Category: ICSM

second year in five words

MBBS/BSc Medicine

My 2nd Year of Medical School was a rollercoaster to say the least.  I’m going to use a couple of words to describe what was probably the most interesting year of my life so far.

hectic.

2nd Year was such a blur to me. I remember starting the year off by becoming a ‘medic parent’ to my lovely children who were 1st Year medics. It’s a great tradition we have here at Imperial (and quite a few other unis) where you’re given the option to have parents in the year above you who guide you through the year and can act as a support system especially in those first few weeks of university.

how NOT to revise

MBBS/BSc Medicine

I’d love to say I’ve spent all of my easter break revising super efficiently for my exams, but sadly this is not the case. I’ve spent way too much time ‘relaxing’ and was lucky enough to spend a couple of days in Paris. The second year of my course, medicine, is rumoured to be the hardest year of them all. Not necessarily because the content is particularly tricky, but because of the timing. Second year so far has been a whirlwind, and now we’ve got three summative exams in the space of five days in early May.

This blog post was never going to be me telling you how to revise for your exams in medical school- I’m simply not qualified to give advice on studying, (especially advice I can’t even stick to) as it truly is very subjective and depends on your own learning style and what works best for you.

you know my name?

MBBS/BSc Medicine

#YKMN

Earlier this month on the 12th March, I had the privilege of being on the committee of the 2019 ICSM RAG Fashion Show and it was an incredible experience. Our theme ‘You Know My Name’ (abbreviated to YKMN) was centred very much on the concept of identity and the perception others hold of you. We all form preconceptions of people based on their name, they way the dress, what their hair is like etcetera. One of the aims of our theme was to try and deconstruct these stereotypes we apply to people and appreciate how much more there can be to an individual.

New Year, Same Me?

MBBS/BSc Medicine

London → Cardiff

Being at home away from the busy life of London has given me time to reflect on my fourth term at Imperial. It was a really hectic term that ended on a high with a great firms placement. If you don’t know what I’m talking about click here where I share my thoughts on being on the hospital wards for the first time. My holiday consisted of me generally relaxing (watching a lot of Netflix), spending time with family and drinking various Christmas flavoured hot chocolate. I’m back in London now feeling somewhat relaxed and ready to get back in to the swing of a new academic term.

A Day in the life of a Medic: Firms Edition

MBBS/BSc Medicine

After a long and cold term of lectures in second year Medicine, you have this new and exciting thing called a Firm. The light at the end of the Pharm-Endo-Neuro-MCD tunnel.  Basically, it’s an introductory three week placement in an allocated speciality in a hospital in London (is Hounslow really London?!) You are assigned in groups of five or so, and are given NHS ID cards for your respective hospital (major perk here). I’m going to run you through my time on my firm in the Acute Medical Unit at my hospital.

The first thing to do is get lost in your chosen hospital.

#NHS70 – Reflections of a medical student

MBBS Medicine

Twitter: @malamawkin | Instagram: @malamawkin

This week marks the 70th anniversary of the NHS and the celebrations are really inspiring. A couple of years ago when the junior doctor contract strikes occurred in my 3rd year the outlook felt quite bleak for a career in the NHS. Many of my friends considered switching career paths and I think we all felt quite unsure of how our working life would be shaped by the changes. However, 2 years on and now about to start final year…there really is a different mood in the air.

We know that the life of a junior doctor is going to be hard, and we know that it will be a shock from medical school life.

Doing an exam on our Ipad- Pathology 2018

MBBS Medicine

Twitter: @malamawks | Instagram: @malamawkin

As you know, Imperial gives all of us medical students an iPad which we use to get a whole range of resources. This includes eBooks for modules, we complete our sign offs for hospital placements on it and even have revision tools on it. However, this was the first time I have completed an actual end-of-year summative exam on the iPad and it was really interesting.

So the exam was the Pathology exam (5th year exam) on Monday which covered Microbiology, Immunology, Haematology, Histopathology, Chemical Pathology and Ethics & Law. It was 175 questions with 50 of them being very short answer questions (vsa).

Confessions of a Medical Student: Dropping Out and Other Thoughts

MBBS/BSc Medicine

As the academic year comes to an end, I thought I’d reflect on my first year at university.

Here’s the thing- we all have a tendency to sugarcoat. We share all the good, but seldom the ‘bad’ times. Sure, there’s the occasional (or frequent) posts about workload and stress; but how many of us actually openly share our experiences when the goings get really tough? Following my last blogpost, I’d really like to keep the honesty streak going.

First term was a bit of a nightmare for me- it was almost a process of trying to rediscover myself in a sense.

I Don’t Belong At Imperial?!

MBBS/BSc Medicine

This is the one where I open up.

“Imposter syndrome is a recognised phenomenon, first identified by psychologists in 1978, and describes a feeling that your achievements are undeserved and the fear of being exposed as a fraud. Those with imposter syndrome tend to feel that luck rather than ability lies behind their successes.” (1)

Getting into Imperial was a massive deal for me. I had not planned to apply at all- but I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life looking back with what ifs. I didn’t think I was smart enough. I’ve always had a fluctuating impression of myself; ranging from borderline conceited to possessing a pretty low self esteem.

Revising for 5th Year Clinical Medical Exams

MBBS Medicine

Twitter: @malamawks | Instagram: @malamawkin

It really is that time of year again…the stress levels are rising and 5th year exams are approaching. We have about 6 weeks left until our first exam and although that sounds a while away still, there is a lot to cover. On top of this, we are still attending our hospital attachments daily.

I wanted to share with you a few resources that I am using to help me through this revision period this year, hopefully it can help anyone else revising for clinical exams and not sure where to start!

  • Brainscape: Imperial Medicine students past and present have made flashcards on this amazing app that is a great revision tool.

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