Hattie (Harriet) Mintz     BSc PhD

To the Team at Kidderminster Medical Society,

Thank you ever so much for your extremely generous bursary for the 2020/21 academic year. As you know, I started graduate entry medicine at the University of Birmingham Medical School in September 2020. This has been an absolutely fantastic year and I have gained an immense amount of knowledge. This has been a very academically challenging year, learning human biology in such a short space of time! This was particularly difficult with it having been 5 years since graduating from my Biomedical Science undergraduate degree, after which I then completed my PhD. So, returning to formal taught university learning has been challenging! However, despite this I passed all my exams, and I cannot believe how I did it, but I was awarded over 70% in all my overall exams! I am now very excited to proceed into my clinical years from September.

Due to how challenging I found the year, I have had very little time to do much work for my research fellow contracts at the University of Birmingham Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences and the Medical Research Council Clinical Trial Unit at University College London. This has meant very little time to make any money! – Hence, your bursary has enabled me to live without having to compromise my studies to find the time to do my paid work.

COVID-19 meant that the majority of our year was taught and examined online, however, the university organised this extremely well and this did not disrupt our learning. It also enabled me to keep my family safe, not having to spend time on campus. Due to COVID we were not able to be on site for our clinical community general practice days, which meant hands on experiences were more challenging. So, your money enabled me to purchase pieces of equipment to practice with (on my poor family!). I purchased a manual blood pressure monitor and a peak flow device.

Your money has also set me up for my clinical years, for example, buying my medicine bible – the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine. I have not had to use money for travelling this year, due to the remote nature of our studies. However, I will be driving a couple of hours every day to get to my placement hospitals and your money will considerably help towards my fuel, and I am sure hospital parking!

I am so lucky to have many connections with the Worcestershire area, including spending much of my time living in the area and commuting to university from there. I am hoping to be placed at a Worcestershire hospital at some point during my studies. I continue to enjoy road biking and running through the Wyre Forest area. My bursary has also enabled me to purchase a race slot at my first Duathlon (Run 10km-Bike 44km-Run 5km) event, which I am currently training for (thank you to the Wyre forest area for providing me with plenty of hills to train on!).

Once again, thank you ever so much for your very generous help, I will keep in touch,

Hattie (Harriet) Mintz         BSc PhD

Bursary Report - Helen Field

I would like to thank the Kidderminster Medical Society for their generosity in awarding me the Graduate Entry Medicine Bursary. This bursary has been a significant source of support during a period of such uncertainty and has made my return to education after four years in employment feel less overwhelming. The bursary has enabled me to immerse myself into my studies and successfully make the jump from humanities to science.

Studying medicine from home is a daunting prospect, especially when in your first year. At first, it was a rather lonely experience, but as time went on the rhythm and dynamics of online lectures and group work sessions became second nature and I took the impact of the developing pandemic on my education in my stride. The brilliant efforts of Leicester Medical School ensured that we still received an excellent and thorough education. 

When life and education regained some semblance of normality, we were able to visit the Dissection Department which was a major highlight of the year for me. For the first time, we were able to see all the different organs that we had learnt about in books and lectures for the last year and how they lie comparative to one another. This was certainly a very rewarding ‘light bulb’ moment in my learning.

Another highlight which came with the easing of the pandemic was our Healthcare Assistant training. For many of us, this was our first time on a ward with patients. I was placed on an elderly care ward which specialised in Dementia. The complex and varying needs of the patients I spent time with made me appreciate the vital importance of holistic care. I realised that tending to the psychological and social as well as physiological needs of a patient is paramount to a quicker and stronger recovery.  Additionally, I also gained an appreciation for teamwork and the integral parts all health workers play across the NHS in delivering optimum patient care. Being able to finally spend time with patients was a great way to end the academic year because after many months of studying from home, it served as a reminder for why we are on the course and how immensely rewarding the world of medicine is.

I attribute my brilliant first year of medicine to this bursary because it has enabled me to embrace every learning opportunity which has come my way. Kidderminster Medical Society has certainly stood me in good stead for the next 4 years, for which I will be evermore grateful.

Helen Field