My name is Patryk Michlewski. I am an aspiring medic and an S5 pupil at George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh, Scotland. I am very passionate about my role as one of the Education Officers for the Medic Mentor Virtual Medical Society, the largest UK-wide medical society run by like-minded school students.

As an Education Officer I coordinate and influence the work of the Virtual Medical Society in order to create opportunities for learning, sharing experiences, personal development and most importantly, creating friendships and having fun together. I interact with all the members of the Virtual Medical Society, listen to everyone’s requests and queries and report these to our President and Vice Presidents in order to come up with new ideas and educational resources. I also create the Education Curriculum and timetable that is delivered each week and work closely with the Publicity Officer and Secretary to ensure that all the Virtual Medical Society members are up to date with our plans. I am very enthusiastic about working with other aspiring medics, dentists and vets. I also see my role as a great opportunity to further develop skills prerequisite for a career in medicine such as leadership, teamwork, communication and building meaningful connections with people. I gained substantial leadership experience through volunteering as a swimming coach at Warrender Baths Club, Befriender at Royal Blind and supporting NHS Scotland during the COVID-19 outbreak.  

I was first introduced to Medic Mentor through my school when Dr Siva and Dr Kennedy visited and supported us with setting up our school’s Medical Society. Since then I have made the most out of the various opportunities that Medic Mentor offers to people like me. I enrolled into the Medic Mentor Awards Programme in September 2019 and I am currently finalising my submission for the Silver Award. It has been a challenging but worthwhile experience. Earlier this year I volunteered at the National Healthcare Weekend and gave a presentation on my “Journey into Medicine so far” to share my experiences and support other aspiring medics. I am also enrolled into the Medic Mentor Summer School and became a School Ambassador for the Medical Leadership Programme. I thoroughly enjoyed my first teaching day earlier this year on setting up Medical Societies in schools and this gave me the confidence to apply for a position on the Virtual Medical Society committee. Inspired by Medic Mentor and my recent work placement in the Sexual Health Clinic at the Chalmers Centre in Edinburgh I conducted my own research and wrote an article on the stigma surrounding people living with HIV. My article has just been published in the ‘Bridging the Gap’ edition of the Mentor Magazine. 

As an aspiring medic I understand that having a balanced life is important for coping with the challenges of practicing medicine. I always try to make time for my interests and hobbies i.e. playing guitar and creating music. I used to be a competitive swimmer for Warrender Baths Club and competed at a national level, therefore, I understand the importance of sport for maintaining good physical and mental health. Even though I do not swim at a competitive level anymore, sport remains an important stress outlet for me and I regularly go to the gym, cycle and run. 

I am planning to apply to study medicine in October this year. I have explored this career through several work placements, and I find this profession to be extremely fascinating.  During one of my placements I observed two cardiothoracic surgeries and I was really inspired by the work of the surgical team. I understand that it will be many years down the line before I must commit to a specialty, however, at this point in time I would like to pursue a career in surgery. In the future, I would like to continue my work with Medic Mentor and use the skills I acquire to lead the work of University societies and Medical Royal Colleges. 

If you would like to post Patryk a question, please comment below and she will get back to you!

Study Guide December 2021

Problem Based Learning Problem based learning (PBL) is a popular method of learning, currently used by most health professional courses in the UK. The aim of PBL is for you to read through a complex and broad series of information, to identify areas of interest and...