Typical weeks

Azeezat Sanusi

Monday

Monday lectures are mainly focused on the human body, including subjects like pathology, human physiology and anatomy. I find these very interesting as they relate to many things that I learned in my first degree in nursing. Having seen a lot of pathological conditions as a nurse, the lectures give me more understanding of these conditions at the microscopic level.

In the afternoon, we break into smaller groups for seminars. Today we have pathology, and we get to see different histology slides digitally and learn how to identify the pathological cell/tissue. These sessions also allow me to have more direct contact with the lecturers and to ask questions on any previous lectures that I didn’t understand too well.

In the evening, I go to the gym with my flatmates and enjoy dinner with them. Afterwards, we make some revision flashcards. It’s really nice living with fellow medical students as we can study together. My flatmates are biomedical science graduates and they help me a lot with any of the scientific topics I struggle with. 

Tuesday

Tuesdays are focused on the clinical and community practice module. In the morning, we have a clinical practice lecture on various topics like reflective practice, communication skills, conflict management and professionalism. I really enjoy this module because I can integrate many things that I have learnt from nursing. It has also made me better informed on how to initiate a patient consultation, take patient histories and understand the principles of patient-centred healthcare. We then break into small groups with our individual clinical practice facilitators and expand on the lecture topic.

In the afternoon we have clinical placements, which can vary from GP to a community placement. I’m with a local community nursing team, visiting patients in their home, where I get the chance to interact with a diabetic patient about their insulin management. We can also have workshops such as inclusion and exclusion, family study and history taking.

In the evening, I go shopping in town with my best friend, then we go to her place for dinner. 

Wednesday

In the morning, we have a group meeting with our individual academic tutors – sometimes these are individualised so that we can personally discuss our individual academic progress and challenges.These meetings help us with scientific essay writing, numeracy and presentation skills. I do a presentation on the treatment and management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonarydisease (COPD) to my tutor group.

Researching on this topic has made me more informed on the latest research on COPD management and presenting helps my confidence in public speaking.

Despite our busy workload, BSMS believes that it is vital for us to engage in social activities outside of study, so we have Wednesday afternoons off for extra curricularactivities. I go for a run with friends, then go to the gym.

I spend the evening relaxing and going through my dissection room (DR) notes for the session the next day. 

Thursday

In the morning, we have a symposium on health and disease. Symposiums are like long lectures where we get to discuss various topics in greater depth, and sometimes patients are invited to talk to us about their condition and management. Today’s is on the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL), and we have the opportunity to meet a few patients living with CLL and ask them personal questions regarding the condition.

At lunch I have a quick anatomy quiz with my friends in preparation for the DR. BSMS was one of my top choice medical schools because of their early patient contact programme and the dissection component of anatomy learning. The DR sessions allow us to visualise everything we learn in the anatomy lectures on a real human body and thereby help us to understand our notes in greater depth. I am ever so thankful to the amazing people who have donated their bodies for our learning. 

On Thursday evening, I go to yoga. At BSMS, you can join many societies, activities and sports at both universities. I’m a member of the Afro Caribbean society, the Islamic society, women’s rugby, dance society, table tennis society and the feminist society.

Friday

Finally, the last day of the week! We have a mix of lectures including one on the psychology of aging.

In the afternoon, I have a practical session on microbiology, where we stain different bacteria and assess their morphology. As a nurse, I took blood cultures from patients and sent them to microbiology, but I never knew much about how the actual blood culture is done in the lab and how antibiotics sensitivity is identified. The microbiology session has enlightened me on these!

In the evening I head out for dinner with friends. 

Ollie Pentz

Monday

This week I’m on placement in the Royal Sussex County Hospital’s Acute Medical Unit (AMU). At 8am I join the ward round led by the consultant, with a few F1s and me in tow. We discuss each patient beforehand and I get the patients’ drug charts and notes before we see them. Sometimes the doctors let me write a few things in the notes (under heavy supervision) or take a medical history from the patient. We finish at about midday and I go home for lunch, which like lots of third years, is just across the road from the hospital.

In the afternoon, I am attached to the on-call team. We attend medical emergencies which I observe and, when things aren’t as chaotic, I take histories from interesting patients.

When that finishes at around 6pm, I head to the MedSoc Committee meeting. I’m Vice-President this year so I help oversee the running of meetings where we discuss all things concerning socials, societies and sports teams at BSMS.

Tuesday

Like Monday, I start the day with a ward round, but in the afternoon, I go to a respiratory out patients clinic instead. For each patient the consultant explains what they have come in for and goes through the underlying medicine behind their condition. The quality of teaching is great as you have one-on-one time with the doctor.

In the evening I read online about the medical problems I encountered during the clinic and try to learn all the important information.

