Year 3 marks a pivotal transition at KMMS, as students move from primary and community placements into secondary care and begin to experience the realities of hospital life. For one of our students, Tolani, her surgery senior rotation proved to be both a steep learning curve and a highlight of her medical journey so far.
“Surgery was a specialty I’d never imagined myself in and at first it felt pretty daunting. Starting at the hospital somewhat swallowed my confidence, and as someone who loves talking to people and asking questions, that really surprised me. I was even scared to bother Health Care Professionals for sign-offs at the start – don’t worry, I’m a pro now!
It took 2-3 weeks to settle in (hang in there if that’s you now!), work out where to go, and feel like I belonged. But with time, lovely patient and clinician interactions, and my amazing placement partner, things started to click.
East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) is a wonderful teaching trust and I would definitely recommend it. Experiencing theatres, clinics, and difficult conversations underlined the incredible privilege it is to be a medical student – one I will never take for granted!
I am incredibly grateful for the support from Year 5 medical students and Foundation Year 1 (FY1) Doctors – getting through Case-based Discussions, lectures, grand rounds, and supervisor expectations felt a lot less daunting with their support in my first term.
I haven’t decided if surgery is for me – l’d love to experience a general surgery rotation in FY1. I loved the pace and variety of clinical exposure, so we’ll see…not totally off the cards!
Going from feeling like an imposter at the start to finishing with a commendation in my case-based presentation was a massive highlight. My love for patient care and conversations had its place in this specialty and supported me through my case.
I also spent this block getting my head around the portfolio side of things and thinking more about my passions, conferences, and what I enjoy about medicine – there’s no better time than now to figure that out.
I enjoy sharing my journey with others, aiming to make medicine more accessible, highlight the challenges and milestones of medical training, share extracurricular experiences, encourage support for the well-being of medical students and healthcare professionals, an area I am deeply passionate about, while also showcasing how engaging and enjoyable studying medicine can be.
Onto my medical rotation; I’m wishing everyone the best in their studies/rotations this term!”