Speaking at Villiers Park Fantastic Futures Event

I then had the opportunity to speak at the Villiers Park Fantastic Futures event that also celebrated the hard work of its student participants this year.

The Fantastic Futures programme exists to help provide support to students of Year 10 - Year 13 in the Swindon area. The programme includes the mentoring scheme I was part of and has the opportunity to have an e-mentor who is studying the course and/or is studying at the university a student is interested in applying to. They also have exhilarating opportunities to go to universities as part of residential trips to engage in set tasks and practice those teambuilding and leadership skills!

It was amazing to hear all of the great student stories at this night too! I had a fantastic opportunity to speak to some parents as well who wanted to know more about the work of Villiers Park from a student alumnus because at the end of the day, I don't work for Villiers Park but individually endorse them so much! Thank you so much if you did come and speak to me at the event! If you were interested in the blog and I sent you in this direction, thank you for visiting! If you are interested in keeping updated on my journey, please do submit your email on the right hand side of this page under "Follow by Email!" to get updates when I post (which isn't too frequent, but usually when I have something to post!). Feel free also to read back on my journey for advice from Year 11 and onwards!

Photo credit: Villiers Park

In this speech, I discussed my struggles again throughout A-Levels but how rewarding it was to secure my place at university. I have included my speech below in case you wanted to read this also. It is slightly repetitive compared to the last one (but remember I did only go through school once so the experience is the same! haha) but I did adapt it to tailor for this evening.

Villiers Park logo.

My speech:

Hello! My name is Josh and I am a student who worked quite closely with Villiers Park to fulfil my aspiration of studying medicine at my first choice university. I have been part of Villiers Park for the past five years when I went into Year 10 at Lydiard Park Academy.

The journey into university unfortunately wasn’t a straight and narrow path. But Villiers Park helped either eliminate or reduce every obstacle that I encountered.

Through mentoring sessions, I would meet with my mentor to discuss my recent activities. I would explain to Julie how stressful I’m finding things, how I’m worried I’m not going to get the grades and how I cannot find a balance. I was struggling very much through Year 13 as I still wasn’t reaching the entry requirements of my offer from Bristol University. I suffered in silence from the beginning and telling myself that I could deal with the issue independently because I felt quite embarrassed and ashamed that I wouldn’t fulfil the expectation of going to university this year. However, when I spoke to my mentor about my situation and how I was on the verge of giving up, she gave me that confidence again that I could do it. And by talking and developing plans of actions, I knew I could cope for another two-three weeks before the next session. I found the mentoring sessions as an opportunity to vent about my struggles but find solutions to them. My mentor would have open ears and be a voice that provided that guidance and support I needed. As soon as I had opened up about not coping with the change in learning style and needing to adapt my revision regime in A-Levels, my grades improved!

Before this, Villiers Park helped me decide on which university I wanted to apply for. I attended sessions of ‘MedSoc’ from Year 10 which was a group of aspiration medics who wished to study medicine, like me. Here, I could hear from guest speakers directly about their experiences, ideas for placements and even how to construct the perfect personal statement. When it came to exploring universities, I went on many open day trips to different unis. It was fantastic having the mentors with us at the open days because their experience and advice meant that we were asking questions at the open days which I may not have thought of if I had gone with my parents. For example, when going around open days with family, you mostly think of cost of living, student loans etc. Whereas I was asking questions about the course structure, unit content and about placements because we had been informed about the significance of asking these questions. For this reason, I was able to eliminate my long ‘perfect’ uni list to just the five I was going to apply for – with Bristol being my first choice because I felt that course would suit me the best. I have also been running a blog that follows my journey throughout my medical training which I hope has been helping the current prospect medics with their decisions to pursue the degree and what to expect.

The residentials I have been on with Villiers Park has allowed me to develop skills which have benefited me throughout my school years and I’ve carried it on into university. We would learn investigation skills, how to be involved participants and how to manage time appropriately. Anyone can practically work in a team, but I feel that through Villiers Park, it taught me how to work in a team effectively. Three years on, I am still in contact with a lot of my peers and it’s interesting to discuss the differences in the medicine courses in Bristol to Nottingham to Liverpool.

University has been an amazing experience so far. I’ve learnt how to balance my priorities and juggle the time I spend on work and learning with maintaining a social life! My course has been everything I expected and more! I have had fantastic opportunities to become more stuck-in and enjoying placements so much, I am now working as a healthcare assistant in Southmead Hospital! I have made great friends while at university. You are surrounded with people from diverse backgrounds that differ from your own but you all share similar passions and interests! I would recommend university because I feel it is an experience like no other! You will enjoy studying more when it’s in a subject you’re actually passionate about. You meet likeminded people and grow an exciting social life while developing yourself as you grow independently.

