Exams

First Year – Term Two !

/ Katie Burrell

It is finally Easter break – aaaannd it’s going to be a holiday of studying. It’s 9 weeks until summative exams and everyone is starting to sense how close that really is. We’ve been here 6 months and I think it’s safe to say everyone underestimated how much knowledge and content medical school expects you to fit into your brain. Saying this – term two was so much easier than term one. We have settled in and felt more at ease, both inside and outside of studies. From the structure of PBL to the layout of the campus and city, all aspects of our lives here have become a little more familiar and comfortable – Lancaster truly feels like home now.

The curveball of term two (apart from mock exams and the SSM) – the Community Clinical Teaching sessions. This initially terrifying notion turned out to be my favourite part of the whole term. CCT’s are the first real clinical exposure we get in year one, where we get to talk to real patients and practicing GPs about their lives and thoughts on health care. Considering the most we’d had to worry about up to that point was making sure we introduced ourselves and gained consent to speak to a ‘simulated patient’ (actor/actress) – the prospect of talking to a real person was scary for all of us. We had 3 placements in 3 different GP practices, which meant that for 3 days in February, we got to break out of the Lancaster bubble and discover some beautiful places – Kendal, Sedburgh and Grange–Over– Sands. Talking to patients with chronic diseases was so eye-opening and inspiring. Each brought their own unique story and one patient in particular was the most positive and lovely person I have ever met. She will be somebody who I will remember throughout my career. The doctors also talked to us before and after we met the patient, informing us of what it is really like to be a GP and the vast amount of opportunities open to us in GP land! I also loved exploring the hidden gems that are on our doorstep at Lancaster. Eating chips on the promenade of Grange-over-Sands with some of my fabulous medic mates – you can’t get much more northern or much more relaxed– but the places we visited were serene and it was great to see everyone appreciating the beauty the North has to offer. (FYI – I am a northerner through and through).

Other personal highlights of the term include using the on-campus cinema, Take 2, for the first time. It’s brilliant and it’s pretty safe to say La La Land gained an extra fan! The Medsoc Take Me Out was also a brilliant event for charity, and a night to remember!! (Medics just KNOW how to party.)

So, as we enter what is bound to be an intense last term of our first year of medical school – I can’t wait to see what caffeine-fuelled memories I make with the incredible friends I have made here at Lancaster.

The final rotation of third year…

/ Emily Hedley

My final rotation of third year was ‘Neurology and Elderly’. I was really pleased I got placed on this rotation last as I heard from senior years that it involved a lot of pharmacology topics as well as revision of 2nd year topics – perfect just before exams! For this rotation I was also pleased to be placed back at Lancaster Royal Infirmary – so it was an emotional farewell to the barrow bus…not!!

A lot of this rotation involved revision of 2nd year topics such as heart failure, osteoporosis, dementia and arthritis. I soon found that had forgotten so much so it was good to have the chance to revisit these topics just before exams, as we are still expected to know about them and be able to answer questions in relation to them. In terms of clinical placement I spent a lot of this rotation on the general medicine wards and the elderly wards taking histories – a lot like 2nd year! The main difference was that during this rotation we were also expected to attend ward rounds and other ‘Key Clinical Experiences’ such as observing the signing of a death certificate, attending a physiotherapy session and observing an occupational therapy session. We also had to visit the Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) to get an idea of their role. The idea of this rotation was to become familiar with the Multiple Disciplinary Team (MDT) involved in elderly care because as doctors we will work along side professionals such as these and often refer our patients to them too.

Along with elderly medicine, this rotation also covered neurology. Although we had covered some neurology as part of general medicine in 2nd year, as a specialty on its own it was again completely new to me. The neurology rotation involved lots of bedside teaching, which means the doctors come on to the wards with the students and have patients waiting for you to take a history from, examine and then the doctor asks you questions and has discussions with you about the patient’s condition, all whilst the patient is present. This kind of teaching is SO useful as there is a real life patient in front of you to apply your knowledge to, rather than a textbook. It’s also handy to gain the patient’s perspective of their condition, for example how they cope at home with their Parkinson’s disease. The bedside teaching was also great for practicing examination skills ready for the upcoming OSCE, as the doctor we were with made sure my skills were perfect before signing me off!

The neurology aspect of this rotation also saw us travel down to Blackpool for some teaching about EEGs. An EEG is one of the investigations carried out within neurology and is a way of assessing brain waves and brain activity. During my neurology rotation I learnt a lot about anatomy of the nervous system, epilepsy, headaches and weakness. Overall I found neurology very challenging, and although I look forward to returning to the specialty next year, I think I can safely say that it hasn’t made it to my specialty short list.

Following this final rotation, its revision week and then Summative exam time! This year I have three written exams; 2 medical sciences and 1 ethics/sociology/psychology/law/statistics, followed by one practical OSCE. I feel like there has been a big jump in expectations of us since 2nd year, especially in terms of the management of conditions and the pharmacology of drugs.. so with that said, I’d better get revising!

Abbey Barraclough

/ Rebekah Fleming

The Situational Judgement Test

We have made it to Christmas! One third of the way through the year already, two fifths of our fifth year placements done and one of the biggies out of the way – the SJT. The Situational Judgement Test, or SJT because we medics love a good acronym, is basically the final years version of the UKCAT. It’s a fancy aptitude test that’s going to tell us if we are going to be good doctors or not. That’s the gist as I understood it anyway – there has obviously been a lot more research into it and that’s probably a massive over-simplification! You’re given a score out of 50 and that’s added to your academic score to go towards your junior doctor application. So it counts for almost half your final points – it’s pretty important! The questions are based on different ethical situations that you will encounter on the wards and how you think is the best way to respond. For example ‘you see a colleague shouting at another, do you a) do nothing b) talk to the colleague about their behaviour c) talk to your senior about the situation’ etc. There are two sections to the paper, the first you have five options and you have to rank most-least appropriate and in the second you choose the three best options from a longer list.

The actual test actually makes a lot more sense than the UKCAT, it’s only the same in that it’s meant to be one of those that you can’t revise for and is more about aptitude than knowledge. But I would argue that and say that revising for it is a good idea. There are practice papers online and it was definitely worth going over them, getting used to the style of questions and running through the timing. Going over the GMC guidelines is another good tip! After a while you begin to see patterns in what they are wanting from your answers, like talking to the person directly before escalating it to seniors was a common one. It is, or should be, common sense but I won’t lie some of them are a bit more tricky. I suppose it’s like anything, we just have to sit and wait now!

Next term we have our prescribing exam, should (fingers crossed) find out where we will end up as F1 doctors and start prepping for life after medical school. Along with helping to sort out things like the graduation ball, it will no doubt be a very busy but very exciting term! However for now, we have a few weeks off to put our feet up and make the most of our last Christmas without the threat of working. Hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and we shall catch up again in the New Year!