Second year perspectives

Sophia Allwood

How have you found it at BSMS?

I have been loving my time at BSMS! I have absolutely no doubt that I have chosen the right place for me. I love the campus and the wide variety of classes BSMS offers!

What do you like the best?

The early patient contact and dissection sessions were invaluable, along with the symposiums where we focus on a particular illness or disorder and real life patients who have suffered the problem come to share their experiences - they are amazing.

How have the DR sessions helped your learning?

DR sessions have absolutely improved my learning 1000%, the generous donors are our best anatomy teachers by allowing us to closely study their bodies, apply our anatomical knowledge and form that bridge between how a certain structure looks in real life vs how it looks in lectures and textbooks. It’s also a great opportunity to practice our dexterity with dissection instruments!

Why did you choose BSMS?

I wanted a busy hub that was not London, and Brighton was perfect. I loved that BSMS is the collaboration of two universities, and that as students we get the benefits of both. The early patient contact and dissection learning convinced me that BSMS would be the right place for me. Everyone is so welcoming here and so friendly – it is an amazingly inclusive place.

What’s it like living in Brighton?

I live around 40 mins drive away from campus in a small village in West Sussex. I drive into university and it’s really easy (except when traffic hits!), and I know many people who commute in. Despite this, I often study with friends in Brighton, and it is full of lovely coffee shops and study places that are cosy and not too expensive.

Enya Costin

How do you find dissection helpful? 

Personally, the way BSMS teaches dissection is one of the main reasons I came here. I am a visual and tactile learner; I need to see things in 3D and be able to manipulate them to fully understand them. At BSMS, you have an anatomy lecture, and then a dissection session later that week. Without dissection, the first time you see that anatomy is on a patient. I find that dissection provides the perfect bridge of learning between the theoretical and the clinical. It has boosted my confidence in the subject, and I will never forget the lessons the donors have taught me. 

What do you enjoy about your time at BSMS and the course? 

BSMS is a medical school like no other. The thing I enjoy most is the community feel here. Our year groups are quite small, and there is a lot of socialisation between years due to our MedSoc societies and medic families. Regarding the course, I like how it focuses on the holistic care of the patient, rather than just the scientific knowledge we need to qualify. I feel like the content we cover is designed to make us become the best doctors we can be. This is shown by some of our teaching, such as the Time for Dementia programme, which allows us to follow a family affected by dementia for two years. This long-term programme is something that was started at BSMS, and I feel it has really made a difference to my clinical practice so far. 

What’s it like living in Brighton? 

Moving to Brighton was quite a culture shock to me, I had never been somewhere so accepting and free! There is always something new for you to discover, and it is impossible to not find your people here. I love being surrounded by natural beauty such as our beaches and the national park that surrounds the medical school campus, yet you also have the busyness of a city; it’s the best of both worlds!  

Alex Dos Santos

What do you enjoy about learning anatomy at BSMS? 

At BSMS we get taught anatomy in a variety of ways, through live lectures, dissection, prosections, module tutorials and living anatomy sessions. This allows us, as students, to not only understand the theoretical side of anatomy but the practical side as well. I for one am a visual learner and therefore find the practical dissection and prosection sessions extremely helpful. 

Why did you choose BSMS? 

One of the reasons I chose BSMS is because of its reputation for being more personal compared with other medical schools. At BSMS you are not just a number, throughout the course, you get to know almost everyone on the course. Added bonuses are the stunning scenery around Brighton. Near the university is the Downs, nearer to the hospital are Brighton seafront and the Lanes, there seems to be something for everyone. 

What do you enjoy most about studying at BSMS? 

What I enjoy most about studying at BSMS is the early exposure to a healthcare environment. From the first year, we are exposed to Accident & Emergency departments as well as GP practices. In the second year, we get the opportunity to spend time in various departments during immersion weeks that take place throughout the year. This gives students a realistic expectation of what the life of a healthcare professional entails. 

Is the early clinical experience useful? 

The early clinical experience is definitely helpful, not only do we get a decent understanding of what to expect when we graduate, we also get an idea of the roles and responsibilities of other healthcare professionals, such as nurses, radiographers, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. 

What’s it like living in Brighton? 

Brighton is an exciting city to live in. There is always something to do and many of the people living here are friendly, inclusive and accepting of all. 

Matthew Dempsey

"I've just started by having my SSC, which is a student selective component. These are like little mini modules that you can chose what you want to do it in and they help broaden your knowledge outside of the main cirriculum.

"This afternoon I'll be going into university for my dissection session and that'll be really cool because we'll be able to see actual structures in real life, in real life specimens and help consolodate all of the knowledge we've had from lectures."