Hi everyone, my name is Hector Crosbie and I grew up in London before coming to Edinburgh to study.
I love to take part in a sports, as well as the socials that come with them. The field of medicine that I am most interested in is trauma and orthopaedics, with a focus on sports medicine.
I moved to Edinburgh for uni and that has been a blast. The appeal of Edinburgh to me is how it has all the major attractions of a big city, such as clubs and museums, so you are always busy, but it is never too big that you feel lost. The fact that nature is so close is a great well, with Portobello beach and Arthurs Seat being highlights of the city. Edinburgh is a very multicultural city and there are lots of different restaurants that reflect this variety (my personal favourites are Africano Wrap and Ting Thai Caravan).
Accommodation
I lived in Brae House in first year, which is over in Holyrood. For me as an athlete it was a great fit as it was self catered, which allowed me to make food whenever I wanted, and wasn’t just limited to canteen food. There was a great balance between work and play as well, with my flatmates letting me work undisturbed during the day, but when I wanted to go out in the evening, there were always people who wanted to go out as well.
From chef to student
I had a year off before starting university so I was very anxious about returning to education and making friends after a year working as a chef. The biggest tips I can give to dealing with nerves is just getting stuck in. By trying lots of new things you are sure to make friends, and that support network is what gets you through medical school. My pro tip for the first week is to always keep your door open so people can come chat, and have lots of biscuits – my best mate at uni wandered in to my room in freshers because of this.
The transition from school
Medical school is different from other degrees because there is a certain degree of structure due to the number of lectures and tutorials that you have. In this way there isn’t much change from school, but it is definitely more in your own hands now! I would recommend creating a timetable and sticking to it to make sure that you don’t miss anything, and make time for things outside of medicine – work hard play hard!
A typical day
In my first year, given online lectures and tutorials, I had a lot more flexibility with my schedule. Typically however, I would get up at 9 and start watching lectures with breakfast from 9.30am. I would then do go to the gym with my mates from 12-2pm, and then come back and attend a couple of tutorials until 5. After this I would go to Peffermill and play American Football from 7- 9pm. Depending on which day of the week it was, I would either go out or stay in and cook dinner with my flatmates. I found it quite tough doing online learning, with it being hard to motivate yourself if you just stay in your room. I found it very helpful to set up study groups with my mates so we can go over lectures together, and the social aspect really helps to keep you feel involved with your classmates.
Making time for sport
I grew up being very sporty so the wide range of sports available at Edinburgh really appealed to me. I take part in American Football as well as powerlifting, and the social side of both these sports is great. In addition I can recommend Medics Hockey as having great nights out, having tagged along to many. On the academic front, I am a keen member of the sports medicine and surgical societies. They both have lots of talks during the year about how to get ahead in these fields, and the surgical society often has in person practicals too.
