Fresher's Pack 2020 1 Coronavirus Firstly, I’d like to address the elephant in the room. As we all know, things are different this year. All our lives have been affected by Covid-19 and we have all had difficulties, whether it be personal losses or feelings of isolation during lockdown. We all had to adjust and readjust, constantly changing our lives because of it but we are not alone and we have endured. You have all gotten into medical school and that is an achievement to be proud of, remember that. Although this year will not be the same as every other year and I’m sure you’re all wondering how Freshers week will go, I promise we are doing our best to ensure you have a great time at university. We want you to engage with the programme, meet fellow medical students, meet other university students and experience everything Southampton has to offer. We normally have all the information ready in this pack for the year ahead, but these are not normal times. So, I ask that you understand things will be different and to be patient with us and the faculty as information is constantly changing. Stick with it! 2 CONTENTS HOW TO USE THIS PACK 4 MEDSOC 5 FRESHERS CHECK LIST 14 YOUR GUIDE TO FRESHERS! 15 Moving in 15 Freshers’ fortnight top tips 16 MedSoc Families 17 Getting around! 18 Work 22 Things to Do in Southampton 26 Keeping safe 27 Getting the Balance Right 28 Mental Health 29 What to do when something is wrong... 31 Got a late offer? 33 MEDSOC SOCIETIES 34 MEDSOC COMMITTEE TOP TIPS 35 SAVE THE DATES 37 WHAT YOU HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO! 38 CONTACT US, AND STAY IN TOUCH! 40 3 HOW TO USE THIS PACK CONGRATULATIONS on getting accepted to Southampton Medical School! A yearly tradition prepared by the MedSoc Welfare Rep, the Fresher's pack is your go- to guide for surviving first year. We've decided to be environmentally friendly this year and produce an electronic copy only, however feel free to print it out as it is YOURS to keep! A copy will be on the MedSoc website as well for you to dip in and out of throughout the year so fret not! Within the following pages you’ll find out how to prepare yourself for your first year, meet your 2020/21 MedSoc committee, and get a few tips and tricks for starting this fantastic journey to becoming a doctor. There’s no such thing as a silly question so if you have any queries before you get here or even once you’ve arrived, post it in the Southampton Medicine Freshers 2020/21 group. Alternatively, full contact details for MedSoc are on the page 41 of this document so don't hesitate to contact us! There's a lot of info in the depths of this booklet, so put aside some time to have a proper read with a cup of tea and a biscuit! I'll properly introduce myself a little later on but for now... MedSoc love from your Welfare Rep Victoria x 4 MEDSOC Meet Your President – James Woodward Hey Freshers, Firstly, I would like to welcome you all to Southampton, Medicine and MedSoc. You have worked extremely hard to get to this point and you should be proud of yourselves. You are extremely lucky to have found your place at the best medical school (and of course Medical Society) in the country. It is a tough journey to this point but now you’re here, and this is when the fun starts. I’m James and I am your MedSoc president. Now you might not know what MedSoc is so here’s the rundown. MedSoc is your society, taking care of you both inside and outside of Uni. We will be doing everything we can to make sure you have the best year and that it’s something you won’t forget. We will be planning your freshers (and we are planning BIG) as well as all our famous balls and our probably more infamous events... MedSoc have hundreds (perhaps billions???) of things for you to get involved with so get excited. We will be here for you throughout your whole time here at Southampton so make full use of everything we have to offer. My job within MedSoc is to run the MedSoc committee, represent you to the faculty and SUSU and oversee all our sports teams and sub-societies. You will find out more about these last 2 very soon if you haven’t already. If I had to give a single piece of advice it would be: Join in with everything. Trust me. You might think that you will try; go one step further. Uni is your time to do anything and everything you want, so take full advantage. Yes, you need to focus on uni work blah blah blah. But you need to focus on yourself too, trying new things and meeting new people. In addition to making your life more fun, it will pay you back endlessly when it comes to your studies. So put yourself out there and don’t be afraid to join in with things you might otherwise have never thought of. I know it is all very new and scary but try not to get too caught up in the work, that will come with time, but everything else you have to do for yourself. Anyways enough from me, I’m sure you have better things to be doing right now so I’ll leave it here. I’m really excited to meet you all but for now enjoy what’s left of summer. Lots of MedSoc love and see you around 5 MEDSOC COMMITTEE 2020/2021 Vice-President/ Faculty Officer – Calvin De Louche Hi Freshers, Firstly, a massive congratulations on getting into Southampton Medical School. My name is Calvin, I’m originally from Jersey in the Channel Islands and I’m just about to start my 3rd year of Medicine in Southampton. You’ve all gone through quite a lot and done incredibly well to get here given everything that has gone on in the last few months and I can promise you that these next few years will be some of your best, filled with memories that will last a lifetime! As the MedSoc Vice-President and Faculty Officer, I split my time between helping out and supporting MedSoc, but also meeting with your year representatives and key staff from the Faculty of Medicine, to discuss important issues and feedback that is often generated by the student body. Your feedback allows me to work collaboratively with the Faculty towards changing and moulding the various programmes, so that they can be adjusted according to what you think works and what doesn’t. I also represent the academic interests of students from all years and programmes to both the Faculty and the University, working to ensure that you feel fully supported to be able to learn and study to the best of your ability. My advice for first year would just be to throw yourself into absolutely everything you can. By putting yourself out there and stepping out of your comfort zone, you will open up a whole world of really incredible experiences. Nominating yourself to be a year representative is a great way to immerse yourself in life as a medical student. You’ll also gain a great insight into how MedSoc runs, as once you become a year rep, you’ll be invited to join the MedSoc Committee. Comprising around 20 students from all programmes, my team of reps form the vital backbone of the representation structure that we have in place. You’ll represent your entire year group both academically and socially to both MedSoc and the Faculty. It is a great way to meet and socialise a whole bunch of different people. I’ll be on the lookout for some fresh reps from first year soon, so make sure to keep an eye out for more details at the start of Semester 1. If you do have any questions about life studying Medicine, then please drop me a message (I’m reachable at [email protected] or by any social media), 6 or even better, come and have a chat if you see me around (Covid permitting of course). I am always here to help, so please do get in touch if you need something. There’s no guarantee you’ll ever remember to bring your sociological shades or even have a clue about the proximal attachments of the hip flexors, but you’ll almost certainly remember the great time you had in your first year at Medical School. I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer and I wish you the best of luck for the year ahead. This is undoubtedly the start of a very exciting new chapter in your lives and we as MedSoc can’t wait for you to experience all of things we have planned… Take care and see you soon, Calvin Secretary – Hailey Laurayne Welcome to Southampton! Firstly, congratulations on getting this far! The application process is difficult to start with and on top of that, this year has been crazy, to say the least. My name is Hailey, a 4th year, international student from Barbados and your MedSoc Secretary for this year. This role allows me to be part of mostly all things Medsoc! I’ll be the person behind your weekly bulletins and most of your interaction with Medsoc in general.