Student Reflections

Lakmi WEERASINGHE

Project Title: Assessing adverse events following immune suppression in patients with ANCA associated vasculitis (AAV)

Supervisors: Prof Sanjay Swaminathan and Dr Jocelyn Jiang

2025, Year 4 MD Project: CM28-01-25ss | Clinical Medicine, Blacktown Hospital Immunology Clinic and Westmead  Hospital Immunology Clinic

"This rotation was amazing. I had so many opportunities to build knowledge and skills, as well as an extremely enjoyable setting in which to do so. I am so grateful towards my Professor and the Blacktown/Westmead Immunology Department for facilitating this journey. I have been able to develop my skills in Excel and importantly with the REDCaps programme which is a great opportunity as it is projected that many more registries will be conducted on this established platform. I was able to gain insights in the process of medical research, understanding the ethics application, Good Clinical Practice certification and facing the realities of research in that, not everything goes to what was initially planned. The speech scripting was a great opportunity to understand research as something to present and be almost marketed to the wider research community. It forced me to understand my project intimately and present concisely about its main features.

Another great positive is my improved understanding of the patient journey. I had the opportunity to comb through the big and small details of the patients involved in my project, helping me appreciate the nuances of different treatments and the reality of illness that patients face; being in context of other life stressors such as partner injury, building families and juggling work commitments. I am much better acquainted with eMR which is helpful in identifying where pertinent information is and what I should be focusing on when evaluating the status of a patient.

In all, the MD Project rotation was a great opportunity for me to contextualise research in the wider clinical realm and understand patient care from a different lens."

Student preferred to remain anonymous

Project Title: Clinical Outcomes of Post Cataract Surgery (Trifocal IOLs)

Supervisors: A/Prof Chameen Samarawickrama

2025, Year 4 MD Project: CM21-02-25ss | Clinical Medicine, Blacktown and Norwest  (Nexus Eye Care)

"This MD Project has been one of the most challenging yet deeply rewarding experiences of my medical school journey. From its early conceptual stages last year through months of data collection and analysis, I’ve come to appreciate the full scope and depth of clinical research. There was something incredibly fulfilling about seeing significant findings emerge from what initially felt like an overwhelming stack of files. One of the most transformative aspects for me was learning how to navigate the data analysis process. When I began, I had limited experience with tools like R or Excel-based platforms like XLSTAT, I had no idea what I needed to know. There were countless moments of trial and error, but each hurdle pushed me to think more critically and adapt.

With the support of my supervisor and peers, I gradually built a stronger foundation in statistical reasoning, and I’m eager to continue developing these skills in future research. As someone with a strong interest in ophthalmology, this project offered an incredible opportunity to engage more deeply with the field. Observing cataract surgeries helped bring context to the parameters I had been recording. More importantly, it reinforced how thoughtful preoperative decisions can shape patient satisfaction and quality of life, something I sincerely hope to carry with me into future placements.

Overall, this has been an invaluable experience, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I’m incredibly grateful for the consistent support and encouragement from the MDP team, and thankful for the confidence they’ve helped me build as I look ahead to future opportunities."

Sarah CHEA

Project Title: Effect of an intradialytic resistance training on circulating endocannabinoids in patients with end-stage renal disease:  A randomised controlled trial

Supervisors: A/Prof Bobby Cheema and Dr Michael Low

2025, Year 4 MD Project: BMS12-01-25ss | Biomedical Sciences, WSU School of Medicine, Campbelltown; Westmead (NICM Health Research Institute)

"This MD Project rotation has been an enlightening experience, having experienced the research process myself and being in the shoes of the authors of the many journal articles I have read and cited. I was given the opportunity to work with a randomised controlled trial, and being one the first few people to see the results of a study before it is public was a very exciting experience. Data collection and analysis were new territory for me, and frankly something I understood very little about. My supervisor was extremely patient, and through their guidance, I am much more confident in interpreting the results of studies, which was something I initially brushed off whenever I did read articles. I had not realised that understanding their analysis of results would inform my interpretation of the discussion and study in much more depth and nuance, and I am extremely grateful that I have learned this skill.

