Bursary Report from Karnjit Johal

Firstly I would like to thank everyone at the Kidderminster Medical Society for the bursary I received whilst studying in my first year of the graduate entry medicine course at the University of Birmingham. In the first year of study, students are expected to pay £3,000 towards their studies as tuition fee loans do not cover the full amount, so I had intended to work evenings and weekends during my studies to be able to fund this. Receiving the Kidderminster Bursary meant that I did not have to worry about this and not only gave me more time to study but also reduced the stress of working so many hours alongside my studies.

The course as you can imagine was quite intense and challenging as it involved teaching 2 years of undergraduate studies in to one quite compact year. I was pleasantly surprised in the first few weeks as we were attached to a General Practice straight away enabling us to interact with the wider community and also allowed us to relate the theory of a condition to a real life example. This helped considerably when it came to exams as I would remember not only the condition but the patient that presented with it and their story. GP placements were also a place where we developed our clinical skills such as taking blood pressure and systems examinations which we could then carry out with patients to further enhance our learning.

The rest of the week was spent working in groups in a Problem Based Learning (PBL) format and self-directed learning. This was the first time I had experienced PBL, but it worked very effectively as we could bring our knowledge from the variety of previous degrees and discuss any gaps in our knowledge and then research them and present back. This structure allowed me to learn and understand the curriculum as I worked through the PBLs which made revision less stressful towards the end.

The first two modules studied were ‘Cells and Cancer’ which involved learning the cell cycle, the most common cancers and their pathophysiology and we then covered the cardiovascular and respiratory systems in ‘Supply and Demand’. These were examined in the first two months and thankfully successfully passed.

We then moved on to Neuroscience and Immunology which proved to be both fascinating and challenging. It was at this point that group study sessions on weekends became key to understanding topics as we could all pool our knowledge and research together to try and take on the anatomy of the brain and immune system and the pathophysiology of the conditions involved. We quickly realised that learning and teaching within a group significantly helped understand the topics better. Once the second set of exams were completed and passed, I became confident in the PBL process and had gotten used to the routine.

After the new year, we began ‘Loss and Renewal’ and ‘Fuels’ which covered the reproductive and gastrointestinal systems respectively. At this point OSCEs were fast approaching and any free time was spent examining one another in order to prefect our skills. Having worked within a retail and admin setting for the past 6 years I was able to further enhance my existing communication skills, and using the clinical skills rooms at the university made the whole experience more realistic.

I am now a third year clinical student and still cannot believe how much I learnt and was able to achieve within the last year. I am grateful to the Kidderminster Medical Society as without the financial support, last year would have been far more challenging and stressful.

Karnjit Johal

Bursary Report from Ben Ryland

I would like to start by thanking the members of Kidderminster Postgraduate Medical Society for awarding me this scholarship; my gratitude is difficult to put into words.  The award was used to help different aspects of my first year at Aberdeen University; the most important to me by far was having enough money to travel home to visit family members when needed. Studying this year has been demanding and having the chance to see my family without worrying about the cost of travelling was amazing. The majority of the award was used to help pay the rest of my tuition fees and rent when needed. The latter came in handy because I still kept my part time job whilst studying to pay rent each month, but took time off work when exam season came about, so it was nice having money to compensate for the lack of hours at work.

The first year of Medicine at Aberdeen University has been difficult but rewarding, the most challenging aspect was the difference in learning styles from my first degree. Because of the content load I found myself constantly having to stop delving deeper into the material to gain further understanding, which was necessary in my first degree.

The first term focused on raising every pupils understanding of biological principles to the same level; major topics covered included Biochemistry, Immunology and Anatomy. These topics weren’t particularly challenging because a lot of the material was covered in my first degree. Second term however introduced systems based learning, covering the respiratory and cardiovascular system. I thoroughly enjoyed this term because we covered pathophysiologies as well as anatomy and normal physiology, attempting to disease presentations as well as treatments and management.

I mentioned above that I spent a lot of first year working, which came with its own challenges. I found my part time job within the first week of moving to Aberdeen and managed to work about 20 hours a week. This meant that I didn’t have much time for social activities, and I was left feeling a little excluded from people on my course, this led to some struggles. The scholarship really helped by allowing me to work fewer hours, so I could take some time to make friends and begin to enjoy my time at Aberdeen.

Again, I am so thankful for having received the scholarship as It made my first year experience so much better than it could have been.

Ben Ryland

Bursary Report from George Williams

First of all I would like to express my gratitude to the members of the Kidderminster Medical Society for awarding me the generous bursary. It is difficult to fully express the thanks I have for the award, £3000 is an astonishingly large amount to receive and the difference it has had on my year is monumental. I have applied for medicine several times before and have been unsuccessful hence the reason why I am pursing a career through the graduate entry course. When I received my place at Nottingham I obviously jumped at the chance, however this meant I would be moving away from my wife, who is currently studying nursing at Cardiff University. The bursary has helped significantly in the travel costs, without the bursary I may not have been able to travel to see my wife as frequently as has been possible. The majority of the money has been either used to pay for study materials or help with rent for my flat. I still have some of the bursary remaining to keep in savings to enable me to plan for any unforeseen circumstances throughout the course.

The first year at medical school has been far more demanding than I had thought possible. I am used to high workloads but the difficulty is the amount of work required outside of formal teaching. I have spent many early mornings and late nights in the university working to ensure I don’t fall behind and I am prepared for exams. The amount of independent learning that is expected on a GEM course is far higher than anything I have experienced before. During the first few months I found it incredibly tempting to try to research information that was far too deep than I needed to know, however, I quickly found this was unsustainable.

