Birmingham Section Up and running!

[pwt261]

Hi to any Birmingham Students!
My name is Phil and I'm a final year student at Birmingham. Over the next few months Myself and Bethan are going to make this section of the site really useful to you - adding notes on clinical conditions, advice for exams, electives, FY1 applications and more. Keep an eye on the download manager at the op of the screen for when new files go online. We hope to make it a great aid to revision by including stuff about what you actually need to know presented in a basic, note-format. If you think you'd like to help us set up the site leave a reply to this thread.

Hope to see you around

Phil

[medschoolentry]

hi

I am interested in getting some more information about birmingham medical school.
I am looking to apply to medical school next year and wanted to suss out which are the best medical schools and which ones to avoid.
I've heard good things about birmingham. As your there can you tell me what it is like and what the admission levels are ( a level results).

thanks
medschoolentry

[pwt261]

HI

Birmingham Med school is really good!
Its a long slog but the clinical teaching is generally very good. There are loads of hospitals in the midlands and some really cool specialist centres of excellence. There's also a brand new super-hosptial being built which will be one of the biggest and best in Europe.
The anatomy teaching is a bit dodgy and you dont get 'you own' body like some other places but generally is really good. There are also some brand new facilities (lecture theatres, canteen, etc etc) which have just opened and are awesome.
Entry is 3 A's + 5A* at GCSE - pretty tough but if you get an interview yiou're pretty much in as long as you dont make a tit of yourself.

Hope that helps

Phil

[bethansara]

Hi everybody,

I'm Bethan, and as Phil mentioned we are going to work together to try and make this bit of the website useful to all medical students. We'll start off with loading some of our work up on to the site and hopefully get the ball rolling so that other students can join and contribute as well. So if anyone wants to get involved then please let us know by registering to this website and then you can reply to this message. Phil's said the rest.

Wicked, hope to see the emails flooding in! (or 1 would be a good start!)
Cheers
Beth

[medschoolentry]

hi phil

thanks for the information.
The course at birmingham sounds great. Can you tell me if it is an intercalated course.
I have spoken to a couple of friends who say that at the moment it is quite competitive getting jobs and that if you have an intercalated bsc then you are a better playing field to compete for these jobs.
I have never thought that unemployed junior doctors would be a reality but thinking ahead of the game maybe i need to do a course that has an extra bsc component to give me a good head start.

would appreciate your opinions

[pwt261]

Hi Medschool Entry

You can certainly intercalate at Birimingham. Lots of students do it between 2nd and 3rd year or 3rd and 4th or even 4th and 5th. However unlike say Notingham its not a given part of the course- you have to take a year aside to do it - but lots of students (50 per year) do so. You will usualy get some funding to help out wth costs and its a good way of taking some time out, going travelling etc (all in the guise of research!)
Yes people say that its harder to get a job without of BSc but thats propbably not strictly true. It would help but there are otherr ways of setting yourself up well like winning prizes, writing articles for journals, getting honours etc! even without them it may be only the most competitive jobs that wont be as easy to get and by the time you qualify it will all probably have changed anyway!

Hope that helps

Phil

[anthonyweeks]

There seems to be quite a balaned debate on the worth of intercalation. I guess you need to weigh up the cost of an extra year of being stuck in medical school not earning anything against the ease of actually finding a job at the end of it.

I wish the Government would sort the situation out. I hate worrying about actually getting a job after my registration years. After all they spend training us, it really sucks. They need to somehow reduce the number of foreign doctors working here, many of which dont even seem to be able to speak the language properly. Oh well, i have a few years to wait so hopefully things will be sorted by then. Otherwise, ill leave the world of medicine as a protest towards the situation and become an investment banker of something!