University of Plymouth student, Rajeevlochan Ravi, BMBS Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (Year 5) was chosen to present their poster after being shortlisted for a prize at The Royal Society of Medicine Conference: Structural Heart Symposium: Mitral Valve and Concomitant Therapies. This took place in London on the 25th November, 2022, with travel costs funded by the Students' Union.

Rajeevlochan story: 

The benefit of speaking at the conference is, first, sharing medical knowledge with the rest of the medical community, which is an essential faucet in Medicine. The second aspect is as a student, I will have a chance to present at a prestigious conference organised by the Royal Society of Medicine. This is a prize which I had applied for and had to beat the participants across the country to achieve. Finally, the third aspect is this opportunity will benefit my career as I aspire to be a surgeon and a successful doctor. 

 

My main worry was finding the money to fund the cost of travel, conference tickets and poster printing. 

 

In my time of need, I dropped by the UPSU offices and expressed my concerns. The SU offered to cover the cost fully. I thank the SU for helping me, and special thanks to Louise Mealand at the SU offices. Louise listened to my concerns and mentioned that SU could help. She was instrumental in helping me and pushing me to achieve my goal of travelling to London and representing the medical school at a prestigious event.

 

Personally, this was a massive moment in my career as this was the first time I had presented a poster at a conference. I was extremely nervous. The experience was valuable for my professional development as a doctor. I made great friends at the conference and met fantastic surgeons such as Mr Prakash Punjabi and Mr Gilles Dreyfus, who gave keynote lectures. I was also lucky enough to learn anatomy from Legendary Vishy Mahadevan, a professor of surgical anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons. 

 

Thank you UPSU for helping me get closer to my dream of being a surgeon and allowing me share my story.