Category: studying medicine

Simulation Training at Medical School

MBBS Medicine

Final year is going at full speed- with only (gulp!) 7 months to go until our finals exams are done. We have received our GMC numbers now and from Monday will have our account details to apply for our first job in the NHS.
 
So as the real life stuff is ramping up, so is the training to help us be junior doctors. I am currently on my emergency medicine attachment and as part of this we had a simulation day based at West Middlesex Hospital. It was fantastic! 
 
The aim of the day was to give us experience handling emergency situations in a “safe” environment. In pairs, we were placed in a simulation room with a student nurse too. The simulation dummy patient had a voice (someone was speaking through a microphone next door), pulses and breath sounds in their chest. We were given a situation such as “You are the F1s and have been called to see X patient on the ward as the nurses are worried about her, please assess”. Then we had about 10 minutes to play out the acute situation and see how we would handle it when left to our own devices. Meanwhile, our peers were watching our every move in the room next door and would feedback on our return having “saved” the simulation dummy. The simulation room was set up like a normal ward and a useful part about it was we could call for help on the phone to our teaching fellows who would give us advice as if they were the medical registrar on call.  
 
Honestly, simulation training in our final year has a huge impact on us. It gives us the chance to make the mistakes and be more confident in our own skills before we hit the wards soon. Imperial has combined clinical skills, patient safety and simulation technology to create us fab teaching sessions – and it must be an absolute mission to organise them for our whole year. 
 
For now, it is interesting for me to reflect that in first year (back in 2013!) all I wanted to do was to go and see patients and get out of lectures, but now all I want to do is improve on my knowledge and fundamental skills before I go out and see the patients as a doctor soon…Scary!
Me in the simulation room!
Twitter: @malamawks | Instagram: @malamawkin

#NHS70 – Reflections of a medical student

MBBS Medicine

Twitter: @malamawkin | Instagram: @malamawkin

This week marks the 70th anniversary of the NHS and the celebrations are really inspiring. A couple of years ago when the junior doctor contract strikes occurred in my 3rd year the outlook felt quite bleak for a career in the NHS. Many of my friends considered switching career paths and I think we all felt quite unsure of how our working life would be shaped by the changes. However, 2 years on and now about to start final year…there really is a different mood in the air.

We know that the life of a junior doctor is going to be hard, and we know that it will be a shock from medical school life. We also know that we won’t be clocking off at 5pm every day, or earning enough to be able to afford a house asap. But, we also know that we will have a fulfilling and rewarding job no matter what changes occur to the NHS or our training (obviously to an extent that is!). If one thing trickled down to medical students after the junior doctor strikes it was that a career in medicine is one that makes a difference. The consultants on the wards would reassure us students that we did make the right career choice and that they do really love their job.

With the NHS turning 70 this week it does make me reflect on how the NHS (despite it’s rocky patches) is an incredible organisation that it is full of hardworking, dedicated people. Our training at Imperial College Hospitals has been a daily reminder of this- and we are so lucky to be trained by some of the most caring and knowledgeable doctors around. Studying medicine at Imperial- and in the NHS- really is inspiring and I can’t believe I am only months away now from medical school finals. Final year starts in 2 weeks time, applications for a real graduate job begins in 2 months and junior doctor life in the brilliant NHS is now fast approaching…!!

Doing an exam on our Ipad- Pathology 2018

MBBS Medicine

Twitter: @malamawks | Instagram: @malamawkin

As you know, Imperial gives all of us medical students an iPad which we use to get a whole range of resources. This includes eBooks for modules, we complete our sign offs for hospital placements on it and even have revision tools on it. However, this was the first time I have completed an actual end-of-year summative exam on the iPad and it was really interesting.

So the exam was the Pathology exam (5th year exam) on Monday which covered Microbiology, Immunology, Haematology, Histopathology, Chemical Pathology and Ethics & Law. It was 175 questions with 50 of them being very short answer questions (vsa). The set up of the exam worked exactly the same as a normal exam- we all sat on normal exam desks and had a plain sheet of paper we could write notes on as we filled in the exam on the ipad. The exam begun by our screens locking in the Practique app so we could not flick to google mid way through the exam. Then we all put in our unique ID codes and off we went (I was so nervous!).

Obviously as it was an online exam there was bound to be a few people with technical troubles but I was so so thankful that all ran smoothly for my Ipad. For those that did have problems there were several staff there to resolve it/give a new iPad to use (which you would just re-login to).

I felt that the app was super user friendly and it was easy to flag questions and return to them later. You could also monitor your own progress throughout the 3 hour exam as every time you answered a question the question number would change colour on the progress bar.