Additionally, exercise science is a topic I am passionate about as I find it is not taken as seriously as an intervention than pharmaceuticals and the like. Investigating a possible biological mechanism to enhance its rationale as a therapeutic intervention was exciting and fit perfectly within my interests and beliefs in medicine. The endocannabinoid system was something I was initially clueless about but researching it firsthand has piqued my interest in its potential, and I can’t help but share my knowledge with friends and colleagues. It is a strange experience becoming what is essentially an expert on this topic, but one I am excited to uphold. I am excited to check on its development in the future, and I am honoured to contribute to its understanding.

The MD Project rotation was something I initially dread to be complicated, tiresome and uninteresting, but I am glad to be given the chance to have firsthand experience as it has completely turned my opinion on research. I have a deeper appreciation for the time, effort and complexities that go into developing a study and writing a paper and found it to be much more enjoyable than expected. This experience is one that will stick with me and has forever shaped my practice as a medical student and as a future doctor."

Deepthi KRAMADHARI

Project Title: Rib Fracture Management in Richmond ED Network (Comparison of patient variables and outcomes for patients admitted to Lismore Base Hospital for rib fracture management by pain control – PCA versus Regional Block)

Supervisors: Dr Martin Duffy, Dr Charles Coulton

2025, Year 4 MD Project: RHL05-01-25ss | Rural Health Lismore - Lismore Rural Clinical School

"The MD Project has been integral in developing my knowledge of the research process - from beginning to source a project, applying for ethics approval, developing an audit tool, undertaking data collection and data analysis, and ultimately synthesising my findings in a concise and precise manner. One of the skills I have learnt is undertaking statistical analysis. My project required multivariate logistic and linear regression analysis along with basic descriptive statistical analysis of the patient population.

One of the more valuable lessons I have learnt on this research journey has been learning when to ask for input when a particular task is out of my scope of knowledge. I enlisted the help of the statistician at Lismore to aid me in utilising R software. I can also appreciate the utmost importance of preserving patient confidentiality when handling patient data. Although ethically accessing and storing patient data made typically procedural tasks quite laborious, the importance of adhering to the ethics protocol to preserve the rights and dignity of research participants was continually reinforced, especially as this data was being collected retrospectively.

This MD project has taught me deeply about the management of rib fractures, the role of regional anesthesia and existing clinical protocols in this health network. It does not escape that it is a true privilege to contribute to the existing literature on this topic as a medical student - especially such a prevalent clinical issue impacting a substantial number of people in the Northern Rivers region annually. Working closely with well-established ED physicians in Lismore Base Hospital has also granted me an important opportunity to present the salient findings synthesised from this audit at the monthly Trauma meeting which will help to inform future clinical decision making in the ED."

Jay HEGDE

Project Title: Neuroinflammation in Schizophrenia

Supervisors: Dr Rose Chesworth Vieyra and Prof Tim Karl

2025, Year 4 MD Project: BMS03-01-25ss | Biomedical Sciences, WSU School of Medicine, Campbelltown

"I had a very positive MD Project experience. Diving into the world of behavioural neuroscience, which was completely foreign to me, was very exciting.

Though a little overwhelming during the SLP phase of the project, as I was not yet involved directly in the research but was doing a literature review for a very specific topic. Despite this, I was very supported by my supervisor which helped me during that part of the attachment.

Within the 9 weeks itself, I am very grateful to my supervisor for meeting almost daily and performing things together. In that way I could see very clearly the day-to-day life of a researcher, learn some skills under supervision and see her thought process to maintain validity but workaround some obstacles that we had. She was also very meticulous in her planning of my 9-week attachment – that way I was exposed to a variety of behavioural models and experiments and was very included as part of the behavioural neuroscience team – attending the lab meeting every week and seeing research at different levels (MD, masters, PHD and post doctorates) presenting their research/journal club. I also presented a journal club as well as my oral presentation during these meetings, allowing me to refine my research and presentation skills."

