I've moved!!

Hey guys, I've moved my blog to lifeofagemstudent@wordpress.com ! Go read about my days there :) xx

The Final Stretch

I can't really believe I'm typing this but I'm on my last module of year 1! How crazy is that?! It seems like just yesterday that I was the one attending the offers open day and nervously meeting new people yet now I'm the one giving advice! 

Our last module is endocrine and is the shortest module of the year. Don't let this fool you though, there is tons of information packed in on top of revision for exams (which are in five weeks eek!) 

I've been trying to figure out the best method to revise and just bought some coloured pens which (as silly as it sounds) have really revived my revision! My boring old notes now look beautiful and colourful...which hopefully means I'll remember them! I'm trying to make little summary pages for each main disease or pathology ready for the MEQs (modified essay questions) and am really focussing on pharmacology which seems to be my weak point. If anyone has any useful revision tips let me know! 

Hope everyone's exam/GAMSAT/ukcat prep is going well :) I'll leave you with something I'm trying to work on myself - No matter how stressed you are, just take a minute to think and remind yourself of all the things you have achieved so far! You can do this! 

Work Experience

I've had a lot of questions about work experience needed for medicine so thought I'd do a quick post about it.

Most med school open days will give you some indication of how highly they view work experience/volunteering in their application process but sometimes it can be difficult to tell how much you really need.

First of all, I would say that quality over quantity definitely applies here! No matter how much experience you get, if you have nothing to say about it at interview it is useless. 

When I first started voluteering (I probably fall into the too much volunteering category), I had something on every day of the week - scouts, buddy reading, care home help, stroke club etc - and used to attend and participate enthusiastically BUT I never really thought about what I was doing or what I was learning! BIG MISTAKE! It was only once I started reading interview prep books (which I highly recommend) that I realised I needed to be able to apply my volunteering and work experience to my answers.

A good tip I got from someone is to keep a mini diary - each time you go to your volunteering or work expereince sit for a few minutes afterwards and think about what you did. Jot down anything important. If you had a leadership role that day, write about it! If you had to deal with a difficult situation, write about that! Anything that you can talk about in interview, make a note of it! It will save you a lot of time and effort later on :) 

In terms of how much to do and what stuff to do- it really is a personal choice! 
Personally I think its great if you have something continuous for a longer period of time to show dedication. So for example I helped at a care home only around twice a month but did it for four years. Anything longer than a few months helps to show that you arent just doing it to look good on your application, but because you genuinely want to be involved! 
A variety of experience will be beneficial for future experiences with patients, but if all of your experience focuses on one thing (such a children) then this is also fine. Especially if you want to go into paeds! :) 

At the end if the day, you're going to learn a lot more from something you enjoy and are passionate about than something you view as a chore or a means to an end! Make the most of it and learn as much as you can about yourself and others from it.

Post Easter Update

Hello!

Im so sorry I havent posted since January! So much has been happening!
So in my last post I said I was about to have my first OSCE which I did really well in just forgetting a few things in my history taking. Since then we have had another OSCE for Limbs and Back which I got 97% for! So happy with my progress in these exams and feels that it shows that I can do this and have all the 'people' skills I need! :)

My new PBL group at first was quite daunting but now that I'm used to the 'big characters' its actually really enjoyable. That said, I find people don't put as much effort into their presentations which means more work for me to do! Although it isnt an ideal situation, I suppose I have to learn everything for myself in the end anyway!

Limbs and back has been my absolute favourite module as it was basically all anatomy based- which having done so much including dissection in my undergrad really is my strength! Most people on the course and especially in my PBL group really struggled and hated it, so I did my best to help people out and share any tips or nmeumonics I had! I am now known as the anatomy queen in my PBL group which is actually quite lovely as I'm not the most confident or forthcoming person so its a real compliment! :)

We are now onto Alimentary module, our penultimate module of this year (how scary is that?!)! We already have tons of work to do along with a reflective essay about the whole year so I'm currently trying to write that ... Which if I'm honest is just horrendously boring.

Since I last posted I've also been made President of Climbing at UNaD! How exciting!! I cant wait to get involved in freshers fair and recruit loads of new people! Its also fun to tell people as noone expects me to be able to climb (Go me!).

I recently did an open day for the university and had so many questions about the workload and how to survive GAMSAT so I'll so a post on that soon!

