A Day in the Life of a Medical Student

Qudsiya Baig, 3rd Year Medicine (MBBS)

In a world where YouTube is saturated with ‘A Day in My Life’ vlogs, I’ve decided to take you all on a different journey, one that consists of words. Did I just lose readers? Maybe. But the lot of you that have stayed past this filtration process, I know you must be somewhat anxious, terrified or dare I say excited about embarking upon university life.

There are many ways I can go about this; I can give you all advice on what to do, what NOT to do, debunk any myths, shatter your preconceived notions and so on. However, what I’m actually going to do is paint a picture of what a day looks like in the life of a medical student. This is simply because no number of precautions can help you cross a threshold where you feel absolutely ready for university. Instead, the best thing you can do for yourself is to get an idea of what’s in store for you whilst keeping an open mind for the rest of it.

I’m currently in my 3rd year of studying Medicine at King’s but I still remember exactly how I felt as a fresher. I was aware of the unparalleled workload at university compared to that at A-levels and I remember being particularly anxious about the much dreaded “independence”. As someone who was used to making handwritten notes, I thought to myself ‘will I still be able to do this?’ because surely that’s too amateur for university, right? Little did I know that my first year was going to truly be a year of experiments. It was a series of trial-and-error and I urge you all to participate in this and try out different methods of learning because one day you will find The One (not the McDreamy kind, sorry). The Medical Students Association (MSA) has a mums-and-dads scheme, which assigns you ‘parents’. Be sure to sign up to this because these ‘parents’ will be your lifesavers and mine have been there for me for all my deadlines, revision sessions and everything in between.

This is what a typical day looks like in year 1 and most of these lectures will take place on Guy’s campus. You may have workshops in the afternoon, which take place in small-group settings to give you a chance to learn a bit more about the topics covered in the lectures. Other courses such as Biomedical Sciences incorporate seminars, whereas Medicine has clinical skills labs with simulated learning and dissections every Wednesday.

In my lunch breaks, my friends and I would be spoiled for choices as Guy’s bar provides a huge range of lunch deals (with student-friendly prices of course!). There are also many facilities on campus where you can go to relax, to play table tennis, to pray in the prayer rooms or in the chapel or even enjoy the sun, when the weather permits, on the Quad.

Evenings consist of attending Meet & Greets run by societies, which is a great time to meet students from different courses and make more friends. Here you can really thrive in your element and maintain your interest in extracurricular activities. University shouldn’t be a reason to stop your outside interests and I encourage you all to seize this opportunity to develop your time-management skills, which will come in handy in your future careers.

I hope that this gave you all a taste of what it will be like when you start your first year at King’s College London. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine team. I wish you all the very best and hope that your experience at King’s is just as incredible as mine!