As well, before Villiers Park, I would not be stood here in front of you now speaking. I learnt ways to become more of a confident speaker all through the events and activities that I attended throughout the year.

University has been such a challenge but a reward for all the hard work it was worth! It’s so much better finally learning content that I am passionate about and enjoy reading. I am really happy that Villiers Park are still in contact with me because I feel I owe a lot to them. From the staff in Foxton to the mentors, past and present, who have helped me – thank you. And I say it every year but it won’t add up to how grateful I actually am. The skills Villiers Park have taught me has made me the person I am today.

Thank you for listening.

Speaking at Villiers Park Scholarship Programme Celebration Evening

Haha. Why am I smiling like an idiot?

I had the pleasure of being asked to speak at two Villiers Park events this week, one being for the programme I am a scholar for and the second for being a recently set up sister programme, "Fantastic Futures".

At the scholarship celebration evening, it was amazing to sit and hear all of the stories the scholars have created and shared from Year 10, all the way up to Year 13. It was a shame hearing all of the activities they had taken part in, and not being a part of it anymore! From the residentials and trips to the luxury of having an amazing mentor...!

In my speech, I exclaimed about how much Villiers Park really did help me begin my journey into medicine and I cannot preach how incredible their work is. Villiers Park is made up of a great group of people who are so loving and encouraging and want the best for everyone they are supporting.

My speech was delivered during the celebration evening at New College, in Swindon.

The following abstract was taken from the article from Villiers Park's website (as was the photograph in this post). The original article can be found by following this link.

Josh Drinkwater, 19, from Swindon, is studying his first year of medicine at University of Bristol. He returned to speak about life after his four years on the Swindon Scholars Programme.  “I can stand here today and talk to you because of Villiers Park,” said Josh. “My A-Levels were horrible. I tried to sail through but I found I couldn’t cope with managing my time or my stress. A simple review with my mentor, of how I was studying and learning to prioritise helped me through. I still use the skills I developed on the programme, such as communication skills, in my training – for example when I’m talking to patients in clinical settings.”

Villiers Park logo.

My speech, because there were some important things in it I wanted to highlight to you guys, the readers, too!

Hello! My name is Josh and I am a student who worked quite closely with Villiers Park to fulfil my aspiration of studying medicine at my first choice university. I have been a Villiers Parks Scholar for the past five years from when I went into Year 10 at Lydiard Park Academy.

My first year of uni has been very eventful! I have been on many placements from inside Southmead Hospital to doing home visits in Yate, just outside of Bristol. My course has involved lectures on maths, sociology, law, anatomy and biomedicine and even involved going into dissection rooms for a hands-on way of learning about the body.

But I can stand here today and talk to you because of Villiers Park. If it hadn’t been for being a scholar, I probably wouldn’t have achieved my goal.

Firstly, there was trying to become the ‘perfect’ candidate that universities desire. Villiers Park helped me through that by teaching me skills that I thought I already had within me. Instead, I learnt how to apply my skills in different applications. With the communication skills that I learnt in masterclasses throughout the years, I have applied these to my part time job at John Lewis but also even today when I talk to patients in a clinical setting.

Residentials helped build-on pre-existing team working skills. We were all close friends in my cohort so we worked well anyway, but the residentials taught us how we can work effectively. But I could demonstrate all of these skills in my interview for medicine.

I was part of a group called MedSoc which was put together by some of the mentors here today with the aim of helping prospect medics reaching their goal of studying medicine. The workshops would include interview practices, how to select the university for you and what exactly medicine consists of – delivered by presentations and guest speakers throughout the year. MedSoc catalysed my passion for medicine and gave me a driving push which I never knew I needed. I am now privileged to say that I’ve had the opportunity to be on the other side of that table now in the workshops as I delivered a presentation in January to students who were looking at studying a Health Science after they have completed their A-Levels. I have even set up a blog to help inform the students on what studying medicine is really like to help aid them in their decision to pursue it and prepare them for their interviews.

After briefly mentioning it, A-Levels were horrible. I can tell you now that A-Levels are probably the worst thing that you’ll encounter on your path into university. It is completely different to GCSEs so you need to adapt quickly because the “gap” between the two are definitely as big as what the teachers make it out to be. I struggled with my A-Levels I’ll admit and I found them extremely challenging. But that is the beauty of having a mentor as a scholar. At the beginning of the year, I tried to sail through making out to Julie that I was coping. But as it progressed, I realised I couldn’t deal with managing my time and stresses on my own. My mentor was not only open ears that wouldn’t judge me for admitting I was struggling, but was also a handy friendly voice of guidance that provided that support and advice that I needed. Just a simple review of how I was studying, what I was struggling with and possibly implicating a new method of prioritising the content I needed to learn helped me through. It was at that point I admitted I needed the help that I could change the way I worked. It allowed me to then start making progress that was apparent in practically the very final mocks before my summer exams of Year 13.

