So, I’m finally sitting down to write about my first semester in Medicine. I wrote my last of three exams this past Friday evening and I have honestly just been a bit lazy since.

I got into Medicine at the university of Pretoria this year having already completed a BSc degree in Physiology, Genetics and Psychology, this means that I had a few credits starting out. The first semester of medicine for medical students at UP consists of Chemistry, Physics, Molecular and cell biology, Philosophy(referred to as “science and worldviews” in the official yearbook), A joint module consisting of Psychology and Sociology (referred to as “people and their environment 112” in the yearbook),Medical Terminology, a module called AIM which all first year students across the university are required to do as well as an orientation module also compulsory for all first year students called UPO. Because I had completed a whole bunch of these in 2015, this wasn’t a particularly busy semester for me personally, but for those who do take all of these modules it is a lot of work and a hugely busy schedule.

There were 3 modules that I did need credits for this semester that I hadn’t done previously and those being fresh in mind, I think I could give a fairly good breakdown of what they entail and what my experiences were of each.

The first was Medical Terminology. The module code at UP for this is MTL 180.  This module was presented by the department of Ancient languages and Cultures, who I’m pretty sure fall under the Faculty of Humanities. Due to the number of students taking this module both from the Faculty of Health Sciences and BSC. Biological science students who were aiming at being selected mid-year to join us in the MBChB program from July, the classes were split into groups and the lectures would be presented to each group in two timeslots per week. The module required us to break down words (medical terms) into their constituent parts-namely prefixes, combining forms and suffixes, to try and decipher their meanings. The first few weeks focussed on Greek prefixes, combining forms and suffixes and then the same for Latin over the next few weeks and then for the last 2 or 3 weeks of the semester we focussed on parts or systems of the body as a theme and considered both Greek and Latin combining forms relevant to them.  The assessments consisted of 3 class tests, 2 online open book tests as well as a bigger semester test and the exam. This is by no means a difficult subject, and I can imagine how these kinds of subjects can sometimes be a nuisance when trying to juggle chemistry, physics and biology, but I appreciated the opportunity to slow down and actually enjoy the module and I do think it will prove more than useful going into 2^nd, 3^rd , 4^th year etc.

The second module I did this semester was what is called “People and their environment 112” in the yearbook. The module code for this at UP is MGW112, (I’ll be referring to this subject by its code, so I don’t have to type out “People and their environment” or “Psychology and Sociology” a thousand times). MGW 112 consists of Health Psychology and Sociology, each contributing 50% to our final mark. The year started off with Health Psychology presented by Ms Sonja Mostert of the Faculty of Humanities. The lectures were presented four times per week. Health Psychology basically consisted of definitions of health and illness, health behaviours and habits, the importance of the patient’s beliefs, cognitions, attitudes etc, the patient-provider relationship, pain perception etc. The health psychology section of MGW 112 also had a bit of Physiology here and there especially in the pain chapter and I particularly enjoyed those parts. In the second quarter of the semester Sociology was presented to us by Professor Catherine Burns. I think Sociology was the root of anxiety for a huge portion of the Medical and BSc students, simply because we weren’t programmed to think in the way professor Burns asked of us. It became clear that she wasn’t interested in us parroting back names, dates or facts or even in us solving equations or problems like we are accustomed to, Professor Burns required that we just read about ( a lot of reading by our standards) and be able to understand and discuss sociological concepts and issues. She gave us the opportunity to engage with all sorts of resources that she uploaded onto our online portal from Ted Talks to journal articles. Once again, I think I’m most thankful for the fact that I could fully enjoy and appreciate modules like this. The assessments for MGW 112 came in the form of two tests: one for Health Psychology and then one for Sociology as well as a combined final exam consisting of 50% Health Psychology and 50% Sociology

Lastly, I had to complete Philosophy (referred to as” science and world views” in the yearbook with the module code FIL155). This was the module I struggled most with this semester and was the only module I had where the tests were written as opposed to multiple choice. The lectures were presented once a week in two or three different groups and there was also a compulsory tutorial every 3^rd week. FIL155 focussed on two distinct sections of work namely the philosophy of science- where we learned concepts like induction and deduction and their associated philosophical problems as well as the philosophy of medicine which focussed on causation and disease, evidence-based medicine, personalized medicine etc. Each lecture had a required reading that we were meant to have prepared prior to each class in order to better understand the lectures. The assessments consisted of 3 assignments, Two semester tests as well as a final exam. I think the most difficult part of this module for me was fully understanding the concepts discussed in the required readings (which were quite long and difficult readings for the most part) and then being able to incorporate those concepts concisely into my own short essays of a limited number of words in the tests and exams. I also thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of this module and I think it allowed us to take a step back and look at medicine and science from a different perspective- one that I hadn’t even considered before.

And that is all, after a fairly relaxed first semester I said my goodbyes to Hatfield Campus on Friday (apparently it isn’t “main campus” and people get offended if you call it that). I’ve been at Hatfield on and off since 2014, and it’s all I’ve ever known varsity to look like or be… anyway I said my goodbyes and I am on a month-long break and will be returning for the second semester of medicine at Prinshof Campus mid-July. (to think there was a time where I wasn’t certain if I would ever get to type those words…”second semester of medicine”)

Thank you for reading my posts and please let me know if there is anything else pertaining to the first semester of medicine at UP that you are unsure about or want to know. I promise to post when things get started up again academically next month.

Until next time x