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All entries for October 2014

October 15, 2014

Anatomy!

Anatomy. The subject I dreaded before beginning at Warwick. So much to learn and so many difficult names! In my previous degree we had some anatomy but it wasn’t taught very well and therefore I remembered near to nothing when I started Medicine. However, even though I still find that it can be difficult, I have found it a lot less daunting than I first thought it would be.
We started pretty much straight away with anatomy, and that first lecture was a killer. Thankfully though that wasn’t the case for the rest of the year and I recovered! After I got used to the terminology and got my hands on a copy of Gray’s, things massively improved. The anatomy lectures were the best delivered lectures in my opinion and complicated topics were always covered again to help you process the information. We also had access to online recordings of the lectures, and extras for further help, so that meant we could go over the content ourselves if we needed to in our own time.
At the beginning of each module we were supplied with an anatomy workbook. Every week there would be questions to answer and pictures to be labelled, before a session in the surgical labs at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire where we spent time with plastinated specimens and had smaller group teaching. Going through the workbooks before the session really helped to cement the content of that week’s lectures and made it easier to engage in the anatomy sessions at the hospital (they also made for a great revision tool). The sessions themselves were also great. I loved getting to see the specimens and begin to appreciate the relationship between different tissues.
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We also had access to 3D recordings of the specimens so that we could zoom in and appreciate a particular structure in more detail. At the end of the year we got to spend time with fresh tissue and this was fascinating. Having it at the end of the year meant we could name and identify a lot of structures that we probably never knew existed when we started! We also had revision stations at the end of each module with clinical cases based on the anatomy we had covered. This was a really helpful way to put everything together and understand how important being able to apply our anatomy teaching is.
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During these anatomy sessions we also had seminars, where we would cover difficult aspects of a topic in more detail and at a slower pace, or ask questions about anything we had struggled with. I found these seminar sessions extremely useful. The repetition of key information through lectures, the workbooks and the seminars meant that things slowly made sense and were (hopefully) remembered when it came to exams!
We had radiology seminars during the anatomy sessions as well. It was a challenge, and still is, to be able to orientate and identify what different images were showing but these sessions were great at gradually introducing us to the world of x-rays, MRI and CT scans. We even had sessions where we could have a go at using ultrasound to look at each other’s abdomen and chest. This was great fun, albeit difficult, and we began to understand what the position of the probe meant we were actually seeing!
Having access to all of these different resources and teaching methods really helped with my learning and understanding of anatomy – and hopefully this will continue to be the case!

Megan Earle : 15 Oct 2014 11:13 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

October 09, 2014

Summer's out, let the hard work commence!

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So we are already two weeks into the second year and it’s feeling like the summer was ages ago. Although, this term our timetable is much nicer than it was last year, so we can’t really complain! We no longer have our Friday sessions at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire for anatomy, and now have a full day in hospital on a Monday. We also have a lot more free time during the week which allows us to go over the days lectures, do the Self Directed Learning work that has been set, and basically work at a much more relaxed pace.

The first week back mainly consisted of lots of holiday discussion. Most people wanted to make the most of our final long student summer and so went on fun, exciting holidays. Some people worked at jobs back home in order to have enough money for this next year (the NHS bursary can be great for some, or a real pain). For others it was just simply a time to relax and get away from studying for a while. A few lucky students went to Grenada for an anatomy master-class and spent five weeks doing dissection in the Caribbean. But whether people backpacked across Asia, or simply lounged on the sofa catching up on TV, I think everyone came back feeling more ready and prepared for another year.

Our second year starts with a 12 week block called Advanced Cases 1. This block is intended to build on what we learnt last year, adding more detail and information, and assisting us in understanding more about what is involved within the healthcare setting. It is also to help get us ready for after Christmas when we will be on placements. Our Mondays in hospital, for example, are split between bedside teaching (similar to what we had for half a day last year), procedural skills, and clinical learning opportunities. The clinical learning opportunities are to help give us the chance to spend time with various healthcare members and departments within our hospitals and GP surgeries, including management areas. Last Monday we had our first day and I had a great time first shadowing a matron and then spending my afternoon in the mortuary. It was fascinating finding out what matrons actually do – it was a lot more about ensuring the best opportunities and care for patients than I had realised. It was also really interesting to see what exactly goes on in a mortuary, and to understand how important it is to have a good relationship with all staff members to guarantee the best care, during and after life.

All in all I think this year will definitely bring new challenges and difficulties, but now that we have done the hard part of laying down the ground work, it should be much more enjoyable. Not that first year wasn’t – but I think after already having three years of a lecture based course I am looking forward to getting onto the wards, and hopefully we can start seeing what we have learnt and begin applying it!


Megan Earle : 09 Oct 2014 13:08 |  Tags:        |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

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Our Med Life blogs are all written by current WMS MB ChB students. Although these students are paid to blog, we don’t tell our bloggers what to say. All these posts are their thoughts, opinions and insights. We hope these posts help you discover a little more about what life as a med student at Warwick is really like.

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