may have about the course and most importantly are full of encouragement! Even after Christmas when the second years were no longer based at the medical school they braved the Gibbet Hill traffic to teach us every week. Peer support has even been run over the Easter holidays, for me these sessions have been a welcome break from my study and a chance to do the many practice questions they have provided for us. I hope I get the chance to take part in peer support next year, it’s not only an invaluable tool for the first years but many of the second years say it really helps them to revise key topics and keep things fresh in their minds. It’s also a great chance to develop presentation and teaching skills for that all important CV!

Despite the ever present exam fear I am looking forward to Block 5: Reproduction and Child Health. Pre reading material has been provided to us by the block leads and by peer support to help us get off to a good start in our last Block. I really hope that I can still take some enjoyment out of block 5 despite what lies in wait after!

Megan Earle : 21 Apr 2015 09:19 |  Tags: Joanne Mbchb Peersupport Student Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem