The Intercalated BMedSci Programme offers unique and valuable learning environments for medical students.
Ruaraidh Campbell, a member of the 2016-2017 student cohort for the Intercalated BMedSci programme in Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine explains how the programme has prepared him for his future medical career.
The programme has a clear clinical focus and allows students to understand how clinical studies are designed and run. Learning how to appraise evidence and use that in my research will make me a better doctor.
The programme structure enables students to spend time in clinical spaces such as theatres in the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary Hospital and share their learning with senior medics and research staff. This experiential learning through a strong and supportive clinical team provides a unique and valuable learning environment for students.
There is a real community feeling between students, teachers, doctors and research nurses.
A flexible teaching approach helps to nurture peer to peer learning and encourages student feedback as well as enabling the programme to adapt to that feedback.
I really felt that our feedback mattered to Dr David Griffith (programme led) and the other teachers, I could see that they were constantly thinking about how the programme could be improved.
Ruaraidh would encourage other medical students to consider enrolling for the Intercalated BMedSci programme and offers some useful advice for future students around preparation for the dissertation in the 2nd Semester.
Start thinking about the dissertation in the 1st Semester and start early discussions with supervisors about how you will find your patients and what the potential blocks could be. If you visualise what your research project will look like and check all of your assumptions you will be in a much better position to carry it out successfully.
After completing the programme I feel much more confident about being part of a clinical research team or even designing and running my own research project.
Ruaraidh was so inspired by the programme that he helped to set up The Edinburgh Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine Society (ACCPM), an academic student-led society aiming to bring the exciting fields of anaesthesia and critical care into undergraduate medicine.
To learn more about what The ACCPM Society offers follow them onTo learn more about what The ACCPM Society offers follow them on facebook @accpmedinburgh