Student profile: Suzi

What work experience had you gained before coming here?

Alongside my undergraduate degree I had a couple of part time roles as a support worker for adults and children with severe learning disabilities and/or autism, and I also volunteered at a local psychiatric hospital organising art activities for patients. At that point I hadn’t considered studying medicine, but I knew I enjoyed working with people. After graduation, I worked in some research-related office jobs, then moved onto working as an NHS healthcare assistant. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic I was redeployed into a several different departments, allowing me to gain experience working in psychiatry, respiratory, cardiology, and trauma & orthopaedic surgery - these were the experiences which led to my interest in medicine.

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Why did you choose Warwick?

I liked the fact that WMS is exclusively for graduates and that there are a large number of students in each cohort (around 200 in each year), giving me a greater chance of meeting people I click with on the course. I also chose WMS because it’s located near my family and is a relatively affordable area to live in (the other courses I was considering were in London).

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How are you finding the MB ChB so far?

Each year of the MB ChB has been challenging and interesting in very different ways. Now I’m in third year, I’m really enjoying being able to do and understand more when I’m on placement.

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What has been your favourite part of the course?

I absolutely loved the anatomy teaching we received in the first year of the course. I’d never studied anything similar before, but it turned out to be fascinating and very satisfying to learn about. The anatomy teaching at WMS is particularly well organised and engaging as it involves lectures, quizzes, puzzles, and even arts and crafts!

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Has anything surprised you during your time here?

I’ve been surprised by how valuable my pre-university work experience has been. I hadn’t realised how much of the ‘hidden curriculum’ I’d picked up by working in a hospital, and it made me so much more confident when going on placement for the first time. I’m also now able to look back at memorable patients I worked with as a healthcare assistant with more context and understanding as to what was going on with them clinically. The WMS work experience requirement isn’t just a tick-box requirement for the application; it’s actually a really useful part of my clinical experience.

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Have you been involved in any extracurricular activities during your time here?

Whilst at WMS, I have been involved in the Sustainability Network, helping to evaluate and improve sustainable practices and teaching with the medical school and wider university. This has also led to research and conference presentation opportunities. I am also part of Art Soc, which organises events such as drawing and painting workshops, sculpture classes, and theatre trips.

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Do you have any idea at this stage about which specialty you’d like to pursue?

I’m particularly interested in specialities where there is opportunity to work predominantly in the community, e.g. palliative care, rheumatology, dermatology, sexual health, general practice.

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Do you have any advice for people applying to the MB ChB at Warwick?

Before you apply, I’d make sure you have a reasonable understanding of what working in the NHS is like and what working as a doctor involves. Applying and studying is a lot of work so it’s a good idea to make sure it’s the right thing for you. For the application stage, just relax and be yourself. They don’t expect any prior knowledge, they just want to get to know you, your experiences, motivations, and communication skills.

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Finally, how would you sum up your experience of studying at medical school so far?

Challenging. Engaging. Exciting.