Glasgow to educate St Andrews medics, what is your view?

[Operation Deep Freeze]

just read from the glasgow uni news page:
http://www.gla.ac.uk:443/newsdesk/stories.cfm?PRID=3877

St Andrews has sent its medical students to Manchester for clinical training for the last thirty years. In the near future, 100 will complete clinical training at the other four Scottish medical schools.

And Glasgow is to educate the largest proportion of them, 50.
Edinburgh University will receive 30 students, while Dundee and Aberdeen will take 10 each.

So is it the end to the St. Andrews - Manchester arrangement?
Would you rather go to other Scottish med schools or to Manchester?

[Helen_485]

We've known for quite a while that this was in the pipeline, that most students from St Andrews will in the near future be staying in Scotland for their clinical training. Obviously this is an end to the St Andrews/Manchester arrangement, that's the point.

I personally wouldn't mind staying in Scotland, it would be cheaper travel wise and more convenient since I come from Aberdeenshire - but for that reason I would NOT be going to Aberdeen. Fab med school, too close to home. However, I applied to St Andrews knowing I would be most likely studying in Manchester for the final 3 years as that is part of the course as it stands now.
Essentially Glasgow has a very similar course structure to Manchester (PBL), which is why I suspect it will be getting the largest proportion. It's also a larger med school than the others I think.

[kjh*]

Yea I'm quite happy that they've changed it to Scottish Med schools can't say I was all that fond of the idea of going to Manchester for 3 years just because it would be so far away from home.

[Babli]

im glad cuz den maybe deyrs a chance my friend will com bak 2 glasgow in 3 yrs time. it wud b nice 2 b studyin at same uni.

[Anna P]

So do no St Andrews student go to Manchester any more? What percentage go to Manchester and what percentage stay in Scotland?

[callymck]

I think I'm right in saying at the moment everyone at St Andrews goes to Mancester......we are all just waiting for the Scottish uni thing to come in to practise.....please correct me if i'm wrong!

[Helen_485]

No you're basically right - everyone is guaranteed a place at Manchester and though some people do apply elsewhere there's no guarantee and not that many places at the moment (it depends on how many people have dropped out, whether the uni was oversubscribed that year etc.) - the vast majority of every year does go on to Manchester atm with just a few people going to Edinburgh, London, Cambridge etc.
This is set to change in the (not too distant) future but they haven't even decided exactly how it would work yet so it is a few years off yet.

[callymck]

So do you think that if we entered in 2007, we would be still going to Mancester or staying up hear somewhere? I loved St Andrews (had my interview yesterday) and I would love to go there if I got in, the only thing putting me off is family issues with having to move so far away. x

[Helen_485]

I'm sorry I really don't know...all we know is that the change is in the pipeline to come into place soon, and that since my year applied to and were accepted onto the St Andrews-Manchester course, we are guaranteed places at Manchester whatever happens.
Even if the change isn't totally in place for next year's first year, it may be the case that there are more places available for people who want to apply to the other scottish med schools for their clinical years, giving you a better chance of getting in somewhere else and not having to go to Manchester.
I was kind of put off by how far away Manchester is from home too, but you can get pretty cheap last minute flights if you need to get home quick, and by the time we're doing our clinical training wherever we are we won't be able to go home every weekend or anything anyway.

[cjayne]

So do you think that if we entered in 2007, we would be still going to Mancester or staying up hear somewhere? I loved St Andrews (had my interview yesterday) and I would love to go there if I got in, the only thing putting me off is family issues with having to move so far away. x

us first years were told that this change would be applying from our year if all goes as planned! So I think you should be fine. ALthough we won't know until it is all set in stone. I hope that we get to stay here, it's amazing here!