The date is 30th September 2013. First year, first day of medical school, we swiped through the closed gates and entered the building we would call our second home.

As an eighteen-year-old on my first day at medical school with all my emotions heightened; excitement, fear, curiosity, everything seemed a bit dramatic. A bit like the opening scene of Grey's Anatomy, but I assure you this plotline has a lot less drama!

UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM MEDICAL SCHOOL - YEAR 1

Our year started off with a series of introductions which lasted a week. Worried you're going to get homesick? I was too, but I didn’t need to be because I got given a ‘medic family’, more formally known as a PM group. It consisted of people from each year and your personal mentors, who are there if and when you need them (contrary to what some people may think, medical students, are not actually robots and may need help from time to time).

BIRMINGHAM MEDICAL SCHOOL TEACHING METHODS

Next, we met our M-groups which consisted of sixteen people. For some, these were the first med-students they had spoken to since starting. For others, peers in the group would become their best friends in the coming years. From an educational point of view, all of our small group teaching (SGT) would be carried out in these M-groups.

SGT was the closest medical school got to high school in terms of how the content was delivered. In these sessions, we revised and extended on the material we learnt in lectures with the guidance of a professional in the field. 

Birmingham Medical School primarily utilises the traditional method of teaching (i.e. lecture based) but the University does incorporate problem-based learning and SGT is one of the ways it does this. SGTs involved preparation beforehand - this could include reading around the topic or searching the literature for relevant publications. Ultimately, it encouraged us to become independent learners, which is an important skill to have as a medical student and future doctor. 

The final part of the introduction week included preliminary lectures, I took my sniffly nose and continuous sneezes acquired from fresher’s week (yes, the dreaded Fresher flu) and sat among the 380 students in the Leonard Deacon lecture theatre (which after day 1 was referred to as LDLT) to begin our first lecture… 

A STRANGE WAY TO BUILD UP AN APPETITE…

BIRMINGHAM CLINICAL YEARS

Fast forward two years, it was time to actually use the engraved stethoscope I bought two years ago. 

Having completed the pre-clinical stage, we moved into the clinical stage (years 3 to 5). In the coming years, we would apply the theoretical knowledge to practical settings and build on our clinical examination, procedural (blood taking, cannulation etc.) and communication skills. We had a few weeks of lectures throughout the year which delivered content relating to diagnosis and management of diseases within the specialities.

‘Hello, I’m a third-year medical student would it be alright to have a quick chat?' – My most used phrase of the year at the hospital while talking to patients. 

Our teaching was predominantly based at the hospitals we were placed throughout the week. A typical day consisted of attending ward rounds with our team at the base ward, teaching sessions with the clinical teaching fellows who would discuss theoretical knowledge, patient cases or teach examinations, and on some days, we would have bedside teaching with doctors on the ward. I found third-year exciting as I was able to talk to patients daily, learn practical procedures and the theory I had learnt was more memorable and understandable when I was able to apply it to a patient I had seen. 

BIRMINGHAM INTERCALATED DEGREE

At Birmingham doing an intercalated degree is optional. Students can choose to do it after year 2, 3 or 4 and some might choose not to do it altogether. I chose to take a year out to explore the research aspect of medicine. The year consisted of six chosen modules and a lab project which built up to a dissertation. 

For me, my intercalation year was the steepest learning curve I had been through since starting medicine! My supervisor's advice to ‘chill out' and ‘do not expect everything to go to plan’ was harder to take on board than I thought it would be, and when my experiment didn't work it seemed like the sky was falling (not exaggerating). But like most people in my situation, I eventually learnt to relax and adapted to the uncertainty (not entirely sure my supervisor would agree but still) that comes hand in hand with research. 

THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Despite being a challenging year, I gained and built on numerous skills needed in analysing papers and conducting lab experiments. Typically, a day would consist of a few lectures, five to six hours of experiments in the labs and finally writing up the progress of the day. I was fortunate to have a supportive lab group and observing the work with the other groups in the department, I learnt the importance of collaboration in research, which is something I was not able to fully appreciate before. The experience throughout the year, as well as the inspirational people I met, encouraged me to want to pursue research in the future.
 

BACK TO MEDICINE – YEAR 4

Four years down the line and it finally starts to make sense! Having finished my intercalation year, I re-joined medicine in year 4. In this year, we covered most of the specialities. We were introduced to many new medical and surgical specialities such as dermatology, ophthalmology and orthopaedics. 

 

Each speciality placement was 2 to 3 weeks long and compared to third year we attended more clinics where we could learn about the management of the diseases.  

All our lectures that year were online and all our contact hours were spent in hospitals. A typical day would consist of attending the ward rounds and morning or afternoon clinics, observing surgeries if they were scheduled and listening to the online lectures. Having covered most specialities by the end of fourth year, I was able to make links and find similarities between specialities as well as in the diagnosis and management of the diseases. 

That brings us to today, about the start my fifth year in a few weeks! Now let's discuss the Birmingham Medical School application process.

APPLYING TO BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

The application process when applying for medicine can seem like a lot, but hang in there! The first thing to consider is your personal statement. This is the part of your application that can really make you stand out from other applicants. For your personal statement the main goal is to show who you are and your motivation for wanting to study medicine. The personal statement needs to persuade admissions that you deserve a place at medical school.
 

Secondly, you need to focus on the interview and start preparing early! Below I break down some key points I think will help you ace your medical school interview!  

THE BIRMINGHAM MEDICAL SCHOOL INTERVIEW

MULTIPLE MINI INTERVIEWS (MMI)

This interview consists of different interview stations that are time-based. The applicant will go through a series of short timed based stations. You will be given around 2 minutes before each station to prepare your answer.

MMI QUESTION TYPES:

• Ethics: for this question, the interviewer is looking to see how the applicant communicates in the situation. You might be presented with a medical issue and you will need to show that you can communicate effectively and ethically with the patient.
• Data interpretation: these questions are designed to test your ability to do simple calculations. 
• Communication based: these are designed to see how well the applicant communicates with another person. 
• Motivation & understanding of medicine: this station is designed to show that you understand what it means to work in health care. You should discuss the challenges faced by doctors and relate them back to your own experiences. 
• Personal qualities: for this station, you should focus on your work experience and time when you were caring for people going through a hard time. This is your time to show the skills you have obtained from caring for others. You should show that you can work with and manage patients effectively. 
• Role play: the role play simulation station is where you will actually act our a scenario with an actor. You should show strong communication skills here and show that you can effectively manage the situation. 

Throughout the various stations, you should focus on your own experiences while showing why you want to study medicine and become a doctor. Some of the stations may require working in teams to show that you can effectively work in a group. Overall, the main thing to focus on is staying calm and just keep practising!

I hope that I have given you a brief insight into what being at medical school entails. It is hard work with peaks and troughs but you will work hard and play hard. Who knows, maybe I will run into one of you at Birmingham in the future?


We hope you found this information useful in helping you get a sneak peek into life as a Birmingham Medical School Student. If you have any questions or need advice don’t hesitate to email us at [email protected].