The end of phase 1

The way the Leicester medical school curriculum is laid out is in two phases:

Phase 1: the first 2 and a half years. During this phase, the teaching is mainly lecture and group work based. This is when we learn all of the medical information- with some hospital time and clinical skills teaching to give us a taster of what is to come.

Phase 2: the next 2 and a half years (from mid third year until end of fifth year.)
This is mainly hospital based teaching -we will be on the wards in different specialities. This is both in Leicester and cities around Leicester such as Kettering and Peterborough. This is when we start feeling like proper potential doctors.

Between these phases, there are BIG exams on everything we have ever learnt. This is the stage I’m at now and it is definitely the most stressful challenge we have faced so far. It’s really strange to think phase 1 is almost over! Looking back to first year, I was so overwhelmed and didn’t quite know how to learn, how much extracurriculars I should be doing etc and now somehow all of that has become so second nature.

It’s not the exam stress that is getting to me at the moment, but it’s the fact that after 2 and a half years, we will be having our last group work session next week. I have been working with these 7 people since the very first week of our medschool careers. I was so lucky to have built such a good working relationship and friendship with my group and its going to be so sad to say goodbye! People say after phase 1 ends, you lose contact with a lot of people, but I’m determined to not lose contact with my group!

However, if I can get through these exams, phase 2 is supposed to be where the fun really starts!