Week 3-5

This week has involved even more lectures. This time, more in depth with biochemistry and physiology.

Lectures are quite interesting, because they are a completely new style of teaching I would say - unless of course you're postgraduate.

You're in a hall of around 200+ students, all facing the lecturer below. They have a slideshow, usually, that is displaying all of the content. Luckily for me, our university posts all of the forthcoming lectures up prematurely which means we can print them or read ahead before. That's my method of learning to be honest, I'll print the lectures out at the beginning and take them with me to annotate.

That's how I've been filing all of my notes. I've bought larger lever arch folders for each topic, and will stick into them my annotated lecture notes. Any lectures I've missed, I will catch up online by annotating the lecture slides and then filing them away appropriately.

My friends have different ways of learning, such as taking their laptop into the lecture and typing up their notes as the lecturer is speaking. This is another common way of learning in a lecture hall.

However, bare in mind this is very university-dependent. My friends who are attending other universities and not doing medicine, they say that all of their lectures are not recorded and available for catch up at any time. So, if you miss a lecture...you miss a lecture. Bare this in mind whilst you're doing your research.

Another item I would recommend you buy whilst your packing for university... a portable charger! Oh my gosh, I couldn't have lived without it in the beginning of this term! You're constantly using your phone for maps or social media so please make sure you pack one as you don't want to be caught in the middle of your city centre with a dead phone.

And of course, going to the pub is amazing. Especially drinking from a plastic cup haha.

Week 1-2

Freshers' Week is over, and I'm head is still ringing a little bit.

Now my timetable is fairly full. Speaking to some of the other people here, my timetable seems more full to others. I have mostly 9am starts and finish at about 4pm with an hour lunch break, which isn't too bad. But you do get jealous of the other people who may have more 11-1 days and the whole of Thursday off.

I have mostly 9am starts, which means I need to be at the lecture theatre for approximately 8:55am. I will definitely discuss what it's like being in a lecture because it is the one thing I didn't grasp from open days or reading online forums.

• Lectures begin pretty much on the dot they say they will. At 9:00:00am, the lecture will begin and the lights will dim down for the slide show.
• The lecturer will speak at the front (with a facial microphone) to a theatre containing around 200 students.
• The lecturer will speak using their slideshow that is projected onto the screen behind them, which will allow you to follow through as they speak.
• Some people have the confidence to ask questions throughout a lecture. If you have a question, do raise your hand for the lecturer's attention and wait to be invited to speak. If you're like me and not comfortable with this, don't hold back! At the end of the lecture, you see loads of interested students walk up to the lecturer to ask a question one-on-one.
• If you arrive late to a lecture, don't worry. Just ensure you come through at the back entrance and seat immediately (not to act as distraction like walking in front of the lecturer, making a loud noise, causing shuffling or coming through the front entrance of the theater)
• Most lectures are also recorded so you can revisit them at a later date or during revision.

Style of learning is what makes us individual, and this is apparent in the lecture theatre. Behind me are an array of notepads and laptops. Some people use their laptops to type up their notes with the slideshow accessed on the side (with them making digital annotations using software). I, like others, have the slides printed out as a handout so I can hand annotate for my own notes. So it's up to you, you can either bring your laptop or notepads!

In the anatomy laboratory, we do analyse sections of specimens so that we can learn internal structures and develop a skill of identifying and naming parts of the body. Unfortunately, I cannot go into too much detail about this.

In the biomedical laboratory, we have used microscopes to look at tissue types and study the types of cells. I found this particularly interesting when we were doing Biology A-Level, so seeing these cells and structures for myself was a great experience.

The majority of lab work is structured around a practical workbook that needs to be completed before, during and after a practical lab session for biomedicine and anatomy.

In the tutorials, we have been learning about foundations of health and analysing published papers about the portrayal of health by patients.

• Tutorials are quite small - typically 8 in a group (so the same size as a sixth form class, maybe?)
• They are more personal, so you develop stronger connections between your friends in the group and the tutorial leader as well.
• I find this the best part of the week, as it is a great open discussion where you can discuss what you have found out by reading the paper, any wider reading this has led to and what the group's thoughts were.
• It is an opportunity to discuss opinions, ideas but ask questions when in need.

I hope this has painted in your head what a typical week is for me at the moment! In my free time, I sit in the library just to catch up on the practical lab work I am falling behind on, or as a chance to just unwind and listen to music with my headphones in.