I am yet to find out my results (*cross all fingers*) but hopefully now it is on this online system and not a handwritten exam we can all get better feedback on how we did and also get our results faster.

This is just my view point and I am sure there are some that think this move to iPad is an awful move for exams- but it really is the future of exams and it is exciting to be at a University that strives to keep improving its assessment and feedback model. Imperial’s science and technology core shines through with this exam format. Although… I would be lying if I said I didn’t have nerves about using an iPad for the exam when it was first announced.

My specialties exam on Friday is on normal paper again, but I do wonder what this will hold for my exams next year. Hologram Patients? Virtual reality OSCEs?…probably not yet.

*This blog will have spelling/grammar errors in as I am just quickly writing this on a revision break- please excuse! Just wanted to write it while it was still fresh.*

Practique app

Revising for 5th Year Clinical Medical Exams

MBBS Medicine

Twitter: @malamawks | Instagram: @malamawkin

It really is that time of year again…the stress levels are rising and 5th year exams are approaching. We have about 6 weeks left until our first exam and although that sounds a while away still, there is a lot to cover. On top of this, we are still attending our hospital attachments daily.

I wanted to share with you a few resources that I am using to help me through this revision period this year, hopefully it can help anyone else revising for clinical exams and not sure where to start!

  • Brainscape: Imperial Medicine students past and present have made flashcards on this amazing app that is a great revision tool. You can download the cards on your ipads and test yourself on them during journeys/lunch time on attachments.
  • DemDx: This has been a fantastic tool for me whilst revising for my specialities exam this year. It helps you organise your thoughts in a logical way and understand how you reach a diagnosis. I use this on the wards when I see a patient to help me understand all the differentials it could be and then understand how I can narrow them down.
  • Passmedicine and Pastest: Both are great question banks that you can test your knowledge with.
  • Imperial Blackboard resources: Watching lectures back for our pathology exam, our online e-modules and also quizzes that lecturers have put up are all invaluable.
  • Imperial online library: It has been such a treat not having to take out all the books I need for revision, but instead I can use the online library imperial has to access textbooks on my ipad!
  • Guidelines: Imperial gives us access to BMJ best practice which is a great tool to understand guidelines and management, and on top of this we are going over the online NICE and RCOG etc guidelines so we know the up to date stuff.

What is great this year is that as we have a practical exam (PACES) for Paediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Psychology- which means that we are practising in groups and this is saving us all from being attached to our computers and textbooks 24/7.

Don’t get me wrong, it is not all heads down and work….we are still getting time to have a recharge in the evenings watching films and hitting the pub. But now that 5th year counts for our rankings when we apply for jobs after graduation, and revising for it will help us be safe doctors, it is getting more serious then ever…

For now, I am home with my family this weekend getting on with revision and enjoying the weather! Medical school is all about time management and “little and often”, and Imperial really do support us to ensure we are (hopefully!) well prepared for these exams and life as a doctor.

Forbes 30 Under 30 List

MBBS Medicine

Twitter: @malamawks | Instagram: @malamawkin

I was honestly over the moon to find out that I was included on the Forbes 30 Under 30 2018 List for Europe. What an absolutely amazing honour, and am so grateful for the team at Forbes for including me! It all started back in November when I was emailed explaining that I had been shortlisted and asked me for a bit more information about myself. I remember that morning I had been on a paediatric placement in High Dependency Unit and had been a part of my first paediatric “crash call”. I had been so down from the day and receiving this email completely changed it.

In Jan 2018 I was told that I was in the final 50 of my category (science and healthcare) and was to be invited to the launch party on the 22nd Jan in London. I bought a dress online just in case- but really did hold my breath and just considered it an honour enough to be in the top 50. Then, 2am on the 22nd Jan…the list came out. My dad said he slept 1 hour that night, and I really do echo this. I had ortho teaching that day and sitting through that knowing I had to rush home and get ready for the launch party made paying attention in teaching very difficult (but managed it!). It was such a whirlwind of a day, and I was just so happy! I was interviewed by Imperial (you can read more here: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_23-1-2018-12-7-50) before the launch party too!

The launch party had some of the most inspiring and fascinating people I have ever met. It was incredible, and I left it feeling so motivated about keeping going with my goals. That is the thing here…Imperial encourages you to go for all of your ambitions. I have had my fair share of rejections and setbacks but honestly, if anything, I really have learnt resilience here. Being on the Forbes list with so many other Imperial alumni made me so, so proud to attend this University!

Onwards and upwards for now, and excited to see which new faces from Imperial appear on the list next year. We rock.

You can see me on the Youngest List and Science and Healthcare List at www.forbes.com/30-under-30-europe/2018/

Mala Mawkin Forbes 30 Under 30 Launch Party

 

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