Hello! I’m Marina, currently a Year 6 medic, graduating in July.
My medical school journey was one I will remember fondly, with many long-lasting friendships formed along the way and lots of learning acquired through clinical placements and tutors I’ve had in the past years. As this journey is coming to an end and an exciting start as a foundation doctor lies ahead, I thought I would make a quick summary of useful tips for each year of medical school and things I’ve learned from my mentors, predecessors and academic family along the way. Hope you find this useful!
Year 1: A fresh start
Going into first year can be a very exciting but nonetheless daunting experience. New faces, a new way of learning, an extensive syllabus; for some a new city, for others a new country. Here are some of my top tips to make the most out of first year!
- Clubs and societies are a great way to meet people (as clichéd as it sounds, there’s a reason why everyone says this) – find a club where you can enjoy your hobbies or try something completely new! Who knows? You might find a new passion!
- Explore the city and everything it has to offer: climb the seven hills, run along the canal, have a BBQ or play volleyball at Portobello beach, discover your favourite coffee shops, pubs and places to eat.
- Make connections with students in the year above; they can act as your mentors! For me that came in the form of academic families where my academic parents gave me advice on studying, essays and exams as well as passing on some of their medical textbooks.
- Study systematically and be aware that the way you were learning/studying in high school might have to change as the workload in university is significantly heavier – seek help from supervisors if you need to.
- If you have a particular interest within medical school (for example paediatrics or orthopaedic surgery), why not join the respective society to meet like-minded individuals and participate in activities that could boost your CV in that subject?
Year 2
- Be organised with your studying – flashcards are a great way to systematically revise.
- Make use of student-led societies for revision tutorials on topics you’d like further support in. Your peers in the years above would be more than happy to teach you.
- Try to get involved in teaching opportunities – as you now have some experience in medical school, why not challenge yourself to pass some tips along to the incoming first years?
- Start thinking of your intercalation year – is there a subject you’d like to explore? Organise meetings with potential supervisors outlining why you want to join their project and expressing your interest in the work that they do. What do you want to gain from your intercalation? This could be a publication, practical skills gained from being involved in lab experiments, teaching opportunities or even participation in academic conferences.
Year 3: Intercalation year
This is your year out from the medical school curriculum and your opportunity to explore a different degree.
- Set clear goals with your supervisor and communicate with them early about what you want to achieve by the end of your intercalation year. Be realistic in your meetings with them and ask for clear guidance when it comes to dissertation writing.
- Ask questions on how to write up your results/ perform statistical analysis – you could even join some courses to learn how to code your results.
- If you are joining a degree in their fourth year, impostor syndrome is normal and quite common. Try to make friends and get guidance from people who have been doing this degree for the past three years as they have invaluable advice to give.
Enjoy a year of being able to explore a field that is not necessarily related to medicine but could always equip you with transferrable skills for later on in your career.
Year 4: first clinical year
- Get involved on the ward rounds, attend clinics, theatres and try as much as possible to become a part of your team – offer to help on the wards with taking bloods or other supervised procedures while simultaneously recognising the limits of your own competency. And communicate if you’re being asked to do something you haven’t been trained to do yet.
- Use the clinical skills room to practice the new clinical skills you learn under supervision so that you feel confident helping out on the wards.
When it comes to exam time:
- Use a variety of question banks to prepare you for clinical style questions.
- Attend revision tutorials organised by the CTAs and medical staff on the wards, as well as SSC5 teaching tutorials organised by students in the year above.
- Get a group of friends together and create an OSCE revision group to help each other out. There are plenty of free resources out there with both patient and examiner instructions as well as useful mark schemes.
Year 5: rotating through specialties
- When on placement, discuss with your supervisor what your learning objectives are – whether that is spending time in clinics, expanding your surgical portfolio, observing births on the maternity wards or practicing your clinical skills. If you feel like a day is particularly quiet and there’s nothing for you to do, there’s nothing wrong with taking some study time for your upcoming exams.
- Start thinking about your SSC teaching project and organise your team in the first semester – get in touch with groups from the year above who may have done a similar project to get contacts for supervisors and organise your teaching material.
- Exam time: use student led societies’ resources and tutorials – many will be doing revision tutorials led by final year students who will give you tips on how best to study for your upcoming exams.
- Start thinking about your elective during the summer of 5th year and email hospitals and supervisors as it can take a while to get everything sorted!
Year 6: final year
I found my final year of medical school to be quite fast-paced. To manage clinical placements, studying for finals, elective and assistantship, I needed to organise my time efficiently.
- I would strongly encourage you to organise the details of your elective early in the year so that it’s one less thing to worry about throughout the year.
- While on placement try to make use of the Medical Education teams and ask your supervisors for some teaching on specific topics you need guidance on as many will happily organise tutorials that can be useful for revising for finals.
- Studying for finals can be stressful. I highly recommend getting a group together to revise and prepare for OSCEs as well as written exams. Try to continue your hobbies as an outlet to all the stress that can build up during study time and make some time for your non-medic friends and family.
- Once finals are over, enjoy your elective! Take the opportunity to explore a new healthcare system, a new culture or a learn new language.
- When it comes to assistantship, it’s useful to treat it as more than just another placement as this is your opportunity to learn the ins and outs of being an FY1. If you’re staying in Edinburgh for foundation years, this is your chance to learn how the hospitals you will be working in function and if you’re moving away, take it as a chance to practice your clinical skills and build up confidence to independently review patients.
I hope you found my quick summary of tips for six years of medical school useful. I encourage you to make the most of your student years and enjoy the city of Edinburgh and making memories with all the people you meet along the way. It’s a long journey, but a very fulfilling one for sure. Good luck!
