Student blogs

It’s February!

Okay I know I’m late and it’s like past the middle of February, but I remembered that around this time last year I was filling out applications for post-graduate courses, and upon recalling the trauma, I thought it might be about time to talk about the Master’s course I’m studying at Imperial. It’s called Preventive Cardiology, which obviously will not fascinate you if you have no interest in cardiology what so-ever. But just in case you do, please read on!

Short disclaimer:
I have not been forced, threatened or held at gunpoint to write a good report of my course at Imperial. Neither have I been bribed with good grades (as great as that would be). This is all my honest opinion 🙂

Okay, let’s get to it!

Why would you choose this course?
When I was searching for courses I knew I wanted to study within the field of Cardiology. I realised that in comparison to other MSc courses on cardiology, this one focuses on prevention instead of intervention. If you’re unsure of what I mean by this, then think more in terms of questioning “How can we stop this from happening?” rather than “Right, let’s operate!”

Another aspect I like about this course is that it focuses more on population based research, rather than laboratory work (although I’m sure if you had an idea for a laboratory based project within prevention of heart disease, something could be worked out!).

Given that I did my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences, you would think I would prefer lab-based projects. However I’m finding working with human beings instead of petri dishes and pipettes is like a breath of fresh air, and a different side of research that I didn’t get to see before!

 The nit-and-grit of it all
The course has four core modules – including a research project and clinical placements – and three optional modules. The first semester consisted of two lectures every week for two of the core modules where we were taught about the risk factors of cardiovascular disease, and then exams and coursework in December and January.

The good news is that after first semester there are no more exams! If you’re anything like me then you would be weeping for joy at the sound of this. On the other hand, you may not be as useless as me at revising and might prefer exam assessments rather than coursework, so take it all into consideration.

How I’m finding it so far
I underestimated the amount of work I need to do to get a great grade, and although I keep rejoicing over the thought of no more exams, there’s a lot to keep up with in terms of self-organization of placements, and starting my research project.

However, I must say I’m enjoying it! My research project is currently about links between mental health and cardiovascular disease, and I’m excited to get started. Furthermore living in London has made things all the more interesting and given me much more to do than the quiet town in Essex where I’m from.

I’m likely to talk about my time on the course every now and then, (most likely me stressing out) so if you’re interested in finding out more, then pop back from time to time, or email me :).

~ Nebz

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