First OSCE

Hey guys, I've been so super busy oh my gosh!

So Christmas was lovely but I spent the majority of it either working as a HCA or doing uni work!We have officially finished our third module now and are changing PBL groups next week! :O

I have another set of formative exams, including my first OSCE (practical clinical skills exam) which will involve five minutes of respiratory examination, five minutes of cardio examination and a ten minute history taking session. After a lot of practice with my friends and family, I'm feeling pretty confident for this so fingers crossed!

In terms of my new PBL group, I'm going to be so sad to leave my current group who have been AMAZING...but it will be good to see how other people manage PBL and integrate with some different people. Having found out who our group members will be I've realised that I'm going to have to get over my shyness and lack of self confidence otherwise I will never be taken seriously!
It occurred to me last week that I add 'maybe' to the end of all my statements in PBL- something I really need to stop!! All this does is make others doubt me and leads to a lack of respect for my opinions and answers... not good in medicine!

I hope you guys have all heard good news from med schools if you've applied and good luck for any interviews!!

Christmas cheer.

So that's it! My first term at medical school is FINISHED!
It has been amazing and busy and so interesting, but I really do need this break. After the constant stream of work and preparation for each week, I can't wait to just have some time to spend with my friends and family. I do have some revision and a reflective essay to write, but I feel that despite this I will be able to work a bit (student life really is expensive) and just relax :)

I hope you guys have been getting some good news from medical schools and have interviews to prepare for! Have a wonderful Christmas :D

Life Savers

Last night I worked a shift on 'Step down' which is where patients are sent if they aren't sick enough for ICU but are too sick to go to a ward.

At first the shift was pretty horrendous, the nurses were too busy to really explain what I needed to do and so until I found out what was expected of me I felt very much like a spare part...

But then something great happened... an F2 turned up. An F2 who used to be a GEM and who was so enthusiastic about her job and medicine that she spent a good portion of her night teaching me!
Honestly, I was thanking God all night for her appearance (Step down units really aren't a HCA strong place- there isn't much I can do when the patients are that poorly)!

This F2 allowed me to watch her perform examinations, explained ECGs to me in the most simple, perfect way, explained all the blood tests and liver function tests and then taught me how to take blood! Not bad to what I thought was going to be a write off of a shift!

Doctors who have that much enthusiasm and love for their job are the people who inspire me to work harder and be the best I can be, especially when my GP tutor spends all her time telling me she wishes she'd done dentistry! Medicine is a vocation, and meeting doctors like this F2 give me great faith in my future profession and our healthcare system :) I only hope in 4 years I will be like her and have the ability to inspire and teach a HCA in my position.

GP placement #2

Today was my second GP placement and it was so good!!

Because we have now done a bit of history taking and respiratory examination, I got to practice my new found skills on real patients! The best bit was that I actually managed to pick up coarse crackles on auscultation without being told they were there, needless to say the GP was quite impressed :D

The more I visit GP practices the more interested I become...you see such a variety and interesting collection of cases each day and get such a huge amount of patient contact. It is something that I'm considering much more now than I ever was before, however I'm aware that I have more than 4 years to make a decision so I'm sure I'll change my mind again!

We have nearly finished out second module already, which seems crazy considering it's only November! Thinking about how much I've learnt in this short 2 months just amazes me...credit to all the lecturers and facilitators!

Life is zooming past...

Wow! I've been so crazy busy that I haven't updated this blog for weeks!

So I had my first GP visit forever ago and have my second one next week (super excited).
The first one was great, the GP I was supposed to be with was off ill so I got re-assigned to another GP at the practice who turned out to be amazing! In the past on placements I have been placed in the corner and forgotten about but this time the GP made every effort to include me in the consultation and allowed me to practice ear examinations and some chest auscultation. Even though I hadn't yet been taught these skills, the GP explained them so well that I felt like I could actually see/hear what i was looking for and actually managed to find the wheeze in the patients chest...score!
The amazing thing about this GP visit was that every single patient (apart form maybe two) actually had the same diagnoses as our PBL topics! Because of this I felt like I could actually discuss the cases with the Dr without looking clueless- a big advantage!

