What to Expect at Medical School

You got the offer, and you’re coming to Nottingham! You might be wondering what’s coming next. Coming to university is one of the most stressful things, and having at least a bit of an idea about what to expect can really help to ease some of your worries. Here in this guide, we’ll give a brief overview of what to expect at medical school.

When You Get Your Offer:

Once you’ve got your offer, you’ll be expected to do a DBS check. This costs £46, with the amount payable upon you starting the course. You’ll also need to sort out your accommodation for the coming year. You can stay on campus in catered accommodation, off campus university accommodation that’s self catered, or organise your own accommodation through a private landlord. Find more details here

You’ll also need to send off your photo for your student card.

Once You Get Here:

Once you get to Nottingham, your first week will be focused on settling in and moving in to your accommodation. You’ll have an induction week, where you’ll receive a welcome talk.

There’s usually lots of welcome week activities run by the student union, so keep an eye out on the website for these!

You will also be paired with a personal tutor, a member of staff who will support you throughout your medical school journey, with the opportunity to discuss your progress with them. You will be allocated a peer mentor, a student from the year above who has been trained in supporting you. Finally, you’ll be given a medic parent, a more informal connection with the year above.

There is a myriad of support available to you.

Semester 1:

Teaching will start the week after welcome week. In your first semester, you’ll be revisiting topics from A-level, such as enzymes and proteins, as well as new topics such as embryology and pharmacology. Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything straight away! You’re still settling in and getting used to the demands of university life.

During your first semester, you will have two formative exams: usually one in October, and one in December, six weeks apart.

These exams are purely for your own benefit - the marks do not count towards anything other than giving yourself an opportunity to experience exam-style questions and to assess your understanding of the content covered.

In your first semester, you will also be contacted by occupational health. In order to be cleared for placements in general practice and hospital rotations, you will be asked to have a series of vaccinations. You will be offered the hepatitis B vaccination, which is three vaccines spread over semester one and two, and the TB vaccination, usually having to have a blood test before being given it. The university’s GP service may also offer you the MenACWY vaccine if you have not already had it. If you are anxious or worried about having your blood drawn, or scared of needles, don’t worry, you’re allowed to take a friend with you for some support.

You will also have some clinical skills sessions, which will go over some basics like hand washing, pulse taking and how to take someone’s blood pressure. These will usually be done in the clinical skills centre of the medical school. In semester 1, you will also be given an introduction to the dissection room.

Semester 2:

After your Christmas break, your anatomy teaching begins! This might be the part where you really feel like you’re preparing to be a doctor. Each week of teaching will have an accompanying case study, which will be relevant to and feed into what you’re learning that week. In your practical sessions, you’ll be able to look at pro-sections of the anatomy that you’re learning about. Once again, you will have two formative exams covering the content that you’ve learnt about.

At the end of semester two, usually in June, you will have your summative exams. You need to pass these exams in order to proceed into year two. If you fail an exam, there are opportunities for resits in the summer/early autumn. These exams will cover all of the content that you have learnt over the past year. Teaching usually ends in early May, so you will have ample time to revise.

Overall, medicine at Nottingham is really fun, exciting and rewarding. You have so many opportunities to join great societies and to really engage with the topics that you’re interested in. I hope you have the best time!

As always, if you want to share any of your experiences at medical school with us, email us at welfarehub.nottsmed@gmail.com. If you’re struggling with any other issues, have a look at our website to find some resources that may help you.