Dr. James Young

A GP in the Mersey Deanery and a Clinical Medical Education Fellow at the School of Medicine, Dr Young has a keen interest in student teaching as well as research and chose to intercalate during his degree.

Intercalating is very much a personal decision. I initially heard about intercalation from years above; I had been a member of sports teams, societies and had heard people talking about intercalating so got bits of information from here and there but I didn't know a lot of details.

It was enough to pique my interest, so I attended when the university put on information events about intercalation, I starting doing some of my own research and I went out of my way to talk to people who had already done the courses I was interested in.

From the moment I decided to intercalate - that was obviously a very exciting moment - but it also came with some financial considerations and complications. The additional year was going to be an additional year of maintenance loan, tuition fee loan and it was a big decision to make. 

The first person I spoke to was my mum - I wanted to talk it through and make sure this decision was right for me, and for the rest of my career and how I felt at that moment in time.

I have lots of friends who intercalated, and I know people now who have intercalated, which means all the costs that come with it and we all agree that we don't regret the decision at all - but it is something to consider seriously.

I chose to intercalate in Anatomy - which for now a GP may seem a strange decision but I thoroughly enjoyed it! I don't regret that decision.

On day one of my anatomy course I was a little bit apprehensive about how I would integrate with a totally new group of people. When you intercalate it is also a really different set of skills you are asked to employ - essays, literature search, different anatomy skills.

Although not all essential to be a doctor, these are all skills that have stood me in good stead for the rest of my career that I have chosen.  Everything I learned whilst intercalating has helped me in pursuing my career in research, in teaching and has helped with my postgraduate qualification in terms of essay skills, skills which may not come naturally to you.

During my intercalation year I was really inspired by a particular teacher, one of my anatomy demonstrators and supervisors. There was just something about him; he was a big character! He used quite novel and different teaching mechanisms and exercises, and it also felt like you could go to him with lots of questions, whether that be about the course or anything else you needed. He had a welcoming character, and had a great sense of humour.

He was incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about what he did - and that rubbed off on all of us.

When I returned from intercalating, I was a bit worried about coming back into such a heavy clinical environment having done a year of very much academic research, essentially book-based teaching and learning. It took me a bit of time to get used to clinical work again, but it does come back to you quicker than you realise.

You are not alone, you certainly won't be the only one returning and with my cohort there was a real  sense of togetherness, a shared experience and of camaraderie. We were all in the same boat! In the clinical groups I was in, the people who hadn't intercalated were also very welcoming.

It is amazing how quickly something you have learned comes back to you when you get stuck in!