A day in the life of a medical student differs vastly depending on the student and the actual medical school. Joanne Joshua studies at the University of Nottingham and her experience as a medical student is nothing short of encouraging and somewhat surprising. The following is a brief outlook of her medical journey so far.
Starting off at the beginning, Joanne’s schedule usually involves waking up at around 7AM, which provides her with plenty of time to get some breakfast and be on her way to lectures that start at 9AM. Her lectures go on until about 4PM, with a dissection that is usually scheduled in for the afternoon. After this, she devotes some time at the gym before heading back home. Once at home, Joanne then normally spends a few hours
revising and consolidating the day’s work before finally making her way to bed.
Aspiring medics are often under the impression that medical students devote all their time and effort into studying. This is largely false as there are numerous students who get involved in university extracurriculars that they enjoy. In this case, Joanne is particularly interested in sports and was therefore a part of the rock climbing, Zumba, and volleyball societies. On top of this, she was a part of the university’s Christian Union and would volunteer whenever they needed to put on events. Not only does this portray that the life of a medical student can be relaxed to a certain extent, but it also proves that universities are definitely aware of their students’ wellbeing.
Whilst a lot of students already know exactly what path they want to follow, there are many who are still unsure. Getting into medical school does not mean you immediately need to know the career pathway you’re heading towards. Joanne is one such student who has decided to give it some time before making the final decision. She believes that medical school is the place to explore all the specialties in medicine and really get to understand where you would personally fit in. Undergraduate medicine is a 5-6 year course for a reason; it provides students with enough time to adequately explore medicine and make an informed decision about what they want to do in the future.
The personal statement is a significant feature of your application, and an important criterion of it is to answer the question “why do you want to become a doctor?”. Joanne states that the reason she chose medicine was primarily because of her love of science, combined with her ability to lead and her preference to work in teams. Additionally, she was never too thrilled at the prospect of a desk job and this altogether helped her arrive at medicine. To complement this, Joanne had always been a hard-working individual; a fitting trait for a demanding profession!
Finally, a parting piece of advice from our student: Medical school is not as difficult as you imagine it to be, so long as you’re determined to work hard and get through it.
Source: Joanne Joshua, University of Nottingham
Written by: Mahika Singh
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