Hi! I’m Maria and I’ve just started 4 th year at Dundee and so I want to give a current students
perspective on life here, because I know how daunting it can be when you are applying to
know what to really expect!
City and Atmosphere
Dundee, in my opinion, is a great city to be a student in. It isn’t huge, but it does have plenty of independent cafes, and pubs if that’s what you’re in to. It also has nice parks and greenspaces.
In terms of location, reaching the bigger cities like Glasgow or Edinburgh can be really easywith good bus and train links. The free bus travel for under 22s in Scotland is also a huge perk!
Most students stay either in the city centre or west end, and this means your friends are all close by – I’ve personally spent under £20 on taxis in my whole time here – it’s very walkable and there is a definite student atmosphere and feel.
Dundee is also Scotland’s sunniest city, and people can affectionately refer to it as ‘Sundee’. It has absolutely beautiful sunsets and sunrises that you can watch over the River Tay. It’s also just been voted the most affordable city to live in in the UK – and so I think that’sdefinitely a point to factor in, your student loan can stretch further here!
The medical school is based in Ninewells hospital, and so there is quite a good community feel in that regard as you are always together with your peers.
Course and Teaching Style
The course at Dundee is split into Years 1-3 being more pre-clinical and the Years 4-5 being your clinical years. Dundee uses a systems approach to teaching.
The first semester of first year is called Foundations. This covers the fundamental science and background knowledge required to study medicine, ensuring everyone is on the same page having come from different education systems prior to university.
After that, you tackle a body system at a time. For example, in cardio block, you will learn all the physiology, anatomy, pathology, disease management etc of the heart in lectures and tutorials, while also learning the relevant examinations in clinical skills. Each block lead is a consultant in that speciality and therefore if you are particularly interested, there is easy access to the relevant clinicians.
In addition, you get specific GP teaching around once a fortnight, where your small groupmeets with an assigned GP and you go over interesting cases or ethical dilemmas etc. Anatomy teaching at Dundee is unique to any other medical school. We do full body dissection using Theil-embalmed cadavers which is a method that allows them to retain life-like flexible tissues.
There is also some clinical exposure in Years 1-3. You get ward-based teaching once a semester. In first year you are paired with a local patient, who you get
to interview. Dundee also has an open ward policy. This means there are specific wards where students can attend at any point from 1 st year, and speak to real patients at any time. 4 th and 5 th Year are full time placement based. You rotate through lots of specialities, giving you a rounded experience of clinical work.
Intercalation
In Dundee after 3 rd year you have the opportunity to Intercalate if you decide. There are many options that Dundee provides such as Medical Education and Anatomy but you can also apply to one at a different university if that is something you would be interested in.
Student Life. Clubs and Societies
Dundee has so many societies that there will be something to suit everyone. Lots of sports, such as Volleyball or Frisbee, as well as non-sport societies such as Board Games or certain charities. You can also be simply a social member for many societies – which can be a great fun way to make friends without having to commit to a sport if that’s not your thing!
The medical society is called DUMS and they arrange lots of events throughout the year, including a Winter and Summer Ball. They also arrange Medic Family events – where first years are adopted by years above, who show them around the city, make sure they have a good time and can be a source of support over the year, especially when it comes to exam season!
As well, pretty much every medical speciality you can think of has its own society. There’s surgery, emergency medicine, ophthalmology, obs & gynae and many more. If there’s a speciality you’re interested in you can get involved, they often run events throughout the year which can be really interesting and motivating.
Student Support
Dundee has members of staff in the medical school whose specific role is student support. There is also lots of informal student support from years above. As a whole, I feel the medical school is very supportive – they want us all to graduate and there is lots of avenues of support should you need it – financially, emotionally or academically.
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