MBChB Medicine and Surgery at the University of Birmingham – student thoughts

Year 2 student Leo Feinberg discusses the MBChB course at the University of Birmingham.

Duration: 03.15 mins

Speaker

 S1 Leo Feinberg, 2nd year MBChB Student

Transcript

My name’s Leo Feinberg, I’m a second year medical student in the five year MBChB programme and I’m the President of the Medical Society for the 2013/14 academic year.

So I applied to Birmingham because when I was at school I came to Birmingham a few times to stay with friends that were already studying here and I thought that the campus and the accommodation, especially in the student village, on the Vale, where absolutely outstanding, as were the sporting facilities and opportunities. I think that Birmingham as a city provides absolutely everything and more that you could ever want, as well as at a fraction of the prices of London.   What attracted me to the course here is the fact that Birmingham is such a vastly multi-cultural city and therefore equally vast is the range of patients and pathologies that as a medical student you will encounter, and so the medical education that you receive here is on a global scale. I also like the fact that from a very early stage of the course you are put on clinical placements at GP practices throughout the Birmingham area and so from very early on you start learning clinical skills, you start putting the theory into practice and spending time meeting patients.

So the medical course here is divided into a pre-clinical and clinical phase. The first two years here at Birmingham are integrated exceptionally well in preparation for the clinical years so rather than discretely blocking subjects into anatomy, physiology and biochemistry etc, the course is sub-divided into systems which overlap very well and do include a good relevant clinical context. Those first two years are predominantly lecture based although there is a significant amount of self-directed learning and then the last three years are clinically based and therefore predominantly based in hospitals and therefore your learning style really does have to adapt to this and the fact that you’re spending a lot of time, a lot more time, with patients on the wards.

One of the best things about being a student in Birmingham is the access to the city centre. Within five minutes of a train ride from university station on campus there’s something for everyone going on. With over 2,500 students we are one of the largest medical societies in the country. We have over 16 sports teams which accommodate abilities and experience of any level, whether you’ve represented at national or regional level or even if you’re just a beginner and want to get stuck in. Personally I’ve played for the Birmingham Medics rugby team which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and which play to a very high standard. We also have over 12 charities and 21 societies ranging from academic societies and support groups to religious and cultural groups. We also have a very busy social calendar throughout the year, putting on a number of events throughout Fresher’s Week, as well as ski trips and weekends away and an annual Med Ball. So I think it’s fair to say that whatever your interests, Birmingham Med Soc has something for you.

End of recording