Hello, my name is Marcus and I have just finished my first year of Medicine. I imagine that if you’re reading this page you’re presumably a future or prospective medical student who’s already read every single tip on how to make the most out of your first year by my fellow, far more concise, peers!
Therefore, I will take an alternative route and simply tell you about my experience of the past year and why you should be excited for the year ahead of you.
Navigating semester 1
Coming into university is obviously a nerve-racking experience, especially if you’re like me and only have two other friends from high school going to Edinburgh to study Economics and Biology, which basically meant I didn’t know anyone on my course prior, which could be daunting.
In the same way, it is definitely an exciting thing to look forward to, being able to meet literally as many people as you like, doing or going to whatever extracurricular events/societies you fancy.
The awkward task of name learning
Personally speaking, I was not particularly bothered by the first point, as I’m sure you’ve heard it so many times, university is all about new experiences. Being an overseas student who previously studied in the south of England, I felt that perhaps there would be a cultural difference as I’d never set foot in Scotland prior to freshers week. However, I quickly realised that everyone coming into the university and my course was equally as keen to get to know their peers as I was, and over the first few weeks through various evening gatherings I was able to steadily learn people’s names, finally saving myself from the awkwardness that was trying to evade any situation that involved me addressing someone by their name, that was a pretty constant thing for a solid 2 weeks. A few weeks on, through shared frustration and the sheer confusion inflicted upon us by Embryology lectures, I got to know the people around me better.
Join a sports team of some variety
Little brief detour to extra-curricular side of things, on top of the social side of the course, I personally find it quite enjoyable to have something else that I do that doesn’t involve seeing the same people. I’m definitely not one of the most athletic people out there, but I do enjoy a bit of competitive sport, so I personally would recommend joining a university sports team, whether it be competitive or recreational.
The benefits are pretty self-explanatory,social and health wise. Obviously,do beware of oversubscribing yourself, which is fine in the first month or so, by all means throw yourself into anything that you see yourself enjoy doing. However, when term settles down and Inflammation and Infection week hits you, I’d think it’s better to know specifically how many societies/sports you can handle in the long term – you’ve been warned 🙂
Peer support
Around freshers week, you should be contacted by the FYC (Final Year Committee), a committee of people from the year above who organise some fun social activities as well as academic families for you in the first year. You academic parents are there as a source of academic and social support, as they will have all completed first year and can understand some potential problems you may be going through, as well as sharing some experiences and what not. Cheeky plug if you do read this, I’d be a great father (: so pick me if you want. If not, I’ll probably stop writing because clearly my literature is subpar.
Exam time
Out of nowhere, it was exam time, and I felt very unprepared as realistically speaking I was sort of going through some lectures for the first time literally two weeks before the exam date. I was very grateful for resources such as RMS (Royal Medical Society) and AIM notes which were a game changer – concise notes that summarised the key information that was assessed, which through hard work and multiple takeaways, resulted in a decent pass on the exam, allowing for a completely stress-free, no work Christmas holiday.
Over the course of revision period, one thing that I really appreciated was that everyone was happy to share resources and notes, and I felt that people supported each other both physically and emotionally. Also equipped with plenty of resources and revision tutorials free of charge to go to, I felt grateful to be able to study in such a positive learning environment.
Semester 2 already
Honestly more of the same going on, besides the course being split into three sections, Cardiovascular, Respiratory, and Locomotor. This format allows for more time and flexibility to learn information to variable depths. However, a common danger is that if you fall behind it is hard to catch up, at least I find that personally. Some might say that Semester 2 is harder than semester 1, but that is for you to decide…
Most of everyone’s 1st year will involve complete loss of productivity and maybe a tad bit of surplus over the NHS recommended alcohol units per week, and it is quite easy to feel that you are not making the most of your time and some might feel disheartened (like myself). Therefore, when you do find yourself stressed out and concerned about anything, remember that other people are likely to be experiencing the same and it is more than okay to talk about it, with people such as your academic family and also your peers.
With everything happening, do remember to take care of your physical and mental health, as transitioning into university isn’t like any challenge you’ve faced before. With that said, if you have any questions or anything, you’re more than welcome and should be able to find me somehow, doubt there are many ‘Marcus Kam’s around.
