When St George’s took on its first cohort in Graduate Entry Medicine in 2000, the course was the first of its kind. 21 years on, we are sharing the reflections of our current and former staff, alumni and students on their experiences on this ground-breaking course, and how it has changed over time.
“I was asked to teach on the newly-established Graduate Entry Programme (GEP) course in my role as a Lecturer in Psychiatry at St George’s. I led a discussion about self-harm, with the help of an actor who played the role of a patient who had taken an overdose. This was long before the wider introduction of simulation training in undergraduate medicine and reflected the novel approaches used on the programme.
I recall that the students were much more engaged than I had been used to in traditional undergraduate teaching. I think this was because of their broader life experience. Their questions were insightful and quickly took us beyond the basics of assessment into complex ethical discussions about self-harm and its treatment.
I came away from the teaching session impressed by the quality of students on the scheme and knowing that Medicine would be in safe hands. I am now a consultant in Liaison Psychiatry at St Helier Hospital, but I have always been proud of having played a small part in the development of the GEP programme at St George’s.”
Dr Jim Bolton, Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist, Epsom and St Helier Trust