The teaching method of Problem Based Learning was also a very new concept to me, it essentially involves group work with a facilitator to work together to investigate an individual case. However, it forms much more learning than it may initially seem, something I quickly realised during my formative exams! During the months at the university we have covered multiple systems in what seems like a very short space of time, and it was only during the last module of the year that I was able to look back and realise just how much I had learnt.

During the year, I have also been involved with the Derby branch of Nottingham Marrow, the student branch of Anthony Nolan. My role in Marrow has been to work as a volunteer clinic organiser, I have been involved in several clinics where we have recruited a large number of new donors to the bone marrow register. I believe this is a fantastic achievement particularly considering the Derby branch of Nottingham Marrow has only started this year. Finally, I have also started the Nottingham Advantage Award, this is a course that enables me to enhance other aspects of my life, with the aim of becoming a more rounded individual and doctor upon graduation. I aim to start learning basic British Sign Language next year, which will undoubtedly come in useful in the world of medicine. Some of the courses do require a small fee to take part and therefore I plan to use some of the bursary for this purpose.

There are so many ways the bursary has and will continue to improve my time at Nottingham and I believe I would have found my time here much more difficult without it.

George Williams

Bursary Report from Catherine Odendaal

I would like to start off by thanking the Kidderminster medical society for providing me with this bursary for my first year of graduate medicine at the University of Birmingham. This bursary has been so valuable to me in my first year and I have been able to carry forward this support as I prepare to enter the clinical years of my degree.  I have been able to relax about my finances for this year rather than constantly worrying like I did before the year begun. My bursary has been able to help pay for rent and expenses and I still have some remaining which I will carry forward to support me for this year.

At the university of Birmingham, the first year of the graduate entry course, the 2 undergraduate pre-clinical years are sandwiched into one. Cramming as much as possible into a single year via problem based learning. Undertaking problem based learning for the first time was such a steep learning curve. I had to learn how to navigate my role as a team member as well as a team leader. At first this felt uncomfortable, however as time went on I became more comfortable and confident in my own abilities and my contributions to each of my groups improved, supported by my mentors via positive feedback. I learnt to really appreciate the PBL process, despite its ups and downs, as I realised I was learning so much more than I would if I was in lectures. The summer exam period was particularly difficult, however I am pleased to say that I performed well in all of my written exams and also passed my first OSCEs.

Despite the pressure and demands of the first year I have still been able to enjoy other activities outside my course, which is something I was determined to do before starting medicine. I have played netball for the medical school netball 4^th team and have recently volunteered to captain this team for the next academic year. I also played trumpet in the medical society’s big band. On most weekends I managed to visit my husband who I unfortunately did not get to live with this last year, when visiting home I have also been able to work occasionally at a local restaurant to help save more money.

This summer, I've been fortunate enough to visit Swaziland and have spent a week at a small village hospital in Big Bend. Ubombo Sugar Hospital caters for the employees of the large sugar company Illovo and their families, as well as some private patients. I've been able to spend time doing ward rounds, attending the out-patients department clinic as well as private consultations. Its been really interesting to see how such a small hospital functions on a small budget whilst providing essential care to people in the local area.  

Recently, with the help of my bursary i have been able to start driving lessons, which is something I have never been able to afford previously. It feels good to finally be gaining some independence. Having my license will be great for getting to my placements for the next 3 years. I have found out that my first placement will be in Hereford county hospital. I am so looking forward to entering my clinical years and starting to put my knowledge into practice and learning from patients.

Catherine Odendaal

Post Grad  Bursary Report from Stuart Evans

There is no other way to start my report than with a sincere thank you for awarding me the £3,000 post graduate bursary in support of my studies at Leicester Medical School. Having decided to study medicine towards the end of my previous degree, a key worry was how I would finance my studies due to the lack of student support available. The bursary has enabled me to focus almost entirely on my studies, with very little pressure on me to work part time, especially during exam time.

I chose to study at Leicester Medical School as the integrated method of teaching provided many avenues to develop my knowledge; through didactic lectures, small group work and full body dissection. The first semester was most challenging for me, as biochemistry and genetics were not previously included in my  paramedic training. Semester two was more enjoyable as it focused on topics  such as cardiovascular physiology, musculoskeletal anatomy, immunology and pathological processes in disease. The bursary enabled me to focus much of my time on revision, allowing me to score very highly in my end of first year exams with over 90%.

Leicester university also offered a unique, very early clinical experience (VECE), which saw all first year students attend clinical attachments for 2 weeks within the first month at university, following a brief training period of manual handling, infection control and basic life support. Having practiced as a paramedic for the last 7 years I felt I had a wide understanding of many areas of the NHS, however this placement allowed me to experience a week in a secure mental health hospital where I also participated in a range of patient activities.

I am hoping to enjoy my summer break with my family, where I will rest and give my brain a chance to re-charge. Next year looks to be very demanding, covering details topics such as head, neck and neuroanatomy, as well numerous other systems. I have also had meetings with the medical school and East Midlands Ambulance Service, as my friend and I are  hoping to set up a community first responder scheme using medical students, with an ambition to join forces with the an other local university who have a large nursing student programme.

Thank you again for the very kind bursary you provided; it has certainly had a positive impact on my first year performance at university.

Stuart Evans