The University of Nottingham Medical School is the
medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
of the
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...
,
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
, UK. Its first intake of 48 students graduated in 1975. Student intake has steadily increased to a current level of 330 students per year, including 90 from the satellite
graduate-entry school at Derby, which opened in 2003.
Location
The Medical School is part of the
Queen's Medical Centre
The Queen's Medical Centre (popularly known as QMC, Queen's Med or Queen's) is a teaching hospital situated in Nottingham, England. Until February 2012, when it was surpassed by the Royal London Hospital, it was the largest hospital in the Unit ...
campus of
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) is one of England's largest acute teaching trusts. It was established on 1 April 2006 following the merger of Nottingham City Hospital and the Queen's Medical Centre NHS Trusts. They provide acute ...
, located to the west of the city centre. It is located in one of four blocks, the other three being the University Hospital. A pedestrian footbridge connects to
University Park Campus of the
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...
. Clinical attachments take place on-site in Queen's Medical Centre, as well as
Nottingham City Hospital
Nottingham City Hospital is a large hospital located in Nottingham, England. It occupies a large site on the ring road to the North of the city centre. It is composed of many buildings, most of which are joined together by long corridors. Buil ...
,
Derby Hospitals,
King's Mill Hospital
King's Mill Hospital is an acute general district hospital serving the population of north Nottinghamshire and parts of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. It is managed by the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The majority of the hospital ...
(
Sutton in Ashfield
Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of 48,527 in 2019. It is the largest town in the district of Ashfield,
four miles west of Mansfield, two miles from the Derbyshire border and 12 miles nort ...
),
Lincoln County Hospital
Lincoln County Hospital is a large district general hospital on the eastern edge of north-east Lincoln, England. It is the largest hospital in Lincolnshire, and offers the most comprehensive services, in Lincolnshire. It is managed by the United ...
and the
Pilgrim Hospital
Pilgrim Hospital is a hospital in the east of Lincolnshire on the A16, north of the town of Boston near the mini-roundabout with the A52. It is situated virtually on the Greenwich Meridian and adjacent to Boston High School. The fenland area ...
(
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
). Placements in general practice and psychiatry occur across Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and South Derbyshire. The graduate-entry school is located at the
Royal Derby Hospital
Royal Derby Hospital is one of two teaching hospitals in the city of Derby, the other being the London Road Community Hospital. It is managed by the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust.
History
The original hospital o ...
.
Facilities
The ground floor of the medical school features the lecture theatres and seminar rooms, medical library, clinical skills laboratory, student lockers, and a coffee bar. The first floor features seminar rooms, administration and faculty office, student services centre, research areas in neurology and healthcare of the elderly, and access to the University via the footbridge and the hospital main entrance via internal corridors. The third to fifth floors feature practical laboratories, biomedical and community health research facilities, and the anatomy suites. All floors link to the other areas of the hospital.
Course structure
The University of Nottingham offers three different routes to qualifying as a doctor.
The main route of entry at Nottingham is the traditional 5 year course, which unlike all other UK medical schools includes an intercalated degree as an integral component. As such, all graduates of the traditional course receive a
BMedSci degree as well as the
BMBS required to graduate as a doctor; at other medical schools, this would require another year of study.
In the traditional course, Years 1 and 2 are mainly lecture-based, with some small-group teaching, practical sessions, and early patient-based contact in GP practices and hospitals. Subjects include
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
,
physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
,
biochemistry
Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...
,
pharmacology
Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...
, behavioural sciences, pathology, neurology, embryology and an introduction to clinical skills. Courses are taught around the body systems and non-lecture sessions aim to build on the lecture content. The first half of Year 3 features a project in one of the Academic Schools, requiring a 10,000 word dissertation and teaching on
research methods
Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...
and
statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...
. The second half marks the beginning of the clinical attachments at hospitals throughout the Trent
deanery
A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...
. 'Clinical Phase 1' features an introduction to
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
and
surgery
Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...
. Year 4 (Clinical Phase 2) features the specialities of
paediatrics
Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...
,
obstetrics and gynaecology
Obstetrics and Gynaecology (also spelled as Obstetrics and Gynecology; abbreviated as Obs and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and t ...
,
psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry.
Initial psych ...
,
ophthalmology
Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders.
An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...
,
ENT (ear, nose and throat),
Dermatology
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...
, and a 'Special Study Module' of the student's choice. Recent additions to the curriculum are short rotations in
Healthcare of the Elderly and
General Practice
General practice is the name given in various nations, such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to the services provided by general practitioners. In some nations, such as the US, similar services may be describe ...
