Health Science Reviews

by Emily Higgitt

At the end of my undergraduate degree in 2020, I made the exciting yet challenging decision to move universities and provinces to pursue my dream of studying neurosciences. When I reflect on this year, I see the many challenges I faced due to leaving home for the first time and the uncertainties of changing universities, but I also see all I have learned from this fantastic opportunity and all the lovely people I have met.

Leaving home and moving provinces was much harder than I thought it would be. I have lived in KwaZulu-Natal my whole life, so moving to Cape Town with little family and no friends was very daunting. Additionally, the COVID-19 restrictions limited my ability to meet new people, including my new classmates. Thankfully, I was able to meet my class and build connections and friendships with them all. I am grateful for the support we have provided each other during these difficult times of online learning.

Although, moving to a new province has also been a fantastic adventure. Cape Town is a beautiful province with so much excitement and activity. I have loved going on hikes on the mountain and walks along the beachfront.

Changing universities was a transition that challenged me the most this year. After working hard on my undergraduate degree, I was chosen to fill one of the spots in a highly competitive degree at one of the top universities in the country. Joining a university and a degree with such high status was overwhelming. I felt, and still feel, a lot of self-doubt and question if I am good enough to be here with all of these other outstanding students. However, as the months went on, I found that I am capable. Self-doubt still creeps in on me now and again, so I made little notes of positive affirmations to stick around my room. Now, whenever I feel anxious or doubt myself, I read those little notes to remind myself of all I have achieved thus far and that I am capable.

One of the most exciting adventures of this year has been conducting my research project. Joining a new lab and conducting experiments using fancy equipment is a big jump from the work of an undergraduate, but it makes me feel like a real scientist! After all the work and effort that I put in during my degree, it feels amazing to have come this far. I am very grateful for the support I have been given and everything I have learned from my incredible lab.

The most valuable lesson I have learned this year is the importance of giving time for myself and prioritizing my mental health. Unfortunately, academia does not always support mental health; therefore, life can become overwhelming and stressful very quickly. This year has taught me that my health and well-being are just as important as my marks. This year I have tried to develop a balance between my work and my health and happiness. Even if it’s taking a quick walk around the neighbourhood or sitting on the couch watching your favourite show. Taking time for yourself is just as important as doing that assignment because if your mind is weighed down, you cannot perform at your best. So, take a short rest and then get going again with a happy mind!

by Jessica Garlick

The build-up to honours was immense. Throughout my undergraduate degree, we would all speak about the plans we had for after our BSc and our ideal career path thereafter. Once third year rolled round and conditional acceptances were being given, there was an even greater pressure to succeed in our undergraduate degree and get our firm acceptances. We were constantly reminded (and reminding each other) that conditional acceptances can be revoked and the pressure built and built. Every postgraduate that crossed our paths was interrogated about their honours year- which course they did, what their project was, was it enjoyable, did they have any advice and what their plans going forward were. Most senior postgraduates would say that honours was their worst year and the most stressful year of their university career thus far. Which only built upon the daunting idea of the honours year. Then it happened, we got our firm acceptance emails which signified that our journey was only just beginning.

Most of us came to med campus on the first day of semester brimming with excitement and some fear- as to be expected with the years building up to finally being a postgraduate. The honours year so far, has been stressful, but enjoyable. There is a lot more freedom than being a undergraduate and I think this is the main reason previous postgraduates emphasised the difficulty of honours. If you are studying the right thing, then it really is enjoyable, but it is also very easy to fall behind if you don’t work consistently and efficiently. Time management is more important now than it ever has been and the covid-19 pandemic has only added to the importance of correct time management owing to more online-based learning.

In the clinical anatomy stream, dissections were not compulsory, but highly recommended. It became apparent that you definitely needed to attend the dissection sessions in order to pass the modules well and fully understand what was being taught. However, we no longer had demonstrators and lecturers holding our hands by telling us exactly what was expected and there was no longer the threat of not meeting DP to make us go to dissections. Luckily, I did not struggle to motivate myself to attend these sessions and thoroughly enjoyed learning while dissecting.  The fact that assessments are only held at the end of the modules (for my modules anyway) also made us believe we had all the time in the world to study…later. Time management is a must! Especially during the techniques module and subsequent academic modules.

Not only have we had to develop our time management skills even further, but our projects also give us a lot of freedom. However, each task (proposal, blog post/infographic, graphing assignment, literature review and data collection) need a lot of attention and cannot be done to a high enough standard last minute. Although rather cliché I am going to have to say; “with great power comes great responsibility”. The power in this sense is the furthering of our academic careers, the power of learning and gaining knowledge and skills that will benefit our future career and self-development. Choosing a project was a daunting task since many of us were unsure on what type of research would suit us and we had so many questions about the fields we had chosen. Luckily, there are helpful resources available to us when it comes to what the honours year is about and how to get to where we want to be.

We’ve had to learn to be flexible and adaptable as many have had to alter or adapt their projects- be it experimental design or overall topic. We’ve learnt that science isn’t about succeeding first time and often requires us to ‘play’ with our methodology and thinking processes. This is just part of being a scientist and not succeeding first time doesn’t mean you’ve failed, but rather that something needs to be adapted. This is part of the fun of science- even if it is stressful and time consuming. It will be worth it in the end and a lot of us are developing new skills while having to adapt our projects.