So I owe it to Villiers Park really. Not only did you help me with finding the university that I really wanted to study at through mentor meetings and workshops, but you helped fuel that passion that I had for medicine. You helped prepare me for my interviews which I was luckily successful in to then receive three out of five offers. The next challenge was achieving those grades, which I have already explained was tough. But, you picked me up again and put me back on the tracks and the support given was enough for me to then sit my exams, more confident than I was a few months before, to then reach those entry requirements and get into Bristol University.

But it didn’t all stop there. Even this year, I am still using the skills and foundations that I had learnt throughout being a scholar. I passed on the tips I learnt from doing a literature ‘dissection’ on a residential to my friends as we were completing an assignment based on three science papers that were in the New England Journal for Medicine. I use those team working skills practically all the time in clinics and facilitation sessions when I am with my group. And finally, I have built on those communication skills and have used them when I’ve been delivering presentations to small groups, speaking with patients on wards or even preparing speeches for presentation evenings! So I would like to say a massive thank you to Villiers Park, as I do every year, but I can’t put into words exactly how grateful I am and how proud I am to call myself a scholar of such a great programme.

As some quick words of wisdom to current scholars, just remember you are the one in control of your destiny – which actually sounds really cheesy but it’s true. Your teachers teach you the content, the past papers help consolidate the knowledge and your mentor is there to provide some guidance and support. However, it is your hard work and determination that will get you to your end goal, whether that be an apprentice or university. Use the resources around you but try your best in everything you do and you’ll have that sense of pride when the outcome is what you intended. Don’t blame the teachers, don’t blame the paper but I’m not saying blame yourself!! But take it as a stepping stone of learning and the best way to learn is through making mistakes. 

I wish you the best of luck in the future. Thank you for listening.

Summary of Year 1

Let's do an overall summary of Year 1...

• I arrived at university and met my flatmates. I had to make all new friends from my course and my student accommodation, who thankfully remained by my side throughout the whole year!
• I did house viewings and decided on my accommodation flat for next year!
• I learnt soooo much! From anatomy, to law, to sociology, to ethics, to histology, to biomedicine to biochemistry! There has been so much content on each individual system in the body which you can't help but feel excited to turn up to lectures.
• I have handled a lot of cadaver specimens and have been exposed prematurely to death. I have also taken part in shadowing a pathologist during a post mortem.
• I have taken part in clinical shadowing at GPs, where I did some clinical skills and did individual home visits. Here, I learnt how important communication is when it comes to talking to patients.
• I have also shadowed doctors at Southmead Hospital and have been taught by both patients and the teaching fellows about body systems and some clinical skills - such as taking blood pressure, blood glucose levels, auscultation and palpation.
• I completed an essay project, as well as an art project. This is based on medicine being both a science and an art.
• I have worked as HCA as part of the course, where I worked four shifts of 7 hours and one 12 hour shift.
• I loved being a HCA so much, I then went on to apply for a job as a healthcare assistant in Bristol. I went for the interview and then received my job offer. I then attended the training and now awaiting some shifts to sign up to!
• I have completed my exams, January and Summer and passed to progress into Year 2!

I can't believe how much I feel I know ever since starting just less than a year ago!

Year 1 has been filled with some very exciting moments and I have enjoyed every second of university life. You are so independent and have so much fun which is incomparable to any other experience I have ever had! I would say I would love to do it again, but I'm really excited to go into Year 2!

I hope all of your exams go well and you receive the results you both want and deserve. Have a great summer, and I will speak to you in September if not before!

...and the results are in...

Guess who is 20% a qualified doctor??? ME!!!

Yup, somehow, I passed my exams! I feel like it was a huge reward for all of the hardwork that I put in towards the end of the year (from the beginning of May up to the exams) even with the circumstances going on.

I will use this chance to say about the grading with medicine as well! I'm not sure if I mentioned it in the last posts so I'll say here, medicine does not have the standard first, 2:1, 2:2, third etc. scale which is used to measure and assess other courses.

So you will hear that a lot, "Did you get a first or a second in your exam?" around the university. But medicine is simply a pass or fail. This then determines your next progression into the following year. So because of this, I have completed Year 1 and will progress to Year 2 next year!

