Student doctors impress at the 2020 Virtual Medical Careers Festival
The first ever Liverpool School of Medicine Virtual Medical Careers Festival took place on 30th November – 4th December, welcoming hundreds of student doctors and clinicians from 65 specialties. The opportunity to connect for an informal chat proved to work just as well over Zoom as in person.
The School's medical careers events are always highly anticipated and provide a unique opportunity to make connections with specialty representatives from every corner of the medical profession. Having the chance to hear from clinicians about what their day-to-day is really like, how they got into their field and have progressed since provides inspiration to help shape your career and development plans.
Student doctor Robyn Chilton, one of the Zoom hosts during the event, remarked "Despite a couple of technical hiccups on the first night, the virtual careers fair was a fantastic event for both students and clinicians. It was invaluable for students to be able to participate, and to talk to clinicians representing such a wide range of specialities, despite the current circumstances. It was great to see students adapt to the new technology and still be able to gain valuable knowledge from experienced clinicians."
Leonie Lewis, also a student doctor and Zoom host was equally impressed.
It was so inspiring to see the engagement from both students and staff. I'd highly recommend the event to students next year!
The specialties taking part ranged from Anaesthetics to Cardiology, and from Microbiology to Radiology. Paediatric Surgeon Dr Iain Hennessey was a big fan of the virtual setting and highlighted how it not only opened up the discussion for quieter students but also fitted nicely into his daily schedule. "I enjoyed the evening and the format allowed me to take part with very little disruption."
GP Registrar Dr James Young, left the event feeling optimistic about the future generation of medical practitioners. "After arriving home from a full day in general practice, it was great to see students from all years logging on to find out more about what my day involved and what a future career in GP could be like for them. We want passionate, caring, ambitious and well-balanced doctors to come join us in GP."
If the students we met decide they want to have a career in primary care, we are all in safe and kind hands.
This year, the event was enhanced by 48 introductory careers videos produced exclusively by the clinicians for the School of Medicine. Ms Jennifer Connell, the School’s designated Careers Adviser, commented, “These videos can help challenge your pre-conceptions and open your eyes to specialties you may not get to experience on placement, particularly if you missed the opportunity to take part in the live event”. Take a look at the collection on Panopto.
Thank you to everyone who took part, for your patience with the initial technical difficulties and, most of all, for your curiosity and enthusiasm which did not go unnoticed by the clinicians on the receiving end of your questions. We hope the event helped you to gain an insight into the specialties and make new contacts, boosting your confidence and bringing you one step closer to your future career aspirations.
We are always seeking to improve what we offer to our students. We would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to provide your feedback about the Virtual Medical Careers Festival via the e-mail now in your inbox from Careers & Employability so that we can make the event even better next year.
If you are interested in discussing your career plans further, you are very welcome to book a careers appointment over Zoom with Careers Adviser Jennifer Connell via the Handshake platform. See the School's Careers page for more information.