I'm Jess, and I've just graduated from Manchester Uni so wanted to share some of my experiences.
Overall, I've absolutely LOVED my time in Manchester - I've made friends for life, tried things I'd never thought I could do, and learnt loads on the way. It's a super vibrant city, with loads of art, nightlife, incredible food and amazing people. It's not a place you would get bored in (which is really important when the
the course is so long!). It is a big and fast paced place so would be suited to people who favour this environment, but there's also lots of incredible walks and landscaped nearby (like the peak district) if you need a break. The Uni is close to the city (30min walk from the centre) but also has a campus feel - it's the best of both worlds in terms of location. There are also so many societies so it's easy to meet like minded people.
In terms of the medical course, it is taught in two parts - the pre-clinical years 1 and 2 , then three clinical years on placement. This is fairly typical for med schools although there will be some with earlier placement exposure (although I felt it was good to get a solid knowledge base first). The teaching style for pre-clinical is PBL - problem based learning - which focuses on self-directed learning, teamwork and interpersonal skills. Basically this means you are in learning groups with a tutor and you create your own learning objectives based on a given case. In some ways this is good as it allows active learning and you can help each other fill in the gaps, but I did find it a bit stressful not having a distinct set of subjects to cover each week. Thus, if you favour group learning and using your own initiative then this would be good for you.
A place Manchester excels is in the communication teaching - you start in first year with simulated patients to work on history taking and examination skills which is really useful. We also had full body dissection which was a really good way to learn anatomy and not many other unis have this.
As it is one of the biggest med schools in the UK, it can feel a little impersonal and disorganised, however you are split into 4 hospital groups from third year onwards so you can get to know people better. On that note - it's important to be aware that some of the year group will be allocated Preston as a base hospital - which requires moving there instead of Manchester. Students mostly end up enjoying this, but it's worth taking into account.
Overall, I would recommend going to Manchester, mainly for the city, but the med school also managed to get us through it!
Feel free to email me at jessica.beresford@medicsandme.com if you have any questions :)
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