Wednesday

I meet some of my friends for coffee before our only full day of lectures. These typically start at 9am which is sadly a late start by third year standards! We learn about the scientific basis of medicine, clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, as well as general clinical practice. It’s nice to see the rest of my year as during the rest of the week we are spread out across the different hospitals and specialties in the trust.

In the evening I go to a special Emergency Medicine Society event. It’s a training session in virtual reality where you manage an acutely ill patient using the headset and controllers. BSMS are always looking for the most up-to-date and effective ways of teaching so it is very exciting to try this out and see what’s next for medical education.

I then get a lift from a friend up to Brighton campus where I have a game for the BSMS men’s football team, of which I am one of the captains. The team plays twice a week and is funded by the medical school, and players are BSMS students from first to fifth year.

Thursday

I have Thursday morning off this week! I usually spend my mornings off catching up on sleep from all the early starts during the week, doing admin for my different society roles or just playing video games to relax.

In the afternoon we have module teaching. I’m on the general medicine rotation, which means I have lectures on different conditions patients come in with and the associated pharmacology. How we’re taught in third year is very different compared with first and second year because it’s very much based on what you will be seeing on your placements. This makes all the teaching relevant to you and comes in handy straight away.

Friday

This morning I have a session with my Clinical Fellow. These fortnightly sessions involve the Clinical Fellow teaching you about whatever you want. It’s invaluable learning as you can fill holes in your knowledge and go over specific skills before trying them on patients. We have afew more lectures in the afternoon – this week we have one on medical ethics. It’s interesting because our lectures are not just about diseases and how to cure them, but also include social, ethical and practical issues that are relevant to medicine.

Once the lectures are over, I go home and make some dinner, then have a writing session for the Medic Revue. It’s a yearly comedy show which is part of the Brighton Fringe festival in May, and is entirely written, acted and produced by BSMS students. I meet with the committee twice a week to work on the script.

Afterwards, I go to football training and then finish the week off with a MedSoc social at one of Brighton’s many clubs. 

Rhiannon Hoggins 

Monday

Today I am at the 9am ear nose and throat (ENT) clinic at the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Haywards Heath, sitting in with one of the ENT registrars. I observe the doctor taking the history and examining the patients. I get to practise my clinical skills as well, examining the ear using the otoscope – this is a new skill for me and so I’m a bit nervous at first. I also get to observe the use of a flexible nasal endoscope, noticing how the doctor communicates with patients to put them at ease. 

I meet my friend for lunch in the hospital restaurant where we chat about our weekend and what we’re doing in the afternoon. 

In the afternoon I’m in theatre. I arrive at 1.30pm and get changed into scrubs. I see a tonsillectomy for a patient with recurrent tonsillitis, as well as the fitting of a bone-anchored hearing aid. This is very interesting surgery to watch and between patients the doctor asks me questions and teaches me about the relevant anatomy. 

At 4pm I start the journey home feeling very satisfied since I feel that I have learnt a lot! After making dinner and catching up with my housemates I meet my friend for a drink. 

Tuesday

My day starts with ENT teaching at 10.30am (a rare lie in – hurrah!). Today I’m at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, where we’re being taught how to perform the relevant clinical skills in more detail: this involves neck examination and more practice examining the ear using an otoscope. It is really useful to have 1:1 clinical teaching with such an experienced ENT consultant and it’s always fun to practice our clinical skills on each other! 

In the afternoon I’m in clinic with one of the consultants. This time I feel much more confident using the otoscope and examining the ear following my teaching in the morning, and I’m able to visualise the normal ear drum as well as spot any abnormalities.

At 5pm I head to the library to meet a group of medical students in my year and an A&E registrar. I’m part of a group called the Wellness Medic, who are passionate about promoting healthcare professionals’ and students’ own wellbeing. As part of this we are organising talks, wellbeing retreats, supper clubs, yoga and meditation sessions. Our first talk is the following evening so we are agreeing the final details. We have a very productive meeting and are all very excited about the event!  

Wednesday

Today I am at PRH again for theatres in the morning. In the afternoon I have time off for personal study so I learn about medications commonly used in ENT. Afterwards I test myself using the app CAPSULE. The app was developed by BSMS and is really useful to work through clinical cases and answer the associated questions. 

Then I head to the gym and do a circuits class, which helps me to take my mind off medicine, plus I get to socialise with friends. At 5pm I head to the Wellness Medic event. It is great to see so many people interested in the project and to hear some really inspiring people talk. Afterwards we head out for dinner to celebrate our success. 

Thursday

This morning I am tutoring two children in GCSE biology, chemistry, and physics, something I enjoy doing every week. As Thursday is designated to our Individual Research Project, I meet with my supervisor at the Children’s Hospital. My project is looking at staff child protection training inthe hospital. I’m developing a questionnaire to send out to staff and then analysing the results, and producing a 3,000–5,000 word research paper. We are hoping to get the research published in an academic journal and present at conferences. 

