Ep 1: Life as a Medical Student

What is life really like as a medical student? In this episode, Medicine students Sarah, Elijah and Sarah give an insight into student life, including: What it was like to start at medical school; The teaching and learning style at Hull York Medical School; and life as a medical student and what they do outside of studying Medicine to have a work/life balance.

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Transcript

00:00:02 Sarah H 

Welcome to the first in a new series of podcasts about life as a medical student. My name is Sarah Mahmood and I am a second year medical student at Hull York Medical School. 

In this new series we will be chatting with medical students and about a range of different topics about studying medicine. 

So here we have two medical students with us here today. If you'd like to introduce yourselves?

00:00:25 Elijah 

Hi, I'm Elijah. I'm a first year medical student at Hull York Medical School and I did Gateway last year. 

00:00:32 Sarah F 

Hi, my name is Sarah. I'm a second year medical student at the Hull York Medical School and I also did Gateway. 

00:00:38 Sarah H 

Thank you, nice to meet you both, and so first of all we're just going to talk a little bit about how you feel about studying at medical school and how you felt when you first started here. So, Sarah? 

00:00:50 Sarah F 

I'd say I had a lot of expectations that medical school is going to be this big like prestigious thing, and I was kind of gonna be worried that I was going to fit in as a WP student, but going into Gateway that really helped because you kind of amongst a group of people who are all in a similar boat. 

And yeah, it was really easy to kind of ease into things and going into first year after that I think. 

Again, it was kind of a moment of all the workloads going to increase here. But yeah, I got back in. I got into it and yeah, I think it's a lovely environment. 

00:01:20 Sarah H 

Yeah, I'm really glad to hear about your positive experience so far. How about you, Elijah? 

00:01:24 Elijah 

Quite a similar experience. I was a little bit nervous that I maybe wouldn't fit in very well and that I might find the content more difficult than other people and stuff like that, but actually doing Gateway made me realise Medicine is for everyone and anyone can do Medicine if it's what you're passionate about. 

00:01:42 Elijah 

And all the tutors and the lecturers were so lovely and supportive through Gateway that it just made going into year one a lot easier. 

00:01:49 Sarah H 

That's absolutely fantastic to hear. 

So here at Hull York Medical School, the teaching style is quite integrated, so we have mixture of PBL, clinical skills, lectures and anatomy. So how do you find PBL? 

00:02:02 Elijah 

I really enjoyed PBL because it works so well with the content that you're studying that week, it fits in with the lectures, it fits in with your placement and it just makes it flow a lot nicer. It makes revision so much easier and because you've got that as the backbone of it. Yeah, all your content just fits in, just flows nicer. 

00:02:21 Sarah H 

Yeah, I completely agree with you as well and I think the fact that the learning cases and the learning outcomes all link to the lectures. 

And the fact that the cases have real life patients, I feel like it really does give you a good understanding of what medicine is like, not just academically but also clinically. 

00:02:36 Elijah 

Yeah, absolutely. 

00:02:38 Sarah H 

How about you, Sarah? What do you think about PBL? 

00:02:39 Sarah F 

I think PBL serves as a really good opportunity to learn from others as a kind of really realising that teamwork in kind of a cohesive way of learning. 

So maybe you'll go off and do research on something and you'll be really interested and do heaps and heaps of it, and then someone else will have a different interest and do heaps and heaps of research on that. You'll both come to class and will bring like little niche pieces of information. And you're kind of like, oh, that's really cool. 

Or maybe that niche interest will result in a Cahoot quiz, and then you kind of be like, oh, I didn't know I should know that, and then you kind of, you know, you realise I can gain so much from working in a team with people. 

00:03:13 Sarah H 

So you mentioned the quizzes. I absolutely loved feedback sessions. I feel like because we do a lot of games in ours and I think it's a really interactive way of having fun, but also learning content at the same time, and just getting to know your peers, and I think PBL is really good for getting used to working in a team. 

And as you may know, as a doctor, you'll have to work in a multidisciplinary team, and I think that really does set you up for a really good ground for later years. 

So also at Hull York Medical School, it is one of the very few medical schools that provide clinical placements from the third week of first year, which we are very fortunate to have. 

So have you enjoyed clinical placement so far? 

00:03:50 Elijah 

Yeah, so in the Gateway year we did a GP placement once a term and a hospital placement once a term or half term. And they were really interesting and we've just started placements in first year, which have been really nice. 

We're actually getting a hands-on experience with meeting patients right from the get go. And when I'm talking to my peers who have just joined like straight from school they've been saying, oh, I'm a bit nervous. 

And then we'll go into the hospital, have these experiences, and they all come out and they’re like, that was amazing, this is like what I want to do and it's nice to see everyone doing what they, what they enjoy and it keeps your motivation up as well because like this is where I want to be. 

00:04:25 Sarah H 

Yeah, that's right. 

Yeah, how about you, Sarah? 

00:04:29 Sarah F 

I totally agree. It's that kind of going to placement, having that moment of like oh this is real, I feel like a proper medical student. Like I I still remember in Gateway going to Castle Hill, putting on my scrubs and being like, oo. 

