Show Notes
Medical students do not live in a bubble, we bring with us our own culture, traditions, and often our religion. In this episode we discuss how being a religious medic can influence how you navigate your practice and how thinking about spirituality can be helpful in developing your holistic understanding of patients. This week, Éabha is joined by Judy and Elisabeth, and expert guest Charlie Bell, a forensic psychiatry trainee, a priest in the Church of England, and director of studies in Medicine at Girton College, Cambridge. Find BMJ Student on social media Twitter/X: https://x.com/BMJStudent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/?hl=en-gb
More from Sharp Scratch
Do you ever feel uncomfortable expressing empathy towards patients? This week, the Sharp Scratch panel talks to Dr Bill Laughey to discuss how empathy is taught in communication skills sessions, and graded in OSCEs. They talk about the disconnect between feeling empathy and how we’re taught to express it in the clinical setting. And, finally, do we as medical students become less empathetic over time? Follow us on Instagram, X, Bluesky and TikTok https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ https://x.com/BMJStudent https://bsky.app/profile/bmjstudent.bsky.social https://www.tiktok.com/@sharpscratchpod
What does it take to be a successful medical influencer? Dr Rohin Francis (a.k.a Medlife Crisis) debunks the misconceptions, and reveals hidden challenges. The panel, which also features new Sharp Scratch host Catherine Wang and FY1 doctor Judy Ugwuja, discuss how they feel when they see increasing numbers of medical influencers online - is it starting to get a bit cringe? What are the dos and don’ts of making content as a doctor, and should the GMC be better at regulating this? Hear the panel discuss all on this week’s episode of Sharp Scratch - enjoy!
Does medicine allow you to be creative? In Zaynah’s last episode as host of Sharp Scratch, she is joined by incoming Editorial Scholar Catherine Wang to explore her chosen topic of the 2026 BMJ Student print issue: medical humanities!
“I like science and I want to help people” is a classic med school interview answer to “Why medicine?”... Can a medical degree train you to help others, even without traditional doctor-ing? In this episode, Zaynah Khan sits down with Claire Oxlade, and medical student Maira, to discuss what medics can do to impact public health. Claire is the global engagement lead of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC), working alongside medics, scientists, policymakers and parliamentarians on antimicrobial resistance. This Sharp Scratch episode explores what “diplomacy” means in relation to public health and medicine, and potential careers that your medical degree equips you for - that you might not have considered before!
Does your digital footprint represent you personally, or are you perceived as a doctor while you doomscroll? Can you ever be sure that *all views are your own* ? Are you an avatar representing medicine or a private citizen?