The second annual MedX London conference took place at Victoria Hospital on Saturday, March 10.
Photo provided by Geetika Gupta, one of the organizers for MedX London.
The conference was designed as an event for interested delegates to gain more knowledge on the process of applying to medical school. This conference featured keynotes, workshops, group sessions, panelists and booths.
Braveenan Pradeep, a third-year psychology student at Western University, was one of the co-chairs for the event. He began his journey with MedX London in the summer of 2016.
“Regardless of being one of the organizers of such an event, it was a learning experience for me as well on all the different aspects of medical school and the pathway to it. By creating a platform for other students, I also became more knowledgeable about the admissions process,” said Pradeep.
The theme for this year’s conference was “The Journey to Medicine,” featuring workshops led by medical residents, doctors and prep companies. As the interview process for many medical schools is very intensive and requires training that is normally not readily available, MedX London focused on this, especially the multiple mini interview (MMI) style.
According to Western’s Student Success Centre, the MMI consists of a series of short, carefully timed interview stations in an attempt to draw multiple samples of applicants’ ability to think on their feet. The conference had groups of delegates attempt at different MMI scenarios, followed by feedback from the third-year medical student and keynote speaker, Anish Naidu.
Sanjana Sudaram, a third-year student completing an honours degree in biology, attended the conference and commented on her experience with the workshops.
“MedX is an amazing networking event for aspiring healthcare professionals… in particular, I loved the emphasis this year’s conference had on mock MMI’s and Panel Interview scenarios as it allowed delegates to answer questions like they were in a medical school interview while gaining constructive criticism from experienced interviewees, for example, doctors facing actual pressure,” said Sundaram.
In addition to interview practice, the workshop lead by The Princeton Review (TPR) on the essentials of the MCAT exam was brought back this year due to popular demand. It was an interactive workshop where a TPR representative provided information about the exam for those who are new to it, as well as detailed strategies for those who have already attempted it.
A new workshop offered this year was the “Get Organized Now” workshop. It was hosted by Meera Shah, a first-year medical student at the Schulich School of Medicine. This workshop showcased strategies that could help the delegates improve their habits and organizational skills to become competitive candidates for medical school. Shah emphasized the importance of a personal journey for every student, while also sharing the methods she used in academics, extracurriculars and research.
This is a picture of a group of delegates participating in Shah’s workshop. Photo provided by Geetika Gupta, one of the organizers for MedX London.
During lunch, a networking session took place in the form of an opportunities fair. Delegates were able to make connections with organizations that offer them application prep resources and volunteer opportunities such as MedCoach, Not Just Tourists, Let’s Talk Science, and more.
The event ended with a live question and answer panel that featured the keynote speakers and workshop leaders from the day, including Anish Naidu, Meera Shah, and Dr. Leah Feldman, a practising physician who also runs her own medical coaching company.
New to this year was the Diversity in Medicine initiative which provided up to ten percent of the attendees from the following backgrounds with full coverage of conference registration costs: Indigenous, Black African, Black Caribbean, Black North American. Additionally, students residing in rural areas or identifying as being from low-income backgrounds could also apply.
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