All entries for December 2013

End of semester one

Well, I made it. Christmas is here and I've just completed my first semester at WMS. It has been a tough 11 weeks with all sorts of challenging concepts and information to battle with. At times I've felt a little overwhelmed with the avalanche of information washing over me, but actually I've loved it. Isn't the challenge part of the reason we choose to study medicine?

When I was thinking about what to write for this entry I thought I'd have a look on the Student Room (come on - we've all been there) and I found a page called "Reflections of a First Year Medical Student". The first post outlines a student's thoughts on their first year and quite early on says how easy it was. Now, I'm sure I'm not the only medical student to disagree with him.

I, Amy Barrett, am finding my first year hard.

I'm not too concerned that I feel this way because I think it is supposed to be hard. If you're lucky enough to have covered all the material in your previous degree and have managed to retain that past graduation then well done (I am very jealous), but for the rest of us, we either need a bit of a refresher or to try and grapple with some pretty advanced stuff. The first year is about laying the foundations of knowledge and learning new skills that are vital for becoming a good doctor. We shouldn't be intimidated by the fact we have to learn so much and maybe even change the way we learn. If we knew it all, we wouldn't need to be here.

It's not just the content of lectures and the impending doom of exams, but also learning how to cope with such a full timetable that makes it hard. Personally, I had far fewer lectures and contact time in my previous degree and combining a fuller working week with a part time job and hopefully a little bit of a social life is no easy task. That said, we are reminded that it is a privilege to study medicine, and it really is. For all the hard work we put in, we are more than rewarded, with what will hopefully be a long and happy professional life doing something that we have always wanted to do. Few people get that opportunity in life, so embrace it, try to enjoy it, because after all, we worked so hard to get here.

Of all the new things I've experienced since September, I enjoyed the clinical skills sessions and the community placements the most. On Fridays the entire first year at WMS is unleashed from the Medical Teaching Centre and can be seen, stethoscope in hand, getting lost around University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire. Right from the first day we were set impossible tasks such as finding Occupational Health and getting safely to and from UHCW in the morning traffic for 8.00am. When you live in Leamington, leaving around 7.15am seems so unjust but it's good practise for the future, I'm sure. The day is quite varied and starts with a lecture, before the year group splits into smaller groups and engages in different sessions throughout the day.

My day usually starts in the Surgical Training Centre. This is a really impressive facility and we're very lucky to have access to it here at Warwick. I have been in an anatomy suite before but it was no way near as high-tech and well organised as the one at UHCW. I've found I learn better visually so seeing the specimens first hand and having the detail and concepts explained by the tutors really brings the pieces of the puzzle together. The afternoon is then spent learning how to apply the scientific background to the consultation, with practise of different examinations. I really enjoy this part of learning and find the sessions really interactive and memorable. Hopefully I've gained a fairly good understanding of the basic processes involved in history taking and examination. We have a formative OSCE to assess this after Christmas and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes in a future blog post. For now though, I'm going to settle down with a mince pie and maybe Gray's Anatomy, well, for a little while at least.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all,

Amy

Sarah Hill : 23 Dec 2013 11:45 |  Tags: Amy Mbchb Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Amy's first blog first

Hi, I'm Amy and I'm a first year here at WMS. This is my first blog post and I hope to share with you the many ups and downs of being a fresher. Before I came to Warwick, I studied Biomedical Science at Keele University and graduated in July this year. At least I have the paper to say so - it's not obvious from the first couple of blocks here! Keele is not unlike Warwick; a campus university, also nicknamed “The Bubble” by its students. It is however much smaller with around 8,000 students compared to Warwick's 23,000. I still think Warwick has that nice, compact, community feel particularly in the medical school, which is one of the reasons I chose to study here. As a Northerner, I'm also proud to be slowly making my way towards the South of the country, even if I haven't managed to escape the Midlands just yet.

