All entries for February 2016
February 22, 2016
Two Weeks on a Surgical Ward
As part of the Core Clinical Education block during the second half of our second year, each student is assigned to spend two weeks on a surgical ward. The purpose of this rotation is to see how the ward operates, speak with and examine pre- and post-operative patients, and hopefully to observe some procedures in progress. My clinical partner and I just completed our two-week rotation and it was extremely useful.
The surgical ward at our hospital was an interesting place and entirely different to the respiratory ward where we'd spent most other days since the beginning of this year. For one thing, most patients in the surgical ward are more acutely unwell than those of most other wards this is logical, as they've either just been operated on and are not well enough to go home, or they are in a state in which they require an operation. This presented its own challenges when finding patients who were willing to speak with us and to let us examine them, but after some investigation and detective work (and handy tip-offs from helpful doctors) we found several willing patients over the course of the two weeks.
The variation in age was also far greater on the surgical ward than the respiratory ward. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that most people with significant respiratory ailments are elderly (and many of them have a decades-long history of smoking) and that surgical candidates can be of any age. There were far more middle-aged patients to speak with (and even a few under the age of 30, which was a novelty!).
My clinical partner and I had the wonderful opportunity to observe a few different surgical procedures over the course of several days as well. Once again, I was humbled and impressed by the utter professionalism on show at all times by the staff. The surgeons, the nurses, the anaesthetists and the rest of the team all worked seamlessly together as a matter of course to ensure the very best outcomes for the patient.
On one afternoon, I was asked to help assist by manoeuvring the little camera for a routine laparoscopic abdominal procedure (this is the one where a few small holes are cut in order to minimise tissue trauma to the patient and everything is conducted using apparatuses at the end of long, thin rods). It was absolutely excellent. Not only was the surgery like an anatomy lesson come to life, but it took a while to get my head round the fact that I was actually looking in someone's living abdomen I was honoured and grateful to have been given that chance. But the most rewarding part of all was speaking with the patient the next day (who was very well recovered and well enough to go home). The patient was immensely grateful for the care delivered and for having met all of the surgical staff before the procedure, and thus couldn't have been more gracious. Moments like these reminded me that sometimes the best lessons are taught outside of the lecture theatre.
John
Megan Earle
22 Feb 2016 09:49
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Tags: John Mbchb Student Surgical Wards Warwick Wms
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February 10, 2016
A balancing act…
Now that we are on the wards I’m starting to fully appreciate the monumental struggle doctors face to maintain a healthy work life balance. The hours are punishing and the work emotionally and physically draining. Even as a medical student the balancing act is tough. At the moment I’m in hospital 4 days a week 8-5 and on my day in GP land we are in 9-7 to see a late surgery. An average day is a long time on your feet, a few periods of absolute terror (usually when taking blood and missing!) and a lot of mental effort. I usually get home and collapse in a heap, so finding time to study is difficult and finding time to relax even harder. Having said all that even after 4 weeks it’s getting easier and I’ve simply learnt that when it gets to a certain time I just have to switch off no matter what needs doing!
In first year I didn’t get involved in many extra-curricular things although I had a small part time job on campus. I’ve kept it up this year and I’m still enjoying a couple of evenings a week totally free from medicine. I speak to graduates of the university so I get plenty of helpful tips and advice from previous students, many of whom are now practicing doctors in the local area.
A big change for me this year has been getting more involved in societies. I’m involved in the committee with a new society that is gong out into schools to teach teenagers about mental health and reduce stigma. Getting involved in projects like this is great and you feel like even as a medical student you can make a real difference and get involved in causes that you are really passionate about. I’m organising a few talks and events this year with other societies and finding more and more people in the medical school who are equally passionate about those topics. You can feel a bit odd if you’re not really into anatomy or your sole aim in life isn’t to be a trauma surgeon, but there are so many graduates studying at Warwick and so many societies you will find people who share similar interests and passions and who will point you in the direction of some amazing opportunities.
Juggling hospital, a part time job, and extra-curricular commitments is hard enough but then the medical school throws in academic days which come with the usual lectures which must be prepared for and revised as well as our case based learning sessions. Our academic days happen every two weeks on a Friday and they are very long and busy days. They are usually around one topic so it’s quite an intense day where you question if you remember anything for phase 1, but it’s also a good chance to catch up with everyone over coffee.
This week we had our first day in GP. GP consultations are so different to histories and examination in hospital so I feel like I’m having to reinvent the wheel on top of everything else! Having said this I had a great day and saw a huge variety of patients and conditions. I even used an interpreter in one of the consultations. Working in different clinical environments is a juggling act in itself and I’m sure I’ll drop a few pins before I get the hang of it!
Joanne
Megan Earle
10 Feb 2016 10:38
| Tags: Gp History Joanne Mbchb Student Wards Warwick Wms
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February 01, 2016
Peer Support
One of the most beneficial and enjoyable aspects of being a student at Warwick Medical School is the way in which members of the second-year cohort work together to help newer students. There are several ways in which this happens and the benefits are widespread and tremendous.
Usually on one evening every week during term time, a group of second-year students will present summaries of particularly difficult topics that the first-years have covered in lecture or group work in the previous week. This is known as "peer support", and is very famous in the MB ChB programme. Six pairs of second-years will each set up in a different classroom and will each cover a different topic, and then the first-years will divide themselves into six groups and split themselves across the stations. Every twenty minutes the groups rotate to another station, and within two hours the evening is completed. Stations can cover all sorts of topics and are usually quite diverse by design.
A handful of times in the year, the second-year students will also organise OSCE (Observed Structural Clinical Examination) peer-support sessions. The premise is the same: first-years will rotate between sessions which cover potential OSCE topics: history-taking, clinical examinations, other important hospital skills such as in-hospital resuscitation and hand washing.
This year also sees something new; in order to keep the continuity between first-year groups and their second-year instructors, the medical society has launched the “student-seminars” initiative, which matches a group of up to twelve first-years with two second-year instructors for an evening per week over the entire course of a five-week block. There are several of these groups running concurrently on various weekday evenings. Topics can be varied and diverse, but the setting is meant to focus less on rotation and covering many topics (as opposed to peer support) and more on covering a handful of difficult topics in depth.
The benefits of each of these initiatives are numerous. These student-led revision sessions allow students across cohorts to bond – I have got to know dozens of people in cohorts on either side of me just through attending peer-support sessions whom I never would have met otherwise. It also allows students to hear real-life accounts and experiences from those who’ve already lived through what they’re going through now. Each session helps students approach topics from different angles – not just the ones that are presented in lecture theatres or on Power Point slides. Not everyone learns in the same way, and hearing another person’s approach on a complicated topic can be extremely helpful for anyone who’s confused. And finally, all of the slides from the sessions are available online, allowing students to access them at any time – providing extremely valuable resources at revision time.
John
Megan Earle
01 Feb 2016 11:17
| Tags: John Mbchb Medsoc Peersupport Student Warwick Wms
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