All 181 entries tagged Warwick

It’s the final countdown!

So here we are, the last push before exams. I am slowly starting to get bored of revision, it has basically been a nine to five job these past couple of weeks and all I want to do now is to sit this paper and have a break. It’s been going ok revision wise though and I am really enjoying having a group around me whom I can rely on and have a giggle with when I am frustrated.

We have also recently had another open day. It was lovely to meet some of the prospective newbies and chat to them. In hindsight, it has probably given us some perspective over where we are now. I remember being so frustrated about not hearing anything or just wanting to be in the place I am today. A couple of people recognised me from my own blog so that was a bit of a proud moment and nice to know that I am helping people along the way. Jordan and I did our open day presentation and it was nice to get a few laughs and remind myself about the positive side of Med school and not just the doom and gloom about the upcoming examinations.

I packed up my little revision corner the other day and it felt real to think we are finally here. My hobbit hole in the MTC is looking bare and I plan to only revise a little bit after each exam, I can’t wait to not have to open those blue folders again. I didn’t realise how much stuff I had accumulated over these past 13 weeks! It should be interesting trying to get it all home on my bike!

In a turn of comedy, I have given myself repetitive strain injury from all the writing I have done! This does now mean I have to constantly ice my hand up and hope for the best when it comes to next week’s SAQ’s! I have pain killers but the remedy is not something I can do as I revise by writing and scribbling my way. It hurts but there’s not much I can do apart from plastering frozen hot water bottles to my arm the whole day through.

The second years have been lovely this past year with helping us prepare, I could not be any more grateful to them so a massive thank you to everyone! Especially my medic family and student seminar team, you guys are amazing and I am so grateful for everything.

I am reaaalllyyy looking forward to getting these done. I have booked my ticket to the summer ball and I am so ready to just let my hair down and celebrate the end of exams. I am so proud of my entire year group and how hard we have all worked. No one could have done anything more than we did, we have all worked ridiculously hard and put everything we have into these examinations so I really hope we all do well.

Good luck guys! I believe in you, we have got this!!!!!

Abbie

Charlie Gallan : 04 Jun 2019 13:31 |  Tags: Abbie Exams Mbchb Revision Student Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

The week off, and the week back

Core Clinical Education is a long block which makes up most of second year and runs from January-September, and is divided into three 10 week blocks – CCE1, CCE2, CCE3. We have a week off between CCE2 and CCE3 which is a much needed break from the day-to-day. Last week was the week’s holiday and I spent this in the west of Ireland! My partner’s family originally come from here and we had meant to go for a long time but never got around to it, so we decided that this week off between CCE2 and CCE3 was the ideal time to take a short break and head over (plus the flights were cheap at this time of year!)

In Ireland, I spent the whole week away from medicine and anything healthcare related, mostly climbing hills, walking on the beach and spending time enjoying traditional Irish music in the many pubs (along with a few drinks!). One day we climbed a local mountain, Croagh Patrick, which was advertised as a 4 hour, relatively difficult walk. As definitely not the sporty type, I was worried but it was actually perfect to get away from all of my worries on the ground and head up into the clouds, where there are no OSCEs or Medical exams. I did have a couple of scary moments whilst climbing (including nearly falling more than once), but managed to reach the top without too much ado. Light-heartedness aside, the week was the ideal break for me – Ireland is suitably detached from Medical School but also close enough and familiar enough to not entail a long journey.

After my lovely break, we had a bank holiday weekend with Monday off, which isn’t the worst thing to come back to. After a weekend of catching up with my family back home, I headed back to Warwick for an early start at the Medical Teaching Centre for our community day which covered the topics of Palliative Care and End of Life. For me the lectures were interesting and thought provoking, especially as I spent 2 years volunteering at a Hospice before starting here at Medical School. I found that I already knew a lot of what was discussed but I definitely learned a lot of new things, including some of the medications as someone reaches the end of their life. It is one of the specialities that I am considering for my future career as it involves looking at not only a person’s medical problems, but at the person holistically, but also from a personal, religious and social perspective.

