Twice a week, in the evenings, I cheat on one of the greatest loves of my life. I sneak away from my friends, slip out of the library, and leave the responsibilities of medical school strewn across my desk. I don’t respond to texts. I ignore emails. I miss meetings. I’m exhausted because of it. […]
Category: Students
Patrice Baptiste: Mental health issues among medical students
I was extremely saddened when I read the Student BMJ’s article on a survey of 1122 medical students, 343 of whom were suffering with mental health issues. Several astounding figures captured my attention. Firstly, 80% of the 343 students stated that the support they received was poor, if they received any support at all. 167 […]
George Gillett: The NHS and immigration
Last February, the UK Home Office announced changes to immigration rules that would mean non-EU nurses would not have their visa applications prioritised. The decision not to add nursing to the list of “shortage occupations” reflects the government’s belief that nursing posts can be filled without international recruitment, but has received criticism from the Royal College […]
Sioned Gwyn on sexism and women in medicine
Sir Tim Hunt, British biochemist and Nobel Laureate, had until recently enjoyed relative anonymity outside of scientific fields. Recently, at an international conference of science journalists in Seoul, he was invited to speak at a meeting for women in science and delivered as part of his speech an extraordinarily ill judged few sentences which have […]
Salil Patel: Why you should know about global surgery
More people die from a lack of surgical care than from HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. Half of the world’s population face catastrophic financial expenditure due to surgery. With over 90% of people in most low and middle income countries lacking affordable, surgical care, medical students around the world are helping work towards resolving this […]
Neel Sharma: We need to improve feedback to medical students
The other day I made a point of observing the number of people walking whilst using their mobile phones. I am sure we have all made a similar observation of people staring down at their phones. The vast extent of the problem has even been characterised clinically as “text neck.” I recall the days of […]
Neel Sharma: Validation in medical education—from classroom to curriculum
In clinical research there is typically a transition from cell based analysis, animal work, and human involvement before any form of intervention, be it diagnostic or treatment based, is deemed valid in a clinical setting. One example I can relate to currently is the use of image enhanced endoscopy which my colleagues and I are working on […]
Neel Sharma: Reforms in medical education—are we missing something?
Medical education has seen significant change over the past decade and more. Advances in teaching, learning, and assessment strategies are vast. The didactic lecture form of teaching is no longer the flavour of the month it seems with more and more emphasis on problem and team based learning. Classrooms are seeing the use of mobile […]
Daniel Barrett: Will a seven day NHS push primary care recruitment from crisis to catastrophe?
I listened with personal interest as the new conservative government re-launched its grand plan to deliver a “seven day health service.” In a little over a year I will be beginning life as a junior doctor along with thousands of others, all starting to question where our careers are heading. The answer for many of […]
Neel Sharma: Getting the right medical students comes with time
Last month, Richard Schwartzstein authored his perspective on poor communication skills among medical students and beyond (1). I read this with great interest and wanted to share my insights as a doctor in training. In the UK, it was also noted that allegations about doctors’ communication skills had risen by 69 per cent in the […]