My life as a medical student

My life as a medical student

Luke gives an inside view into what it’s really like to study medicine in the UK, including being part of the team in a real working hospital.

Life at the finest medical school in the land!

I’m Luke, a 4th year medical student living and studying in London. I moved to London for university at the end of my gap year, this was the first time I had ever lived in a city. I’m now a keen rower, act on stage for the medics revue and work for the Students’ Union in my free time. Oh and I love my course!

There’s plenty to see and do here with a massive range of pubs, bars, restaurants and markets.

Studying in South London is brilliant because you can move all over studying in hospitals and community placements across the south of London and Surrey.

The course involves a mixture of teaching in lectures, small group sessions, student selected projects and clinical placements.

There’s so much happening and so much to learn, there really is no time to get bored!

The course itself is divided into three main areas: two ‘pre-clinical’ years with focus on lectures and teaching; the ‘Transitional’ year, with a mixture of teaching and clinical experience; and two final ‘clinical’ years based entirely on wards/placement.

Extra-curricular studies will make up a big part of your life here. There are sports clubs, societies, the Students’ Union and opportunities to develop skills outside of medicine and pursue extra academic projects.

Read part two of Luke’s blog post, where he talks us through a whole week as a medical student.