We Are Wellington | Alumni Voices: Zehra Bilgin

The IB Programme made for a smoother transition to university. It helped me improve my critical thinking, organisation, time management and leadership skills. Writing essays and formulating lab reports have made it easier for me to complete my assignments here. The chemistry and biology courses I took in the programme also provided a strong foundation for understanding basic medical science.

Wellington's wide range of CCAs allowed me to discover new interests as well. This has made me a more well-rounded person capable of balancing my studies with the pursuits that I enjoy.

Wellington also taught me how to create the changes you want to see around you and have a meaningful impact. While at Wellington, I initiated a fund-raising project for the Heart-to-Heart charity. Alongside doing good for others, I learned how to effectively lead, organise and stay alert to the details that go into making big projects come together. I parlayed what I learned there to a social responsibility project at university focused on the mental health of the elderly population during the pandemic.

Finally, Wellington's teachers encouraged curiosity and helped me develop the confidence to ask questions. Consequently, I am more engaged with my course content. I do more than simply memorise facts and figures. I process information, put it into a broader context and link pieces of knowledge to understand the bigger picture.

My primary reason was simply Hacettepe Üniversitesi's standard of medical education. After looking at national rankings and talking to several doctors, I was able to confirm its reputation as the best university to study medicine in Turkey. I also researched the school's medical curriculum — which uses an integrative style of medical education — and visited the campus before making my final decision. There were several other factors too. Chief among them was the fact that the school's medical faculty is located right next to a large hospital known for its leading physicians and researchers. The hospital also has a reputation for dealing with rare diseases. I thought this would be a great opportunity to get a head start on clinical work under some of the best practitioners in the country. The university also provides exchange programmes. Different student groups represent medical societies, as well as those that study together for speciality tests such as the USMLE, which is what I plan on taking to do my speciality training abroad. Additionally, the school is said to offer the most challenging medical courses in Turkey, and I am always up for a challenge!

I genuinely want to help others, and I want to work in a fast-paced and intellectually stimulating environment. Moreover, learning about the science of how the body works and the different ways we can restore it to health truly fascinates me. Medicine also involves patient interactions, for which a physician’s approach has to be appropriate and adaptive when dealing with different situations. This aspect of the practice is equally enticing.

I would love to specialise in either plastic or cardiovascular surgery. This is not only because of the hands-on nature of the work but also the intimacy involved in operating on the human body. My path may change throughout my six-year undergraduate education. Regardless, I am excited to see where I end up in the future!

As soon as I started, I felt a very strong sense of community between the students and professors, even though most of our communication took place online. I appreciate how everybody puts the effort to get to know one another and sustain friendships even if we all cannot physically be together. The passion and enthusiasm for all things medicine ties us together.

Now in my second year, having been able to physically go to campus for lectures, I have been able to fully appreciate the heartfelt and welcoming atmosphere of the university. The students all get along really well, and we have managed to meet up outside of school to socialise. Our relationships with our professors are equally positive; they treat us with respect and more like colleagues than students.

I appreciate the efforts that the school makes to provide us with medicine-related talks led by experts in their field. I also enjoy the courses that we have to take, especially the interactive ones such as 'good medical practices' in which we learn clinical skills, like how to perform muscle injections or properly wear and remove surgical masks and gloves.

Lastly, the department and the student affairs office consistently ask us for feedback and are willing to listen to the student body. They are also quick to respond. This has made adjusting to university a whole lot easier.