Adventures of a medical student

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I have been very inactive on here recently! I am really enjoying my time at uni and plan on doing some form of update in the relatively near future. So far we’ve mainly been recapping a levels along with a few other different themes alongside it.

Work is pretty hectic though as my parents both want to come visit (all of us are in level one areas so as long as we socially distance it’s all good and they both want to come in case they can’t soon) but can’t do the same day and have both so I am seeing them in two separate ones but that means all my work for the week has less time to be done so I have spent the day doing about 2 days of lectures.

Reply 61

Humairazaman

Original post by DGeorge13

Hello Everyone and Welcome to My New Blog

I had so much fun making my blog last year that I have been persuaded to do another one. It is probably going to be more of an occasional update type thing as opposed to every week as I doubt I will have the opportunity to update more than that - being an adult seemingly looks way busier than I could comprehend and studying medicine isn't exactly going to lend itself to lots of updates if I want to do anything outside my course .

The Stats ( I know it's overrated and frequents most blogs but it might be useful for someone)

GCSEs: Biology - 9, Chemistry - 9, English Language - 9, English Literature - 9, Geography - 9, History - 9, Mathematics - 9, Physics - 9, Religious Studies - 9, Spanish - 9
A levels: Biology - A*, Chemistry - A*, Mathematics - A*, Extended Project Qualification - a*
UCAT 2019 for 2020 entry - VR - 640, DM - 710, QR - 740, AR - 770, SJT band 3 (my score was in the top decile for my year)
Unis applied to: Bristol - MBChB, Exeter - BMBS, Newcastle - MBBS, Norwich - MBBS
Decisions : Bristol offer , Exeter offer, Newcastle offer, Norwich offer

In the end I firmed Bristol and when on results day I met my grades my place was unconditional firmed.

About Me

When I looked over my last blog I realised I hadn't really said much about me so below are 5 facts
1. I am from the South of England - I live in the home counties and my parents families are both from South London
2. I'm left handed as are my mum, dad and sister
3. I'm vegetarian
4. I am a bit addicted to studying
5. I probably drink more coffee than most people my age because it's just so good

My Plans for the Year

1. Hopefully pass the first year of uni (I have completely got imposter syndrome and don't think I'm really good enough to study medicine - I thought my offers were all mistakes and my grades. Luckily I know that lots of people struggle with this)
2. Meet new people (perhaps harder due to Coronavirus than in previous years - especially when in person socialising is more my scene than the internet)
3. Not completely lose touch with my parents
4. Get my parents to accept that it is highly likely entering uni that you will be average or below (I accepted this a long time ago but they really need to change their expectations)
5. Actually manage to do all those responsible administrative things that I now have new found respect for my parents for managing

I hope this is everything for now

Spoiler

As an aspiring medic in year 12, your journey is an inspiration to me. Could I be tagged please? :smile:

Reply 62

username3822514

Original post by Humairazaman

As an aspiring medic in year 12, your journey is an inspiration to me. Could I be tagged please? :smile:

I think I’ve done it

Reply 63

messy accountant

Original post by DGeorge13

Nice to hear that you are enjoying it. It will be nice to see your parents. I don't think my son is even going to come for XMas as Glasgow is near lockdown. They have not got any in person lessons and everything is online. He does enjoy it though.

Reply 64

username3822514

Original post by messy accountant

Yes everything is online here too although my friends on other courses are having in person. At least it keeps you busy

Reply 65

Oxford Mum

Original post by messy accountant

Glad your son is enjoying himself

Reply 66

Oxford Mum

Original post by DGeorge13

Glad you are enjoying yourself on the course and being busy. Have they let you on the wards yet? My son is having to do lots of online courses instead and has yet to come face to face with any patients. I am also very pleased you appear to be coping well. It's challenging but doable.

It will be wonderful for you to see your parents. You have no idea how much parents miss their children whilst they are away at uni. I have not seen younger son since I dropped him off in the summer.

Reply 67

messy accountant

Original post by Oxford Mum

Glad your son is enjoying himself

Thanks, yeah he is really enjoying Glasgow as a city and has made some nice friends.

Reply 68

username3822514

Original post by Oxford Mum

I think the plan is that we will do an HCA shift at some point in the new year although I'm not really too sure as it kind of understandably depends on what happens with the pandemic. Normally we would be a month off of starting our CBL which should be really exciting as at the moment we are really just recapping A level content with a bit of: anatomy, psychology, sociology, ethics, law, communication skills and whole person care . It sounds a lot come to think of it but it doesn't really feel it - I'm probably working a similar amount to a levels in fairness. This year because of the pandemic we aren't starting CBL until after Christmas but it does mean we get our formative exam out of the way before the holidays so can have a bit of a break.

