This year, our First Year Student Doctors participated in their annual teambuilding trip at RAF Woodvale, marking a continuation of the collaboration between the School of Medicine and personnel from the 206 MMR (Multi-Role Medical Regiment) Field Hospital in Liverpool.
Organized by the Year 1 Team and Professor Emeritus John Earis, the event included a series of non-medical planning and command exercises aimed at pushing students both mentally and physically while promoting effective teamwork and planning in an unfamiliar setting. Professor Earis gave an overview of the week:
“They’re getting experience in teamworking, they’re all getting a chance to do a little bit of leadership, but, as well as that, they’re in non-selected groups, so they’re seeing new people, making new friendships, and we know that from the previous courses that often lasts throughout their whole career. So it’s a fun day for them. But they are learning an awful lot about themselves and other people during the various exercises”.
The day enables students to learn lessons that they can apply to their clinical practice and teams both now and in their future careers. The students were intentionally grouped with peers they had not previously met, highlighting the challenges of working in multidisciplinary teams.
First Year Student Doctor, Matthew Douglas agreed the day was effective at demonstrating how to come together as a team quickly:
“It's actually been really fun. Some good teamwork and leadership exercises, with a bit of fitness. I think I've got to know a lot more people today than I knew before, and it’s been really - it's been quite a challenge, but the facilitators were great at understanding, as well as explaining how we should integrate that problem solving into our medical knowledge”.
Throughout the day, students rotated between five to seven stations, electing a different leader for each task. These leaders were tasked with formulating plans and delegating responsibilities within their groups. The exercises mirrored real-life scenarios utilized in Armed Forces (Regimental Insight Courses) Officer Recruitment Training and align with the MBChB program’s “Clinical Team” theme, which emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and understanding others—essential skills for successful medical practice.
They also demonstrate the importance of effective leadership and assessment in unfamiliar situations, and students were offered the chance to feedback both on each other’s performance, the leader’s performance, and received commentary from the Army Instructors after each task, detailing how their performance would relate to a clinical environment:
First Year Student Doctor, Anisha Kakani reflected on the importance of strategy in teamwork:
“Working with a team, sometimes it’s best to just take a few minutes and clear your head, and figure out a plan of action before you do an activity. Matt was writing down a lot of things during each task, and I think that really helped us keep organised and stay on task. And I think having a leader conducting and coordinating all those ideas - working through a process - is vital too”.
Key themes that emerged included the value of listening, creating effective organizational structures, and assessing complex scenarios under pressure. Students also reflected on various leadership styles, considering how different approaches could be integrated for effective collaboration.
First Year Student Doctor Sanaa Simmons summed it up well:
“All of the tasks today required strong leadership, but none of them were achievable without good teamwork, and I think that’s an important lesson, but it also resonates with my experience so far at Liverpool. I do feel a strong sense of community within the School of Medicine. Coming from Bermuda, which is such a tight-knit, small island, I think there’s lots of great support provided by the University, and today is a great example of that. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my first few weeks in the city and can’t wait for what’s next”.
This sentiment was echoed by our Year One Director Dr Anna Stickland:
“There’s so many different transitions in coming to University, it’s not just moving to a new city, but finding your way around the campus, working out where lectures are, and most importantly it’s about settling in and feeling like you’re part of the School community. This week is really about students having opportunities to try to work cohesively with new people in new settings towards a common goal; getting to know one another, but also understanding that they’re all very capable and they each bring different skills to a situation. Today that is a teambuilding exercise, but in future it will be reinforcing each other’s learning and supporting one another out on placement or in their clinical work”.
Well done to our Year One students! And huge thanks to both Professor Earis and the entire team at 206 MMR (Multi-Role Medical Regiment) Field Hospital who play such an important role in the MBChB programme here at Liverpool. 
The Year One team would also like to note their thanks to Sgt Damon Williams, WO1 Toni Hill, Lt Col Helen Ball, Lt Col Katherine Sanderson and the RAF Team at Woodvale, for accommodating the University and facilitating such a fantastic day.