Medicine has a strong tradition in Girton

Girton’s Medical Fellowship is made up of both a large number of academic clinicians across different specialities and other experts in their fields.  

Our strong and varied Fellowship is enriched by a number of distinguished Honorary Fellows, whose experience and lifetime contributions to medicine have been recognised both nationally and internationally. Amongst them are Professor Dame Lesley Regan, Dr Suzy Lishman CBE, and the former Prime Minister of Australia, Ms Julia Gillard AO.

Students have the opportunity to meet with and learn from these, and other major figures in the wider medical world. We encourage our students to play a full part in the ongoing development of academic life at Girton College.

We’re proud of the calendar of events that support and foster our medics, kicking off each year with the Medics Supper party. In the beautiful setting of the Fellows Dining Room where all undergraduate medics, the Fellowship, former students and distinguished guests join together to celebrate and foster cohesion and strong supportive links between years. 

The Hammond Science Communication competition and evening, hosted by Dr Phil Hammond (Girton alumnus and ‘celebrity’ Doctor), sees undergraduate students present their interpretation of a theme chosen each year, such as Imbalance, accompanied by drinks in the stunning Stanley Library. 

The College hosts its Annual Medical and Vet symposium, providing an opportunity for students to present their research work alongside eminent College and external speakers, and is followed by a black-tie dinner in the Great Hall (Dining Hall).

The student-led medic and vet society run invited talks with food and drink provided throughout the year, with recent talks on Forensic psych, history medicine, and cutting-edge research. 

Additionally, social events occur each term, fostering a close-knit community. 

The whole Girton medical community celebrates the end of exams together, with a standing invite and party at one of the Fellows' homes. 

And each June before the Clinical School Declaration Ceremony, the graduating students alongside their families meet with the Mistress, Medical Fellowship and Senior Tutor for a celebratory brunch. 

As you may have read on the University of Cambridge website for medicine every week you will have College-based supervisions or small group tutorials to support your learning. We are very lucky at Girton as we have a stable group of experienced supervisors, many of whom are practising clinicians. 

Girton has an ideal number of medical students which is small enough for us to get to know you individually, and support you with any specific needs, but large enough to enable stimulating discussions and a wide variety of social medical events.

In addition to the general support activities in Girton, such as the Skills Programme and library activities, by getting to know you from the very beginning we will support you over the six years you will be in Cambridge. 

As well as pastoral support, including aspects of professionalism, and academic support, we have a number of Girton initiatives to help you in many different ways. 

There are financial grants available for students in hardship and all medical students are able to apply to the Harry Barclay Fund for medical activities and the Dinah James bequest for global health. Find out here.

There is money available for academic support to attend scientific conferences, and also other travel grants for the vacation. 

For more information about financial support:

• For undergraduates

This community supports, encourages, and enables students to excel in their studies and beyond. A significant number of small group supervisions are provided by our Fellows, who are research active and many play wider roles in the provision of medical education in Cambridge and more widely, alongside medical leadership at a national level. 

We also offer advice about applying for research projects over the summer and additional grants for projects. 

Some of our medical students have successfully completed the MBPhD scheme.

Hi! My name is Joel, and I'm a second-year Part IB Medicine student at Girton. A typical day starts at 8 AM with a coffee and a banana. While having my coffee I like to scan through the slides of my first lecture before cycling into town for my 9 AM. We'll usually attend 2-3 lectures back-to-back and finish just before lunch, during which I annotate downloaded copies of the slides to make notes. After the morning lectures I usually meet with friends and grab a quick meal deal before heading back for afternoon lectures, which usually finish around 4 PM.

After getting back to college I'll usually have a supervision, a one-hour small group teaching session, before cooking and having dinner with friends. After dinner we head to the library together, studying until 8-9 PM, where I go through the previous day's lectures, write up assignments, and do a few flashcards. We'll usually wind down with a couple of rounds of board games or cards before bed.
 

Hi, I'm Gina! I'm a third-year medical student at Girton, intercalating in Natural Sciences with a focus on Psychology. Intercalation is a compulsory part of the Cambridge Medicine degree, but also an amazing opportunity to spend a year immersed in the things that fascinate you. For me, that means the developing brain, cognition and behaviour, and the psychology behind policy and decision-making, all things that will shape the kind of doctor I want to be.

My day usually starts around 8 AM with a yoghurt bowl. Unlike Joel, I am a committed bus rider - the Girton bus is non-negotiable, warm drink in hand, flicking through whatever is on the agenda for the day.

No two days look the same. Mornings might bring one lecture or three, and afternoons are usually a mix of reading, coding for my dissertation, and preparing for supervisions. A big part of my day is reading, both for lectures and wider topics I have genuinely fallen in love with this year, computational cognition and developmental psychology being particular highlights. This flexibility is one of the most distinctive things about Part II. Lunch is whatever looks good in town and evenings vary between walks around Girton’s amazing grounds, a session in the gym, or cooking with friends. Supervisions are a real highlight for me. When you are this interested in your subject, having an hour to talk through ideas and think out loud feels like a real privilege.

When it comes to evening study, you will find me upstairs in the Girton library, which looks straight out of Hogwarts - a lifelong Harry Potter fan's dream! Other highlights include walking along King's Parade and grabbing Jack's Gelato with friends, always something different (I consider it a personal commitment to research). Outside of academics, I am co-president of the Girton Med Vet Society and Captain of Squash Club, which keeps life busy in the best way.
 

Describing the day in the life of a Girton Clinical Student is challenging, as every day can be different, and our placements are as diverse as the field of Medicine itself. 

Even now, all of the clinical students at Girton are exploring different facets of this profession. From witnessing lifesaving operations in the renowned Addenbrooke’s theatres, to traversing out into the far reaches of the community as part of our GP placements to talk to wonderful patients who entrust us with their stories, we are regularly reminded of the wonderful impact we can have on patients regardless of the specific speciality we may choose to enter. 

It is also deeply rewarding to reflect on how far we have come since our preclinical years, which were spent largely in libraries committing pages of notes to memory. Now, our days are far more hands-on as we are constantly developing key skills for our future practice, such as our communication skills with patients, our critical thinking as well as our practical skills.

Each day gives us new challenges and experiences, and I am excited to see where the future takes us as we journey further into the field of medicine