My first Med Life blog post

Hello, my name is Natalie and I’m a second year student at Warwick Medical School. This is my first blog post for Med Life so I’ll start with a bit of an introduction…

Before coming to Warwick I studied pharmacology at Newcastle University. I really enjoyed my time there as an undergraduate. Lots of Warwick students come from the ‘Biomed’ family at Newcastle and indeed I found myself living with two other fellow graduates in my first year. Life as a student at Warwick is completely different to life in the Toon - I’ve swapped a lively city centre for a quiet campus on the outskirts of Coventry. I’ve given up the days of three trebles for £5 and more night clubs than people for quiet drinks in one of a handful of bars, followed by the occasional night at Altoria (perhaps the worst club in existence, but free admission to medical students none the less).

I’ve also finally learnt the meaning of the word ‘student’… there’s the word “study” in there somewhere. Although I did work hard during my final year at Newcastle, it doesn’t even begin to compare to the work I put in during my first year of medicine. Although it may seem like I might be having a bit of a moan about Warwick, in all honestly I wouldn’t change a thing. I love that I had such a fun undergraduate experience at Newcastle, because now I’m finally ready to work harder and play (a little) less as I move towards, dare I say it, an actual career.

Following my graduation in July 2013, I moved swiftly down to the Midlands and started at Warwick that September. My first year passed by incredibly quickly as we ploughed through what seemed like a never-ending torrent of new information. Looking back from the green fields of second year I would say that first year was definitely an experience, but perhaps not one I’d ever like to repeat. I learnt an incredible amount in nine months and I pushed myself almost to breaking point… there were more than a few evenings when I decided that “I would never know enough to be a doctor and that instead of learning my brain had given up and wilted to nothing-ness”. However, I worked hard, I sat my exams and I (somehow) managed to pass first year. Fantastic. One year done.

After the ordeal of first year I enjoyed a three-month summer, during which I decided to take a “do anything but medicine” approach… this resulted in me working in a falafel van at music festivals for two months before travelling the Baltic States.

Having enjoyed a medicine free summer I returned to Warwick, eager to start my second year. I moved into a new house in Leamington Spa with four of the loveliest girls on my course and all of a sudden second year began.

So far year two has been ‘a dream’, the pace has slowed down, the workload is more manageable, there has been much more time for social events including (importantly in our house) tea and cake and a good old chat and I’ve even had enough time to write a blog! Although a lot of information that went into my head last year has since disappeared I’m starting to feel a little more confident in my ability to pass the course… Knowing enough to be a doctor on the other hand - I’m still not convinced, but I’m willing to give it a try.

Megan Earle : 26 Nov 2014 09:55 |  Tags: Mbchb Natalie Second Year Student Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem