medical students take notes during lecture. Image courtesy of Getty Images.

University of Plymouth Peninsula Medical School (PMS) has made the top two in the UK for medical student experience as an organisation offering primary medical qualifications – with 98 per cent of students ‘satisfied overall’ with the quality of the course.

The results have just come out from the annual National Student Survey (NSS), which asks final-year students from all courses and universities across the UK to provide anonymous feedback on their teaching experience.

Among the results for the BMBS Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery course were:

  • 100 per cent of respondents agreed that the course has provided them with opportunities to apply what they have learnt
  • 95 per cent say they have received sufficient advice and guidance in relation to the course
  • 97 per cent agree that staff are good at explaining things.

In addition to the multiple choice questions, students are invited to offer independent feedback. Examples include:

“One of the standout attributes of the medical course at Plymouth is that we have excellent clinical skills teaching from Year 1 and are out on placement in Year 1. This sets the scene early for professionalism and interacting with patients.”

“I have had plenty of opportunities to interact with patients right from the very beginning of the course. I have had so much practice in hospitals and the community and I feel ready and able to treat patients as a consequence.”

“Problem-based learning has taught me invaluable life skills. The ability to think and analyse information critically and practice a style of medicine that I am proud of.”

Professor Hisham Khalil, Interim Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Plymouth, said: 

“We are incredibly proud of all of our students and staff, and know that the clinical exposure students receive is a significant contributor to such positive responses. Our students really are outstanding, and to hear that they feel well prepared for a medical career by the support and provision that we and our partners provide is wonderful.”

The medical school’s results come at the same time as those of Peninsula Dental School at the University of Plymouth, which finished joint top in the UK, with 100 per cent of students satisfied overall with the quality of the course.

Medical students using the Anatomage table clinical