Pros and cons of Nottingham med school?

Original post by houseelf

Hi all,

Ok, I know these threads have been done to death, but I'd still like to see some current/former students' opinions on what've been the best/worst things about studying medicine at Nottingham. I'm thinking of turning down offers at UCL and Newcastle in favour of Notts, so I've got to feel confident that I'm making the right decision!

As a starting point, here are a couple of the things that're bothering me:

- From what I gathered from reading the prospectus, the course is lighter on neuroscience/neurology than some others. This is one of my bigger interests within medicine, so could anyone reassure me that my neuro education won't suffer for choosing Notts?

- Several sources have mentioned the distance from the city to some of the clinical placements, and I've seen some students advising that a car might be necessary in the later years. I don't plan to learn to drive, let alone own a car, until after university - will this make it hard for me to get to suitable placements?

- Overall, do you feel like the standard of medical education you're receiving at Nottingham is as good as you would have received elsewhere?

Just some questions as a starting point, but really I want to hear about all the pros and cons you can think of!

hey! did you manage to get any feedback in the end? and which other unis are you considering? im on the fence between kings and nottingham at the moment, and no idea which one to pick :s-smilie:

!

*edit* oh im an idiot, clearly you have firmed notts now :tongue:

. what made you decide? :smile:

*edit* erm was the neg for saying 'notts'??

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 2

hey, I'm not applying for medicine at Nottingham, buuut i am from Nottingham so i can advise on your second query.
Its not that far away from the city, its about a 10/15 minute bus journey, probably not even that.

Also, all of that stuff that you might have heard about the reputation as "shottingham" is rubbish, its actually a really great city.

Reply 3

I know a few medical students and my Judo instructor has just qualified from it.

1) Medical degrees are largely standardised. They will cover neurology, as they have to.

2) I know a guy who did his placements in Mansfield, he needed a car but he shared it with six other medical students so it wasn't very expensive.

Also, just so you know, the abbreviation for Nottingham is Nott'm, Notts means Nottinghamshire.

Reply 4

houseelf

OP

Original post by periwinkle304

hey! did you manage to get any feedback in the end? and which other unis are you considering? im on the fence between kings and nottingham at the moment, and no idea which one to pick :s-smilie:

!

*edit* oh im an idiot, clearly you have firmed notts now :tongue:

. what made you decide? :smile:

I was torn between UCL and Nottingham, so I know how hard it is! For me, there were three deciding factors:

1) The fact that my (fairly limited!) student finance would stretch to a generally more enjoyable time at Nottingham than in London.

2) Nottingham's amazing reputation for anatomy teaching - particularly important for me as I'm considering surgery!

3) I'm more familiar with Nottingham as a university, and I can honestly say I haven't yet found one thing I dislike about it. I'm sure that may change over the next 5 years, but hey!

I hope you make up your mind soon, and maybe I'll see you here come September!

Reply 5

houseelf

OP

Original post by Einheri

I know a few medical students and my Judo instructor has just qualified from it.

1) Medical degrees are largely standardised. They will cover neurology, as they have to.

2) I know a guy who did his placements in Mansfield, he needed a car but he shared it with six other medical students so it wasn't very expensive.

Also, just so you know, the abbreviation for Nottingham is Nott'm, Notts means Nottinghamshire.

Thanks for the reply. :smile:

I know the neurology concern was largely an unfounded one, but considering UCL is fairly heavy on it, it still felt right to ask about it. From what I can see from the module descriptions, though, Nottingham has more than I realised!

It's good to hear about your car-sharing guy! I suppose I'd just be one of the 6 in the passenger's seat!

Ah, wasn't aware of that. I've seen Nottingham med school referred to as "Notts" plenty of times on here. Thanks for the info! :smile:

Reply 6

COSMICDOLPHIN

Original post by Einheri

I know a few medical students and my Judo instructor has just qualified from it.

1) Medical degrees are largely standardised. They will cover neurology, as they have to.

2) I know a guy who did his placements in Mansfield, he needed a car but he shared it with six other medical students so it wasn't very expensive.

Also, just so you know, the abbreviation for Nottingham is Nott'm, Notts means Nottinghamshire.

Notts is used widely as an abbreviation for Nottingham.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Notts

Reply 7

Original post by COSMICDOLPHIN

Notts is used widely as an abbreviation for Nottingham.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Notts

Widespread usage doesn't make it any less incorrect, which it most definately is - many, many people say and write "I shouldn't of" instead of "I shouldn't have", they'd still be wrong even if they were in the majority. The only people who say 'Notts' are people who don't know any better (generally southerners here for univeristy), if you said that to a local they'd assume you meant Nottinghamshire. The established and official abbreviation for the city is Nott'm, Notts is the county of Nottinghamshire.

If you sent a letter with the address abbreviated it'd be:

Einheri,
University of Nottingham,
Nott'm,
Notts

Not:

Einheri,
University of Nottingham,
Notts,
Notts

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 8

Wanischa

16

Like it matter what is the correct abbreviation of Nottingham is.

Reply 9

Fission_Mailed

15

The placements are all throughout the Trent deanery, but this is no different to any other medical school outside of London in terms of distance. Accommodation is provided in the week if you are going to be based outside of Nottingham for any length of time.

Reply 10

Original post by Einheri

, if you said that to a local they'd assume you meant Nottinghamshire. The established and official abbreviation for the city is Nott'm, Notts is the county of Nottinghamshire.

thats not true... lol
i've lived in nottingham all of my life and have always shortened it to notts, as do all of my friends and family. but to be honest, it doesn't actually matter....

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 11

Original post by Sponge357

thats not true... lol
iv loved in nottingham all of my life and have always shorted it to notts, as do all of my friends and family. but to be honest, it doesn't actually matter....

Then you, your friends, and your family are stupid - about as stupid as your spelling, if you want to put a value to your stupidity.

Reply 12

Original post by Einheri

Then you, your friends, and your family are stupid - about as stupid as your spelling, if you want to put a value to your stupidity.

sorry, you don't know me, so you cant call me stupid.
have you never made spelling mistakes before in your life?
jeeeeze. there is no need for that! what a prick

Reply 13

like the abbreviation even matters..

Reply 14

Original post by Sponge357

sorry, you don't know me, so you cant call me stupid.

I just did, so I guess that I can.

Reply 15

jeeze man, chill.
all I was saying was that the locals would understand what he meant if he were to abbreviate it to notts instead of nott'm.. didn't realise that was worthy of such abuse...
**** you.

Reply 16

Fission_Mailed

15

What the hell does the abbreviation have to do with the pros and cons or the medical school?

OP, Nott'm ( :rolleyes:

) is bloody brilliant, I can't imagine being anywhere else. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

Reply 17

houseelf

OP