Also since I last posted I have completed my first formative exam....and passed! :D Our exams are done as multiple choice questions (MCQs) and modified essay questions (MEQs) with the pass mark in both being set at 60%. I hadn't really known what to expect question or marking wise so came out of the exam feeling less than great about my performance, but after two weeks of waiting found out that I achieved 73% overall!
In my undergrad degree I would probably have been very happy about this, and still am but feel I could have achieved more if I'd looked at more of the diagrams in the lectures.
From this I've decided to stop writing up notes and have started typing them so I can copy+paste pictures in...hopefully this will help for my revision in this next module.

Time is just going so quickly at the moment, it's crazy to think I'm already halfway through my second module as a medic but I'm enjoying life so much that I'm not even thinking about it!

I hope people's GAMSAT scores were what they wanted, but if not, I know of at least 6 people on my course who had to sit it more than 5 times before they got what they needed - so don't be too disheartened!

Week Three.

Hey guys, I've been so busy I totally forgot to write a new post!
This week has been really busy both in uni and outside of it with two of my (new) friends birthdays happening this weekend! When they say Medics work hard and play harder, they're really not lying! I honestly don't think I even went out this much during my undergrad degree, but am glad that I can say that I'm not behind on any work because of it!

Our PBL cases for this week and last week have been really interesting and you can really tell that our group is getting the hang of PBL and what it requires. On the second day of each case we each present our specific topic relating to the case...at first I thought this would be 2 hours of powerpoint presentations but it's been great! People have gotten really inventive with ways in which to teach and test the new information to the whole group, which is just credit to them really! :) We have also decided to do a quiz at the end of each case which was proven to be amazing to revision. Also helped by the fact that the girls win every week!

At the moment a lot of the work is still revision from my previous degree, but it's amazing how much you assume you know but realise you have actually forgotten whilst sat in the lectures! One of my favourite differences between my past degree and this one is how the lectures here relate everything (no matter how big or small) back to a clinical situation. It really helps to put into perspective why we are learning each point.

This week is our last week of teaching for module 1 before we have our first formative exam. Even though this exam doesn't count towards any actual grades I think it's great to be able to monitor our progress and hope that my hard work has been paying off! Even though we get a week to revise for this first exam (we never get this ever again) I've already started on my trusty A3 revision posters and spider diagrams. Considering how well these worked in my last two years of Medical Sci I'm hoping they still help me now! Fingers crossed!

Also this week is my first GP placement visit...how exciting?! I'm pretty much the last student to go on mine but still am unsure what exactly to expect. I'm quite timid when I first meet people so I need to make sure I put my confident face on and make the most of the afternoon instead of just sitting in the corner haha! Wish me luck and I'll try and write a post on what I learnt!

How are people's UCAS applications going? Almost time to send them off!

Week Two Reflections

Having now finished my second week as a GEM student, I can safely say that I'm thoroughly enjoying the course so far! We successfully finished our first PBL case and got brilliant feedback from our facilitator on our ideas, organisation and team work- yay for group 11 :).

One of the core concepts of PBL is for the cases and questions that arise to trigger our curiosity and therefore make the learning experience less of a chore and more of an investigation into something that genuinely interests you. So far, this has worked really well... as we all discuss the case people come up with the most intriguing points that I may never have thought of myself. Even the non-science background members of the group who think they may be asking an obvious or stupid question often ask something which makes you realise how much you've actually forgotten! The variety of opinions, knowledge bases and ideas really does simulate the multi disciplinary team that we will all encounter within Medicine.

The only downside is the amount of money I've spent on events! Instead of choosing student friendly pubs and student nights at clubs the GEMs seem to go for the more upmarket (replace with expensive) places and so my funds are decreasing dramatically. I feel more HCA shifts may need to be done this year... although hopefully now that Fresher's is well and truly over it will calm down a bit!

First week is over!

My first week as a medical student is finished and what a week! We have had so many introductions to modules, PBL (Problem Based Learning) and the library services it's unreal. Oh and not to forget the meet ups, nights out and fancy dress party...

