My favourite module in Medical Science

Throughout the three years I studied Medical Science, I was constantly introduced to new topics, new potential career paths and new ways of learning. I had modules I really enjoyed either because of their content or the way they were delivered and I also had modules I found really hard or didn’t enjoy so much. However, in my very last semester of my course I had my favourite module which I enjoyed every aspect of. This module was titled ‘Specialist Case Studies’.

Specialist Case Studies was a new module and was set up with the intention of giving us a chance to collaborate with one another and apply our specialist knowledge to different medical cases. This module had a 1 hour lecture every week, which was taught by a different lecturer almost every week. Unlike other modules, we weren’t specifically taught about the content that would be in the assignments (that would defeat the point), but instead were taught about how medical professionals, such as doctors, went about diagnosing, treating and determining the prognosis for patients.

The layout of this module involved the Module Leader randomly allocating the class (both Medical and Pharmaceutical Science) into groups of 6 and assigning each group 3 case studies. Each case study was for a different patient, and involved a brief overview of their medical history, current symptoms and the results of any tests they may have had. As a group it was our job to determine a diagnosis, prognosis and future treatment for each case study. The layout of the module required weekly meetings, where members of the group would take turns to chair the meeting. Each group member then had to record the minutes for the meeting they chaired and later write a report to submit as part of the assignment. This aspect of the module gave me a great opportunity to collaborate with peers that I hadn’t previously worked with and it also gave me a great opportunity to practice my leadership skills and running a meeting. The assignment itself was a group presentation which would have been presented to the rest of the class to discuss our case studies and our findings. Unfortunately, this was when lockdown no.1 happened in 2020, so we were unable to. Instead, we were required to submit the PowerPoint that we would have used and had to individually submit our own commentary for the whole presentation. This still gave us a fair opportunity to be marked on our group and individual work.

So why did I like this module so much? The way this module was delivered enabled me to enjoy both the content and the assignments, in a way that was refreshing. Getting to research the different case studies gave me the chance to research in a way that wasn’t just gaining knowledge on a topic, but instead problem solving. Then getting to discuss my findings with the rest of the group and listen to theirs was a fantastic way to practice brainstorming real-world issues. This module helped me develop both my group and researching skills and gave a great insight of what it is like to work in the scientific world.