Profile nineteen

I am an 18 year old student from Liverpool who has just finished studying for A Levels and is preparing to go to university to study Medicine.

Over the past few years I have spent a lot of my time preparing for my chosen career in Medicine. I have found the time to volunteer at the Royal Liverpool Hospital and for the British Red Cross. Volunteering has confirmed to me that Medicine, as a people focused career, is what I wanted to do. I get a lot out of helping others in difficult circumstances, and meeting a wide range of different people which is why I continue to volunteer. It has also allowed me to learn a lot about myself and I feel it has developed me as a person, increasing my social awareness and interpersonal skills.

Undoubtedly, getting into medical school is very hard for any applicant, with the typical number of applicants per place being ten and above. Being the first in my family to consider higher education and furthermore to consider medicine made me feel quite anxious at first and lose confidence in my ability. However, keeping the idea of my future career in mind I rose to the challenge and, in all honesty, I can now say that the last two years have been the most fulfilling for me academically.

I have just finished studying for A Levels in Biology Chemistry, Physics and General Studies and achieved grade A in all four subjects.  I was fortunate enough to gain offers from three medical schools and have chosen to go to St Andrews University. The decision to select St Andrews medical school was a no-brainer for me. Being a traditional course, I will spend three years studying for a ‘pre clinical’ Bsc degree in medicine and then study an extra three years at the University of Manchester (clinical) where I will graduate with the MB ChB (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) degree which will qualify me to practice as a doctor. The advantage of this set up for me is that there is an extra year compared to other medical courses which will allow more time to study the science I love. Being able to study for a BSc degree, as well, means that I will be doing a research dissertation which really appeals to me. St Andrews really is a beautiful place, everything is within walking distance and it is the 3rd oldest university in the world. When attending for interview I felt a strong affinity for the town, and decided there and then that it was for me.

After getting my place at university, I began to realize that life as a medical student will be hard: without the ability to get a job (due to workload) and with the prospect of not much financial support, I was bound to struggle. This concern was heightened by the fact that I was moving almost three hundred  miles away from home.  A teacher at my school told me about The John Moran Educational Trust. I was anxious before interview because I didn’t know what to expect from the trustees.  However, as soon as I walked into the interview room, the trustees put me at ease and made me feel very welcome. I can’t thank them enough for their kind, welcoming approach and for giving me this award. This really will ease the financial pressure on me as a student and allow me to focus on my studies and enjoy university life.

I have just finished my first year studying Medicine and am now on my summer vacation.
Before moving away from home I was very nervous. The distance away from home was scary, as was the prospect of being potentially alone in a strange place knowing no one. When I arrived all of these feeling dissipated immediately.

I have never made so many new friends in such a short time as I have in my first year at university. I now promote the idea of moving away from home to students I speak to because I really love it. In all honesty, I now feel more at home at university than I do at home!

My first year seems to have gone very quickly. However, I feel it has been the most productive year of my life to date. Although Medicine is very intense, I love it! This year I have learnt general principles about the science that underpins Medicine as well as an in depth study of the musculoskeletal system in second semester. I am looking forward to next year when I will study the Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Gastrointestinal and Reproductive systems.

Whilst the course is undoubtedly demanding in terms of workload, I have found time to get really involved in university life. I have become Vice president of the First Aid Society, fundraiser for a charity society called Medsin and Secretary of my Hall Committee.  These positions will run until the end of my second year, meaning that I am going to be a very busy bee in second year! Other than Medicine related things, I have found the time to regularly go swimming and spend a lot of time with my friends!
The John Moran Trust has helped to ease the financial pressure on me and I am ever so grateful to the charity for their help.

My second year studying has been a lot more challenging than anything I have ever done before.   Second year is well known for being the most intense for my course! But I am through and feel very happy about that. I am really enjoying my course. I have (just!) managed to balance my studies over the past year with being heavily involved with my Hall committee. This has seen me organising events, fundraising and lots of other things. I am now the head of the committee for next year. With 11 other committee members to work with this puts me in quite a responsible role but I am looking forward to the challenges and am already starting to cherish the learning opportunities the role provides. The committee has around £25000 budget from the University and is given a lot of responsibility in terms of improving ‘student experience’ so my work is cut out for me (and my team) for the next year!

During my second year, I also embarked upon a long process of formal and informal assessments while training to become a Red Cross First Aid Trainer. Recently (early in the summer) I passed my final assessments and am now a fully fledged Trainer/Assessor. I have been working with the red Cross for a good few years but now that I am a trainer I would never go back – I just love it; I feel like I have found a real passion and now enjoy teaching public and internal courses for the Red Cross, as a volunteer.

The past year has seen me struggle financially more than my first year – this must be due to the recession and increased prices. But I get by, and of course appreciate the help from the Trust greatly.