Sharp Scratch

They say nobody parties harder than medical students, but is that really true? What do our panellists think? Long-time listeners of sharp scratch may remember the fresher’s firsts: socialising episode recorded in the middle of the pandemic, so we are happy to be revisiting this topic now that medical school, and University, feels a little more normal. 

In this episode, the panel talk all about socialising at medical school; from freshers' weeks, to sports and societies, to all the friends they made along the way. 

Expert guest Christina Aaliyah is a final year medical student at Newcastle University and a content-creator who’s content about studying medicine and university life has amassed a following of over 140,000 on TikTok.

You can find Christina’s social media here:

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@christina.aaliyah?lang=en 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrstinna/

Check us out on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/  

This podcast is produced and edited by Geoff Marsh and Duncan Jarvies.

Spooky season is here, and sometimes there is nothing scarier than a medical degree. From broken bones, to early morning buses, we medics are fond of a horror story.

This episode, to celebrate halloween, we are sharing some of our spookiest medical school scaries - the good, the bad and the funny. We talk about some of the things we find scary about medical school, and why we find these things so scary.

In this episode the panel are joined by Dr Megan Brown, a ‘doctor-turned-academic’. With a background in clinical medicine, she now works full time in academia, and is a senior research associate in medical education at Newcastle University. 

Check us out on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/  

This podcast is produced and edited by Geoff Marsh, Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.

Here at sharp scratch, we are taking a short break, so in the meantime we'd like to highlight some of our favourite episodes from the archive. I thought these episodes might be particularly helpful for those of us starting out at medical school, and I hope you enjoy them. 

In this episode, the panel were joined by medical school expert David Brill, as they discuss how to approach practical exams and manage nerves, as well as their OSCE disaster stories.

Here at Sharp Scratch, we’re taking a short summer break, so in the meantime we’d like to highlight some of our favourite episodes from our archive. I thought these episodes might be particularly helpful for those of us starting out at medical school, and I hope you enjoy them.

Starting university or medical school can be a daunting experience for anyone, but when you're the first person in your family to study medicine, it can feel even scarier. In this episode, the panel talk all about what it is like to be a first generation medical student, starting from the very beginning and talking about when they realised they first wanted to study medicine and what it was like to apply. They also talk about their time at medical school, and the culture shock when they arrived. To finish up, they talk about positive changes they'd like to see in medicine and how their feelings have changed over time. 

Check us out on social media: 

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/

We are taking a short summer break from Sharp Scratch, so in the meantime we’d like to highlight some of our favourite episodes from our archive. I thought these episodes might be particularly helpful for those of us starting out at medical school, and I hope you enjoy them. 

In this episode, the panel were joined by Richie Oparka, consultant pathologist and head of first year at Dundee medical school. They discussed and reminisce on their own first years, including their first dissections, lectures and exams.

Here at Sharp Scratch, we’re taking a short summer break, so in the meantime we’d like to highlight some of our favourite episodes from our archive. I thought these episodes might be particularly helpful for those of us starting out at medical school, and I hope you enjoy them.

Starting university can be a really exciting and really nerve-wracking time. There are so many questions you might have before you start. How do you know what to pack? How do you make friends? How do you study? Is it really going to be the best time of your life?!

You might be just about to start university in the next week or two, or simply feel like indulging in the nostalgia of those first few weeks. Either way, join Sharp Scratch panel members new and old as we come together to discuss the sorts of things we were worried about or looking forward to before we started university. 

Check us out on social media:

Twitter: twitter.com/BMJStudent

Instagram: www.instagram.com/bmj_student/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/

This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.

Join all of the previous hosts as we celebrate 100 episodes of Sharp Scratch!

Check us out on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/  

This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.

Medicine can be challenging sometimes, and while there are often formal support structures in place such as welfare teams or occupational health to deal with acute events, or ongoing struggles, what about all the day to day parts of medicine? 

Today we’re going to be talking about the support systems available in medical schools and the impacts of having, or not having, these structures in place. 

Expert guests:

Dr Caroline Walker is a psychiatrist, therapist, speaker, trainer, and coach. She is also the founder of The Joyful Doctor, a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the wellbeing of health care professionals. More information about The Joyful Doctor can be found here - https://www.joyfuldoctor.com/. 

Check us out on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/  

This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.

Milestones in medicine are often thought of as getting over the next professional hurdle - we’re always thinking about passing our next exam, advancing to our next year of medical school or training, or finally becoming a consultant. But in reality, are these the moments that truly feel like significant milestones?

Instead, what if we shifted our mindset to thinking about all of the things that feel personally important, but not really institutionally important. If the things we placed all of our significance on were not passing our exams, but instead the first time someone said well done or that you’d make a really great doctor. 

Check us out on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/  

This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.

This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.