Reply 69

Oxford Mum

Original post by DGeorge13

I must admit it seems more sensible to learn a bit of theory before stepping onto the wards for the first time.

I am thrilled that you are coping well.

Reply 70

messy accountant

Original post by DGeorge13

I think most medical courses are following the same procedures.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 71

username3822514

Original post by messy accountant

I think most medical courses are following the same procedures.

True. I’m glad the exam is before Christmas as even though it is formative it still means I can just use Christmas to catch up on some notes put everything in folders and do flash cards which will only be a few hours a day maximum apart from the important days. We did our first progress test and it was definitely an experience.

Reply 72

messy accountant

Original post by DGeorge13

My son did his couple of weeks ago. Was it multiple choice? his was. He found it okay. the only problem he has is that the halls wifi is not that good so he went to the uni library to sit the exam. Are you planning to go home for Xmas (of course rule permitting). He is not sure as his exam is on the 18th and he wants to do the exam in Glasgow and there are also a lot of his friends who are not going home so he may decide to spend with his mates.

Reply 73

username3822514

Original post by messy accountant

It is multiple choice thank goodness. Hopefully it will be better than the progress test which was definitely an experience after 4 weeks at uni.

Reply 74

username3822514

A couple of weeks until my exams...
I had completely forgotten that the foundations exam was split into two parts so I got a bit of a shock when the notification came through with our notices for the week. Luckily all in the same day though and they are only formative but a pass would still give me some confidence... it’s on the 17th which will be at home after a couple of weeks of online only teaching. I will probably do a proper update soon as the next two weeks are a lot emptier touch wood with only about 11 pages of ILOs between them thank goodness and a few workshop type things which hopefully won’t result in too many flash cards so I will probably do a bit more formal revision as opposed to just flash cards through spaced repetition but will most likely procrastinate and end up updating

Reply 75

username3822514

Im really looking forward to the weekend after this one as I’ll actually be able to relax a bit because my exams will be over. I have a few days of revision planned as we have no new content until the new year and some flash cards I want to make as well . I’ve gone through the ILO document and checked I have things for all of them and worked out the bits I need to devote more time to. We’ve had a few practice things organised by second years that have been ok but I keep convincing myself that the exam will be way harder than the things from the practise sessions which I did fine on

Reply 76

username3822514

One more day until my exams are over

Reply 77

username3822514

I've finally finished for the year and I must say I'm jolly pleased to have a good break lined up. My first term at medical school has been eventful and so busy but also so interesting and exciting. It's very strange though at how fast the time has gone because at the beginning of October I had just started my time at medical school and now I am well into the first year. In many ways I feel like I don't know that much more when I started but when reflecting on the opportunities I have been given I realise this is definitely not the case...

My experience in general
I have absolutely loved uni so far although that doesn't mean everything has been straightforward either! When I arrived, I remember having a lot of mixed emotions as I was driven into Bristol where I will be doing my medicine degree. The city itself is huge but also very green which is very different to where I am from which although a city is absolutely tiny in comparison and feels far more like a town.

I was shown the room and given time to unpack my things with one of my parents allowed to see at a time due to Coronavirus restrictions and then went off to the supermarket with some people to get some shopping - due to a lot of the restrictions that have been in place the supermarket trips have honestly been some of the highlights of my social life as I'm not into drinking and this has been a chance to do something with people and it has always been hilarious trying to walk the shopping back from the shop as we go about 30 minutes away from the halls to get there. My first evening felt very strange but I did start settling in I guess and spent the weekend getting lost around Bristol.

I signed up to various societies and have been going to various socials which has been a good way to meet people but due to restrictions so far everything has been online and I am very much looking forward to the chance to go to these events when they are in person.

The Course: Overview
So far we have done an introductory unit to the various disciplines that are later integrated throughout the course. I have really enjoyed this block as whilst basically an a level recap and therefore at times not the most exciting - some of the people I have spoken to in older years have confirmed that the case based learning cycles we start in January are definitely more interesting - it has served as a useful bridge from the long hiatus we all had from studying due to the pandemic and has reminded me I am not quite as clueless as I feel most of the time. After Christmas we move onto fortnightly cases in case based learning which sees all of the relevant disciplines integrated into the cases along with clinical placement and other supplementary sessions.

