Students report back from lecture at Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

On Thursday 8^th December, we went off to a Christmas lecture “I’m a Consultant…Get Me Out of Here” at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London. The lecture was extremely entertaining yet very useful as it explained the steps required to study Medicine at university. The lecturer also explained the process of becoming a specialist Registrar:

·         Medical school (4-6 years)

·         Foundation years (2 years)

·         Speciality training (7 years)

      ·    Once you are a Speciality Registrar then you can apply to be a Consultant.

During the talk, we learnt about the three types of birth deliveries which include: Normal (65%), Caesarean (25%) and Vacuum (10%). The lecture was very visual and we saw videos of surgeons carrying out Caesareans on patients with twins and suturing up complicated pregnancies. The speaker, Mr Kim Hinshaw also raised awareness of mortality rates of pregnant mothers across the world, and the figures were shocking; 1 in 8 mothers die while giving birth in undeveloped countries and when this figure was applied to this country, it would mean that 500 mothers would die a year in one hospital alone. The lecture ended with a question and answer session where we discussed teenage pregnancies and the risks involved as well the link between diabetes and pregnancy. The lecture has encouraged us to explore different fields of Medicine and raised our awareness of the healthcare situation round the world.  

Tabasum Aslam and Aayushi Shukla (both Year 12)

Sixth Form gain essential life saving skills with Red Cross

Monday afternoon’s General Studies was certainly a very dynamic and useful session for the Sixth Formers – we learnt, practised and performed essential First Aid treatments needed in emergencies. With the help of Simon Paddon from the British Red Cross, we practised CPR on dummies and placed each other in `recovery position` - all new but important life skills.

“It was such a fantastic was to spend an afternoon – we learnt extremely useful life skills.”

Megan Wheating

We also learnt the importance of prioritising when faced with various types of casualties – and realised that something as simple as a burn was actually very serious!

“I’ve learnt so many new things which I can confidently use in a real emergency if need be.”

Ambar Syed

Many thanks to Simon Paddon from the British Red Cross and Mr Pearson for arranging such a brilliant session.    

By Ambar Syed

Yr 12