We asked some graduating Year 5 Student Doctors to share some of their favourite memories and top tips from their time in Liverpool.
Oscar Atkinson had a night to remember being crowned LMSS Strictly Champions 2024, where the event also raised over £2000 for charity.
“We had the most amazing night in St George’s Hall, raising money for two incredible causes. We’ve always loved strictly come dancing and this was certainly a night to remember”.
Andrew Bonsu shares his helpful hints and tips to the incoming Year 5 and incoming Year 1’s
For the incoming Year 1's, "Enjoy the course but love Liverpool as a whole, embrace the culture that the city has to offer as being a part of Liverpool University Medical School opens you up to so much to see and learn around you, a city tour can provide greater insight into the social aspect of healthcare, homeless patients are more likely to have infections and poorer nutrition which then can present clinically as such. Medicine will be a major part of your life but it is not solely in the lectures, it's in the sports you play, the music you practice, the exercise you do. Make the course a way of life so that the knowledge flows effortlessly."
In terms of top tips for the incoming Year 5's, I would say this "This is the final stretch, all the preparation across the previous 3-5 years (taking into account GEM students and intercalating students) have led up to this point, take the opportunities available in the acute blocks as it will definitely make the transition into FY1 a lot smoother."
Anna Davies shares her special memory of a sight-to-behold after a normal day in a GP Surgery
“...when we were in North Wales in GP, there was one day we were in CCT and we had finished at 4pm. We were like everybody, shoes on, and we walked to Angel Bay and saw 250 seals. We knew they were going to be there, apparently they go every year. So, we stood there on the cliff top and watched all these seals in Angel Bay”.
Tia Durkin reminisces about her first day at Med School
“We had a group of us at Melville called Melville Medics and we had a little WhatsApp group, and we all made a plan that we would walk to the first lecture together. That definitely made the first day feel a little easier. Another thing that helped was that The School of Medicine organised a friend speed dating session. You sat in a circle making friends. I remember the people on that circuit and I’m friends with them now. Friends speed dating worked!”
Hazel Owusu-Yianoma shares her favourite memory of making friends for life
'One of my favourite parts of university has been making friends for life. Liverpool has been amazing. We've supported each other, had access to incredible medical teams and thoroughly enjoyed the northern hospitality.'
Tia Durkin and Ella Bleasdale give their Top Tips for current Year 4 students going into Year 5
“I think the year just goes so fast, for us to think that the Elective was a year ago now is quite scary how fast it’s gone. We created a bucket list of everything we wanted to do in Liverpool. Make the most of your time while you’re based in Liverpool, especially after exams time, you time will free up a lot more after them.
The nice thing about Fifth Year is you are a much more adult Learner. When you do your AE rotations, you do twilight shifts and then have next day off in Lieu, same for night shifts. You can make your own timetable. You follow the F1 timetable. You feel like you have more time on your hands as you get a random day off. This year has been good in that sense, more flexibility with your time and that is what it will be like as a doctor working shift patterns.
You can do things to benefit your learning. You do have requirements in Fifth Year but it is a lot of self-directed adult learning, and you need to go away and reflect on what has happened. There isn’t pressure of certain sign-offs. You learn so much this year by doing independent learning.”
If you have any memories or tips to share, please email us at mednews@liverpool.ac.uk (link).