by Chrysta Lois, Year 9
On Thursday 17th May, myself and ten others were accompanied by Miss Edwards to a Medicine and Dentistry taster day to Newcastle University. We arrived at the medical school for 9am where we were put into groups and taken into a lecture hall. It was great to have the opportunity to see what it would be like and feel like to be at university.
We started with a lecture on Dentistry; we were given booklets and quizzes to complete, and we learned about different dental diseases and treatments (some of the pictures were enough to almost put us off our lunch!) After this we went to a practical session on medicine, where we learned how to do stitches and tie knots that surgeons use in theatre. We also learned how to use a stethoscope, and were given the chance to run some tests on a computer controlled dummy that could breathe and speak, just like a real patient! We were then given a challenge of using laparoscopic equipment to pick up small items using a camera and mechanical hands; we were amazed at how surgeons can use this difficult technique to perform keyhole surgeries.
After lunch we had a Medicine lecture, we heard from students at the University and we had a quiz and played games. We also learned about different types of careers in medicine and surgery. It was really interesting to hear about the work different doctors do in these fields. The last part of the day was the dentistry practical, held in one of the university’s labs; we looked at animal teeth and skulls and healthy and diseased human teeth. We then went downstairs to a working dental practice; we were given disclosure tablets that turn the plaque in your mouth purple to see how clean our mouths were, with some very funny results! We were also given toothbrushes and taught how to brush our teeth properly to avoid plaque. After this we went back to the classroom and modelled teeth out of resin, with tools used by orthodontists.
We had a very busy but fantastic experience. Overall, the experience was great, and was a fun and inspiring day.
