Anatomy

Year 1 Perspective

/ Sarah Bethel

I don’t think I will ever forget that first day. Sunday 2nd October 2016. With two cars packed full to the brim, my mum, dad, sister and I began our journey up to Lancaster, ready for me to start the next chapter as an adult. Completely daunting I must admit! Being the girl I am, I managed to recruit a grand total of 8 people to unload the cars and move me into my lovely flat in Lonsdale – obviously the best college!

The whole first day was a complete whirlwind; from the moment I said goodbye to my family, I was meeting the rest of my flat and house whilst playing ice breakers in the October sunshine (believe it or not, it’s actually a real thing). Everyone hates that moment where you feel like a complete fish out of water but your reps make you feel at ease. From that moment on, fresher’s week had officially begun. It was one of the best weeks of my life, filled with college events and meeting so many new people it was overwhelming – some I know will be my friends for life.

Yes, Fresher’s Flu is a real thing.

I guarantee you will suffer to some extent from fresher’s flu, hopefully not for a month like I did, but you will definitely suffer.

Next it was time to meet my medic family. I was assigned a ‘medic dad’ in second year called Mike and a ‘medic mum’ in fourth year called Lauren (although technically my great grandma) who are both amazing. I significantly remember being given my welcome pack with so much information in it made my head spin and Lauren told me not to panic – and I’ve lived by those words ever since.

Settling into the medical school is like starting anything new – it takes time to adjust. My weekly anatomy sessions are a life saver and are both informative and enjoyable. Clinical skills takes place in the infirmary and it makes you feel very professional I must say! The sessions quickly allow you to get you over any embarrassment you may have and by week three you’re examining your friend’s abdomen!

Medsoc is another part of medic life. In the 2nd week of term Medsoc organised our fresher’s ball which gives you an opportunity to fully mingle with the people you are going to spend the next 5 years with (say it quick!) You also get to meet people from the other years who are more than happy to ‘calm your qualms’ and offer advice.

Being a medical student is amazing, and I couldn’t think of a better place to be experiencing it than at Lancaster.

 

Mel Sarigul

/ Lauren Kennedy

Walking up those stairs I was nervous but excited about meeting my new flatmates. Opening that kitchen door and seeing the fresh faced bright eyed 18 year olds for the first time my first thought was… Oh my God they look so young!  I applied to Lancaster after completing my Biomedical Science degree and taking a year out so I was anxious about being the oldest in my flat and course. We soon bonded over some lasagne though which was compliments of Furness College!

The way Lancaster’s freshers’ week works is that you go out to events your college has organised for you. Furness being the best college (obviously) had a paint party, glitter party, on and off campus themed bar crawls and also events such as ‘Top of the Blocks’. At this stage I had not met many medics but used this opportunity to bond with my flatmates and the block over a couple of drinks- or more.

Medsoc is a society especially for medical students. They organise socials and also provide revision material and mock OSCEs nearer exam time.  During Fresher’s Week there was a meet and greet at Revolutions which had a great vibe. Lancaster’s Medical School is one of the smallest in the UK meaning that the medical community is very close knit. The older years were really friendly and first years were able to meet each other in a relaxed environment. Other societies such as Medsin provide volunteering opportunities such as SKIP or Teddy Bear Hospital.

The first PBL session was a shock to the system. Having being used to a lecture based course previously, I was not prepared for the freedom that comes with PBL. We had to read a scenario, pick out key points, discuss them, then make learning objectives with the focus being on the upper GI tract.  Our group initially struggled with constructing learning objectives but eventually came up with a workable list which we had to go away and research. The feedback session was useful in that not only do you reinforce your own learning by explaining concepts but can also ask about any areas you found challenging. It can be difficult to gauge how much detail we need to go into a topic but the recommended resources gives us an idea – so don’t worry if someone decides to learn some random cell pathway and you’re sat there completely lost!

I went into my first anatomy not knowing what to expect.  As it turned out the sessions were quite informal and very informative. Every week you have two hours of anatomy which are organised as 3 stations. There are lots of models to use, books and more importantly friendly and approachable demonstrators. The small groups are great as you have more contact time with the demonstrators some of which include Radiographers, Doctors and Anatomists.

So far I have enjoyed being part of Lancaster University and its Medical school. I look forward to the challenges ahead of me.