Pooja Patel

Pooja Patel is a Liverpool Student Doctor who completed an intercalated master’s degree in Law, Medicine and Healthcare (LLM) at the University of Liverpool.

I always knew I wanted to intercalate, I’m a bit of a nerd and really enjoy studying! So intercalation was definitely the right choice for me. I saw intercalation as an opportunity to learn something new, and also push myself in a field I had no prior knowledge in. I have always been quite interested in law and I thought it would be useful to know more about law in the medical landscape. It was also very fortunate that Liverpool offered this course so I could continue studying in my favourite city! 

Choosing intercalation 

Choosing to intercalate is quite a big decision. The main thing to consider is taking a break in between clinical years. It is another adjustment period settling back into medicine from intercalation but worthwhile nonetheless!

In terms of applying for the LLM, I filled in the required forms and sent them to the medical school and law school respectively. I also had to write a small personal statement for the law school about why I wanted to intercalate, and heard a response back pretty quickly! If you aren’t sure about what the application process entails, the intercalation team in the medical school are super helpful and helped me a lot with any queries I had. There is also a lot of useful information about what courses are on offer and how you can apply on the university of Liverpool website.

Highlights and challenges

The highlight of my year intercalating was learning about fascinating cases in each of my modules and having the opportunity to discuss these cases with my peers. In particular, I found cases surrounding gross negligence manslaughter to be very interesting to debate.

Writing my dissertation, although stressful towards the end, was a really rewarding experience. My topic revolved around how far the Mental Capacity Act was protective of patients with severe anorexia nervosa and I chose this based on a journal article I had read in a previous module. I had a great interest in my topic and relished the opportunity to write voice my views in depth. It was also great to meet new people, both students and tutors, even if it was just over Zoom! The tutors were really supportive and were always around for the (many) questions I had over the year.

The biggest challenge of the year was adjusting to a new learning style. Having to write many essays was definitely not something I was used to, but as the year went on I became more confident which was very rewarding. At first it was very daunting having to write about completely new concepts, but as the year went on I became more confident in discussing my views in seminars and was able to articulate this in my writing.

I can’t encourage people enough to intercalate! It’s a great opportunity to learn something new and push yourself outside your comfort zone. Intercalation can open many doors when you start to consider applying for jobs and can guide your decision to specialise. From the last year I have learnt so much and developed new skills which will be invaluable for future.