ABSTRACT
Since its founding in 2017, InsideMed, an entirely voluntary medical student led innovation, has offered local London state school students a unique perspective exploring the application process and realities of a career in medicine. Our aim of promoting diversity and widening participation (WP) amongst future medical school applicants is reflected in the fact 80.2% of the students enrolled are from Black Asian and Minority Ethnic groups (BAME). Over an 18 month period, our students are invited to monthly seminars hosted at King's College London (KCL), where all things "medical school" are explored. Students are paired with current KCL medical student ambassadors and are grouped into 'Families'. Between sessions, students and ambassadors are facilitated to communicate freely, but safely through the online platform Brightside. Early establishment of our key stakeholders allowed us to anticipate how InsideMed would impact each in turn and, therefore, design our scheme to ensure maximal mutual benefit. Continual feedback and review ensures that we are constantly improving to meet the needs of our students. Feedback also allows us to identify how closely we have served our aims for each cohort; common themes which consistently arise include the creation of community, learning more about specifics of the medical application process, and building self-confidence and student independence. InsideMed has the unique quality of being designed by WP students and constantly updated to ensure the support provided best meets WP needs. This has fed into our tangible and impressive impact, whereby 7 out of 18 respondents from our 2017 cohort of students have been accepted into medical school. Going forward, we hope to expand our scope to include a wider catchment area and will continue online in the COVID era. We aim to create an expansive alumni community to inspire other students from comparable socioeconomic backgrounds that they too can have a career in medicine.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced medical schools and clinicians to transition swiftly to working online, where possible. During this time, final-year medical students at King's College London, England, have received some of their general practice teachings in the form of virtual tutor groups. The predominant feature of such groups is online patient simulations, which provide students a valuable experience to help gain insight into current clinical practice amid the pandemic and inform how their practices as incoming junior doctors would continue. Even in the absence of face-to-face teaching and clinical placements, students have been able to hone their medical knowledge and soft skills through these virtual, simulated consultations. They have been exposed to a new consultation style while in a safe and collaborative learning space. Here, we explore how medical students have benefited from these virtual tutor groups and how similar small-group online teaching opportunities can add value to the medical curriculum in the future.