Blog posts

Learning how to teach at medical school

MBBS Medicine

Twitter: @malamawks | Instagram: @malamawkin

In 5th year we are all given a compulsory one week of teaching skills. It is hard to imagine why we need to learn how to teach- surely everyone knows the basics?! But actually, what I found over the week was how little I actually knew about teaching and how vital it is for being a good doctor- whether you are training medical students, teaching colleagues about cases or even presenting at a conference.

We learnt the basis on teaching skills and theory behind practical methods on the Monday, which lead us to be split into teams to design and teach each other how to make a paper airplane (very competitive!).

Drama at Imperial: Act I

MBBS/BSc Medicine

Drama is the macrophage, and I the pathogen. It has engulfed and destroyed me. (In all the best possible ways)

Welcome to part one of your insight into Imperial College School of Medicine (ICSM) Drama– the best medic society at Imperial. I promise I’m not biased.

The start of the journey brings us back to Freshers at Freshers’ Fair- where 370+ clubs and societies are showcased across campus to try and spark your interest in joining them. Standing right by the entrance to the medicine building was Gen, who is all types of lovely plus she’s also president of the society.

Snow Day(s)

Biological Sciences with year in industry

4 years I’ve been waiting. Today was the day – I finally saw a substantial amount of snow in London. It was as magical as I had hoped! I always remember as a child waking up on the morning of a snow day and screaming with joy! Yeah, that still happened even as a 21 year old. It seems that snow, no matter how old you are, always elicits a feeling of playfulness and unbounded joy (unless you’re trying to commute – then it only brings sad sad sadness).

I should warn you, snow in the UK is a rare event (unless you live in Snowdonia in Wales or Northern Scotland) and as a result, we are awfully prepared – EVERY TIME.

50 shades of fitness…

MSc Sustainable Energy Futures

What are the options for mature students in their fifties to stay fit? There are plenty of time, resources and facilities dedicated to help with lectures, tutorials, reading, research, coursework and so on. What about other essential components of daily life: exercise, sport, fitness? Rest assured: it turns out there are also plenty of facilities to help you when you want to do anything other than rest.

I headed over to the Ethos Sports Centre, right next door to the main Imperial site in South Kensington, to check it out. From old-fashioned circuits, currently fashionable yoga, Pilates and Zumba, to rather more esoteric sounding Vinyasa flow yoga or Kondi – Ethos appears to have it all.

FINAL final year exams FINALLY

Biological Sciences with year in industry

23rd February 2018 10am to 1pm – the specifics of my last Imperial undergraduate exam. MY LAST EVER ONE. Writing this now, I can’t quite believe it’s all over.

This exam season was no different to others (apart from the fact this exam counted for more than my entire first year – or something ridiculous like that). Many hours were spent in the library, working and procrastination in equal measure. For me, I always studied in St Mary’s library in Paddington as it was 5 minutes from home and, in my opinion, it’s the nicest library Imperial has – think old wooden beams and a studious vibe.

Snowing in London

MSci Geology and Geophysics

Hi guys,

So it’s been snowing on and off here since yesterday. When I woke up yesterday to see fluffy white stuff floating outside, I literally jumped out of bed and rushed to the window. Where I saw a view of the grass in Princes Gardens dusted with fine, soft snow!!! and got so excited, I immediately called my friend to tell her about it 

Well, can’t blame me… that’s the most snow I’ve seen in Central London. I did manage to play with some (aka snowball fights and made a snowman) when I was in Harpenden last November, but this is Central London.

The Road to Varsity

Mathematics and Statistics

And what netball has meant to me this year

Although netball was not a new sport to me, playing a sport at university has certainly been a new experience. Imperial College Netball Club (ICUNC) has become one of my favourite aspects of Imperial, and even though, for a while, I almost regretted not taking up a new sport, the last few months have definitely reminded me why I chose netball. For months on end, the repetitive cycle of training on a Thursday and matches on a Monday seemed cruel in the subzero temperatures, however, looking back now, I can see how much we’ve improved, bonded as a team and had a really great time along the way.

What’s the difference? (2/2)

ERASMUS+ exchange student

I‘m still walking around the Imperial College every day and keeping a keen eye on every deviation from the German university system. In my last blogpost I gave my opinion of the professors, the learning atmosphere and the general concept. Today some other aspects follow 🙂

Exams

In London, the “you have to pass everything in this year” puts much greater pressure on students compared to at my university. If you don’t pass a subject at my university or you want to drop out by yourself (yes, that’s possible!), you can do the exam either in the same or the following semester.

First Time Dissecting a Cadaver

MBBS/BSc Medicine

Before I jump right in- kindly note that it’s pronounced dis-section, and not di-(s)section. Literally the one thing I can recall from the intro to anatomy lecture from Freshers’ week.

Safe to say our very first dissection session was highly anticipated amongst my cohort. We’re currently learning about the thorax- part of the body between the neck and abdomen. At Imperial, we do full-body dissections rather than prosections. Each group consists of 10-11 students and we are assigned a cadaver per group for the whole of the anatomy course, which lasts into year 2. The dissections are done at our Charing Cross campus.

Learn more about life at Imperial

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