Hannah Oliver Medicine and MMedSc

Year 4

Hi, I'm Hannah Oliver and I studied Medicine and MMedSc within Medicine at the University of Southampton.

The Faculty of Medicine has offered me a lot of support over the past 3 years and I feel that I will be fully supported if I have any problems in the future. Learning here is a pleasure and I have no doubt that any medic at the University of Southampton will make a wonderful doctor.

I discovered a passion for Medicine when I was 17 years old after having my first experience in an operating theatre - since then I haven't looked back! My love of science, a drive to challenge myself and my enthusiasm for making a difference to other people combine perfectly to make a career in Medicine ideal for me.

Ideas for my future career have changed considerably over the past 3 years (I enjoyed the vast majority of placements in Year 3!) but I'm aiming to train as a Paediatrician after my foundation years 1 and 2. I'm also really keen to carry on with research - I believe it's really important to always push the boundaries and work towards the future in Medicine.

I loved Southampton as soon as I arrived on the Open Day in 2007. The atmosphere and the people were just incredible - I felt very much at home here and I could see myself settling in Southampton for the duration of the course. The open day was well organised and I could find everything I needed online. Southampton made a great first impression so I was absolutely thrilled when I received an offer, and made no hesitation in accepting.

I like the way the course is structured - revisiting topics over 1st and 2nd year in a "spiral" really helped to consolidate my learning.

The third year was everything I'd hoped it'd be - challenging but also incredibly rewarding, and the opportunities & the quality of teaching we received on the wards are second to none.

I'm very keen on research and I am very grateful for the opportunity to undertake an intercalated MMedSc over years 4 and 5. Every effort is being taken to make sure the students choosing this route get the best out of it and I am thoroughly enjoying it so far. I think the MMedSc will be a very valuable qualification to have.

The quality of teaching is excellent in both the lecture theatres and on the wards.  There has been a lot of work in recent years to improve facilities available to us in the Centre for Learning Anatomical Sciences (CLAS) and there has always been good support if we need help.

For the past 2 years I have been Treasurer for the medical student-run group "Save a Baby's Life" in association with The Royal Life Saving Society. We are trained to teach basic infant life support to parents and carers and we hold sessions regularly at the Princess Anne Hospital and other centres. I've thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this as I've been able to go out into the community and give peace of mind and good advice.

I love being at university in Southampton and I am proud to be a student here. I have made some lifelong friends and I will take a lot of happy memories with me into my future career.