Not sure whether Medicine is right for you? Or curious to find out exactly what a doctor does? Taught by NHS doctors, MedAhead’s Virtual Summer School is the ideal introduction to Medicine.
What to expect
Medical Ethics & Debates
Ethical controversies are commonplace in Medicine and remain hot topics in medical interviews. Should we clone animals to harvest our organs? Is euthanasia ever the pragmatic option? Who really owns our healthcare data? Each day we debate such topics, providing the tools needed to ace any interviews.
Patient Case Studies
Our daily patient case studies give students the opportunity to recognise symptoms, consider a variety of investigations and make crucial diagnoses. Working with our doctors, you will take your knowledge further and learn how diseases present with a range of symptoms and appreciate why we pick specific treatments.
Our Interactive Models
We pride ourselves on making the Virtual Summer School as interactive as possible. Students will make their own organ models and re-create the path of disease or illness. From Asthma to a hole in the heart, our models really do bring your learning to life. We provide all materials within our ‘Intro-Box’.
MedAhead’s Radiology
Our dedicated imaging lessons will teach you how to interpret chest x-rays, brain CT scans and much more. Medicine is all about visualising the condition you are treating and we give you the skills to do just that. Learn to compare the normal from the pathological.
Learning Medical Examinations
Whether it’s a stethoscope you need to listen to the lungs or a tendon hammer to test your reflexes, we provide it all. To give you an immersive and interactive experience, we provide a number of medical equipment to make each day just that little bit more realistic.
Medical Admissions
Throughout the week students will learn tips and techniques to perfect their personal statements, ace admissions tests and develop confidence for MMI interviews. Our Doctors have years of experience behind them to guide you forward.
Book your space now at Medical Summer School
Our Virtual Summer School is run entirely on Microsoft Teams, upon purchase you will be sent instructions for online sessions and orientation. Our days will start at10am and will finish by 4 pm.
Medical Summer School programme
Day 1: The Heart & Breathing
Make sure you’re comfortable, grab a cup of tea and let the Summer School begin! Starting with our most important organ, the engine of the body, the heart. Together we’ll learn and experience how blood and oxygen mix and travel rapidly to perfuse all our organs.
Using your very own MedAhead stethoscope you’ll quickly distinguish heart sounds, learning what’s normal and how to listen for subtle heart murmurs. Debate with your peers whether we should use heart valves made from pigs and cows and what consequences this can have.
Later we will learn about the deadliest childhood illness in the UK, asthma. By testing your lungs and your peak flow we will understand the relevance of this simple test in asthma attacks.
Day 2: The Brain & Mind
Today we’ll explore the intricacies of the brain and our mind. From controlling our reflexes, our thoughts and emotions to processing information in a blink of a second. What happens when it all goes wrong You’ll quickly understand why a stroke can be so debilitating, examining the consequences of oxygen deprivation within the brain.
By teaching you to quickly recognise the symptoms of a stroke you will quickly appreciate why time is of the essence, and why every minute counts. By discussing case studies of stroke survivors, we will home in on the concept of quality of life and debate whether euthanasia ever has a place in modern Medicine.
Using your MedAhead tendon hammers we will teach you how to elicit reflexes and help you consider the medical conditions where these reflexes become absent. By explaining the pupillary light reflex you will understand the basis of and uses for our most primitive reflexes.
Day 3: The Life of a Surgeon
Our modern world is filled with vices, from alcohol and drugs to on-demand fast food around the clock. We will consider the impacts of these on our bodies, from understanding how alcohol diminishes our liver function to how cocaine causes profound arrhythmias.
Later we dive into the unique and life-saving world of surgery. How do we transplant organs? Do mistakes in surgery ever happen? If so, what are the consequences? We will also look forward at the marvels of robotic surgery and the ability to suture the smallest of surfaces.
Day 4: Medical Ethics & The Pandemics
Covid-19 has most definitely changed our world and has shocked the healthcare system. You will hear from doctors who have worked in ITU, A&E and in Respiratory wards during the pandemic and learn the true pathophysiology of Covid-19.
By comparing the current pandemic to previous pandemics, we can learn to draw similarities and differences and discuss what lessons can be learnt and whether Medicine has changed from these events. We will compare potential treatments and visualise the concept of herd immunity, a key focus in vaccines.
We will conclude with an outlook on the NHS. Debating the possible impacts of Brexit and how an increase in telemedicine and nanotechnology may shape your role as future doctors.
Facilitating Virtual Learning
How will the Virtual Summer School Work?
We’ve perfected our craft to deliver a seamless virtual learning environment.
Our Virtual Summer School will run over two consecutive weekends starting at 10:00 and finishing at 16:00 each day. We ensure students have enough time for breaks, questions and encourage discussions within the group.
The entire course is taught by our own NHS doctors and run over Microsoft Teams. Further details are sent out a few weeks prior to starting.
We know how easy it is to lose focus staring at a screen. This is why we vary up our content throughout the day, with interactive quizzes, whiteboard Q&As, debates and our infamous model making workshops. Students also receive their very own ‘Intro-Box’, a little more on that right below.
We stretch the limits of technology to create an immersive environment, all you need to bring is yourself and a cup of tea!
Creating a hands-on experience
MedAhead’s intro box, just for you
With our Summer School we wanted to really bring online teaching to life. Every student that signs up will receive a complimentary introductory box filled with items chosen by our very own doctors. Students will receive their own stethoscope, tendon hammer and much more to help them navigate through each day and help us achieve a truly immersive experience.
Speak with a doctor
Got some questions? Feel free to get in touch with our Doctors at any time.
Get in touch
Our Students
Our 2020 Summer School successfully brought together students from across the country, creating an impressive and seamless virtual community. Each student received MedAhead’s ‘Intro-Box’ directly to their front door, containing everything needed to make this a truly unforgettable week.
At MedAhead, we believe there is strength in diversity. We are passionate about teaching students from all ethnicities, genders and backgrounds. Together we will make Medicine a more equal and accessible profession.
Inclusivity and diversity build strength. At MedAhead, our passion brings medicine closer to students of all ethnicities, genders and backgrounds. Together, we will level the playing field and build a more representative NHS.
Add on our 1-Day Admissions Workshop
At MedAhead we understand how important the application process is. From starting your personal statement, refining your skills for the admissions tests and finally acing your interviews.
Our Doctor’s have mentored hundreds of successful students in the process and can walk you right through it all with personalised tips and pointers along the way.
Our 1-Day Admissions workshop is designed specifically to give you a head-start on the application cycle. We work through key techniques and provide each student with a follow-up personal statement and interview guidance.
Sign up for our 1-Day workshop as a standalone or add it along to your virtual Summer School. Find out more about our 1-Day Admissions day here
Register Now For MedAhead’s Virtual Summer School: July to August 2022
MedAhead’s Virtual Summer School is spread over 2 weekends: 23rd-24th July & 30th-31st July. The 1-Day Admissions extra will be held on the 6th of August. Sign up today for early-bird access and save £50 on our combined package.
