December 21, 2015, by studentcontributor

Life as a second year medical student

Hi there, my name’s Hayley and I’m a second year medical student at Nottingham. I remember coming back to med school thinking “first year is officially over, I’m a fifth way through the course-it’s all going so fast!”

Accommodation

Life as a second year is great so far, especially living in a nice house with friends and getting to escape from hall food! At the moment I am living with one other medic and three non-medics and I feel that this is a good mix as you actually get to escape from medicine (most of the time anyway). Plus, there’s always someone there who understands the intensity of the course and you’re able to revise and practice clinical skills together.

I particularly love the freedom you have in a house and getting to cook and experiment with food is great. As a house, we have nights in where we all watch TV (every Wednesday without fail we will either be watching “The great British bake off” or “The apprentice”) and play on the wii- most of us are extremely competitive at Mario Kart!

The biggest change I have found this year is that you are more independent, as you have to learn to budget more in terms of buying food and paying rent; as well as planning your meals in advance (which can be such a pain!). I’m really lucky that I have a few grocery stores nearby which means I’m able to get fresh food for a decent price.

Living in a house means you also have to do the boring things such as washing the dishes, vacuuming and cleaning- it’s actually not as bad as it sounds and having a rota helps so we all know when it’s our turn to clean.

Another thing I love about second year is that you are able to visit other friends around the Nottingham student area to see their houses. We take it in turns to cook dinner for everyone so we get to experience my friends cooking and just having a good time together.

Medical course

In terms of the course, second year unsurprisingly is another step up from first year, but do feel more confident as you have found your feet and know what to expect from the exams and lectures.

The structure of second year is similar to first year, as it is still heavily lecture based and we continue with anatomy throughout the first semester. We also continue with our GP and hospital visits which I really enjoy as you’re able to put into practice the skills you have learnt and get good clinical experience.

Second year in general is great so far, as ever the course is tough and there are going to be stressful times, but try and stay positive, work hard and really make the most of your time at University!

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