Currently intercalating in Neuroscience and Mental Health at Imperial College London, Mahnoor Javed was one of only four medical students selected to give an oral presentation at a recent psychiatry conference, where she got the chance to share her findings from a systematic literature review she completed for her RS3 project last year.
Hi, I’m Mahnoor. I’m originally from Manchester so I chose Liverpool because it was close to home. Funnily enough, during first year I didn’t even like going home because I ended up loving the Liverpool life so much! Exploring the docks and campus, alongside meeting new people at society events during first year, are some of my favourite memories of all time.
I never truly anticipated how challenging time management in medicine would be. I struggled with keeping up with placement and content simultaneously, especially in third year. I realised medicine truly takes a village to get through, and I’m incredibly grateful for the people who supported me during that time.
That experience played a big role in my decision to intercalate, which has given me the opportunity to dive headfirst into teaching, volunteering, reading and sports. I’ve had amazing shadowing opportunities at mother and baby units and the chance to speak to a parliamentary scholar about my views on current medical law. I feel like my experiences have developed me into a more confident and well-rounded person who’s now ready to take on the rest of medicine with excitement. I’m most proud of myself for making this decision.
Last week, I presented my RS3 at the National Student Psychiatry Conference at Kent and Medway Medical School. I was so pleased to be selected as one of four students to deliver an oral presentation.
My systematic literature review titled “Assisted Suicide for Mental Disorders: Ethical, Clinical and Legal Perspectives in England and Wales”, explored differing opinions on the legalisation of assisted suicide for mental disorders and suggested potential safeguards should future law move in that direction. I voiced that some patients feel their opinions are overlooked in current discussions which focus on terminally ill patients only. However, numerous doctors were concerned about how to obtain informed consent and protect vulnerable patients from coercion.
Presenting to an examining panel that included the President of RCPsych (who is also an expert in my topic!) was daunting but a real lesson in confidence. Overall, the experience was a valuable learning opportunity and reinforced my enjoyment for research - and therapy dogs!
Thinking back to my first-year self, the advice I would give is not to worry too much about the past or the future and to focus on the present. The years go by really quickly so it’s important to slow down and appreciate things as they’re happening - and make friends with older years they have all the top tips!
Discover more
- Take a look at the research opportunities available to you at Liverpool and embedded into our MBChB programme, in both our A100 and A101 (Graduate Entry) options.
- Interested in enhancing your medical studies and adding strings to your bow with an intercalated degree? The University of Liverpool offers a wide range of Intercalation options for medical students.