Teneisha

Previous school: Fowey River Academy 

Courses studied: A Level Biology, Chemistry, Psychology and AS Physics

Extra activities: Medics' Academy, Student Ambassador

Progression: Medicine - Aston University 

My time at Callywith really helped to make my decision about where to study. It gave me the advice and resources to be able to pick the universities that were best suited to me. The Medics' Academy at Callywith really helped my application and the support that I received from my Biology Lecturer, who runs the Medics’ Academy and the students from Plymouth and Exeter Medical School, were vital in me gaining my place at university. The academy also gave me helpful experience when it came to med school interviews.

Callywith really helped prepare me for the jump from school to university, I think that it encouraged me to become an independent learner. I was able find the ways in which I best learn, setting me up for the best possible start at uni.  As well as optimising my personal statement. I have always felt able to reach out to the staff at Callywith even after leaving with any questions I might have had.

I really enjoyed my experience at university, it definitely felt like a big change to begin with and it took some time to adjust to, but I think going to a college rather than a sixth-form helped me to transition faster.

In my second year I got to experience almost a full year of on campus teaching before moving online due to the pandemic. The shift to online teaching was quite difficult but I realised that it's important to still take the time to talk to people when it can be easy to get bogged down in the workload. My friends and I started video calling each other whilst we work so that we had some company and could break it up a bit. It also has caused me to make much more use of the different resources available to me.

For me, I love to study sciences as it gives me understanding of things that are constantly occurring around us. My studies at college directly translate into my higher education, the concepts covered at college are constantly reviewed and built on through my degree, getting the opportunity to see how science is applied in everyday life, has only deepened my appreciation for the subject.

Whilst at university, I got the opportunity to learn across multiple environments and really valued the chances to experience many specialties across outpatient, inpatient and surgical placements. Some of my highlights included working in the emergency department, running peer learning schemes to help with exams and a placement in a specialist orthopaedic hospital.

Recently I had the opportunity to undertake a 6-week elective in Sri Lanka. This allowed me the to experience a different health care system and appreciate the nuances of delivery of care in the NHS. I worked in government hospitals with the medical staff. I was able to witness first hand how resources and accessibility can affect the health of the population.
 

After graduation, I’m really looking forward to starting working and getting to put my knowledge to practise. As I’m getting closer to starting Foundation Year 1 as a Junior Doctor, the nerves and excitement are growing and I’m looking forward to getting to know the hospital teams.

Currently, I am most interested in emergency medicine and hope to pursue this in the future. I would also like to undertake roles in medical education as well as providing humanitarian aid once I have progressed in my career

I would recommend first looking at which universities entry requirements best suit you. After this, I found it really helpful to pick a few qualities that I really looked for in a university and this helped to pick the place that suited me best. If you can find a comparison tool for your course, this is really helpful. I used the medic portal Medical School Comparison Tool and having a brief direct comparison helped me to pick my final 4 unis. I would also say it's worth considering how far you want to travel and how often you want to be able to come home as I found this really affects people's enjoyment of uni.