Lastly, those that are studying clinical anatomy or biological anthropology learnt to dissect cadavers and spent many hours dissecting, learning about and appreciating the human body- on a cellular, tissue, organ and system level.
Our first day with the cadavers was filled with excitement, but also a lot of trepidation. There is nothing that we could do to mentally prepare for the day we started dissecting and there was a lot of nervous energy in the cadaver room that day. However, after the first incisions were made, it became easier and our nervousness melted away into an eagerness to learn more.  Many of us named our cadavers since it felt disrespectful to simply refer to our groups’ cadaver as “the cadaver” or “the body”. Our group named our cadaver Gerry and naming him instantly allowed us to feel as though we were giving him the respect he deserved for donating his body for us to learn about anatomy and for research purposes. The cadavers didn’t only aid our understanding of anatomy, but also helped us to develop more empathy and respect for the living and dead.  I will always be grateful and remember what I learnt by dissecting Gerry as I continue my research in anatomy.

The honours year is full of curveballs owing to having to own up to our responsibilities and having to learn to be more independent in a lab or cadaver room and with our research in general. This is stressful and daunting for most of us, but I have already felt a shift in myself and I’m starting to feel like a scientist. I know we all have our undergraduate degrees telling us that we are now scientists, but there is a difference between being a scientist on paper and feeling or acting like a scientist. Slowly, my peers and I are developing skills that will help us on our journey as we specialise and fully delve into the world of research.

by Leoné Pretorius

Even though the year 2021 and its academic activities have not yet come to an end, I think most of us will agree that the first part of this academic year has been filled with a lot of events and challenges that it has felt that we have experienced a whole year within six months. At least that is how I have experienced it…

With a rocky start to commence my studies in February, within the BMedSc Applied Anatomy honours stream, I was still optimistic for the academic year ahead and was prepared to use every opportunity given to me to make a success. I was given the opportunity to have contact classes and dissections for the first part of my General Techniques, Modules 1 and 2 courses.

It has been a real privilege and thrill to be able to interact with other students in my stream and from other streams that dissected or had a class with us (The Biomedical Engineering Master students and the Neuroscience honours stream). Having this opportunity to interact proved beneficial with relaying and solidifying my knowledge in the field together with working up close with my study material.

I had the experience to dissect properly following the relevant study block and it proved immensely beneficial while studying and recalling what I had seen, while I had traced and searched for certain structures. All in all, I was very intrigued by my learning environment and how I was growing throughout it. Unfortunately, as I mentioned, some events would hinder or disrupt these opportunities, and some weeks we would have to resort to online learning. The transition was smooth but commencing contact classes thereafter would prove challenging in the beginning.

Coming from a different university, where I had completed my undergrad, then adapting to UCT (a new setting, lifestyle, and academic activities) has been challenging here and there but also beneficial. Despite some technical difficulties faced with my transition, I must admit that the kindness and support in this environment (with regards to my well-being) is not something I am used to, and I am grateful to my peers and academic team for this experience.

Contact classes, although in my experience, can be very interactive and beneficial can also prove to be very draining, and commencing my Modules 3 and 4 stream was a blissful break in the form of an online platform. Although, being cooped up after 6 weeks, I wanted to go back to class again.

Finishing all my tests, assignments, and exams during this first part was stressful and I have doubted myself more than once, but the assistance and aid given to me was nothing but reassuring. Looking back at all that I have accomplished or overcome, even in this week with 3 exams, my SciComm Infographic, and this reflective piece, I truly am amazed.

For the future and maybe even for prospective students in this field, I would not be able to give an analogy of how I would do things differently and more readily to ensure a successful academic year. Because, as the year 2020 and 2021 has proven to us, no matter how prepared you are or you think you are anything can happen at any time and although being able to adapt is a good trait to have, it is also okay if you struggle at first or do not have the right approach at hand. If anything, I would just like to remind myself and others to always be kind to yourself, the rest will follow.

by Kate Morris

Being a fairly anxious person, I was a ball of nerves as the start of my honours
year loomed closer and closer. Would I cope with the workload? Am I cut out
to deal with the stress of postgraduate life? Will I manage to adapt to the
transition and bid farewell to my days as an undergraduate student? According
to most opinions imparted on me regarding postgraduate life, all of those
questions were met in my head with a resounding no.
And how pleasantly surprised I have been. Don’t get me wrong, being an
honours student ain’t easy, but to say I have loved my first semester of my
course in neuroscience & physiology would be a serious understatement. I
have had the opportunity to be taught by lecturers who are intelligent and
inspiring, to explore a whole new campus, experience life at a different
university, and to witness the bond that has formed between the 12 students
of my honours stream. I have found the content that we have covered so
invigorating and have very much appreciated the time I have managed to
spend in the lab – along with the additional skills I have acquired. And while
the prospect of taking on an experiment that will result in the writing of my
first thesis in the next few months is rather frightening, it is also absolutely
amazing. Second semester, bring it on!
Of course, the deadlines, the workload, the amount that we are sometimes
required to juggle at one point in time is challenging. Since I was expecting to
never have any time for myself and to be constantly drowning in work, as
often was the case in undergrad, I have found it difficult at times to adjust to
the workload and way of learning in postgrad – let along take some much needed rest! The situation in the world at the moment resulting in
predominantly online learning does not help this, and towards the end of this
semester I have found myself feeling particularly burnt out.
However, I have to say that the support and guidance I have received from all
levels of the academic hierarchy – be it masters/PhD/post-doc students,
lecturers, or medical doctors – has been outstanding. While there were
elements of this in my undergraduate days, the sheer minuteness of our
honours classes and the structure of postgrad in general has allowed for the
support to be more pronounced for me. When asked what the best things
have been about my honours year, the atmosphere of postgrad and the feeling
that there are so many people around you who are rooted in your success is
definitely at the top of my list.
I wait in anticipation for what this next semester will bring, and the journey
that this year will send me on. I am so grateful to be given this opportunity to
study what I love in a time when science is once again proving itself immensely
and is at the forefront of so many aspects of our lives today. I am proud of the
field I chose to study in, and I am proud of where I am today. It’s been a
beautiful year, it’s a beautiful life.