School Lectures
Every year, in the autumn, the College runs a free lecture series aimed at school students, wherever you are based, who are considering a career in medicine. These can be attended in person at the College's Queen Street premises, watched via livestream, or viewed on catch-up any time after the event.
Upcoming events
25 September 2023 - Schools Lecture 1: Becoming a Doctor
Join us as we walk through the steps of applying to medical school. We will hear from medical school admissions staff, practicing physicians, and recently graduated medical students as they detail the realities of applying, planning, and preparing for life as a medical student.
S4, S5, and S6 students are particularly encouraged to attend with members of their support system including parents, teachers, and friends.
A Q&A will follow the lecture.
3 October 2023 - School Lecture 2: Physician’s Pathways
This is your chance to speak with practising physicians about their journey into their particular field of medicine.
This lecture is an invitation to follow along the path of our medical professionals as they make hard decisions, personally and professionally, in the pursuit of science, health, and happiness.
Perhaps you will be inspired to follow along in their footsteps and become a geriatrician (a physician trained in helping older patients), a cardiologist (doctors who are experts in the heart) or a space medicine expert - or perhaps you’ll simply see that doctors are people too! And if they can do it… so can you!
S2, S3, and S4 students are particularly encouraged to attend with members of their support system including parents, teachers, and friends.
A Q&A will follow the lecture.
10 October 2023 – School Lecture 3 – Ethical Dilemmas in Medicine
You are invited to sit alongside some of Scotland’s best medical professionals as we discuss the role of ethics in medicine. Professor Angela Thomas will act as chair, and will be joined by four exceptional physicians (including Professor Kenneth Boyd, Professor of Medical Ethics at the University of Edinburgh).
This is not a usual lecture. You are encouraged (but not required) to come to the event with a question that you can ask our panel and they will answer it from their perspective as a medical professional. Or, of course, you are welcome to come and listen to the lecture just as an observer. This panel discussion will explore some of the challenging moral and ethical decisions taken by doctors today.
S4, S5, and S6 students are particularly encouraged to attend with members of their support system including parents, teachers, and friends.
Video on Demand
The lectures which took place in 2022 are available to view online now.