The transition to university is both an exciting and daunting time. There’s lots going on in Fresher’s week to help you settle in and make new friends. There are plentiful societies to get involved with including some which are medical student specific. Societies run taster sessions so you can try something new without committing to attending for the whole year. Small group teaching helped me to meet new people too; trekking to a hospital in Falkirk at 8am on a dreich Wednesday morning was quite the bonding experience!

The main challenge for me has been learning how to learn. I am far from mastering it but feel better than I did in week 1! In school, each subject had a detailed course specification to memorise. University learning outcomes do help guide you but are not nearly as prescriptive. I had to learn to prioritise understanding the bigger picture of a topic before going on to memorise the finer details. Self-directed learning was new to me too and it took time to figure out what worked best for me. Phase 1 is designed to help you get settled into the new way of learning and university life.

One of the most helpful things for my transition was Medic Families. It is ran by Medchir, the medical student society, who match you up with 'siblings', 'parents' in year 2, and 'grandparents' in year 3 and above. It is great to have someone in the year above to go to for advice. I have asked my 'parents' countless questions over the year and we still do things together as a family. There are weekly feedback lectures too where lecturers go over the main topics of the week in a quiz on Zoom.

I stay at home and commute to university. I was a little apprehensive of this at first but lots of people commute and I don’t think it has impacted my experience at all! My worries were mainly around making friends and being able to go out at night. I have had no problems making friends and there is always someone to stay over with after a night out too. Having to get the train in the mornings can be a little tiring. Thankfully, I only have one 9am start per week and start later on the other days. I am moving out for 2nd year to try get the best of both worlds.

My favourite part of the course is Vocational Studies where we learn about communication, professionalism, ethics and go on placement. We have had opportunities to shadow a FY1 Doctor and practise our communication and clinical skills with patients. It is a refreshing break from lectures. Early clinical exposure has been lovely as it helps me to keep the end goal in sight during tough weeks. I have also really enjoyed playing in the Kelvin Ensemble and going to climbing and baking societies. Societies also break up my week and have ensured that I keep doing my hobbies at university.

First published: 12 April 2024

<< Our student stories