MDU Piece – The Importance of Journalism as a Medical Student
Written By Nilay Sah and Anna Baker (Editor and Deputy Editor of RUMS Review, UCL Medical School magazine 2024/25)
Our days as medical students are incredibly stimulating, emotionally challenging at times, and punctuated by moments of intense satisfaction, where even the briefest of interactions can make a patient’s day. Yet, much of medical school can seem riddled by rote memorisation for endless exams we’re swamped in and mired by a box-ticking culture to build portfolios. With all of this, we can lose the bigger picture of the joys of clinical work, become disconnected from the hobbies we cherished before medical school, and numbed to parts of our healthcare system we have a role in improving.
Finding your voice
Writing is often neglected in our curricula, and you may even miss the process and satisfaction of writing. Have you ever just felt the urge to document a particularly moving day as a medical student, for example? Writing offers us the opportunity to think critically and creatively. It provides an outlet to express our opinions, reflect meaningfully on patient interactions, and engage with the key forces shaping our clinical practice.
Recent industrial action taken by junior doctors has highlighted the power we have at even the most junior levels of the medical field to initiate change. So, grab that pen and pad of paper (or Apple Pencil and iPad more like!) and start writing so your ideas get out into the world!
Why should I write for my medical school journal?
Writing for your medical school journal offers the opportunity to find your voice and contribute to evolving debates. It enables you to create dialogue around issues that influence patients and practitioners, share and analyse ground-breaking medical research, and interview changemakers in the healthcare sphere. Importantly, a medical school journal goes beyond the realm of day-to-day medical practice. Writers incorporate medical anthropology, history and philosophy of medicine, politics, and sociology to spark interest and debate around aspects of medical practice from new and important perspectives.
One of the most exciting and intriguing parts of the writing process is the research phase, where ideas are stretched and workshopped. Falling down a rabbit hole, where one reading sparks another and the next, can be simultaneously overwhelming and exhilarating. Sifting through journals, articles and papers can often present fascinating insights and obscure angles before you hit that longed for light-bulb moment! Forging connections with researchers and academics at your institution and beyond can not only inform and enrich your writing but elevate your readership.
We all start somewhere!
Doctors Oliver Sacks, Paul Kalanithi, Atul Gawande, Henry Marsh, Siddhartha Mukherjee, and many others have proven the importance of the physician-writer. Many students’ early exposure to medicine was through the writings of such doctors. Their reflections on the role of the doctor, analyses of the patient experience, and emphasis on narrative medicine has demonstrated why reflective, analytical writing from the minds of those practicing on the front line is so important to better medical practice and inspire future doctors. Your medical school journal could be a springboard to start your own journey of medical writing. Nurturing your voice and style through a creative outlet can be an excellent way of contributing to conversations that are important to you.
Starter kit for setting up your medical school journal
- Check with your Medical School and University Student Union
Make sure there isn’t already an existing journal to get involved with (if so skip to step 4)! Your medical school may have had a journal/gazette previously with an existing identity that simply needs revival and fresh student interest! If you’re passionate about spearheading medical student journalism, now is the time to get started!
- Create a network and committee
Find like-minded students interested in setting up a journal. Appoint a leadership team with editors and deputies to help delegate the work. Decide upon the direction of your publication. Do you want something research focussed, something that showcases student journalism and design, or a more creative/arts publication?
- Publicise
Spread the word on group chats and social media to get as many medical students involved. You may wish to open up to any of your university students passionate writing about healthcare.
- Start writing!
Consider setting a theme for your journal to help guide writers on their ideas. Arrange regular meetings between writers, design and editors across the writing process to create a coherent and varied selection of articles for your issue.
Use the power of your institution emails and contacts to get in touch with researchers and academics! Reach out to faculty staff and alumni and create a network.
- Edit and Refine
Check grammar, flow and readability of all articles. Workshop them with your writers for iterative enhancements.
- Design
Bring your pieces together with artwork, illustrations and design. If you’re publishing online, consider using platforms like Canva to easily create your online edition. You can bleed lines to your online issue so they’re ready for print.
- Publish and Print
Find an online platform to host your e-journal on – there’s plenty of options out there! Consider setting up a website to host all your journals on and publish podcast content, further articles and creative works. You may wish to publish your issue in print too and distribute around campus and your medical school’s hospital sites too.
Get started!
Read the rest of the edition here
