Stowe Medical Conference

7 December 2017

Stowe recently hosted its first ever medical conference for pupils interested in pursuing a medical career. Aspirant Stoics were joined by pupils from local schools to hear experts in their fields including Professor Pali Hungin – recent president of the British Medical Association.

The day started with a lecture on the Science behind the research being carried out by the Medical Detection Dogs given by Jenny Corish – their Biodetection Co-ordinator. This was followed by demonstrations of the dogs in action. Delegates were amazed to learn about the dogs’ ability to detect signs of cancer or malaria in urine samples and how scientifically rigorous the research was.

Next up was Professor Greg Simons, the GP lead at Buckingham University Medical School. He gave a fascinating insight in to life as a GP as well as explaining how university medical courses are structured. It was clear from the questions he received that Greg had opened the eyes of pupils to the many possible paths that lead on from the initial medical degree.

After lunch Dr Mike Rossiter (Cobham 85) shared his experience of being a top level sports doctor. His work with the GB Olympic team, England Rugby and English Common Wealth teams illustrated the breadth of issues that need to be handled with elite sports men and women competing at the top of their game. Also, that a medical career can lead to such a variety of unexpected and exciting opportunities. His stories and videos of sports injuries were quite unforgettable.

Emma Whiting (Stanhope 14) who is now in her Fourth year at Imperial then gave an insight in to what it is actually like to study medicine at university. This really hit the spot with Stoics who were then able to project themselves forward a few years, assuming they were ready for the commitment necessary to get on to a university medical course. It was wonderful to welcome back such a recent Old Stoic and to see how much she was thriving on the wide variety of opportunities on offer at university as well as the fulfilment she has though studying medicine.

The keynote speech was then given by Professor Hungin. His love of medicine was obvious to all, as was his broad knowledge of the profession. His humorous and highly personal observations were truly inspiring and a great motivator to the 60 pupils attending.

The day was wrapped up by Dr Richard Stevens – the Director of the Thames Valley Professional Support Unit. He shared his admissions experience at Oxford University and gave an invaluable insight in to how to be successful at medical interview. His comments were both wonderfully practical as well as philosophical, therefore ending the day with a thought provoking atmosphere.

I am very grateful to all of the speakers who made the conference such a success. The new Worsley Science Centre and Lecture Theatre proved itself to be such a superb facility to host such events. We are now planning an Engineering Conference for next year as well as making the Stowe Medical Conference a biennial event as it was so well received by all who attended.

James Tearle, Head of Science