Foundations of Medicine Unit
As I have mentioned, the first unit at Bristol is called Foundations of Medicine and provides a general overview of the basic disciplines that underpin medicine in a way that bridges the gap between previous study and the degree. To be fair, whilst not unique to Bristol, this is one of the things that ended up swaying me toward choosing Bristol for medicine as I felt it would help ease me into things.

The first week was an introduction week and involved a series of lectures - online due to COVID 19 - about welcoming us to the medical school and the various forms of support available and programmes we needed to be confident with technologically. We also had a talk about careers and all of the various options that a medicine degree might open up generally speaking - I still very much see the appeal of a full time job and following the traditional route but it is good to know about the other various things you can do with the degree at an early stage I guess. We had one course related lecture around behavioural and social sciences in the first week where we had the opportunity to hear from a guest speaker which was really inspiring and prepared us for our tutorial the next week.

In the first term there were lectures on: basic biochemistry, introductory physiology, introductory neuroscience, basic histology, an overview of genetics, anatomy (general overview of various systems) and some introductory embryology in terms of the basic sciences. These were spread out with lectures on ethics, behavioural and social sciences, lectures on the arts of medicine, evidence based medicine and a wide variety of professionalism lectures and disability, diversity and disadvantage activites. We also had tutorials relating to ethics, behavioural and social sciences, evidenced based medicine and arts. These activities really helped me feel less weighed down by the other scientific content and made the introduction seem more relatable to the eventual goal of medical school.

As well as this, we were also lucky enough to have 4 placements arranged virtually and some consultation skills tutorials which enabled us to really focus on developing an appreciation for the role of doctors and the various skills we need to start thinking about.

The Bristol Foundations Course culminates with an educational conference where you produce a presentation, piece of art work and in previous years a scientific poster in a group. Obviously this year it was more challenging but we were still tasked with preparing a presentation and art piece in a group to summarise our learning. I very much enjoyed seeing all of the various pieces of work by the groups as they were all so interesting.

A typical week
I don't feel like my summary would be complete without perhaps offering perspective to anyone considering applying that may stumble across this of a typical week - a piece of information that seems illusive when applying as obviously no week is the same. Hopefully in non-COVID times it would be more in person but it doesn't mean it isn't full still - obviously I also do things outside of lectures like reading or making flashcards, going over lectures, reviewing flashcards etc.

This is just a random week from the middle of the block (at the end things did seem to slow down a bit)
Monday - 10-11: Neuroscience lecture, 11-12: Group project work for conference project, a one hour ethics tutorial at some point in the day
Tuesday - 10-13: systems anatomy practical, 14-15: Lecture on Arts in medicine
Wednesday - 9-10: lecture on behavioural and social science, 10-11: Peer assisted learning, 11-12: physiology lecture
Thursday: 2 hour effective consulting tutorial , 2 hour physiology practical
Friday: 9-10: Genetics and development lecture, 11-13: debates, 14-15: TAB launch session (Team assessment of behaviour)

What I enjoyed the most
Without a doubt, I definitely enjoyed the opportunity to hear the stories from doctors and patients about their experiences and insights. This was both because you felt so lucky to be able to hear these but also they act as reminders about what all the work is for. They also are invaluable at making you consider the way you would approach a situation and thus serve to teach you so much about everything.

What I enjoyed least
I absolutely love medicine but the thing for me that is the worst is exams. Nobody tends to say exams are their favourite thing but this is definitely the case. Not because I dislike them necessarily but more the pressure to do well (even though they have all been formative to date and so far things don't count toward EPM thank goodness) that you tend to place on yourself even so.

What I learned
There is a lot I did learn even though a lot of the content was just recapping or building on prior areas as medicine is vast - my sister will corroborate that my learning outcomes document was rather extensive for the term and like nothing I had imagined despite knowing the subject was content heavy but I did manage to get it into my head (I hope) .

What I am excited for
In the new year I think we start placement in secondary care (we don't have details of the format yet but it will be a new experience nonetheless which will allow me more chances to develop and practise new skills). I am also excited for Christmas as with exams for the term done my plans for the holidays are minimal on the work front - going through my flashcards, finishing up the last few from last term, doing a small amount of pre-reading and anatomy consolidation and looking into opportunities that I may be able to find. image0 2.jpeg

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Done

I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus from tsr over Christmas to enjoy it but I’m kind of back now. We just found out teaching is online until at least mid February and so we are able to stay home