Support
All people are welcomed to become doctors and we value all contributions to patient care.
No health condition or disability automatically prevents an individual from studying or practising medicine. However, in order to become a doctor you must be able to practise medicine safely.
As far as possible we will make reasonable adjustments to help people complete their degrees. This will also help students practise safely as doctors should they need it.
Applying to study medicine
If you have specific access needs due to a health condition or disability, please make sure to notify us. This is so we can see what support or reasonable adjustments we can make to help you.
When applying through UCAS, after you've declared any disabilities, the Disability Support Team will contact you to begin providing support.
We'll work with the team to make sure you have a key contact within the School of Medicine. We will also work with you to create a support plan. This will contain the reasonable adjustments, extra time and anything else needed to make sure you can successfully graduate. If adjustments are not possible, we'll meet with you to discuss how we proceed.
MedSoc
We have an incredible Medics Society who can do everything from events, to welfare and even teaching.
The committee features roles like the Welfare Officer and the International Students Officer who are often the first port of call for students who need signposting to university resources and can help you through difficult times if you would prefer support from a peer.
They run the Medic Parents scheme, pairing freshers up with a mentor in the year above. Your parent is there for support and advice on everything from student life to the course.
They also run a Peer Support Scheme. You can ask any mentor you want for help on questions your medic parent(s) cannot answer. They're also an extra source of support and guidance.
MedSoc Teaching is devoted to making sure you can get the most out of the academic side of medical school. They organise peer teaching, revision sessions and more.
Some of the events MedSoc and its societies run throughout the year include:
- balls and nights out
- the Medics' Musical
- concerts
- sporting events
- movie nights
- and more.
There are also a large number of societies under MedSoc including MedSoc Support and the Welfare Hub which are both great sources of support should you need it.
Visit the MedSoc website
Follow MedSoc on Facebook
Follow MedSoc on Instagram
School Support
We want to make sure that all of our students have the support needed to make it through medical school. Some of the things we offer are:
- Student peer mentors who can help with anything from student life to the course.
- Personal tutors to support your development both academically and personally. They can provide a safe space to talk over any issues and point you to the relevant support services. They will also generally encourage you throughout your course.
- Senior tutors during the early years of the medical course. They are there for any issues you don't feel able to discuss with your personal tutor for whatever reason.
- Clinical sub-deans during the clinical phase. They perform the same role as the senior tutors and can be approached about any academic, pastoral or placement issues.
- Counsellors and wellbeing officers at clinical sites across the region to help you while you are on placements.
- Director of student wellbeing who oversees everything relating to welfare provision and promotion. They are also there to help in complex situations.
Support for International Students
In addition to the support provided to all students, we offer extra support to our international students. This comes in the form of:
- Main staff contacts for international students who lead on induction, ongoing pastoral care and with sign-posting to university wide support
- Special talks on interview days for international applicants and their guests
- A one week or one month long targeted induction course. This depends whether they're joining us at the beginning of their course or as part of our International Medical University
- Personal tutors and peer mentors who have an international background or interest
- Social events
- Student-led societies for international students
Available support from the University
University Student Services