Venue: Imperial College London
Today we went from Queen Mary to Imperial where we spent the day. The first activity planned for us was two medical taster sessions which would allow us to understand and appreciate what sitting in a lecture as a medical student may feel like. The first session was based on the lungs and airways. I was really drawn in, learning about the dichotomous branching of the trachea as well as the metachronal rhythm by which the fields of cilia move sequentially in order to sweep mucus out of the airway. I was most intrigued by the nerve control of the airway. I think it’s amazing the way all the different systems and mechanisms of the body are able to work together to keep everything functioning as it should be…it’s rather incredible! If a foreign object enters the lungs and is recognised by the sensory neurone, it’ll send a message to the brain stem which will send a message to constrict the airways and prevent the foreign object from entering.
The next taster session was based on case studies of real patients which I found even more fascinating. The examples given were of unusual symptoms that different people had come to the hospital with and the thought processes of the healthcare team and steps to diagnosing them.
We were then given a tour of the campus by current medical students which was useful as it enabled us to ask them about their experiences and learn whether their time at medical school had exceeded or failed to meet their expectations…after all it’s good to know the positives as well as the negatives.
Life of a Medic 