During the MCO our KLASS MEDS team arranged on line sessions for our aspiring doctors and life scientists. Although we are now back on campus the team has continued to connect our would-be medical students with KLASS Alumni who are now studying to be Doctors.
Firstly we welcomed Hong Yau, a year 3 medical student at the University of Leicester, UK.
Hong Yau was able to give us an insight into how the NHS is having to change to be able to react to COVID19. He was able to compare a number of universities in the UK based on how much clinical experience they offer, challenging some of our students preconceived ideas about some universities. He spoke about the emphasis on reflection when working for the NHS, how developing this skill has made him become a better doctor, and therefore helped his patients, and urged our students to spend time reflecting on everything they do to prepare themselves for the application process and beyond. He also advised our students on how to select their ‘perfect’ university, on how to play to their strengths during the application process, and how to prepare for UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test).
In our next session we met Simyi, a year 2 medical student at the University of Leicester, UK. This session resulted in debate, disagreements, further questions, and more importantly, resulted in our students love and passion for medicine grow! Simyi gave us a virtual tour of the University of Leicester, introducing us to some of the wonderful things that this university had to offer. He introduced us to the daunting UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) assessment, which most of our students will sit in order to gain entry to medical school. He guided us through the various sections of the test. He helped us dissect a number of sample questions, and busted a number of myths surrounding some of our preconceived ideas about how doctors approach different situations. Today our students took one step towards their goal of entering medical school!
We ended this term's sessions speaking with Mani, a member of #KLASSof2020 and currently on a gap year. We thought what better person to guide us through booking and starting our UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) preparation than someone who did it less than a year ago! Mani was able to give us the do’s and don’ts when starting serious revision. He was able to tell us what things to consider when deciding when to do the test, and how to select universities based on its outcome. He pointed us in the direction of excellent revision resources, outlined the test structure and components, and gave us some outstanding advice on exam technique. As our students are about to take the first step in their application process, this was a invaluable session!
If you are interested in finding out more about studying medicine watch this episode from our academic lecture series hosted by Dr. David Russell, University of Dundee, UK and Dr. Chean Kooi Yau, RCSI-UCD Malaysia Campus. You'll also find other related subject lectures in the playlist too including Biomedical Sciences and Sport and Exercise Science.
What is KLASS MEDS?
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KLASS MEDS is a student led programme focused on life sciences which gives students a chance to gain new experiences and continue their passion in this field outside of the Alice Smith School's curriculum. Any student from (I)GCSE and/or A-Levels can be a part of KLASS MEDS. This programme isn't necessarily for medicine or life science students, other students interested in other fields can benefit from this because there will be many topics linked with other subjects such as physics (biophysics), chemistry (biochemistry), mathematics & engineering (bioengineering) and computer science!