Afterwards I head to the gym, then do some more work on my research project and relax with my housemates.

Friday

Fridays are dedicated to our general practice and public health module. Some days we attend lectures and then small group seminar teaching with our GP facilitator, and others we travel to our placement at a local GP surgery. Our lectures tend to focus on common clinical presentations to general practice. During the small group seminar teaching we discuss our experiences from the past week, which is a good opportunity to ask any questions that wemay have in a relaxed atmosphere. We also work through clinical cases discussing the history, examination and management of cases. 

Today I am attending my GP placement in Henfield for the entire day. I sit in with the doctor, observing and assisting in the consultation by examining patients and taking histories. 

Later in the day I am given my own list of patients and run my own clinic. This is under close observation of the GP, and together we discuss potential differential diagnoses and management plans. Through this experience I feel that I have learnt a lot and have gained in confidence. 

In the evening I catch up with my boyfriend, who lives in London.

Ali Al-Sakban

Monday

I’m on placement in elderly medicine at East Surrey Hospital in Redhill. At 8am I join in on a ward round for any new patients on the wards and people who are on their first post-operative day.

I take a full history and examination of the new patients and then present a summary to the consultant. Following this, the consultant reviews the patients and finalises the notes. At 9am we have a ‘huddle’, where the new patients are quickly discussed with the rest of the team and then the doctors and I are divided into groups to cover different bays in the ward for the morning ward round.

During the ward round, the doctor and I take turns in writing the notes, talking to and examining the patients. This is always useful as it allows me to see and actively get involved in all elements of the ward round. At 11.30 we conduct a multidisciplinary team (MDT) handover involving the doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists.

After lunch with my friends in the hospital accommodation, I assist the doctors with jobs which accumulated during the ward round, such as taking bloods, reviewing medication, chasing results and referrals to other departments or services.

In the evening, I attend an orthopaedic teaching session, then wind down by ending my day with a gym session.

Tuesday

Tuesday on my ward is similar to Monday with an 8am start where I clerk patients, a huddle at 9am followed by the ward round and finally an MDT handover at 11.30. As a medical student it’s really important to realise the role of other members of the team and not just doctors. Every member is involved in the care of the patient and this is demonstrated brilliantly while sitting in on the handover.

I attend an additional Foundation Year 1 teaching session at lunchtime – this typically consists of lecture-based teaching on various topics and cases facing junior doctors. I spend my afternoon back in the ward, helping the doctors and improving my clinical skills such as venepunctures. It is interesting to seehow calm and relaxed most of the afternoons can be. Despite working in a busy environment, the staff are able to work together well and are very supportive of each other. As an F1, I will undoubtedly tap into these moments to remind myself of what a good team looks like.

Later on junior doctors provide us with extra teaching on different topics around our curriculum. In the evening, I go to the library to go over the notes I’ve made since Monday and study around the topics I come across.

Wednesday

It’s a similar pattern of work to Monday and Tuesday. This placement has allowed me to get a feel of what it really is like as a doctor. We hear and see a lot of the acute and thrilling cases on television but in reality, a lot of what doctors do is reviewing the patients on the wards and ensuring everyone is being cared for properly and no one is deteriorating.

Every Wednesday there is a Care of the Elderly meeting where there are lectures on different elderly medicine cases and recent research. There is also free lunch, but I definitely only go for the academic substance!

In the evening I have my dinner with friends and then go to the library to study and update my portfolio book, which is like a diary that we are required to regularly update on things we have seen or done.

Thursday

Thursdays tend to be more of a relaxed day because we have our seminars at 9.30 am, which is classed as a late start! During these seminars we sit in on core curricular lectures followed by student presentations led by our peers. This week I present a lecture on neck of femur fractures in elderly patients. It goes really well and I receive good feedback from the clinical fellow who is marking the presentation.

In the early afternoon, there is a Medical Grand Round, where the junior doctors present random cases to all medical staff in a large lecture room. This is a good time to sit and have lunch, as it is quite informal. I find this part of the day enjoyable because the cases that are presented are often interesting and rare.

In the evening there is a radiology teaching led by the radiology registrar, showing us how to interpret and present different imaging modalities – this kind of extra teaching is always appreciated.

Friday

Usually on a Friday I would do the ward round and then a consultant-led clinic in the afternoon where we see outpatients. However, this week I have clinical skills teaching, led by the BSMS skills team at the Audrey Emerton building. The day consists of learning different skills including prescribing, venepuncture, IV fluids and antibiotic administrations. This is always a very enjoyable and useful day which helps us perfect our clinical skills in a calm and safe environment where mistakes are a lot more tolerated.

In the evening I take a break and don’t do any revision, but instead make my way up to London to see my family and catch up with friends during the weekend.