Questions about medicine

Hi!

I'm an international student and I'm really new to this so I really hope u could gv me some help as I'm really considering to take medicine. Sorry if some of my questions sounds nonsense.

1 How many hours of lecture per day? Do you hv lecture evryday of the week?
2 Wht time does the lectures usually strt and end?
3 Would there b time for approx. 45mins workout? R u allowed to use the uni's gym? (If they hv one)
4 Do med students hv the summer off?
5 What kind of accommodation do u recommend? (shared flats, studio, etc)
6 How would u know which n what books u nid to buy or borrow frm the library?
7 During clinical yrs, what is the working hours? Again, could u squeeze in some time for exercise?
8 During clinical yrs, wht is the proper attire? Is pants allowed? (For a girl. As in like formal pants of course
9 Can I get a scholarship? Will the uni notify n help me or do I hv to do everything by myself?
10 How many hours of personal studies per day excluding lecture hrs?

My choices of universities
-U of Edinburgh
-U of Newcastle
-U of Leicester
-U of Southampton

Thank you so much for your help in advance! :biggrin:

Reply 1

Kvothe the Arcane

Original post by chrisc117

Hi!

This thread/forum is just for current med students. I've reported your post to be moved to an appropriate forum where your questions will be answered :biggrin:

Reply 2

Hype en Ecosse

Original post by chrisc117

Hi!

Edinburgh student here, I'll answer your questions here, but a mod will move these posts to a different thread when they're ready. :smile:

1. The number of lectures you have vary depending on where you are in the course. In first semester, I'd have almost 4 or 5 hours of lectures a day. That died down in 2nd semester, and now in 2nd year, I've got maybe 1.5 hours of lectures a day on avg (i.e. you have some days with no lectures, but other days with 2 or 3). This dies down even more going into the clinical years.

2. Depends on the day. This will be the case with every uni.

3. There's plenty of time for that. You're allowed to use the uni gym (£104 a year for a full year's membership);

4. Yes, but it depends on your year. You get 3-4 months off in 1st, 2nd and intercalating year. In 3rd year, 4th and 5th year you get much less (ranging from about 1-2 months, to a week). Again, this is generally the case at all medical schools.

5. Whatever suits your needs. Do your own research.

6. The assumption you should make is that you don't need to buy any books and the library has them all. The only case in which you should buy a book is if you use it with extremely high frequency and it's a RESERVE copy.
There aren't set textbooks. The medical school recommend you ones, but everyone has their own preference of textbooks. Just use whichever you like, and whichever covers the material appropriately.

7. Can't comment on exact working hours, but yes, you have time for exercise.

8. Formal trousers are allowed, yes. Appropriate attire is generally anything your granny would be happy with her doctor wearing. This goes for clinical placements throughout 1st and 2nd year as well.
Policies on ties and "bare below the elbows" varies depending on where you are. But generally, if you're in the hospital, nothing that dangles like ties, and your sleeves should be rolled up. You can get away with it at the GPs, though - depending on the GP.

9. All info regarding student support is on the uni's website. Go look for it.

10. Depends on the student. Some do very little; some do a lot. Whatever works for you, as long as you get the work done.

11. Please write in proper sentences. You're asking us to answer a lot of questions for you; it'd be nice if you gave us enough respect to do that.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 3

Neostigmine

Original post by chrisc117

Hi!

I am a Southampton student so will answer these from a Soton perspective:

1) This varies - in first and second year you have lectures almost every day - the occasional day off especially in second year for self directed learning, and perhaps a few days with only practicals. You can have between 1 hour and 7 hours of lectures a day, and sometimes you'll have practicals/placement/tutorials etc mixed in too. It really depends on the week! We also have symposia where it's like a lecture that lasts 3 hours but we have patients come in to talk to us/discussion.

In 3rd year you have small teaching sessions with your consultant while on placement and lectures only on Fridays and the number of lectures seems to reduce each year after.

2) This will vary with the day you're having. Our lectures are 45 minutes long and can start from 9am. The latest you'll have is 4pm-4.45pm, although sometimes they run over a little.

3) As we're only in lectures at most from 9 - 5 and the gym is open early to late, I would definitely say there is time!! We get every Wednesday afternoon off for sport anyway :yes:

. There is an awesome uni gym that is £120 for the year. Students get an "entitlement card" which is worth £300 and you can spend it anywhere on campus, including the gym, so you can use that to pay for it too :yes:

.

4) Yep, though it depends on the year and resits. If you are resitting, then resits are in August so you don't get much time off. However if you pass your exams then you get 4 months off at the end of 1st year, 3 months off at the end of 2nd year.... and then it gets smaller and smaller :sadnod:

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5) Depends on you and what you like! If you like living with a lot of people, do! If you don't, don't! It can be useful as a tool to get to know people but I didn't live in halls and I got to know people through other ways.

6) We get an extensive reading list, but most things are only relevant for a short time. Many people like to get a single anatomy and physiology book, but it is something you'll figure out when you get here. All the good books are well stocked in the library or on line, and if you find yourself getting it out a lot it might be worth buying but probably not if it's in the library! I wouldn't recommend buying books before you start :nah:

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7) The hours are longer in clinical years but most people find time for exercise :yes:

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8) Yes pants/trousers are just fine. Girls seem to have a lot more room for variety than the lads! Lots of girls wear smart trousers and a pretty top (remember bare below elbow and not revealing). Otherwise, smart dresses or skirts (not too short) and a top - pretty much anything as long as it is smart and tidy. :yes:

9)This will depend entirely on the university and how they allocate them. You're best off looking for that info on the uni website.

10) Depends. I lived with 2 girls last year and the 3 of us had very different methods. One girl worked all the time. Not really hard, but she was always doing something. The other did nothing until the night before deadlines/week before exams but had to work really hard during that time. I was somewhere in between. You have to find what works for you. The danger with being one end of the spectrum or the other is some people work too much all the time and burn out, and others misjudge how much they can get done the night before and end up failing. It's up to you.