second year diary
Second year Chris Ball writes about a typical week.
Monday
My favourite day for the first time in my life as I don’t start until 11! I caught up on the weekend sporting results over my Weetabix and marvelled at the latest Arsenal victory. I have lots of time as I only live 5 minutes drive away from campus, just off Lewes Road. This is a great place to live as virtually everyone’s a student, and I’m with some of my housemates from last year’s halls.
At university we had two lectures on the meninges, blood supply and venous drainage of the brain. In the afternoon we had dissection. Removing our cadaver’s brain, which further emphasised the morning anatomy lectures, was very exciting. In the evening I headed for the legendary Po Na Na’s (the place to be on a Monday night).
Tuesday
Today I had to wake up at 8.15am for a 9am start because we had a symposium on seizures and epilepsy. Symposia are lectures and small seminar groups that widen our knowledge of the clinical world. They are extremely useful for finding interesting areas to study later. Classes finished at noon, so I went to the computer room to print off the lecture notes provided on studentcentral, and to go through the previous day’s material.
In the evening I continued to go through the notes to make sure they had sunk in, and as the topic was inspiring this was not to hard to do. I made myself chilli con carne for dinner – great for breakfast cold the next day.
Wednesday
My SSC (Student Selected Component) this morning was called 'An evidence-based analysis of doctor-patient communication especially with regard to mental diseases'. All of the SSCs at the moment are based along neurology and neuropsychology, as we are studying neuroscience and behaviour. We are assessed on an essay or a presentation rather than an exam, which makes a welcome break from the norm. The informal setting also allows us to get into discussions with members of our group and the tutor. After the SSC I had the afternoon to catch up on note taking from the week and continue my presentation and essay research.
At 3pm on a Wednesday I always go to the gym to let off some steam, and later there’s rugby training. Our game this Saturday is against our sports rival St Georges Medical School. Got home in time for the second half of the Champions League match - come on the Gunners!
Thursday
I like Thursdays as it is our clinical day. The morning lectures were on 'Coping with Chronic Disease and Disability' which we then discussed in seminar groups. I enjoy this chance to discuss our thoughts and feelings. In the afternoon we had our first GP visit of the year, where I went to Eastbourne to meet a patient suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This year I have to write an essay on a patient with a chronic disease for the clinical module.
After getting the train back I make a quick chicken stir fry and get ready to go out one more time as Thursday, by medic tradition, is Casablanca club night – eventful every time….
Friday
The longest day of the week, starting at 9. First there were two lectures on the topography of the brain and brain imaging. Next came the module tutorial where we have a teaching session on the previous week’s lectures, followed by a mini test. This week we had to name all 12 cranial nerves along with their individual functions.
My two-hour lunch break gave me a chance to relax after a hard morning’s concentration. Next were two more lectures, on chemicals in the brain and how neurons communicate with one another; again a topic that interests me. In the evening I had a chance to begin writing my portfolio entry for my GP visit this week which I completed that night. I was much chuffed with myself! The portfolio gives us a chance to reflect on our specialty or primary care visits. As well as really thinking about issues the visits raised, it’s a chance to research further into how the patient might feel, how this might impact on their family and friends, and how we might handle later opportunities to give a clinical consultation.