Welcome to the 8th week of the Virtual Medicine Open Day: giving you an insight into each of the UK medical schools and the opportunity to ask current medical students about the realities of studying there!
This post is written by Shantanu Kundu a 2nd year medical student at Liverpool.
Medicine at Liverpool has been a great experience so far. From the course to the people, the hospitals to the city, Liverpool offers a lot to any aspiring medic. This post will explore the course, atmosphere and give you an insight into life as a Liverpool student doctor.
Contents
- An Overview of Teaching Methods
- Typical Timetable of a 1st year Medical Student at Liverpool
- The Non-Medical Stuff
- Pros
- Cons
- 3 Top Tips For Applying to Liverpool
- Q&A
An Overview of How We Are Taught
Originally, I wasn’t sure how medicine was going to be taught at Liverpool. Much to my surprise, I really love the course and the way it has been structured. The first two years focus on physiology and pathophysiology whilst providing 6 weeks of placement in hospital within year 2. The course is integrated with a mix of lectures, small group teaching and Case Based Learning (Basically the same as PBL but with a more patient friendly word). The first two years are taught system by system.
3rd year onwards are mostly clinical with lectures and small group teaching provided at hospitals and on campus in short bursts. All the sessions are really interactive, and all the lectures are recorded. Clinical skills are taught heavily in the first two years. You get it once every few weeks in first year and then once a week in second year. Here you have the opportunity to learn skills in a safe place (normally on dummies or each other).
The team are friendly, bubbly and super helpful. Lectures in first year are on physiology, public health, psychology/sociology and the history of medicine. Second year, lectures cover pathophysiology and most of these lectures are provided by Consultants from University Hospitals. Anatomy is taught for the first two years in the Human Anatomy Resource Centre. Pro-sections of cadavers are used to aid learning and you get sessions every couple of weeks. There are also online quizzes and resources that help learning.
A Typical Timetable of a 1st Year Medic
The Non-Medical Stuff
Liverpool is a vibrant city that offers so much to all its students. First off, the medical school are really pro-active. They have recently refurbished the School of Medicine, providing amazing facilities for social gatherings and self-study. There are plenty of modern accommodation blocks on campus and there are private ones too. The Liverpool Guild consists of students from universities across Liverpool. There are lots of societies to get involved with as well as meeting new people at events. Liverpool is also improving a lot of its mental health resources. I run a mental health charity called the Be Free Campaign that does a lot of work with mental health in the North West. There are many societies, charities and university resources that can help look after you when you get here. Liverpool is a picturesque city with lots to offer in terms of tourism, live music and edgy shops. My picks would be Bold St where you can see amazing restaurants, boutique shops as well as my favourite live music venue, Jimmy’s. Liverpool is also famous for music with the Cavern Club and Parr St Studios for anyone who wants to try that!
Pros of Studying at Liverpool
• Liverpool has so much to offer. The new Dean, Prof Hazel Scott is amazing and is really changing the University for the better. She has introduced a new course, new buildings and really cares for and listens to all of her students. The course is also great with lots of support from lecturers and year leads, there’s always someone there to help.
• The city is by far one of the best in the country. It’s not too busy and expensive but has lots to do and has a blend of urban landmarks and beaches. Medicine is a vocational course; you will spend at least 5 years at an University. You want to make sure it is a great place to live, has great hospitals and is somewhere you want to be. Liverpool was the best choice for me.
• It has lots of hospitals that are very well known (Alder Hey, Royal Liverpool and Aintree) as well as recently being filmed for two series of BBC’s Hospital and the most recent series of Ambulance. It is a lovely welcoming city to be in and you will never regret it.
Cons of Studying at Liverpool
• You don’t have as much support. Whilst there is so much to love, University is a big change from School or College. You very rarely meet one on one with professors or tutors and self-motivation is what you need to get through it. This is something that will be hard wherever you go, so it’s about building a strong support network and trying your best. Help is out there if you need it, it’s just about being proactive in getting it.
• Unfortunately in the first year there isn’t much experience in hospital. There is one taster day but this doesn’t offer a clinical environment in which one would want to get used to. Second year does make up for it though!
• Whilst the HARC team are great, personally I don’t think learning through prosections is best for my learning. I think dissection would be better for my learning. Liverpool isn’t the only medical school that offers it and some of the newer medical schools will only offer a computer based anatomy course with 3d models.
3 Top Tips For Applying to Liverpool
1. Make sure you have a strong personal statement. Liverpool focusses heavily on the personal statement pre-interview and has a station on it in the Interview too!
2. Make sure you are up to date on your healthcare awareness. Liverpool and a lot of Universities will have a station on this.
3. Make sure medicine is the right course for you, most interviewers can tell if you aren’t fully into it.
Thank you Shantanu for writing all about Liverpool! Find out more about his campaign here:
Your Turn To Ask Any Questions!
Thank you for submitting your questions, they’ve now been answered by a current student – click below to read the answers!
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