Starting the ball rolling

Today I had a meeting with the head of year 3. It was a quite unusual meeting. It started normally but then became unusual.

I was at the med school, at the correct time, having had lunch with butcher Boy and joined the mature students/post-grad club. I met the head of year and we went down to one of the interview rooms. She started off explaining about the year, and how my exam performance had been - the weak areas, but also my strengths (Atheroma & Cardiology) in the exam.

We then got onto the structure of the year - my not having to do SSM's, but that I had to do an OSCE in a formative manner. We then got onto the LCP (see here, here, here and here), which the Uni say I don't have to do. however, as much for my interest, and also to make life fair for my GP partner next year, I made the suggestion that I should do it, and submit it but my prior mark (B) would stand. The Head of Year then said that the Director of Clinical Skills had sugegsted that I could do a series of portfolio cases, for him to mark, as this would be good practice for 4th year, whilst not a repeat of the LCP I have already completed. This sounds like a better idea as I should get to cover a wider variety of topics (who knew the Uni ever listened / took ideas on board, or was even capable of thinking outside the box?). She suggested that I email the Director of Clinical Skills to establish a task / written guidelines.

I also raised my point about going to different hospitals / GP if possible this year. She said that she/ the administrator would see what they could do, but were making no promises.

Finally we moved onto summer electives next year. I asked that although i do not have to do an SSM or elective next summer, whether I would have Uni support for doing another elective, to fill in my summer and give me additional experience on wards etc. She said this seemed like a good idea, and to email herself, the SSM convenor and the Electives convenor as appropriate when I had a project in mind.

At this point the meeting got more odd. The Uni allowing me to suggest my own projects and assessments was unusual in itself, but then she asked what I knew about sound and why the system linking the 3 seminar rooms together didn't work... I kind of offered an idea, but ducked out of anything else. the system seems very odd and hardly fit for purpose!

She then apologised for not being able to answer an email I had sent her after the resit results, explaining that the Uni procedure insists that students transfer from Year Directors to Administration once they fall foul of the regulations. Apparently several academics feel it is ubfair, as that s when students are most in need of some support from year Directors etc. This was the most unusual bit, a Year Director daring to challenge the status quo in the med School, in fact she called herself a heretic for even suggesting it!