I know this is the question on everyone’s minds when starting medical school. What does my timetable look like? Do I have all 9ams? How much free time do I get? So I thought it would be a good idea to provide some insight into what you can expect from your timetables during your first year.
Whilst not all of you will be joining straight from A levels, one of the most common questions I get asked is regarding the jump from A levels to studying medicine. The first semester of medical school here in Lincoln will be spent building on the foundation of knowledge you would have gotten from your A levels. Your first semester will look at a lot of biochemistry, physiology, molecular medicine, and include an introduction to pharmacology which will help you with semesters 2 onwards when you move onto cases of the week.
Here is an example of what your first week here could look like (after your introduction week)
During the first semester, you will also be required to write some short essays (500 words) on different topics each week to help with your writing skills. Essay writing will be a part of the course, and so these are useful for making sure you have an idea of what to do, they are particularly useful for 3rd year, and any optional modules you choose, if they are assessed in the form of an essay. These will be peer marked by each other and some by staff.
When you return to Lincoln after Christmas, you will begin looking at cases each week, learning the relevant anatomy, physiology, epidemiology etc for that system and conditions effecting it. The course will continue to follow this structure until the end of your second year. When you start semester 2, you will start anatomy which many of you will be excited about, you will be working with prosections once a week (with review sessions dotted throughout the year) to learn the anatomy for the system you are looking at. I will talk about anatomy more and how learning will work for this in another peace.
Here is an example of what your timetable will look like in semester 2 of first year, when you start doing cases
One of the key selling points of medical school is the early clinical exposure, from first year you can expect to have GP and hospital visits timetabled into your schedule. Your first year will be composed of 3 hospital visits (in either Boston or Lincoln) and 2 GP visits. You will get a chance to apply the skills you have learnt in your clinical skills sessions and information you have learnt in lectures to real patients.
Hopefully this has helped give you an idea of what to expect during your first semester!
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