You do come out of those sessions kind of being like OK, this is normal, and it's very validating in where you are as a student, like you can kind of go in thinking I’m nervous, just as you said. 

But then you kind of, you perform. You talk with patients. You see how other people talk with patients and it's very validating it. 

So yeah, it's a nice little boost. 

00:05:01 Elijah 

The teaching fellows are so lovely as well. They always make it such like a supportive environment. 

And they're so like clear that they're there to make the experience good for you and for you to experience speaking to patients and meeting patients, which I think is really nice because it's such a supportive learning environment and it's OK if you make a mistake. 

They're not going to have a go at you for it or something. 

00:05:20 Sarah H 

Yeah, I completely agree with both of you. I found placements, the thing that I really enjoy about it is that it also links to what you're learning about. So it really helps put like all your lectures, PBL, clinical skills and anatomy into perspective with a real-life patient, which is exactly what you'll be doing as a doctor. 

And I also feel like communication skills, I feel like Hull York medical students do tend to have better communication skills compared to other students at other universities, and I think one of the main reasons is because of placements from the very first year. 

So we mentioned supporting each other through PBL, so do you think medical students support each other here? 

00:05:55 Sarah F 

I think it's a mix. You'll always find a group of people who are kind of in the same boat and will be like, OK, let's go study together, let's go share our resources. And yeah, it's kind of just about finding your people and you know, keeping that and motivating each other and supporting. 

00:06:08 Elijah 

Yeah, yeah, I agree, there's definitely groups of people who study better independently and who will go to the library and just sit on their own for hours on end studying, and then there’s people who want study in groups and will book a room and discuss things. And I'm one of them students, and I find it really nice. I've met with a few people on my course and we will like go through things. They'll explain things that I don't understand, I’ll explain things that they don't necessarily understand and it just it makes learning a lot easier. And one of the best ways to revise is to teach others. So it's just nice to consolidate all the information. 

00:06:40 Sarah H 

Yeah, I completely agree with you on that. So what do you think has been the most difficult part of medical school has been so far? 

00:06:49 Sarah F 

Gosh, I think it's adjusting to the life like, I think the timetable is very.... They say it's a full time degree and obviously you know you think, Oh yeah, but I'm going to do this, I'm gonna do that. But you soon realise you have to manage your time well and it's obviously it's not like school, but you kind of really realise that. No one's going to be telling you, you've got this for homework, you need to do that. If you don't do the work, no one is gonna flag you up on it until you get to exam season and then you're like, Oh my gosh, I'm like toast. 

Yes, we do have like formatives throughout the year, so that's kind of a way of kind of noticing if you're struggling early on. But I think that sometimes it can be, sometimes people can do what they need to do to superficially be like floating on the surface, but then really be like I am kind of like struggling and that’s going to come out like a little bit too late. 

But I think learning about like time management has been something that's been like quite difficult in medical school, because it's quite a shift from school knowing if I don't do this like my teacher is just going to nag at me so I need to do it. 

00:07:47 Elijah 

Yeah, I agree with the like time management and the workload as well. So for the first two weeks, everything has been quite chilled, quite relaxed. Not too heavy on the workload and then over the past week or so it just feels like it's kind of endless. 

00:08:03 Sarah H 

Building up, yeah. 

00:08:04 Elijah 

Yeah, so definitely trying to find that like work life balance, which I will admit Gateway was absolutely amazing for because I had the experience I was doing, I was already doing the degree, I had exams at the end of the year and so I had to make sure that I knew what was going on and everything. 

So that was really good. But yeah the workload is can be heavy. 

00:08:21 Sarah H 

Yeah, completely yeah. I completely agree with both of you. I feel like the workload can sometimes get a bit too much and we did briefly touch upon work life balance. 

I feel like that's a really important part of medical school, not just medical school, but also outside of life, when you are a doctor as well, having that work life. 

So do you have any tips or advice for other medical students regarding work life balance? 

00:08:42 Sarah F 

Personally, I think one of the biggest things people can do for themselves is to focus on themselves, assess your own priorities. Are you passing all the exams need to pass? 

That's fine, that's it. You have time to explore your own interests and you shouldn't feel guilty, like I'm not at the top of my class, I should focus on academics purely, and I shouldn't explore like this society where I can't do this hobby because I should really be studying. 

I think like get rid of that, so long as you're passing, explore your hobbies. If, you know, you've got something you've never you've never done that you want to try, do it. 

And I think one of the biggest mantra I go by in life is you don't ask, you don't get. Like if you see a society you're interested in, they’re not going to knock on your door and say, hey, come to this event. You have got to go and put yourself out there and you got to try new things. 

But I think the biggest thing that can kind of like stunt you is thinking, Oh my gosh, I should be studying because everyone else is in the library or I should be doing my Anki decks so if I don't do this like I'm going to set myself up for failure. 

But I think so long as you're, you know, you're on the right track and you're passing your exams and you're, you know, you're doing the work. You've got time, I think that's it. You know you've got time. 

