Student Stories: “I’ve never felt so energised by what I’m learning”
First-year BSc (Hons) Medicine student Emma Clay shares her experience of starting her medical degree at St Andrews.
My name is Emma and I’ve just started my first year of the A100 Medicine BSc (Hons) course at St Andrews.
I chose this university in part for its tight-knit student community and rich history. But as someone whose favourite thing about medicine is the human connection involved, I loved how practical and patient-orientated, yet thoroughly academic, the medical course is.
Of course, the difficulty of the course and sheer volume of content has certainly made itself apparent, but the staff and other students are so incredibly supportive, and I’ve never felt so energised by what I’m learning. My highlights have been the clinical skills labs – small group practical sessions where we learn skills such as primary lifesaving care and how to conduct different examinations. These have been really engaging and formative, and they definitely help to associate the lecture content with the real-life application.
I can’t imagine anywhere else to study that could be like St Andrews; the town is tiny but incredibly vibrant with so much to offer. I’ve taken up surfing, yoga and climbing since arriving, and I even had a few sessions of swing dancing! Building new hobbies and getting to experience daily beautiful beach sunsets have made the hardest moments of my course feel obsolete. From Student Services, the Peer-Assisted Learning Scheme (PALS), and all of the incredible people you’ll meet to the amazing hobbies you can participate in, you can quickly find ways to counter the stress and have a healthy work-life balance.
I’ve mentioned the difficulty of the course, but I also want to emphasise how much fun it is. It is extremely stimulating and fulfilling to learn so much about people in a rounded and holistic way. It’s incredible to have the opportunity to learn anatomy through full-body dissection, which not many medical students will get to do, and to understand the complex physiology of the human body. However, I also appreciate how the curriculum incorporates content on the history of medicine, ethics, and medical humanities.
In short, I believe St Andrews is the perfect place to study medicine, and I can’t wait for the things I will get to experience here.