Kathleen ADIDHARMA

Project Title: MRI in Appendicitis – an audit of Blacktown Hospital's experience

Supervisor: Dr Benjamin Woodham

2025, Year 4 MD Project: CM07-02-25ss | Clinical Medicine, Blacktown Hospital

"Since the start of this rotation, I have gained valuable insight into medical research, how it is done, what is required and its applications and relevance to real-world clinical practice. While data input into an excel sheet was tedious at times, by the end, I had become significantly more proficient at excel, particularly with use of formulas. The presentation was also an excellent opportunity to improve my presentation skills and was a surprisingly good experience, especially seeing what other students had been working on. Writing the speech as well as the abstract and discussion challenged and improved my writing ability, in particular the ability to be concise while conveying all relevant information. Reading through hundreds of patient files has improved my understanding of not only acute appendicitis, but more broadly how patients are assessed and managed in the emergency department and how imaging practices affect patient care. I aim to go into emergency medicine in the future and thus learning about common presentations in ED, how to approach certain presentations, what to look for and standard management pathways was extremely valuable. Additionally, in reading patient files, I was also able to gain a better appreciation of the level of communication and collaboration required between departments to optimise patient care.

Overall, the MD project has been a novel experience that has deepened my understanding of the role of research in clinical medicine as well as of hospital dynamics and scientific principles."

Hunter EDSON

Project Title: Cann-it-help? Self-reported patient experiences of medical cannabis use

Supervisor: Dr Robert Graham

2025, Year 4 MD Project: CM52-01-25ss | Clinical Medicine, Drug Health Service WSLHD

"MDP was an enjoyable and challenging experience that allowed me to explore an area of research that interested me, as well as giving me the opportunity to develop my research and time management skills. I really appreciated being encouraged to self-source projects as my supervisor and project topic both kept me engaged through the term.

Of course, MDP was an opportunity to develop my research skills. Whilst I have produced scientific reviews early on in this course, the standard of evidence and scope of this project pushed me to relearn research skills to a much higher standard. With the support of Lily Collison from the medical library support team, I extended my knowledge of reporting protocols, review registration and the importance of transparent and reproducible research. I learned how to develop keyword and MeSH term searches across different databases, reference management of large numbers of sources with Endnote and screening in Covidence. I was also pleased to learn that even small-scale amateur research (such as what I produced with this project) is able to find significant information, particularly in terms of identifying knowledge gaps and understanding the state of literature on a specific topic.

Finally, my time management skills were tested throughout this rotation. The majority of my research was conducted remotely without close oversight from my supervisor. Early in the rotation I was developing my skills and working to understand what my project would actually look like (I changed to a scoping review somewhat last minute). I found that without strict external deadlines I struggled to work to a consistent schedule. Over the course of the project, I developed strategies to manage my time better - timetabling on a daily and whole project scale and setting update deadlines with my supervisor. I found as I progressed on my review and my research skills improved, I was better able to estimate the time required for certain tasks and plan accordingly. I feel that time management is a skill applicable to all areas of life, especially as I progress to the busy final years of medical training and then starting as a JMO."

Shivjot SHARMA

Project Title: The Harnessing Urban Bridges (HUB) Project: Co-designing Health Hubs for Transforming Diabetes Care in Western Sydney

Supervisors: Prof Wendy Hu, Dr Jaspreet Saini, Dr Ania Lucewicz, Prof Penny Abbott, A/Prof Phylllis Lau

2025, Year 4 MD Project: GP01-01-25ss | General Practice and Primary Care, WSU School of Medicine, Campbelltown and Healthicare

"Through this MD Project, I learned valuable research skills, including systematic literature screening, data extraction, and analysing findings. Initially, my project was intended as a co-design study involving direct engagement with patients and healthcare professionals. However, due to delays in ethics, we pivoted to a scoping review. This unexpected shift taught me how to adapt quickly and stay flexible when plans change, which is crucial for any successful project.

The project also broadened my perspective about General Practice as a career pathway. Previously, I was not fully aware of the extensive research opportunities available within GP settings. Through collaborating closely with supervisors and the HealthiCare team, I discovered that primary care provides ample scope for innovative research and developing transformative healthcare models. As a result, my interest in General Practice as a possible future medical career has significantly grown."