Graduation

So there we have it, it's official. I am a doctor. Wednesday was graduation day and the piece of paper that I received means that I am now Dr Simon MBChB BSc (Hons).

Almost as importantly to me, graduation also signified that I am no longer a student. More specifically I am no longer a student of the University of Manchester. I'm halfway through writing an epic length post about my experiences of medical school but let's just say for now that, in my humble opinion, the course at Manchester leaves a LOT to be desired. I shan't be sad to say goodbye to this university at all.

When I graduated from St Andrews three years ago, only my mum and sister were able to attend. This time my dad managed to get the time off work so that he could come along as well, and it was nice to have both parents there. The day started with a trip to the "robing room" to collect my gown and hat before heading to a marquee for the medicine garden party. This was an excellent opportunity for photographs with friends and family and it was nice to catch up with some people who I hadn't seen since I went on elective back in March, as well as to meet my friends' families. My little sister (15) took advantage of the unattended alcohol and helped herself to the complimentary champagne. I've never been more proud of her, she's obviously preparing herself for student life early!

After the garden party, the first half of the year went to their ceremony whilst those of us with surnames in the second half of the alphabet had time for lunch. I also spent well over an hour queuing for my "official" photograph, which will soon be hanging somewhere in the hallway of my parents' house I'm sure.

The ceremony itself was rather underwhelming to be honest. I loved the pomp and ceremony of the St Andrews graduation ceremony. This was much more business-like in comparison. There was no singing of the "gaudeamus", and everything was in English rather than Latin. I was particulary disappointed with the graduation address, given by a high-up in the university. It served as no more than an advert for the university. The essential message was "well done, remember how great we are for giving you this degree, please give us donations in return". The address at the earlier ceremony was apparently even worse. The poor students were given a telling off, and lectured about all the people round the world who would never have the opportunity to study for a degree. I'm sorry but a graduation address is supposed to be the time to celebrate achievement, and these two speeches definitely dampened the mood a bit.

I managed to walk up the steps, shake hands with the presiding officer, and back down the stairs again without tripping up and very quickly it was all over. After taking an oath (a modern version of the Hippocratic oath), it was time to put our hats on and join the academic procession. It was really nice to see some of our old lecturers from St Andrews that had come down to see us graduate. They looked so proud when one of their ex-students stepped onto the stage. Another great idea was that the university broadcasted the ceremonies live on their website. This meant that my auntie in Australia was able to watch from her bedroom (it was 2am over there) and see me graduate.

On the whole I enjoyed my day and I will give credit to the university for doing a great job of organising it all. Whilst the ceremony wasn't to my liking, I guess that St Andrews was exceptional and that Manchester was the norm, and so I can't criticise really. I now have one more week of holiday before I start my shadowing on the 27th July. I am excited and terrified in equal measure!