The Myelopathy.org Student Society has been making strides in promoting education and awareness about spinal cord disorders among medical students across the UK.
Thanks to changes in the delivery of medical school teaching, the society successfully organised two events via Zoom that attracted a diverse audience and received positive feedback from participants.
The first event featured Dr Sybil Stacpoole, a consultant neurologist and neurosciences teaching lead at Cambridge University Medical School. Sybil presented an interesting collection of teaching cases, including a presentation of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy (DCM). She provided a brief overview of the pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and referral pathway for DCM. Medical students attended from different universities across the UK, who appreciated the opportunity to learn from an expert in the field. The interactive format of the session allowed for lively discussions and a question-and-answer session, enabling participants to deepen their understanding of DCM and related conditions.
The second event was delivered by Dr Benjamin Davies, academic neurosurgeon and co-founder of Myelopathy.org. Ben gave a lecture on academic clinical careers in the UK, using his journey in the world of DCM research as a case study. He shared his experiences as a clinician-scientist, discussing the challenges and rewards of conducting research while working as a neurosurgeon. Ben also provided practical advice on how to pursue an academic clinical career, including tips on finding a PhD, building collaborations, and balancing clinical and research responsibilities. The event was particularly useful for medical students who were approaching a busy interview period for academic clinical jobs.
The Myelopathy.org Student Society is excited to continue promoting education and awareness about DCM among medical students. Furthermore, we look forward to continuing our current DCM research projects and judging essays submitted as part of our annual essay competition.
We encourage students to send us their essays before June 30th. The winner will receive several neuroscience books and a year long subscription to Pastest.