Today we had our CCE3 indication at hospital, including tips from the module lead on how to get the most out of our 10 week placement. My assigned consultant is an Orthopaedic Surgeon, so I will be getting lots of experience in Musco-skeletal medicine, which is great as this is probably one of my very weakest areas, but also one that is bound to come up in end of year exams. In addition, in this block I also have time allocated to spend shifts in Obstetrics & Gynaecology (childbirth and female/reproductive medicine), so after the general induction for everyone, I then had a specific induction and tour of Labour ward and the birthing centre at UHCW. I am hugely excited for this, as I love Obstetrics and just babies in general, so I cannot wait for my Labour ward shifts which take place in week 6-8 of this block. These will be covered in a future blog from me and I will update you all on how I get on!

Jordan

Charlie Gallan : 30 May 2019 11:10 |  Tags: Jordan Mbchb Student Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

The End of CCE 2

This week marked the end of CCE 2, I cannot believe how quickly the months are going by.

The most enjoyable aspect of this block for me is definitely my GP placement, so it was sad to say goodbye to the fantastic team at the surgery we have been assigned to this week. My clinical partner and I have grown really fond of the picturesque village of Upton-on-Severn in Worcestershire where we have been attached for the last 7 weeks.

During our lunch break last week we even managed to hire a small boat and have a little adventure on the river which was great fun and the perfect antidote to a busy morning surgery! Fun aside, over the course of this placement, I have really felt as though I have been the closest to actually being a doctor than I have at any point so far on the course. We’ve had the chance every week to lead the consultations and diagnose patients, all under support and supervision, but largely the onus is on us to lead the consultation. This is a huge responsibility, but I believe that definitely the best way to learn is experientially, by “doing”. The support from the amazing GPs at the surgery gave me the opportunity to lead consultations with confidence and really build on the skills I have been taught so far, as well as put them into practice for real. It was no longer a case of ‘watch and learn’ but rather ‘do and learn’ and I really feel my time spent at this placement has been so valuable to my growth as a budding clinician.

As this week is the last week of the block, I spent some time finding my consultants to try and get my sign offs for the end of this block. It has been bittersweet discussing my progress this block, reflecting on the various things I’ve done but also the fact that it is now over and we will be moving on soon. One highlight has been attending kidney clinics and the dialysis ward with our renal consultant. I wasn’t the biggest fan of kidneys at all after first year due to the complicated physiology, and I suppose in part the fact that I am from an arts background so all of the physiology was completely new to me. However, actually seeing these patients in clinic and on the dialysis ward this block has been really enlightening. Clinical nephrology (the study of kidneys) is actually a very involved speciality where you really get to know the patients as you see them long term and are also involved in preparation and assessment for kidney transplant and evaluation for dialysis treatment. I certainly don’t have the same fear of kidneys now, and in fact I actually quite like them!

We now have a week off (during which I’m going to County Mayo in Ireland for what I think is a well-earned break!), before starting back for our third Core Clinical Education block. This is our only week off from January-September, so I feel as though I really need some time off. Everyone always says that Graduate Medicine is intense, but you don’t realise how true this is until you get here. Despite this, I wouldn’t want to do anything else.

I cannot believe that this is our last block of this year before our exams, and I feel as though it has gone so quickly. However, I would say that it also feels like its been a long journey in terms of the amount we have learned and the progress we have made, into budding clinicians and doctors. After all, this is why we signed up to the course – to be doctors! For my next block, I am attached to Orthopaedic surgery and Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Stories of many babies and tibias to come!

Jordan

Charlie Gallan : 20 May 2019 10:13 |  Tags: Jordan Mbchb Student Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Mr Marsh – Can I have a photo please?

There has been a surprising amount that has gone on these past two weeks. We are in the final week of block 5 (gulp) and today we have our final CBL of Phase 1. We have decided we are going to go through a children’s party of sorts and I have supplied choc ices and a cake with a 7 on the top as we are group 7. I must admit, I am happy that CBL has come to an end, as all I have just wanted to revise but it is important that we keep to some sort of normality as after all, block 5 is just as important.

I feel like some bits on information are sticking but I still feel really overwhelmed with how much we must do. I am really nervous for the unknown, but I guess I have just got to keep going. It’s only three more weeks. I still struggle with the drugs list and SOC/POP due to the vast amount of information but I like anatomy and I love Block three so I guess I have just got to remind myself that I do have some strengths!

