Summer school inspires young people to pursue jobs in healthcare and research

Aspiring medics joined LifeLab’s summer school to gain hands-on experience and support their university applications.

Dozens of young people from across the UK were based in LifeLab at University Hospital Southampton (UHS) for the annual summer school.

They explored the world of medicine through hands-on experience, tours and expert insights, including at the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility (CRF).

LifeLab is a collaboration between the University of Southampton, University Hospital Southampton and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre.

Developing new skills

Experience Medicine with LifeLab is a two-day course during the summer holidays. It is intended for students in years 9 to 11 who are interested in studying medicine at university.

LifeLab have run it every year since 2013, in collaboration with professionals at UHS and the University of Southampton’s Faculty of Medicine.

This year’s attendees had the opportunity to gain experience practicing clinical skills. They were supported by the Faculty of Medicine’s student ambassadors. The skills included venesection, cannulation, suturing, blood pressure and urine testing.

Paramedics Ben Channon and Neil Bizzell from the critical care team’s ambulance service trained them how to respond to a trauma scenario, where someone has been injured.

They also had to use their knowledge of anatomy to work through a series of patient case studies and try being a ‘medical detective’.

Seeing the hospital

After an introduction to research, the students were given a tour of our CRF by Lisa Berry, Lead Research Matron.

This gave them an understanding of how doctors run medical research trials and studies to improve the care given to patients.

Attendees also had a tour of the hospital’s Acute Medical Unit by Dr Ben Chadwick. This gave them the chance to learn more about how our doctors treat patients on the wards.

Useful tips and advice

Current medical students shared what their typical day looks like. They also answered questions from attendees about their experience.

Attendees heard an inspiring keynote from Dr Stephen Downey, who talked about his unconventional route to university, and how he overcame challenges to achieve his dream.

The course finished with a session run by the Faculty of Medicine’s admission team, which parents or guardians could attend. This gave useful tips and insights on how to make their application to study medicine at university stand out from the crowd.

This was followed by a Q&A session, where the students and their families could ask the team questions about the admissions process.

Kate Bartlett, Developing Talent Lead at LifeLab, said:

“The summer school is a highlight for me. Seeing the young people so inspired by what they see and hear is incredible. It makes all the hard work worth it!

“Being able to inform students on what doctors do and the different routes you can take is so worthwhile, especially when we see them come back as medical students themselves.”

One student said their favourite part of the course was having the chance to practice clinical skills, as they had never done this before.

“I have never had the opportunity to experience these things, and I loved it,” they said. “It really showed me that medicine was the correct route for me.”

Parents said the summer school was a ‘great experience’ for their child. They also said it helped them decide whether a career in medicine was the right choice for them.

“It gave amazing practical experience,” said one parent, “and improved understanding of what a career in medicine is all about.”