TSR Med Students' Society Part III

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The end of third year was in March. I've done my 4th year SSM and now have a 5 week rotation before everyone who isn't intercalating has a 2 week 'summer' before going back out on placement through til Christmas.

Scotland is the land of riddles. That sounds somewhat confusing. So this will be the start of your clinical training then? Like the first time you are on wards for the majority of your time?

ps What was your SSM about?
pps when checking where you went to uni i saw you want to be an orthopod. Is it the all frail 91 year old womens fractured NOFs or the hitting things with hammers that appeals to you :colone:

Reply 3741

Dr. Hannibal Lecter

First year over and passed :h:

(with merit :ninja:

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Reply 3742

Becca-Sarah

Original post by sidewalkwhenshewalks

Yup, we're on wards 100% from now til graduation (elective and the odd tutorial aside). The years below me are clinical contact from day one, but we've only had a max of four hours a week previously.

SSM was comparing clinical effectiveness of two methods of ACL reconstruction :tongue:

The hammers. Definitely the hammers. Hows about you?

Reply 3743

Philosoraptor

Original post by Becca-Sarah

The hammers. Definitely the hammers. Hows about you?

Your system is messed up.

Reply 3744

Becca-Sarah

Original post by Philosoraptor

Your system is messed up.

I could have told you that!

Reply 3745

Philosoraptor

Original post by Becca-Sarah

I could have told you that!

Tbh I don't even understand it - you start some of clinics- but then because you'll be doing BSc you'll leave?

Will you then rejoin the course where you left it?

Reply 3746

visesh

We've got a pretty traditional set-up.

First year is anatomy (with dissection of cadavers from day one), physiology, biochemistry, medical sociology and an introduction to stats. In second year we do pharmacology, basic (i.e. not systemic or clincal) pathology, neuroscience and behaviour, human reproduction and endocrinology, an introduction to ethics and demography, and a 'special options' paper which can cover physiology/pathology/pharmacology/neurology/psychology in preparation for our third year.

For third year we can pretty much do any course the university has on offer(at first or second year level if it's something like languages/law/philosophy etc.) but the vast majority of people do a natural science 3rd year course (such as physiology, neuroscience, pathology, pharmacology, experimental psychology) with a lab based project or dissertation. The first three years lead to our BA degree, which is classified.

During these years we've got limited patient contact. In first year, we spend a few afternoons at a GP practice and interview patients at home. In second year we visit the wards for an afternoon and interview 2-3 patients, and between second and third year we spend 2 weeks with an allied health professional/charity/complementary medicine/etc. Finally, in third year, we interview a woman through her pregnancy a few times during the year. All of these are assessed by reflective essays.

Our terms are insanely short (3 x 8 week terms) and usually have little teaching in the final term (2-4 weeks).

Then for the next three years, we are on the wards most of the time. We get a few 'review and integration' weeks between placements where we've got lectures and seminars in clinical medicine, clinical pathology, ethics, public health and law, palliative care and communication skills sessions. About 80-90% of the time is ward based. Specialties-wise, we do general medicine and surgery in fourth year, with about 8-10 days in GP interspersed and are assessed by an OSCE and a formative MCQ paper. There is also an SSC at the end of the year (which can be lab based if you like...)

In fifth year, we have blocks of neurology/rheumatology/orthopaedics, oncology, infectious disease, cardiology/respiratory/cardiothoracic surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology and psychiatry. We have 2 weeks of GP during each block and are assessed at the end of each block with either an osce or a written paper. These are 'must-pass' formative assessments. At the end of the year we take Final MB papers in clinical pathology and Final MB OSCEs in O+G and paeds.

In final year we start off with our elective and then do a month of general practice, a month-long SSC, acute care (A&E, anaesthetics, intensive care), general medicine and general surgery, and two 'longitudinal SSCs'. Then come another net of Final MB exams in ethics/law/public health, written papers covering pretty much everything from years 1,2,4,5,6 with a skew towards clinical stuff and OSCEs in communication skills and clinical examinations.

Reply 3747

sidewalkwhenshewalks

Original post by Becca-Sarah

The hammers. Definitely the hammers. Hows about you?

