7 Signs Your Medical Degree Is Worth It

Sponsored by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)

The University of Central Lancashire’s School of Medicine offers the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) for international students from across the globe.

The University’s Head of Medical School Professor Cathy Jackson shares the ingredients of a truly valuable medical degree…

1. Opportunities to interact with real patients

“One of the key features of the UCLan MBBS is early patient contact with a diverse range of people with mental and physical health disabilities, as well as carers, to expand students’ knowledge while also helping them develop communication skills and professionalism.”

2. Access to the latest medical facilities

“UCLan students enjoy high-tech facilities as part of their studies, including a number of human anatomy resource and learning centers, virtual dissection tables, problem-based learning rooms, modern teaching rooms and lecture theaters.

“Additionally, the five clinical skills laboratories on campus house a vast range of equipment – including a number of high fidelity clinical human simulators – to help students develop clinical skills in realistic hospital, home and GP surgery environments.

“As part of the MBBS course at UCLan, students will also complete placements at some of the busiest hospitals in the North West of England, including the Royal Blackburn Hospital and Burnley General Hospital, which have large inpatient and outpatient departments, first-class medical facilities and a purpose-built learning center.”

3. High-quality teaching

“It goes without saying that high-quality teaching is a key ingredient in any good degree, and this includes medicine.

“UCLan has evolved over the years to become a world-class institution, recognized with its inclusion in the QS World University Rankings®. We are ranked in the top 3.7% of universities in the world (Center for World University Rankings, 2016).

“Small class sizes aid learning by ensuring every individual student has access to adequate support from both peers and tutors. At UCLan we recruit small cohorts of international students onto our MBBS course to ensure we are able to offer a warm and supportive learning environment in which students are treated as individuals.”

4. A relevant curriculum designed by practitioners and patients

“At UCLan, we have designed our MBBS in partnership with patients, local National Health Service (NHS) leaders and academic researchers, to ensure it meets the needs of the real medical world both today and in the future.”

5. World-leading clinical experience

“One of the main benefits of studying a medical degree in the UK is the opportunity to train within the world-renowned NHS. Medical education in the UK has a long history of excellence and of offering training to overseas doctors. Our hospitals and other clinical settings are renowned for the quality of their teaching and their influential medical research, and the NHS is envied across the world for its ethos of providing healthcare ‘free for everyone at the point of access’, stemming back to 1948.

“UCLan’s student doctors will take up their placements within several NHS Trusts in the North West of England. Students will become part of a team of professionals and non-medical staff delivering care to the highest standards in the NHS; extremely valuable clinical experience that is in demand across the world.”

6. A qualification transferrable worldwide

“This is a particularly important feature for medical students who want to be able to practice throughout the world.

“The UCLan MBBS has been designed specifically for international students, to ensure they are trained to the highest UK standards and to enable them to become safe, effective and knowledgeable practitioners wherever they choose to work.

“As well as reflecting the national standards outlined by the UK’s General Medical Council (GMC), the curriculum has been closely aligned to the requirements of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE), to support students who wish to have the option of applying for work in the US.”

7. Intercalation opportunities

“Intercalation degrees offer the chance to take time out from a regular MBBS program and gain an additional qualification in a related field, allowing high-performing students to widen their skills and improve career prospects. This opportunity will be offered to high-achieving students at the end of the fourth year of the UCLan program, leading to a master’s-level qualification.”