Andrea Park

MDRP Student (2020)

I am a final year medical student at the University of Melbourne, undertaking my MDRP project with the Department of Surgery at Western Health. Currently, I am under the guidance and supervision of A/Prof Justin Yeung and Dr Mark Lavercombe. My MDRP project relates to medical and surgical education, focusing on finding better ways to deliver and use online instructional videos among undergraduate medical students and also looking on whether online videos can improve their procedural skills performance.

I can confidently say that I feel very supported by the team, the Western clinical school staff as well as Western Health’s resources and teaching. A/Prof Justin Yeung is an amazing supervisor and a mentor who is very prompt in response, catches up with you weekly through in-person meetings and provides frequent constructive feedback. I feel comfortable discussing project ideas and research progress with him. He is also an enthusiastic teacher who provides teachings on conducting research in surgery as well as surgical teachings in clinics.

Teaching at Western is phenomenal, and there are tons of learning opportunities for students. At Western, MDRP students get a lot of general research support, including research and statistics tutorials at least once a week and librarians and statisticians to help with parts of your research that could be tricky or confusing. Many are encouraged to attend clinics, wards, and theatre whenever possible. While I have been working on my MDRP project, I have also been able to spend some time in colorectal clinics and in multidisciplinary meetings, keeping my surgical and clinical skills knowledge up to date. Western MDRP students are also welcomed to use shared office space in the research department, with access to computers and desks available 24/7.

Overall, it has been highly educational, supportive and delightful experience here at Western. I always feel welcomed here and feel like I am at home. I would strongly recommend future MDRP students to consider doing their MDRP with the Department of Surgery at Western Health!