First off, sorry guys. I did make and edit a video but behold technology hates me, so here we are.
Firstly, bring snacks. Lots of them. I got to the middle of the afternoon
and was starving! The vending machine is not the cheapest thing in the universe
either so bring something to curb that 3pm dip. It may be only two hours till
hometime but it really makes a difference. Same goes for lunch, the cafe up
there (well, in fact anywhere on campus) is expensive and you don’t want to be
spending your precious money on that!
Secondly, Greys anatomy is brilliant for the workbooks you’ll
be given. A lot of the pictures are “label this”, if you look in greys, the
exact same image is normally there saving you time. These will become the bane
of your life but looking back, I really wish I had completed mine properly,
they provide clinical detail to a “label and colour” anatomy session.
Thirdly, get involved! This can be anything from Medic Parents
to Student seminars. First year is hard and getting involved with things that
go on can make you forget about Phase One which is essential. There is so much to do
here Medic Revue, Medic Take Me out, Winter trips, Wilderness trips, Medic
Balls. Don’t be a stranger, come and say hi to us!
Speaking of getting involved. The first week is there for
you to settle into Warwick and adjust to your new life. You do not need to be
catching up on every lecture, every session etc. Go to the Freshers events,
please go to Freshers fair (and visit the Neuroscience table!) and go on the
bar crawls. You thank yourself when you hit the back of block one going into
block two that you took that time off! (Also, Doctors and Nurses is not to be
missed, yes you have a 8am the next day but its tradition!)
Keep your notes legible and try your best to have every
lecture written down. You don’t want to be getting to revision and finding you
have no notes for an entire block. You don’t have to be up to date every day,
just make sure that you have at least 90% of the block written up by the end of
the block. Keep your notes organised , and just know where everything is.
Ask for help. No one is here to prove that they are god of Medicine.
You are allowed to ask for help. A good
source of information is actually your fellow peers! Remember, you are on a GEM
course, people are coming with such a wide range of backgrounds that you will
all have expertise in different areas. If that fails go to the lecturers, they
are lovely and WANT you to do well. (Just ask Ellie in anatomy about the
afternoon we spent three hours with her on the arm). Finally, if you don’t feel
comfortable yet going to the lecturers come to us, your second years. We know
what you are going through, we survived it!
Formatives are there just as a guide. They do not count
towards your grade, if you fail, there is no problem whatsoever. I never passed
any of mine until I got to two weeks before exams. So, relax 😊
Finally, enjoy every second of it. First year is brilliant, hard and stressful but looking back , it was the best year. Be as cheesy
as you want, take every selfie you want, and smile through the hard times,
after all. You’re here at Med School!
Please come and say hello to me, I am USELESS at recognising
faces so please forgive me if I can’t remember your name even if you had told
it to me 4 seconds ago. I am normally in the Med School ( I seem to live there)
and I am known to be a good tea maker if you ever need a chat.
Anyway, I will let you get to sleep ! Good Luck !
