Top Tips For Clinical Placement
Hello, my name is Leyna and I am a third year medical student at the University of Birmingham. I am absolutely loving third year so far because the people-side of Medicine is my favourite part and I get a lot of that on placement! Outside of Medicine, I love to dance, do yoga and I have a stationary obsession. On my Instagram account (@lifeofleyna_), I mostly share things about medical school and also about my life. I love to chat in my comments and DMs as well if people ever have any concerns or questions whenever I can!
I wanted to share my top tips for placement for anyone who has just started or is due to be starting soon!
I haven't got it perfect yet, but I have learned a lot in my first month which I would love to share with you…
What do I take with me?
In my bag, I take a packed lunch (if I've bothered to make it!), my stethoscope, a small notebook and pens. I also take my hospital and student ID cards, my house keys and my laptop. All of my daily essentials!
What should I do?
On placement, it's really easy to feel lost and unwanted because it's the first time being plonked into a hospital on a ward with patients! I'd say to settle in, the best thing I've done is spoken to lots of patients to get more comfortable with this. You can never do too many histories and examinations to master them! Also, speak to all of the staff and everyone is mostly very friendly and they may be more likely to help you with clinical skills or teaching if you are engaging with the different staff members on the ward!
After placement, always reflect and research what you learned because it will keep all your new skills and knowledge fresh!
Extra tips:
Always eat breakfast because placement can get tiring and sometimes quite hot - you don't want to faint just because you haven't eaten enough!
Don't be afraid to try something new if you're really keen to give it a go! The teaching staff are so friendly, probably 99% of the time (I haven't had a bad experience yet!) so there's no need to shy away from something just because you don't feel 'good enough'.
Be relaxed! You have so much time to get used to this new way of learning and get more comfortable in a hospital environment so don't put any pressure on yourself to be 'perfect' straight away.
Hopefully, this might make placement seem a little less daunting! I'd love to hear about other people's tips and experiences so it would be lovely if they were shared in the comments :)