I want to be a medic, so I can complain about orthopods and hate my life.

as for my course we do about 20 cases a year, covering the most common pathologies, covering physiology along with that and doing anatomy that is broadly related with dissections etc etc. All the other stuff (public health, microbiology etc) is mixed in sort of at random.
for instance last semester was

Stroke / swallowing disorders
Peptic Ulcers / gastritis
Pancreatitis
Colorectal Carcinoma
Diabetes Mellitus
Hepatitis
Urinary retention
Diabetes Mellitus 1 : part 2; this time its personal

with all the associated pharm, phys, anatomy, clinical and pyschosocial. In cancer we covered other cancers and broadly chemo and in Urinary retention we covered diuretics and glumulonephritis etc etc. It basically boiled down to reading the kidney, GI and metabolic chapters in Guyton and K&C until my eyes bled.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 3748

Becca-Sarah

Original post by Philosoraptor

Tbh I don't even understand it - you start some of clinics- but then because you'll be doing BSc you'll leave?

Will you then rejoin the course where you left it?

Yup. The blocks are all done in a certain order, so I just rejoin the same 'section' after next year's summer break. I'm thinking that it'll be good cos I get an idea of what clinics are like, so I know exactly what I'm coming back to (Babies and Boobies - not exactly motivation to come back :tongue:

)

Reply 3749

Philosoraptor

Original post by Becca-Sarah

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Clinics is amazing! I can't wait for this torture to end!!!

Enjoy next year :colone:

Reply 3750

Becca-Sarah

Original post by Philosoraptor

Clinics is amazing! I can't wait for this torture to end!!!

Enjoy next year :colone:

You were part of the reason I turned down the Surgery iBSc :yes:

Reply 3751

Renal

Original post by sidewalkwhenshewalks

I want to be a medic, so I can complain about orthopods and hate my life.

I want to be a gas man so I can complain about everyone and love my life :wink:

Reply 3752

Philosoraptor

Original post by Becca-Sarah

You were part of the reason I turned down the Surgery iBSc :yes:

Haha and you're doing which one again - you've TOTALLY told me this already - i've just forgotten...

Reply 3753

sidewalkwhenshewalks

Original post by Renal

I want to be a gas man so I can complain about everyone and love my life :wink:

What is anaesthetics like in reality? It's not all crosswords and surgeon baiting surely?

Reply 3754

Becca-Sarah

Original post by Philosoraptor

Haha and you're doing which one again - you've TOTALLY told me this already - i've just forgotten...

Biomedical Engineering. Roll on the summer of learning A Level Physics from scratch... :rolleyes:

Reply 3755

Philosoraptor

Original post by Becca-Sarah

Biomedical Engineering. Roll on the summer of learning A Level Physics from scratch... :rolleyes:

I know quite a few people who did that course (a lot want to do medicine/dentistry).

I've no idea what that's about but sounds like I'd find that even worse :p:

...

However if you like the topics you'll be fine

Reply 3756

Renal

Original post by sidewalkwhenshewalks

What is anaesthetics like in reality? It's not all crosswords and surgeon baiting surely?

Mostly.

There's the occasional punter to put to sleep and every now and again we have to rebuild an APL valve or gas monitor on the fly, there's sometimes the need to play with someone's physiology, maybe the opportunity to stick a long bit of plastic and silicon into someone's body and occasionally we even wake the patients up.

But on the subject of physiology; I was doing a lap chole this morning. Everything happened as textbook; the tube displaced as the intra-abdominal pressure increased, we saw the tidal volume decrease in real time (we were on pressure control) with an associated drop in EtCO2, we watched the cardiac output increase briefly as the abdominal veins were compressed and then fall slightly below normal with the drop in preload and there was some bradycardia with parasympathetic vagal stimulation. And we did some stuff about it.

Reply 3757

visesh

That was a rock-hard MCQ paper today. Jeebus. Pretty unexpected based on past form!

Reply 3758

lekky

just got back from the bright lights of glasgow to the leafy middle class middle england suburbia to find a collapsed teen outside my neighbours house.. never thought that the first time I help a collapsed drunk would be here!

I've actually never seen someone so drunk they're in that state, and that really is saying something. she was collapsed and shaking and completely unconscious.