Health Science Reviews

by Camryn Ferns

My journey into the Medical Science Honours Degree began in 2020 when I was started my MBChB degree at the University of Cape Town. I had transferred from Stellenbosch University to pursue becoming a Clinician-Scientist through the intercalated programme. I quickly learnt that this journey would take a lot of perseverance, resilience and determination. Struggling through the molecular medicine course in 2022, and finally being accepted into the Infectious Diseases and Immunology programme – relief rushed through me. I had made it. What followed, however, was a year filled with challenges yet new possibilities.

The year began with revision content from the general techniques course, followed by an intensive course-specific techniques introduction. I quickly realized that the year would be jam-packed and competitive. I enjoyed the modules during the first semester; however, I did feel like I had covered most of the work in my preclinical years of my MBChB degree. What was rather challenging, and novel, was reading scientific articles, gaining the ability to question published research, and presenting papers in front of my class. I learnt that the secret to success in honours would be consistency. I was also fortunate to be surrounded by a wonderful group of friends who were able to support me through the anxieties and overwhelming fear of failure through the exam period.

After taking a well-deserved break, I returned in second semester refreshed and ready to tackle my honours project and thesis. Being in the lab was something so foreign to me, yet it has become a comforting environment. I have been privileged to work amongst some incredibly talented individuals who have guided me through the lab work, writing up my thesis project and the many hours of result analysis to come.

I am incredibly proud of what I have been able to achieve during this honours year, and although there have been moments where I have felt like I wanted to quit, I know that all the time and sacrifice will be worth it. Soon, I will be able to celebrate finishing my thesis and first degree at UCT. I am confident in my abilities to end this year strong, and I hope that the skills I have learnt through this journey will allow me to be a critical thinking and embrace challenges as I return to my medical degree in 2024. An incredibly inspirational quote from the late and great Nelson Mandela that I live by states that “It always seems impossible, until it’s done.” This is the perfect phrase to capture why I remain determined to preserve through the challenges, and why you should too!