. Year 5 (Clinical Phase 3) features Medicine, Surgery, Musculoskeletal Disorders and Disability (
Rheumatology
Rheumatology (Greek ''ῥεῦμα'', ''rheûma'', flowing current) is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatolog ...
and
Orthopaedics
Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...
), a further rotation in General Practice and a Critical Illness Module (
anaesthesia
Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), a ...
,
emergency medicine
Emergency medicine is the medical speciality concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians (often called “ER doctors” in the United States) continuously learn to care for unsche ...
and
intensive care
Intensive care medicine, also called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes pro ...
). Final exams are in late February followed by a 7-week
Elective period that is taken abroad or in an area of interest. Following this is a short Medical Assistantship ("MAST") course for becoming a
Foundation Year One doctor, that includes 6 weeks shadowing.
The Graduate-Entry course at Derby is 4 years long: the first 18 months are pre-clinical and based at Royal Derby Hospital. The course is based around a
Problem-Based Learning
Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy in which students learn about a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended problem found in trigger material. The PBL process does not focus on problem solving with a defi ...
curriculum, supported with supplemental lectures, as well as workshops to cover anatomy and clinical skills. After 18 months students join the main undergraduate course, who will have just completed their dissertation mid-way through year 3, and start the clinical phases.
The third route is the 6 year foundation course, which is designed to widen access to medicine to promising candidates who may lack the traditional entry requirements. This programme includes an additional foundation year based at Derby, after which the students join the main course at Nottingham and follow the usual curriculum.
Research
Research is one of the key priorities and areas of achievement for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, and there are a large number of staff belonging to the School of Medicine based at both Nottingham and Derby medical schools who are involved in research. The university has historically taken a pioneering role in the development of
Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and current major research themes include cancer and stem cells, child health, obstetrics and gynaecology, clinical neuroscience, digestive diseases, epidemiology, public health, mental health, primary care, rehabilitation and aging, respiratory medicine, vascular and renal medicine, dermatology and musculoskeletal research. In 2014 over 80% of the School of Medicine's research was judged to be "world leading" or "internationally excellent".
During the third year, students on the traditional five-year course undertake their BMedSci research project in an area of interest. This can include taking part in research activities with a supervisor outside the School of Medicine, such as with the School of Health Sciences or the School of Life Sciences.
As with all UK medical schools, graduates are eligible to apply for th
Academic Foundation Programmeat the end of their course.
Student life
Most students based in Nottingham live in
Halls of Residence
A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...
in the first year and therefore participate in the usual student life of the university, including hall and
students' union events on campus and in the city centre. The Medical Society (
Medsoc) is the branch of the Students' Union for medical students. It consists of many sub-societies and clubs, and together organises events for all years, including parties, performances, guest lectures and balls. The Medics branch of the University's
rag
Rag, rags, RAG or The Rag may refer to:
Common uses
* Rag, a piece of old cloth
* Rags, tattered clothes
* Rag (newspaper), a publication engaging in tabloid journalism
* Rag paper, or cotton paper
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Rags'' (1915 ...
organisation, Karnival, is one of the most successful, and organises events such as the Bed Push, a yearly event in late October where students dress in
scrubs and
white coats and push hospital beds from the QMC into
Old Market Square
The Old Market Square (Slab Square) is an open, pedestrianised city square in Nottingham, England, forming the heart of the city, and covering an area of approximately , or about 3 acres. It is one of the largest paved squares in the United K ...
in Nottingham city centre, stopping motorists and pedestrians on the way and collecting money for charity. The University of Nottingham at Derby (UNAD) runs events and sports for students based at Derby, and there is also a regular "hopper bus" between the two sites.
There are numerous medical school societies, including sports clubs, music and drama groups, and academic organisations such a
SCRUBS Surgical SocietyINSPIRE Academic Medicine Society A list of other societies, specifically for medical students can be found on thei
website The Nottingham branch of
Medsin supports a range of student charities - two of these, Marrow (supporting the
Anthony Nolan Trust by encouraging students to join the UK bone marrow register) and the Kenyan Orphan Project (supporting several ventures in
Kisumu
Kisumu ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Kenya by population, third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victor ...
,
Kenya
)
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, image_map =
, map_caption =
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, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
) have since spread to other universities in the UK.
Graduates
Provisional registration with the General Medical Council is granted after graduation, and the student then qualifies to apply to the national Foundation Programme as a newly qualified doctor.
Graduates of the medical school join the wider University of Nottingham Alumni Community.
References
External links
University of Nottingham Medical School Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
{{University of Nottingham
Medical School
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
Nottingham Medical School