I'm progressing into Year 2!

Thank you to everyone that supported me, especially the past month. I am truly grateful for everything.

Training as a HCA

Exams are now behind me, so I have been busy concentrating on my HCA role!

I had the pleasure of going to Southmead Hospital to undergo my beginning training as a healthcare assistant. I was lucky to be told that I only needed to attend the first day of the five-day induction because I was a medical student.

Looking at the programme, the first few induction training sessions were about patient safety, hygiene, human factors in the delivery of care and the importance of communication and rules of social media. Other days involved safeguarding, dementia etc - which I had already experienced when being introduced as a HCA for placements here in December!

The beautiful Southmead Hospital!

The training was delivered in a lecture theatre in the Academy. I was sat with other healthcare assistants, student nurses, porters and domestics who were also just starting their jobs.

The training was very informative and was a great opportunity to revisit things I had forgotten since December! I collected my uniform and have received a new ID badge (which I can keep alongside my medical student one!) so it feels all so real now!

I am waiting for the actual starting date to which I can sign up for bank shifts now.

Cheeky coffee and bacon butty for the journey to Bristol!

I was supposed to be attending manual handling the following Tuesday but this was last minute cancelled. Therefore, I'm waiting for this to be rearranged and then I will fill you in again with how that was!

Summer Exams

Preparing for the exams has awful and sadly not because of the stress of exams. Whilst at university, I was informed by my friends at home that a close dear friend of mine had passed away at his university. This came as a great shock to me and I wasn't prepared to process such news as devastating as this. I was fortunate enough to attend his funeral and speak my eulogy that aimed to portray his fun and exciting character that I miss dearly. His funeral was the 6th June, whereas my first exam was the 5th June and my second exam was the 7th June. So sandwiched between the two examinations, I had to travel home promptly within the time to ensure I would make his funeral.

...

But the main question - what were the exams like?

Short answer: Difficult! Haha.

It's nothing like A-Level testing. The exam MCQs give you five possible answers to a question that could be a one line to a whole paragraph describing a patient's history. You guarantee that you will find yourself deciding between two answers and then it's pot luck if you aren't confident to the answer!

The exams were also weighted massively on the delivery of teaching. The majority of the exam was on physiology and function, closely followed by anatomy and then broken up into questions on the sociological, behavioural and ethical aspects of the course.

Here is an example of a medical MCQ! (And how I would approach such question in an exam situation)

Which cranial nerve is responsible for the abduction of the eye?
a) CN II
b) CN III
c) CN IV
d) CN V
e) CN VI

So... the breakdown on this question. You could either work out each individual cranial nerve and what it supplies, but I found it was always quicker to just dissect what the exam question is both asking for and looking for.

I'd begin with a quick sketch of the eye...

A small sketched diagram I would draw next to the question that I've annotated. The line on the left represents the nose, showing that this eye would be the left eye.

On the sketch, I would quickly drawn on the eye movements and the name of the muscles that are responsible for this. I would have learnt this mainly from my anatomy sessions when I located these muscles on cadavers and learnt their functions. Then, in the neuro case, I would've elaborated on each individual cranial nerve and what motor supplies they have.

I would then draw the names of the eye movements:

Another small diagram showing the names of movements of the left eye.

This is important because I need to be able to understand what movement I am trying to identify. In this case, abduction is the lateral movement (meaning the eyeball moves away in a direction away from the nose). Comparing the diagrams, it is clear that lateral rectus is the muscle responsible for abduction of the eyeball.

Then, I would just have to either remember from my revision that the lateral rectus muscle is innervated by CN VI. Or, I could've looked at the answers in turn. Cranial nerve six, CN VI, is actually called the abducens nerve. So this would've saved me time if I had remembered the common name of this cranial nerve! Or I could've worked down the functions and remember that CN II is the optic nerve which provides sensory information of sight etc. Or, remembered that CN VI is the only cranial nerve to supply the lateral rectus muscle ... which causes eye abduction!

It may not make sense now, but you'll be laughing how easy this is to understand when you complete your first months of medical school - trust me!

If you are looking for my opinion of the exams, I would say they were very difficult. They were quite confusing and used a lot of application! I know in the example, I gave an MCQ which would be structured similar to how the teaching would be delivered. But there were a lot of questions on symptoms and a list of possible conditions which we had touched on throughout the year.

I found the second paper a lot harder than the first. Obviously, the circumstance of my friend's funeral being present during my revision time didn't help either, but I will confirm that I did apply for extenuating circumstances. Results day will tell me more!

Good luck to everyone else who has exams at this time!