00:09:46 Sarah H 

Yeah, I think it's about understanding what works best for you. Focusing on yourself individually. How about you Elijah, what do think? 

00:09:52 Elijah 

Yeah, I think that people tell you that you can study medicine all the time, 24 hours a day 24/7. 

You could be studying and you will still not know everything. So instead of beating yourself up about what you don't know, focus on what you do know and what you need to know. 

And yeah, spend time with your friends like go out and have fun because that's part of the unique experience as well. 

Like you come to university not just for the course but for that experience. 

00:10:16 Sarah H 

Yeah, just linking on to what you said. I think as a medical student, not just studying all the time but also getting involved in sports or other societies. 

I feel like you can build skills from there as well, which are vital to being a doctor as well. Absolutely. 

So what keeps you both going when medical school can get a bit hard? 

00:10:33 Elijah 

I do like to put time aside for self-care, so every Sunday I’ll have selfcare Sunday. I'll do a little face mask, have like a really nice long shower and just relax and maybe prepare a bit for the week ahead. But also just going out going bowling with my friends, going ice skating, going to the cinema, or just like going out for lunch with my boyfriend or something. It's just nice to have some little breaks and just time aside to step away from the work. 

00:10:59 Sarah H 

And like you mentioned, I think prioritising is so important, knowing what's important, what comes first? What comes last? And being able to, you know, go through that cluster of information and know what to do. Yeah yeah, how about you, Sarah? 

00:11:10 Sarah F 

I lean heavily on my friends, so particularly my friends from back home, we make sure to regularly stay in contact, We have lots of calls. Sometimes we just go on for like hours and hours and hours, talk about uni, how that's going. And I like to kind of have friends come up or go and visit my friends because sometimes it can just kind of be nice to talk to someone outside of the like medicine bubble and just, you know, debrief, relax and enjoy yourself. 

I'm someone who's very social oriented, so I like, I, you know, I like to be with people, so being with my friends and being able to unload something that's really important to me. 

00:11:40 Sarah H 

Yeah, so you're just talking socially you mentioned that you enjoy going out with your friends. Is there anything else that you enjoy doing? 

00:11:46 Sarah F 

I love content creation, so I'mparticularly interested in widening participation, so I do create like a lot of like funny content or like informative content for that. 

I also love like knitting as a hobby and playing games again. Like more with people than without people, yeah? 

00:12:00 Sarah H 

Oh nice. 

How about you Elijah? 

00:12:06 Elijah 

So I joined the gym recently, which is it's going OK, and that's quite a nice outlet. You know, releasing endorphins and making you feel good and also like playing games. I absolutely love like Animal Crossing and stuff like that, yeah? 

00:12:20 Sarah F 

Do you have a Switch? Me too. We’re swapping Switch codes after this. 

00:12:23 Elijah 

Yeah, definitely so yeah. Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley. Just little cosy games that I can play and just relax for a few hours, take your mind off things. 

00:12:32 Sarah H 

I'm big gym fan as well, by the way. Probably see you there sometime, yeah. 

So we also mentioned the work life balance. So why do you think work life balance is important in the first place? 

00:12:44 Elijah 

I think that going into medicine you know it's a stressful career. You're aware of that, and I mean especially over the like recent years. You see on the news about the pressure on the NHS and stuff like that. You're aware that it's going to be heavy and that you that you are going to be working really hard, really long hours. 

And being able to separate yourself from your work is so important to maintain yourself and to maintain a healthy mental state and just a healthy life really. 

You can't, you're not going to be able to have healthy relationships with other people if you can't look after yourself properly. 

00:13:20 Sarah H 

Yeah, that's right. 

00:13:20 Elijah 

So being able to detach from your work is top priority really. 

00:13:24 Sarah H 

Yeah, I completely agree with that point about mental health. So I'm a big advocate for mental health and so a few years back I was the member of UK Youth Parliament for the Borough of Rochdale and that was one of my manifesto points, mental health. 

I just felt like it wasn't treated with the same reverence as a physical health issue, despite it having the same debilitating effects. Like you said, it's important, you have to look after yourself before you can look after others as a doctor as well. So that's really important 

How about you, Sarah? 

00:13:50 Sarah F 

For me, I think to put it simply, the goal in life is just to be happy and satisfied. 

And I think no matter how interested you are in medicine, that cannot be your whole life. Maybe for some it can. But there are so many other things that make you you, your relationships, your hobbies, you know other things, other things that would devote your time to. 

And I think if you spend lots and lots and lots of time just focusing on medicine, you neglect those other things and then you end up becoming unhappy. 

So it's important to kind of be able to remember there are other priorities that you have that make you, you. 

And that's yeah, that's the main motivation to keep that work life balance, because if you don't, it will get you, yeah. 

00:14:26 Sarah H 

Yep, perfect, thank you. 

So thank you so much Sarah and Elijah. We hope you enjoyed this first podcast and at Hull York Medical School. 

You can visit the Hull York Medical website, where you can find out more information at www.hyms.ac uk/medicine 

You can also subscribe to the School’s newsletter to find out when more podcasts are being released. 

Thank you so much for listening.