Transition Year Mini Med Programme
My name is Sarah Walsh and I am a TY student in Coláiste an Átha. This year has been extremely beneficial for me so far and I have enjoyed trying out new experiences. From the 20th to 23rd of February I attended the RCSI Mini Med Programme which I knew would be outside of my comfort zone. Before attending this programme I did not know what career path I wanted to pursue in the future and so I used this programme to help me decide whether a career in medicine would be for me.
The course began on Tuesday morning in the University Hospital Waterford, HSE / RCSI Education Facility. We learned an unbelievable amount about medicine and all the different sectors of it. An example of the some of the talks available to me were Human Anatomy, Dermatology, Cardiology, Oncology and Surgery. The spokespeople described to us how diverse medicine is and how there are so many aspects of it.
My favourite talk was ‘Psychiatry’ which was on the first day. Dr. Maurice Clancy was the speaker for this talk and he spoke to us about mental health and how his work deals with people that have mental illnesses. This talk had a massive impact on me as it made me realise that doctors not only deal with injuries and diseases that can be seen visually but also with the mind and how people are feeling. From this course I have come to the conclusion that I would love to look into having a career in psychiatry or in psychology.
Although I enjoyed the talks on the different aspects of medicine I have to say that it was very gruesome at times as they portrayed their jobs in a very honest way. This included very graphic images of their patients who have suffered from different conditions, diseases and injuries. I did not like looking at some of these photos and I had to look away at times when they were showing skin diseases, severe cuts, infections to the eye and broken bones.
As well as these talks there were also practical sessions which were hands-on and very realistic. My favourite practical lessons were Clinical skills, CPR and Surgical discipline. In these lessons we took part in different activities such as taking blood, checking people’s heartbeats and performing keyhole surgery. These lessons involved very realistic bodies that acted the same as a normal person would.
All in all I really enjoyed the four days in Waterford and I believe that it is an amazing opportunity available to TY students. As well as the medical side of things it was also a way to make friends as a numerous amount of schools from the south east took part in the programme.