Enjoying the best of both worlds as a Manchester and St Andrews medical student

Catriona McVey is a Medicine student from St Andrews who is completing the clinical years of the degree on the MBChB at Manchester, and is also intercalating on the MRes in Medical Sciences. Here, Catriona talks about making the move to Manchester, and the highlights of the MBChB so far.

I didn’t come straight to Manchester for my medical degree – I actually spent the first three years at the University of St Andrews.

This route is decades old, and every year around 40 medical students transfer to Manchester from St Andrews to complete the clinical years of their MBChB. Although I spent my pre-clinical years in Scotland, from the start of my time at university I knew I wanted to go to Manchester for my clinical years.

From a small town to the big city

I grew up in the era of Hannah Montana, and whenever I talk about my experience of going to two medical schools, I must admit to always quoting the lyrics “you get the best of both worlds”.

St Andrews is a small town, and the medical school has small class sizes. This suited me at the earlier stages of my medical degree, but by the time I graduated and came to Manchester three years later, I was ready to explore outside of that bubble. I love how everything is on your doorstep at Manchester, from shops to restaurants and nightlife.

I also enjoy being part of a much bigger year group now – there are over 400 medical students in a year group at Manchester. This gives you lots of opportunities to meet new people and find your people.

However, it isn’t as overwhelming as it might sound, as we are split into cohorts by base hospital – so I’m simultaneously part of a year group of 400+ at Manchester, and a more intimate year group of 100 students at my base campus in Preston.

Opportunities at Manchester

Being part of a bigger medical school has also given me more opportunities when it comes to intercalation. I’m currently taking a year out to study for an MRes in Medical Sciences, and I was fortunate to be awarded the Wolfson Intercalated Award.

However, the scholarship is dependent on me staying at the same university for my intercalated year. Thankfully, the range of master’s-level courses available to intercalate on at Manchester was ample, and I had already decided to stay here for intercalation because of my experiences on the MBChB programme.

The size of the university also means that there are tons of extracurricular activities on offer. I don’t actually attend many that are based on campus because of being a commuting student, but that’s not a problem, because the university has many societies in Preston for medical students based there.

We have our own MedSoc, as well as sports clubs, specialty societies like PsychSoc and clubs for those interested in hobbies like baking and art. You can still be involved in Manchester-based societies, though, so I’ve been on the committees of Preston Psychiatry Society, as well as Manchester Medical Research Society.

Research experience and placements

Other aspects of my course that I’ve loved include the APEP in Year 3, where you spend 8 weeks conducting a research project in an area of your choice.

At many medical schools, getting involved in research is often a case of who you know, and how well you perform in exams. At Manchester, everyone gets the chance to try research, and my APEP experience was a big reason why I applied to intercalate an MRes degree this year.

Manchester also offers placements in several big, tertiary hospitals, which means we are often taught by experts in the field, and we get to experience some niche specialties and see rare conditions that we might not elsewhere.

The wide geographical area that Manchester covers means that in our clinical years, some of our content is delivered as online modules, which I love, as I can work through them in my own pace and still have time for things that are important to me like volunteering with Girlguiding, rather than lose time commuting to lectures.

I’ve loved my time at Manchester so far, and although I’ll be sad to graduate and leave, I’m looking forward to seeing what my final year has to offer. All in all, it’s not hard to see why my Manchester experience has been, dare I say it, the best of both worlds…

Learn more about studying medicine at Manchester.