Grace Tan asks: “Are medical students being discouraged from attending scientific conferences?”
7 Aug, 09 | by julietwalker
One of the top five reasons given by medical students for not regularly attending meetings is “discouraged to attend by department and university,” a survey by the American Association of the History of Medicine, an academic society devoted to the history of medicine and all aspects of health, has found. This finding resonates with me because my attempts to seek authorised leave of absence to attend the British Neuroscience Association national meeting to present a poster were met with initial resistance from senior lecturers and clinicians. I was told that I would risk failing the “professional behaviour” domain of the module because of unacceptable attendance, despite me saying that I would do extra clinical work in the holidays to make up for time lost. more…
Three down two to go just started my fourth year. I am excited about sinking my teeth into some of the diverse fields of medicine. Orthopaedics, gynaecology and dermatology are some of the specialities I can look forward to. My excitement was short lived for I received my loan papers today. Granted my initial reaction was a sense of relief as the cash strapped summer holiday was officially over and now it was time for some spending. 