All 3 entries tagged Medsoc

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 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

The MedSoc Calendar

So we’ve just had Doctors and Nurses – the biggest night of the MedSoc calendar, and the highlight of the fresher’s week if you’ve just started. This was the second time I’ve been and it still lived up to its expectations. The best part about it is that being a girl you get to wear scrubs (which are so comfy) and get a night free of high heels, whilst laughing at guys dressed up in fish-net tights and fake eyelashes. Some people really go all out and have fantastic costumes! Getting my housemates ready has created a lot of entertainment both years. Each year we have had a shopping trip to buy them tights, make up and nail varnish (much to their regret the following morning!), and then we take as many photos as possible to embarrass them with afterwards. Last year two of my housemates decided to go as Florence Nightingale styled nurses!

I think a big reason that this night is such a success is that every year group gets involved – even some students that have left come back for more! It is also one of the very few events to be held in Coventry – which makes a nice change for those us who live in the area as our taxi fare can finally be reduced! Getting to know new people hidden behind a beard or under a blonde wig is also a great laugh! Although you may see a few too many hairy legs on show!

The next big night that occurs at the beginning of term for the fresher’s is Medic Parents Dinner! This is where as a fresher, you are paired with a second year (who becomes your ‘parent’) and you are invited round for dinner to spend some quality time with them. You then you head out with the other fresher’s and their ‘families’ for a night out in Leamington. Mine last year was really good, and a great way to get to know more people from the year above. ‘Parents’ and ‘children’ are paired at the beginning of the year at the ‘Meet the Parents’ event so everyone gets introduced to their ‘family’ before the dinner to save for any awkwardness! These pairings are made according to previous study, work, and any hobbies or interests. This means that everyone should have found at least one thing in common that works as a good first discussion point!

Throughout the year there are many other social events, including balls and curry nights. Every social I have attended has been a lot of fun and has allowed me to mix with more students that are not in my CBL group or who I might not necessarily see much. Prices for events are also often discounted if you are a MedSoc member so it is definitely worth joining – plus you get free entry into Altoria every Friday so what other reason do you need?!

Megan Earle : 13 Nov 2014 14:13 |  Tags: Mbchb Medsoc Rachel Student Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Preparing for the MB ChB

Congratulations to all of you who have recently received your offers to study at Warwick. Before I got mine I remember anxiously scrolling through the student room desperately waiting to find out when I’d be receiving my offer, or most probably my rejection. Anyway, the wait is over and you can finally relax! Whether you’re working or still studying you can finally look forward to starting your medical career in September, which you’ve no doubt been working extremely hard towards for quite some time. Before getting here it’s tempting to think that there’s loads of work to do and things to sort out and whilst there may be some truth in that, I think it’s really important to enjoy the summer - you’ve worked hard, it paid off, you deserve it!

Here are some tips to make the “Big Move” a little bit easier.

• Go to the house hunting day - MedSoc will organise a day where next year’s students can come to Warwick for an informal “getting to know each other” day. This is your opportunity to find a group that you fit with. Granted, you probably won’t get to know each other’s deepest secrets or be taking anyone home to meet your parents after one day (or you might but I’d probably advise against it), but you can get a good idea of what people are like and whether you could see yourselves getting along for the next year. Choosing housemates is really important, particularly if you are going to live with fellow medics. Having the same timetable will mean that you will be spending A LOT of time together and that might mean little problems that wouldn’t have been an issue in another life become the most unbearable thing you’ve ever had to deal with. Facebook is a wonderful way to have a chat with someone and a little Facebook stalk never hurt anyone.

• Don’t buy textbooks before you get here - It’s tempting to buy loads of stuff you might think you need before you get here in an effort to hit the ground running but it’s better to leave it a while until you’ve identified what kind of textbooks you learn best from. I have a huge, expensive physiology textbook that I still don’t understand a word of so it’s serving its purpose as an effective doorstop at the moment. If I’d taken the time to have a look at books from the library I might have saved myself some valuable beer money.
• Buy a fresher’s pass/band - Definitely indulge in the first week. It’s so important to get to know your coursemates, your housemates in particular, and to have a bit of fun. You’ve probably been working super hard for the past few years and you’ve a lot of hard work coming up so enjoy fresher’s week to the full. Remember fresher’s week when you were 18 (you might not if it was particularly indulgent)? How lucky are we to get to do it twice!
• Be humble, ask for help and just admit if you don’t know - we already know you’re amazing. You’re here and you’ve already got some stellar academic credentials under your belt, but then so have all of your classmates, and you’ve still got a long road ahead. You can learn something from everyone whether it’s lecturers, fellow students, doctors, nurses or even your patients. If you’re like me you’ll spend the first semester not knowing anything about anything and that’s OK, for a while! The patients that you meet will be nice to you and are only talking to you because they want to. It’s not compulsory for ill people to have the same conversation over and over again with various groups of nervous medical students. Listen to them and enjoy it, they’re more often than not an expert in their condition and it might just make all the pieces fit together for you.
• Finally and most importantly, I think, is to remember to do it your own way. Everyone will approach things differently. It’s really easy to get bogged down with thinking about how much more work other people are doing or how much better their learning style is. Before exams, when you’re laid in bed and the fear descends over you try not to forget how far you’ve come and how much you’ve achieved already. You’ll do it again. You’ll make it.

Amy

Sarah Hill : 14 Apr 2014 14:47 |  Tags: Amy Classmates Freshers Housemates Mbchb Medsoc Student Textbooks Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem