Studying at Anglia Ruskin Medical School

Overview

Anglia Ruskin University opened their medical school’s doors in September 2018. As one of the newer medical schools you’ll benefit from modern, cutting edge facilities including a full cadaveric dissection suite. The course is based in Chelmsford, Essex with access to five acute care providers and tertiary units, including the St Andrew’s Centre for Plastic Surgery and Burns and the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre.

ARU use just the UCAT to shortlist candidates for interview, providing you have met the minimum academic requirements. This makes it an ideal choice for students who have lower GCSEs or prior academic performance but perform well in the UCAT. Their previous cut-off scores sit around the mid-2400s so if you exceed this score there is a good chance you’ll receive an interview invite!

For more information on the UCAT, check out our guide on What is UCAT.

Key Points

• New Medical School
• Campus University
• Optional Intercalation
• Integrated Teaching Style

Insider’s Guide to Anglia Ruskin Medical School from Fatimah Khan, Anglia Ruskin Medical Student

What makes ARU unique to other medical schools?

There’s a real sense of community and supportiveness at ARU, as they only have 100 students in each year, which is significantly less compared to other universities. Hence, you will get to know everybody on your course very well and you will be able to get more individual time and support with your teachers. Additionally, they are one of very few universities to offer Thiel embalmed full body dissections.

Course Structure at Anglia Ruskin Medical School

Year 1 at Anglia Ruskin Medical School

The course structure at ARU is systems based for the first 3 years. In year 1 you will cover the basic principles of medicine, the Cardiovascular system, the Respiratory system and the Gastrointestinal system. You will cover the anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology, embryology etc for each system.

There is also a student selected component, which involves researching a topic of your choice and writing a literature review about it. As well as, writing a few reflective pieces and carrying out tasks such as clerking patients.

In terms of clinical exposure you will have weekly hospital placements from the end of November. You will have 1 week of GP placement in total. Just before summer you will have a 2 week hospital placement in a variety of specialities.

Year 2 at Anglia Ruskin Medical School

Year 2 follows a similar structure to year 1, but instead you will cover the Renal, Endocrine, MSK, Child & Family, Otolaryngology, Dermatology, Ophthalmology systems. Again, this will be mainly lecture based learning with the addition of dissections, lab work and clinical skills.

There is a student selected component, as well as a 5 week hospital placement which will take place in February.

Year 3 at Anglia Ruskin Medical School

The first half of year 3 follows a similar structure to the previous years, and you will cover the Reproductive and sexual health, Psychiatry, Haematology and Neurology systems.

The second half of year 3 is when you begin clinical placements. You will undergo four 12-week rotations which finish at the end of year 4. Here, the focus is on the spiral curriculum which focuses on consolidating and adding to your knowledge from previous years with information you’re learning from clinical settings.

Year 4 at Anglia Ruskin Medical School

The final two years are strongly focused on practical experience and preparing you to work as a junior doctor. The learning approach in year 4 is mainly case based so that you can consolidate all the knowledge and skills you have learnt in previous years. There is also a student selected component.

Year 5 at Anglia Ruskin Medical School

The focus in year 5 is mainly on holistic care and undifferentiated presentations. You will gain further experience in preparing for the role of a junior doctor by undertaking foundation assistantship teaching blocks such as general practice, medicine and surgery.

Teaching Style at Anglia Ruskin Medical School

What is the general teaching style at ARU? E.g. is it PBL/Traditional? etc.

ARU uses an integrated teaching style. It is predominantly lecture based, but also includes tutorials, placements and clinical skills sessions. They follow a spiral curriculum – so you are always building on previous knowledge, and you revisit topics in later years to consolidate your learning.

Does ARU offer dissection?

Yes, full-body dissections are done from Years 1-3. Based on the system you are currently learning you will dissect the relevant areas/organs. These are carried out in small groups of around 6 students every week. You work through a PowerPoint and follow the instructions, and there is staff present who help and teach you whilst you’re doing it. In addition to the anatomy lectures, demonstrational videos are available beforehand as pre-reading work so you will have a good idea of what the session entails.

Does ARU offer a BSc? If so, how is the BSc year?

Yes, a BSc is offered between years 3 and 4 of the course and it is optional. You could do this at ARU or at a different university. A BSc gives you the opportunity to research an area of your interest in depth, whilst broadening your skills and knowledge. It does involve a considerable amount of independent studying.

What is the pre-clinical / clinical split like? Do you get early clinical exposure?

As it is an integrated course, there is not a distinct pre-clinical / clinical split. Instead, you will be learning both the theory and its clinical applications from Year 1. For example, you will learn about the Respiratory system and all of the scientific theory (anatomy, biochemistry, pathology etc.) as well as the clinical presentations and management for respiratory conditions. You will also cover respiratory examinations and histories in clinical skills. From the end of year 3 onwards there is a greater focus on the clinical side of medicine, and you will consolidate your learning mainly through placements.

There is very early clinical exposure from November of Year 1, where you will start weekly hospital placements. These will be in the area you are currently studying e.g. respiratory ward when you’re studying the respiratory system. This is a great way to visualise and put into practise what you have been learning. It also prepares you very well for OSCE examinations as you will practise lots of histories and exams with patients. In year 2 there is a 5-week block placement, and from the middle of third year till year 5 you will be on placement full time.

You will also get some exposure with GP placements throughout the course. Additionally, every week there are clinical skills sessions where you learn to take histories, do examinations and learn procedures such as taking bloods etc.

Social Life at Anglia Ruskin Medical School

What are the clubs and societies like?

ARU has 4 separate campuses – for medicine you will be studying on the Chelmsford campus in Essex. Due to this the social life is slightly limited as there aren’t many people. However, there are many clubs and societies available, and there are lots of events which are held throughout the year so there’s plenty to get involved in. New societies are constantly being created – so if you feel that there is something missing there is the opportunity to make your own.

What is the social life like?

Chelmsford is quite a small and quiet city so there is not much to do. However, London is only 30 minutes away by train so you can always enjoy the social life there.

FAQs