Imperial Connection: Pioneering use of video projects during Immersion Week

By Dr Sophie Munday, Clinical Education Fellow, Imperial College London

During the recent Imperial Immersion Week in March, we asked the visiting LKCMedicine students to create a reflective vlog about their experiences in London. The brief was to produce a 60-second video telling us both what they did during their visit, and what they learnt from their time at Imperial.

Reflective practice is the process of examining events and experiences to identifying learning opportunities and create action points for the future. It is a cornerstone of continuing professional development within medicine. At all stages of training and practice, doctors and other healthcare professionals are encouraged to practise reflection to support their ongoing learning and development.

The students were asked to use the model of reflection to examine their experiences and establish concrete learning points from the Immersion Week, in the hope that this would support them to gain maximum benefit from the week. We also intended that some of their learning could be more easily shared with their peers who were not able to join the experience in London.

The vlogs were all presented in an insightful and entertaining session on the last afternoon of the Immersion Week. Students explored the contrasts between LKCMedicine and Imperial, and provided a unique perspective on the advantages of collaboration. A recurring theme visited by the vlogs was that students particularly valued the opportunity to spend time with their peers at Imperial.

Through watching the vlogs, viewers can be immersed in the Imperial experience from the perspective of LKCMedicine students. Reflections on anatomy classes, tutorials, practical sessions and lectures were all featured, in addition to sightseeing, food market visit, football matches and a trip up the iconic Queens Tower at Imperial South Kensington campus. The students demonstrated impressive video-editing skills, using innovative techniques to display their work. This included witty word-play, film trailers and even sock puppets.

We hope that participating in this activity will support the professional development of students through increasing awareness of reflective practice, as well as providing a digital memento of their experiences at Imperial.