I have now met the majority of my course mates and everyone seems lovely (obviously, or they probably wouldn't have a place...). Not only that but everyone is up for helping each other and explaining things without making the other person feel inferior. I have adopted three housemates and so already have a brilliant friendship circle and a place to stay after nights out- very handy! After three nights out I'm very used to sharing with one of the girls or slumming it on the sofa. Now that fresher's week is effectively over I think we will all settle down a bit and give my liver a much needed break! :)

Our course begins properly on Monday with our first workshops, lectures and PBL sessions, which I am very much looking forward to, despite still being a little unsure as to how exactly it is all going to work! I recently read a very good article on survival tips for PBL (12 tips to surviving PBL by Bate & Taylor, 2013) which was fully referenced and gave a number of brilliant ideas and things to ensure the group get the most out of each session. Trying my best to keep in mind all the tips and hope that the other 6 members of my group have read the same article. Both my group and facilitator seem very enthusiastic about the PBL section of the course and each member has come from a different background leaving us with a wide variety of strengths and expertise! The fact that we have agreed to bring cake every Friday makes it all seem 100x better aswell. I'm sure I will write much more about PBL once our sessions get underway!

The next time I post you will most likely have sat the GAMSAT so good luck and don't panic!

First Impressions.

Since my last post I have bought my car, sorted out my parking space and have found out my tutor, mentor and PBL and clinical skills groups! Everything's coming together so quickly!

So a bit about what I know so far... My PBL group is the only group with 7 members as opposed to 8 which I'm hoping wont affect how much work we have to do! One of the people in my group is a guy who I had met at the meet ups and I am so happy I'm with him as he is from a science background like me! Hurrah- someone to help me explain things to those who may not know!
Our clinical skills group contains 22 people so I'm unsure how that is going to work, whether we further divide ourselves or not but I'm sure the Uni have that all figured out.

Over the next two weeks my schedule is full of meet ups, BBQs and nights out to meet not only my year group but the 2nd years as well. Compared to my previous degree, I'm already amazed at the cohesion in our group and how helpful and willing to share information people are! This gives me great hope that we will all be great friends and work together to achieve our dream!

I can't wait to meet the full group and make some new friends. Lets just hope I make a good first impression! :)

Run off my feet.

Last night I did my first night shift since early July and boy what a shift it was. Our night shifts are from 7pm to 7.30am so 12.5 hours of fun and games....

I arrived on the ward (which holds 28 patients) to find there were only four staff for the night, two nurses and two HCAs. At first I thought this must be a good sign - if only four staff were needed then the patients must generally be okay and it shouldn't be too busy. How wrong was I?! About 3/4 of my patients were all care patients, most of whom should not have even been on the gastroenterolgy ward. Five of my patients were scoring so highly on our early warning system (this scores observations, so normal obs would score 0, whereas anything abnormal can score from 1-3 depending on the severity) that they should have been on a high dependency unit!

The shift was so manic, I was doing hourly and two hourly neuro observations on 4 patients, on top of all the usual turns, four hourly obs and general caring...which means as soon as you've finished you hardly have time to do anything else before starting again! On shifts like that it honestly all comes down to your colleagues as to whether it's a nightmare or just busy. Thankfully, the other 3 members of staff were lovely and supportive so we all pitched in together and got the job done without too much stress :)

Shifts like this make me question the organisation of the wards in terms of staffing levels and the patients they accept onto the ward. If the ward sister saw what it had been like last night (which is apparantly how it has been for the last few weeks) I have no doubts that he/she would organise for another HCA to work as well, but unfortunately the ward sisters do not work nights and so will never understand the need for improved staffing levels. Frankly, I believe that it puts the patients in danger. If one of us is on break and two members of staff are with a patient then that leaves just one nurse or HCA in charge of 27 other patients. Even the most experienced nurse shouldn't be expected to do that.  But it isn't my position to say anything as I am only a temp...

On a brighter note, the F1 doctor who spent almost all night on the ward had just finished the course I'm about to start on! It was so lovely to speak to someone who has completed the course, loved it and is actually in the dream job!

The Countdown.

3 weeks to go...

I FINALLY received my official confirmation of my place for Graduate Entry Medicine yesterday! No more hoops to jump through, i'm most definitely going to be a Medical Student..woohoo!

I just got back from my holidays and now realise that my to do list is getting longer and longer by the minute! I still haven't found a car, I have no idea where I'm going to park this non existent car and I need to buy all my supplies for uni including a new laptop and lab coat! That said, I'm just so super excited to start now!

I received my student number and email address today, along with all the freshers week information. There are already at least 15 clubs/societies I want to join. I'm going to have to short list them I think as I doubt I will have that much spare time, however there are some things that are already in my top few, such as the Catholic society (there wasn't one at my first university so I'm excited to meet some people my age who share my beliefs!) and the climbing club! There is also a Kettle Soc which I had never heard of before but considering my addiction to tea I can't wait to find out more!! Also because I'm such a keen bean I have already ordered a University hoodie... does this make me a bit crazy? I hope not!

