abigailgrows

One of the first steps when deciding to become a doctor is picking your medical school. I picked my four choices with two being my preferred options, Warwick was my top choice. There were many reasons why I picked Warwick as my home for the next four years most are outlined below:

 

Postgraduate Only

Warwick is one of the youngest medical schools in the country, becoming an independent medical school in 2007. It only takes postgraduate students for one of the largest intakes of an accelerated medical course. I made the decision to only apply for postgraduate courses due to both my age and the length at which I have already been in education for.

I’ve often stated in posts about my undergraduate degree that being the minority meant that I was often forgotten about when it came to giving out information and so I wanted a medicine course that taught the postgraduates largely independently from the conventional medical degree: or at least largely viewed them as a separate entity. Warwick was a great fit for this requirement, only hosting postgraduates, with a course that is four years and designed to be an aggressive course for postgraduates.

 

CBL Learning Style

CBL or case-based learning is a great way of learning a large source of information and about how something works in the real life. It’s usually centered around a hypothetical incident where you ask questions and derive your learning from there.

I have been an avid supporter of CBL since I first came across it during my second year of undergrad. The style of learning really fitted in with how I retained information and made my learning and revision process easier. The method is also a great way of putting theory into practice, which I though was a perfect fit for learning during medical school.

 

Hospital Links

Warwick has great hospital links, and you enter them from the first week. Its definitely one of the reasons that i picked Warwick, entering the hospital from day one.

There are three hospitals that we affiliate with, University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW), Warwick Hospital and The George Elliot Hospital. All three hospitals have an A&E department which is great for someone who wants to specialise in emergency and trauma medicine. The trauma ward at UHCW is also a bonus! The three hospitals are well equipped and to a good standard, which is a great foundation to have as a student, knowing you can head into an environment that though stretched is not struggling.

 

Lifestyle

The MedSoc is like a miniature student union, giving us many chances to play sports, take part in fun society’s and provide us with events and nights out. The medic parent scheme means you have someone from the year above you can talk to as well as making the years talk to and get along well with each other. The medical school seems to be slightly withdrawn from the rest of the university; although for some people that may not be what they want from their course. I wanted to focus on medical school and as a slightly older student i didn’t really want to have to be around the non-med students. I’ve done that already and now i want to focus on medical school, and doctor  stuff. The combination of the slight separation with the great work of the MedSoc means i get the best of both worlds. Exactly what i wanted.

 

Career Prospects

This year, 100% of the final years passed their exams and graduated. The university has great connections with trusts, and Warwick graduates find it really easy to get F1 placements around the country. Linking back in with the hospitals in the area, the presence of multiple A&E departments means i can get plenty of experience in where i want to go. Its definitely going to give me a boost being here.

 

With only a two days to go until my first week in medical school i am certain that Warwick is the best choice for me, i am looking forward to being challenged and learning everything i can. I am sure there are things i won’t like about the course and the university. But knowing that it has the best learning style for me and the some of the best connections and career prospects makes it completely worth the next four years of my life.