Sheffield for grads?

[algy_lacey]

Hey algy_lacey, good luck with the results and all your exams! (sorry im a bit late!) you must be very stressed

Not now I passed, so I can relax! One great thing about Sheffield is that they are very fast about getting exam results out. They got these results to us just one week after the exams.

do you get time off over christmas?

I get a month off over Christmas this year, if you count from the end of exams until the first day back (although we are expected to stick around until results are out, just in case...) Makes up for not having a long summer break this year

do you do your clinical practice in sheffield? I have a friend who just finished and she worked in rotherham/chesterfield/other such places.

Unless you have a very good reason (children or health problems), you'll have at least some placements outside of Sheffield itself. So far, the only non-Sheffield hospital that I've had a placement in is S****horpe, which I didn't like very much (but one of my friends really liked), but next year I'll spend time in Chesterfield and Doncaster hospitals, as well as a GP surgery near Barnsley.

algy_lacey, were you a grad too when you started?

Yes - I had a 2:1 in Biological Sciences from Oxford. However, I hadn't decided I wanted to do Medicine until after that year's deadline had passed, so I ended up taking nearly a year to get my application together and then another year to apply/get a place. I spent most of those two years working as a healthcare assistant because I wanted to be sure that I didn't hate sick people! (I don't )

[mayaaa]

bailey1 thats quite an interesting change of career! isnt vet sciences ridiculously hard to get into as well? totally know what you mean about london compared to the fresh peak-districty air...and the fact that you can see stars at night (dont know why thats such a big deal for me but aparently it is!)

o my degree was in architecture (yes, how relevent indeed)
it was pretty hard core, and i loved it, but i realized at the end that i don't want to be an architect! and im in a very similar situation to algy_lacey as I only decided I wanted to do medicine just after the september after I had finished, so have been working as a midwives assistant for a year now at kings.

oo well done for the exams algy_lacey!!
ive heard about s****horpe! (not great things!) and randomly, i go up to chesterfield every couple of weeks, as my band is based around there (which is quite awkward, as its quite far!) love that crooked spire!

[AussieBoy]

Hi,

Bit late to this thread, but I started in 2006 as a mature student alongside Steve (Gday Mr Barratt). I since transferred to another course (now a 2nd year) so have a bit of an insight into how the course compares (with one other...)

Comments
Lots (but not too many) mature students (in my year at least). Good mix, nice people.
I loved living back in Sheffield - it's my home town and I was sad to leave (nice pubs, countryside, handy housing, atmosphere, etc).
Good course: dissection really helped me learn anatomy (don't have it here and I miss it); not PBL (PBL interns are looked on with suspicion by regs etc); very light work load (cf other med school)... one exam in three parts in Phase 1A and it was actually easier than my undergrad biomed exam (which may well be a bad thing btw), three assignments. Here it's 8 assignments a year in P1 and five exams... endless stuff on top.
I liked the teaching staff (lecture content quality very high) and the head of year and course were excellent IMHO.
The guys in my year sorted out MedSoc.
Minerva's good.
Lots of (understandable) focus on professionalism which as a mature student you may find similar to sucking eggs and a bit disempowering
Too many students for the facilities (and hospitals) but that seems to be a global phenomenon

Overall, I would have no qualms in recommending Sheffield for mature students.

[Bailey1]

Hi AussieBoy - thanks for the reply! Just a few questions, did you find that as a mature student that within the year there was segregation between the 18 year olds and the older students? I am struggling to decide whether a grad program might be better as chances are people will be similar in attitudes to work etc but I really want to go to sheffield! Did they arrange any mature/grad nights or events during freshers that you can remember, so all the 'older' ppl had a chance to meet up?
Thanks!

[AussieBoy]

Hi Bailey 1,

There are a few factors in play. Being a mature student puts you on a continuum depending on your age and "life status" (do you have kids, a mortgage etc - not sure what else to call it).

If you're 26 and single, there will most likely be plenty of straight from school students who are well balanced enough to hang out with. Some simply didn't want to know... even tricky to engage some in a civilised manner in pracs.

If you're 40 and have two kids, you probably wouldn't want to be heading out on the lash every night even if it were possible. When I was there (06/07) there were no structured mature student get togethers per se. I met a few on here and we hooked up in lectures (not so tricky to spot the older types). Medsoc was useless then, perhaps that aspect of their work has been kicked into shape now too.

In the end, there were ~a dozen or so of us some of whom could still manage the late nights with the 18yr olds whereas others had the occasional trip out. Plenty to put together a table for the medical ball.

Bear in mind that the student mix may have changed in 3/4 years. There was no UK CAT for me and the course prided itself on taking students with a mix of abilities... probably why there were ~5000 applications in my year. It may be all pointy heads these days rather than the eclectic mix F Barratt describes above.