The Aspiring Medics
3 min
Updated: Mar 25, 2023
As one of the largest medical schools in the UK, Cardiff heavily emphasises clinical experience from the beginning of the course starting in first year.
Early patient contact, combined with the opportunity for full body dissections establishes a brilliant base for clinical years.
The curriculum is spiral, ensuring that everyone can really build up their basic knowledge consistently and add on year after year. They are always keen to listen to new suggestions.
Reading up a little on the background of the NHS and the values underlying its creation is a good starting point for preparation.
Cardiff is keen on assessing people's communication skills and their ability to balance arguments and justify scenarios therefore practicing this beforehand with family or friends will definitely help.
Brush up on basic maths skills for the numeracy station but don't stress too much about this.
Key to any MMI - all the stations are assessed individually so don't let one bad station affect your entire performance of the day.
Research the course, especially the new C21 course that they offer. Make a note of any unique aspects that particularly interest you.
Ensure that you have a good understanding of the Welsh NHS.
Cardiff University offers full body dissection to allow all students to consistently learn throughout their preclinical phase and consolidate knowledge with hands on experience. The early GP placements throughout first year allow student to develop communication skills from the very start. Regular communication skills session help build confidence for clinical years. The clinical highlight is the breadth of placement locations - all across Wales. Many have the opportunity to also spend their 3rd year in a rural GP practice in either North or West Wales under the CARER scheme should they wish to do so.
As the capital city of Wales and a city university, Cardiff is always thriving. The biosciences building and medical school campus are around a 45 minute walk apart, with the medical school being based within the University Hospital of Wales grounds. Most students live in university accommodation in first year - the Talybont student accommodation is one of the biggest and is in the middle of both the main campus and the healthcare campus. There are 3 main train stations within Cardiff that students use, with Cathays being in the heart of the student area, being situated just next to the Cardiff University Students' Union. The university boasts over 200 societies, some of which are specifically healthcare focused so there is a society for everyone.
At Cardiff University, the close proximity of most accommodations and the town centre creates a thriving social environment and the large class numbers, while may be initially intimidating, creates a friendly and social environment for everyone. Specific to medics, Medsoc put on events throughout the year. However the SU put on regular events open to all students both across the academic year and within summer therefore medics do have the opportunity to mix with other students fairly often. The wide range of societies at the university and close proximity to other universities such as USW and Cardiff Met also ensure that there is something for everyone to do, regardless of their background or what they enjoy.
Representing over 1700 students, the Medsoc is the biggest society at the university and is known for its socials throughout the year whether they be year specific or for the entire undergraduate body. Alongside this, they have a strong academic team, putting on regular revision courses throughout the year and collaborating with other societies to put on in person ISCE revision sessions close to the end of the year. The welfare team are always on hand to listen, with a welfare rep for each year group and put on wellbeing cafes throughout the year - in person these involve a stall with tea, coffee and biscuits which is open for anyone to come down and have a chat.