I hope everyone's UKCAT went/are going well, and I hope the GAMSAT revision isn't becoming too much yet! Just hang in there and good luck :)

Holiday chill out!

Hey guys,

I haven't posted in a while and probably won't for a couple of weeks because I'm on holiday at the moment! I want this holiday to be super chilled and work free considering how stressed I was last year with GAMSAT, UKCAT etc :)

However, I wish you all the best of luck in your UKCAT exams and hope GAMSAT prep is going well!

So I'm a Graduate!

So yesterday I graduated!  I am officially one of the first to graduate from the University of South Wales and couldn't be more proud!

After the ceremony and all the photographs had been taken it was quite surreal to realise that I would most likely never visit the university again and that that chapter of my life is well and truly over...

My first university experience has been one filled with amazing memories and people who have helped me through the three years and taught me about life and myself. From meeting some of my best friends in freshers week to studying for finals together, university was always about teamwork and living life to the max! I will cherish these memories forever. :)
In addition to this, I have an incredible base of knowledge ready for Medicine in September! I don't think my course could have better prepared me for what it's like to study under pressure and succeed.

Thank you to everyone who helped me in my achievement and I can't wait to do you all proud again!

Graduation

So tomorrow is my GRADUATION! How exciting is that?

After tomorrow I will officially be a graduate and no longer a student (or at least until September!). I have no idea whats actually going on tomorrow as we have been told very little, just to arrive an hour before the ceremony. No information on where to collect gowns, caps or tickets! I very much hope it is sign posted or I find a friend to wander around with. I'm so excited to see all my friends again and to get that all important certificate.

Wish me luck and pray I don't trip on my way up! :)

Volunteering

Hey guys,

So this post is all about volunteering for your medical school application. I have done probably more volunteering than need be but it all paid off in the end! Quick list of the things I have done since school to give you an idea of the types of thing to get involved in: buddy reading, peer mentoring, cubs and scouts, youth club leader, old people's home, school band, St John ambulance, British Red Cross, stroke club, and finally working with disabled people.

Now I didn't NEED to do all of this volunteering, one or two things over a long period of time show great perserverance, dedication and compassion. The reason I did all this was just purely for my own enjoyment and my love of helping people! This said, volunteering is essential if you are going to apply for medicine. This doesn't mean you should just turn up at something every week for two years, it means you should find something you truely enjoy and look forward to. This means that when it comes to interview or your personal statement you will be able to show actual enthusiasm and passion for what you have contirbuted to and not that you've just done it for the sake of your application.

When it comes to your volunteering it's a good idea to keep a note of what you have done and how this has affected you or what you learnt from it. This way you are already reflecting on what you have done and can use this at interview. Even if it something menial such as helping a younger student learn to read, think about this helped you to communicate and improve your empathy. Everything you do can be reflected upon!

So guys, go out and ask at your school, Uni, Church or community group and find something that really catches your interest. Anything counts, it doesn't have to be in a care home or hospital. Once it relates to people and you are helping, then it's perfect. Start early, you don't want it to look like you've just done three months just before submitting you application, it needs to be long term. Make the most of what you are doing and really get involved with the people. You never know who you may meet or what difference you will make. And as a bonus itwill significantly improve your medicine application! Enjoy!

Getting there slowly

All of my previous posts have been written on my iPad and it is only now that I'm using my laptop that I have seen how to actually put post titles! I'm afraid I'm very new to this blogging business and so apologize if there are any other obvious mistakes or things I'm missing!

The reason I'm actually using my laptop now is because I have (finally) sorted my room out and unpacked everything from university :D I think I previously mentioned that I was house hunting with a group of future coursemates, but since then I have decided to save money and live at home (I live very close to the campus I will be studying at). Due to this, I thought I would spend some time rearranging my room and sorting everything out to make it ready for September! I'm actually quite proud of how it looks right now as I have managed to arrange my desk and bookcase so I effectively have a little study corner with everything I need for revision/ university work separate from my bed etc.

This means I have also finally sorted all of my work from my Medical Sciences degree into folders ready for quick reference if need be in the coming year! I feel incredibly organised right now and can't wait to fill up my shelves and folders with work in September!