I'm so excited to be studying medicine and being quite a practical person, I have so far enjoyed the clinical skills and community aspects of the course the most. Already things seem to be moving so quickly, only the other day we had a lecture on careers and specialising. I hope I'm not the only one who thought - “Oh my gosh, I've only just started!' I found Block One – Health, Metabolism and Homeostasis, incredibly difficult at first and struggled with anatomy most. Learning that many new words, a whole other language, seemed almost impossible. Now we're in Block Two - Blood, Lungs and Heart, I think I'm slowly getting the hang of it. It's amazing that after seven weeks I already feel like I can do some quite doctor-y things like take a history and do an abdominal examination, still, there's an awful long way to go.



Life is not just all work though, in my spare time I have a part-time job (so much for spare time) as a Bar Assistant at the Students Union - you know, the big building on main campus that none of us ever really venture in to except occasionally for Pop on a Wednesday night? Although the sports teams are quite rowdy sometimes (I'm looking at you rugby players) it's quite a fun and sociable job. It can be a bit of a struggle to get out of bed for a cellular respiration lecture at 8.00am the following morning though!



Aside from working, I love travelling and last year I was lucky enough to combine a trip to South Africa with some work experience in various hospitals in Cape Town. The country was really beautiful and I had a wonderful experience with people who couldn't be more willing to help out. I'd definitely recommend a trip there. I also went to Iceland for my 21st birthday that was incredible and probably not quite as cold as my house in Leamington Spa. Singing is another of my hobbies though I haven't had a chance to join a choir yet so I've been confined to the shower so far (sorry housemates). Maybe I will soon - watch this space.



Anyway enough about me for now, I'm looking forward to blogging about my first year at Warwick Medical School and really hope you enjoy reading about it.

Sarah Hill : 09 Dec 2013 10:58 |  Tags: Amy First Year Mbchb Union Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

An introduction to Amrit

Hello, My name is Amrit. I am in my second year at Warwick Medical School and it has absolutely flown by! This is my first post so I will tell you a little bit about my background, why I chose Warwick and my experience so far. I graduated in Sports Science in 2009 and following that I worked as a Healthcare Assistant on a care of the elderly ward for a year and as a Clinician’s Assistant in a children’s hospital for another year. Both of these jobs gave me great exposure to healthcare and medicine, and I would definitely recommend some sort of work on a hospital ward, voluntary or paid, if you are considering medicine.

I chose Warwick because I liked the idea of studying in a large cohort of graduates all from a variety of academic backgrounds and experiences. It certainly comes into its own when studying in groups, which is a big part of the learning style at Warwick. Being part of such a large group is great, and there is definitely a sense of camaraderie amongst the cohort when going through tough exam periods.

Since starting in September 2012 to now we have gone through all of the major body systems. I am in the final term of our Phase I block (pre-clinical), where we are currently studying the urinary and respiratory systems, neurobiology, pharmacology and the human life span. The learning curve throughout the course is pretty steep and the work load is high, but the fascinating topics and clinical focus of the course is really engaging; from the first week of the course it has felt like we are preparing to be doctors.

We have patient exposure pretty early on the course. In the first term we visited patients in their home and learnt how their condition affects their day to day living. From the second term we have half a day in hospital where we have the opportunity to take histories and carry out clinical examinations on patients. The whole experience is pretty nerve racking at first but you soon get used to it, and you learn a great deal, even from the briefest encounter with a patient.

Although some days it may feel like it, studying medicine is not all work. In my spare time I enjoy staying active, playing squash and running. I am also a member of some societies; at the moment I am part of the committees for the Teddy Bear Hospital, Peer Support and SLIME (Students Leading in Medical Education). My highlight so far has been working as part of Peer Support, a society run by second year medics who teach the first years. Education is something I’m really passionate and being part of this committee has been a great experience. There are loads of clubs and societies to get involved in, and if there isn’t one already set up for your sport or interest it is really easy to set one up yourself.

At the moment we are preparing for our end of Phase I exam, the final hurdle to getting into the Clinical Phase, so hopefully the next time I post I can tell you about my experience of Phase II.

Sarah Hill : 09 Dec 2013 10:57 |  Tags: Amrit Mbchb Second Year Student Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem