BMA students' conference
I worked at the school for a solid five days in the week after term finished. The whole idea of this job of a 'student associate' was beginning to get on my nerves because I was rarely given work and spent most of my time standing around. One of the teachers in the science department even told me quite politely to go find something else to do. So at the end of the week, I quit, having completed 10 out of 15 days of my placement. What a waste of time, honestly. They obviously need help, what with it being a state school in a deprived area of the country, yet they don't seem to want it. Anyway, the job was a means to an end for me - some experience with children and a way to earn some dosh for my elective after 4th year.
Then last Thursday, I hopped on to a plane and went to Exeter. I had volunteered to go to the British Medical Association's annual students' conference, as a delegate from Newcastle's med school. I say volunteered because most of the BMA committee at Newcastle is made up of 4th year medics and they all had to do a presentation on one of the days of the conference, so that left only me and a few others available to go. So we did.
In Exeter, three of us from Newcastle spent the afternoon in a pub with a doctor from Northern Ireland and a few other Northern Irish people who were also attending the conference. Chatted about everything under the sun. The doctor was really nice and down to earth.. I mean it's just rare to see people that high up being genuinely friendly with students.
Anyway. That night we went to a Spanish restaurant called La Tesca in Exeter's "city center". Met some other people who were going to the conference. Most were students from other universities, and it was nice to sit down and chat with them. There wasn't a lot of food going around, but that was hardly true for alcohol. Someone ordered a 6-liter bottle (rather, tumbler) of wine which was quite a sight and must have been horrendously difficult to pour out of, I imagine. Other people had Sangrias. I was quite content with my glass of lemonade.
We were put up in halls of residence which were well posh. I mean I had a double bed to myself!!
I wasn't too sure what the actual conference was gonna be like. I knew there was an agenda of motions that had been written by students from every med school in the country, and I knew they were gonna be debated and then voted on by us in order to either become BMA policy or get chucked out. I had read through the motions but I didn't know what else to do. Other people did, obviously. Some people had prepared lengthy speeches for or against the motions. Others spontaneously decided to speak about certain motions. I did neither.
Before the second day, I did prepare a speech presenting one of our motions about including more first aid teaching in the curriculum and it was set to be funny too, but we never got around to it before conference finished. I wasn't too disappointed though, I had only gone for the free pen and tea and coffee anyway!
I had to take the train from Exeter because there were no flights back to Newcastle on Saturday. The train journey was a numbing 7 hours long but fortunately, I had one of the Irish lads from my university with me all the way. We got delayed at Peterborough on the way to Newcastle because of some mad football fans who had to get arrested. You know your train is headed to Newcastle when the police have to stop it to arrest people inside.
Now I'm back home, back to being by myself.
Then last Thursday, I hopped on to a plane and went to Exeter. I had volunteered to go to the British Medical Association's annual students' conference, as a delegate from Newcastle's med school. I say volunteered because most of the BMA committee at Newcastle is made up of 4th year medics and they all had to do a presentation on one of the days of the conference, so that left only me and a few others available to go. So we did.
In Exeter, three of us from Newcastle spent the afternoon in a pub with a doctor from Northern Ireland and a few other Northern Irish people who were also attending the conference. Chatted about everything under the sun. The doctor was really nice and down to earth.. I mean it's just rare to see people that high up being genuinely friendly with students.
Anyway. That night we went to a Spanish restaurant called La Tesca in Exeter's "city center". Met some other people who were going to the conference. Most were students from other universities, and it was nice to sit down and chat with them. There wasn't a lot of food going around, but that was hardly true for alcohol. Someone ordered a 6-liter bottle (rather, tumbler) of wine which was quite a sight and must have been horrendously difficult to pour out of, I imagine. Other people had Sangrias. I was quite content with my glass of lemonade.
We were put up in halls of residence which were well posh. I mean I had a double bed to myself!!
I wasn't too sure what the actual conference was gonna be like. I knew there was an agenda of motions that had been written by students from every med school in the country, and I knew they were gonna be debated and then voted on by us in order to either become BMA policy or get chucked out. I had read through the motions but I didn't know what else to do. Other people did, obviously. Some people had prepared lengthy speeches for or against the motions. Others spontaneously decided to speak about certain motions. I did neither.
Before the second day, I did prepare a speech presenting one of our motions about including more first aid teaching in the curriculum and it was set to be funny too, but we never got around to it before conference finished. I wasn't too disappointed though, I had only gone for the free pen and tea and coffee anyway!
I had to take the train from Exeter because there were no flights back to Newcastle on Saturday. The train journey was a numbing 7 hours long but fortunately, I had one of the Irish lads from my university with me all the way. We got delayed at Peterborough on the way to Newcastle because of some mad football fans who had to get arrested. You know your train is headed to Newcastle when the police have to stop it to arrest people inside.
Now I'm back home, back to being by myself.