Hello everyone, my name is Tanweer Kurmoo. I am a final year medical student at the University of Manchester in the UK. I am an international student from Mauritius (a small island in the Indian Ocean) and I got into medicine through a standard entry after completing my A-levels in a high school in Mauritius.
I contemplated applying to medicine in the UK throughout my final year of high school and finally did it at the end of that year. One of the reasons why I chose medicine was that during my clinical work experience, I saw how doctors among other healthcare professionals help in making a positive difference to people’s lives. I also found the problem-solving aspect of medicine intriguing; from gathering information from the patient to looking for examination signs and ordering tests, it’s almost like a jigsaw puzzle trying to come to a diagnosis.
I ended up choosing university of Manchester as my first choice mainly because of the diversity of the city and some aspects of the course here tempted me. The anatomy teaching sessions include dissecting cadavers which I found interesting and fun. The early clinical exposure within pre-clinical years was insightful for an understanding of the professional responsibilities of doctors and helped me familiarise with the clinical environment here.
From being spoon-fed with all the academic knowledge throughout my whole student life to adapting to a PBL based course in university was a challenging and hard jump personally. It took me the whole first semester to figure out my learning method; I finally found the right resources and books that worked for me, and I scribbled down my own notes from them. I also explained the different concepts out loud using simple terms and made sure that I could understand them rather than rote learning. Since I am a visual learner, I used to watch a lot of anatomy videos. In retrospect, I would say that PBL helped me develop my self-studying skills which become useful in clinical years.
Nevertheless, I believe that more comprehensive lectures should have been part of the course so that we are better guided with the level of details we needed to cover.
We had a solid emphasis on communication skills right from the beginning of the course in small group sessions. Since a large part of being a doctor focuses on good communication skills among patients and colleagues, I feel that this module has been tremendously useful in improving and shaping those skills.
The transition into clinical years was hard initially but it was the first-time medicine made sense to me. The first two years we learnt about pathology, physiology, anatomy with no clear relevance to clinical conditions but when I started clinical placement, everything seemed to tie up beautifully and it was way more interesting. In third year, we rotate through general medicine and surgical blocks while the all the other specialties are covered in fourth year. On placements, we usually take histories, practise examination and skills (bloods, cannulas) and tag along with the doctors. Most of the time, you do end up feeling like a spare part serving no purpose at all except to draw the curtains during ward rounds. But it does get better as you progress through the years. My favourite placement so far has to be my A&E block during fifth year where I felt more involved and saw a vast majority of cases; you just could not predict what was coming next.
In third and fourth years, we go over TCD (theme-based discussions) cases throughout the week in our own time to learn about the various medical conditions and discuss new cases once a week in a small group session. I feel that we are not provided with good lectures and comprehensive learning materials during the clinical years; it’s mostly self-study with resources that you feel comfortable with. Also, every student is sent to different hospitals where teaching varies considerably in each one of them; consequently, the teaching is not uniform and is not fair to all students.
The exams in clinical years become more important as the results are used to determine the ranking during final year. I always dread the oral clinical exams (CCAs) where we are assessed on various clinical aspects in sixteen 8-minute stations. My piece of advice to get through these exams is to practise as much as you can with friends. I had a very unpredictable station during my final year 4 exams, but I tried to keep calm (easier said than done, I know) and went back to basics that I knew would score me some marks.
For my written exams, I usually use question banks to work through as many questions as possible and they are good for active recall.
My favourite part of the medicine course would be the times on placement when I have good patient interactions and when it is useful for my learning to be around in the clinical environment.
And my least favourite part is that I personally feel that we are not provided with adequate learning materials at times in both preclinical and clinical years.
My time management skills during medical school have improved significantly. I am now more able to set time aside to do my hobbies which include working out, going on walks, reading and binge-watching shows (yes, I count this as a hobby). A lot of people have the preconceived notion that medics do not have the time to socialise; I’d like to argue that I do hang out with my friends regularly and it is important to take some breaks from studies. I agree that during exam season, things get hectic, and you might want to focus more on studies but otherwise, throughout the year, it is doable to have a good social life. Finding the study-life balance is key and sometimes even I need the reminder that medicine is just part of my life and not my life.
Studying medicine can be overwhelming and imposter syndrome is very real sometimes. It is imperative to speak to the right people and make sure you look after your physical and mental wellbeing. Nothing matters more than your health.
As an international student, moving away from home was daunting initially. Yet, when I was thrown in the deep end, I eventually learnt how to adapt, and I built myself a routine. The experience of studying abroad forces me to grow up and become independent every single day and I cannot be more grateful for that. It’s inevitable that I miss home and family, but I always keep my focus on what took me away from home in the first place.
Adapting to the way of living and culture in the UK was also challenging; but I have realised that this made me more open-minded, and I get to experience things in different perspectives. At first, it was not easy for me to make new friends either since we kept changing groups each semester and I was not very comfortable to socialise. But as I progressed through, I ultimately met some amazing people; I’d say to give it time, join societies that you’re interested in and be open to meet new people. Don’t forget to keep in touch with your existing friends as well!
As I now start preparing for SJT and my finals, I can’t help but wonder how fast those past 4 years have flown by. It has definitely been a mixed bag of highs and lows, but I will always cherish the memories made during medical school. If I had a chance now of re-choosing my career, hands down, I’d pick medicine again even with the current ongoing NHS crisis. Nothing compares to how rewarding this profession is. A final word for aspiring medics would be: ‘a career in medicine is hard and long and you will face obstacles along the way but if your gut instinct leads you to this path, put your heart into it, trust the process and you will find your feet in this field eventually.’