Special Study Module

Exams are all over - and happily I passed them all so now I can relax and forget about stuff like that for a while! After my 2 weeks of easter hols I have returned to Cambridge to do a 5 week special study module. Special study modules are designed to allow students to choose a topic in medcine or surgery that they want to pursue for 5 weeks. Usually people choose something they're interested in, or something that just sounds really cool. Most medical schools will offer you the chance to do special study modules at various points in your course.

At Cambridge there was a choice of about 60 different special study options to choose from. They ranged from hardcore action packed stuff like 'pre hospital trauma' and 'critical care' to the less adrenaline fueled titles such as 'world public health' and 'forensic osteology'. Needless to say, there is usually at least one module that is of interest to you, so you'll find something you want to do.

I choose to do a module in acute leukaemia. Leukaemia is a cancerous disease of a patient's blood cells. The type of doctor that treats these patients is called a Haematologist. My special study module involves spending lots of time with patients who have a condition called 'acute leukaemia'. I'm spending time sitting in clinics with the consultants seeing patients, talking to patients on the wards and assisting with their care. One of the things that attracted me to this module is the opportunity to get to grips with stem cells and the really interesting genetic basis of haematological (blood) malignancy (cancer). As part of my module i'll be looking at some of the data the department has collected on its leukaemic patients over the past few years to see if the treatment they are getting is as good as it should be (when compared to national guidelines). It should be really interesting!