I have also met one of my medical heroes recently by the name of Mr Henry Marsh. I read his book “Do No Harm” when I was in year 13 and having no hope of getting into medicine with my grades. His book gripped me and since then I have wanted to pursue a career in Neurosurgery. I even got to experience 2 weeks with one of his trainees! Mr Marsh was lovely and a pleasant surprise was finding out he was a Paediatric Neurosurgeon, my goal. It was fascinating listening to him talk and I was sitting there with a massive grin on my face. There were also a couple of Warwick people there too and one of whom I share a love for everything Neuro related, and we were talking about how much we were looking forward to it before. Mr Marsh talked about his love of tools and his development from medical student to one of the best Neurosurgeons in the country. It is just as inspiring as Mr Marsh was technically a GEM student like us at Warwick. He originally studied PPE at Oxford and worked as a hospital porter before pursing his career in medicine. I was incredible to finally meet him, and he even signed my brain light and I have now got a photo of me with him on my desk to get me through this revision period. I had been joking with one of the lecturers here that I would probably get a restraining order if I ever met him from being such a fan so I emailed them to say that police intervention was not needed!

We have also had a lecture on AC1 which was slightly terrifying to think we are nearing it. However, it was also a bit weird as the state I am in, I often doubt if I will make it! I am looking forward to next year if I do make it though, I am looking forward to being able to direct my own learning a bit more and being able to have a bit more freedom with what I learn (to an extent). I also really want to carry on the Warwick Student Seminars for the new first years as I found I love teaching and supporting those around me. I have just got to get there first!

We have another open day before exams so I’m meeting up with Jordan again. It is on my to do list to re-vamp the presentation, so it is suitable for a two-person delivery. The next blog I write will be the last before my exams…. And that is terrifying.

Abbie

Charlie Gallan : 14 May 2019 15:35 |  Tags: Abbie Mbchb Student Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

General Practice and Surgical Skills

We’ve had quite a few clinical skills labs recently, and this week we’ve had labs on fundoscopy and then a workshop on suturing. Fundoscopy also called (ophthalmoscopy) is shining a light into the eye to look at the retina (at the back of the eye) to check the blood vessels and look for changes which could be caused, for example, by diabetes. Although it sounds easy in principle, as I quickly found out in the skills lab, it is not!

At first I couldn’t see anything. I’ve been told that it takes years of practice to master this skill, and I’m sure it will take this long as all I could see was redness... The second clinical skills lab I had was suturing, which is essentially sewing up a wound. I’ve done a little bit of this before, so it wasn’t completely new to me, as my partner brought me a suturing kit from the internet last Christmas. (would recommend as a relaxation tool, practising your suturing while watching TV…) The session was facilitated by a surgical nurse practitioner and a surgeon, which was great to get tips from the people who do it multiple times a day! Practice makes perfect, and we have further teaching on suturing and surgical skills in future years, so it was good to be introduced to this skill at an early stage in our careers.

Recently, I have been thinking more and more about what direction I want my career to take post-graduation, and even what specialty I want to end up in. As a second year, graduation is still some way away, but in two year’s time, we will have finished finals and be waiting to start our first job as qualified doctors. When I first started the course, most of my work experience was in acute medicine – so I thought I wanted to work in A&E, Intensive Care of Anaesthetics. I have enjoyed my placements in these areas but I have also been surprised at how much I have enjoyed General Practice too. I think that my personality is well suited to a generalist specialty, where you might be seeing a heart patient one moment and a baby the next. I get bored easily and think I would struggle in a speciality without this variety. General Practice has been fantastic so far, and I have really loved the chance to see so many interesting cases and practice my examination skills. I also love the fact that you build up a rapport with patients and get to know them and their stories, and hopefully see a good outcome for them in the end. I’d never considered it before, but I think GP may be for me, although time will tell whether I still feel this way in two year’s time. Putting this down in writing I may look back on this and wince at how I end up not doing this at all, but these are my thoughts at the current moment.

Jordan

Charlie Gallan : 07 May 2019 10:05 |  Tags: Jordan Mbchb Student Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem