After graduating I will have 2 more years of my medical degree after which I hope to specialise in General surgery with a specialisation is Emergency surgery and academic medicine. Before this masters I was not that interested in research and academic medicine, but carrying out my dissertation on ‘adolescent perceptions and experiences of knife crime in the West Midlands’ has given me an insight into how preventing people getting injured is equally import as how we manage patients in a hospital.

The MSc Trauma Science course is one day a week teaching on the Thursday, this allows you a lot of time to read around the subject material so that in teaching sessions more engaging and complex discussions about content can occur. You are also taught by leading experts in trauma who have all been engaging and inspiring teachers- all of the lecturers have great passion for their area of expertise and this comes across in the quality of teaching. Additionally, this has created many opportunities for myself such as a attending shifts with the Major Trauma Service and Emergency Surgery cases with military surgeons, without the course I would not have been able to create these opportunities as easily.

The course director is also available to be contacted individually and has been very supportive with questions. As a course lead he has been involved in helping us set up our dissertations and answering the many questions that come along side it. I cannot fault the environment that the course has created as all 16 of us support one another and want each other to do well.

The course has allowed me to further understand the complex requirements of a trauma system and trauma patients (both civilian and military). In the future I am hoping to become a General surgeon specialising in emergency surgery a career that I was not fully aware of before meeting the inspiring lecturers on the course that allowed me to shadow them. The research skills the course provided will also be helpful going forward, medicine is an ever adapting field and research has to be done constantly to ensure that best practice is occurring. The course has allowed me to develop me critical analysis skills further.

The MSc Trauma Science course is one day a week teaching on the Thursday, this allows you a lot of time to read around the subject material so that in teaching sessions more engaging and complex discussions about content can occur. You are also taught by leading experts in trauma who have all been engaging and inspiring teachers- all of the lecturers have great passion for their area of expertise and this comes across in the quality of teaching. Additionally, this has created many opportunities for myself such as a attending shifts with the Major Trauma Service and Emergency Surgery cases with military surgeons, without the course I would not have been able to create these opportunities as easily. I have also had the time to undertake placements with The Air Ambulance Service that would not have been possible with the busy medical placement schedule.

I have also found the course has allowed me to find areas in Trauma I am particularly interested in and explore these further. Not just in the dissertation module, but in individual modules the brief for essays and poster has been broad enough for you to really hone into an individual area that interests you. This means you can also learn from your peers as we all attend each other’s presentations and the peer to peer support is encouraged.

I have worked as a Health Care Assistant in A&E alongside my studies since first year and have become interested in trauma care as a result. When I was considering intercalation the MSc in Trauma Science sparked my interest as it covered both the foundations of trauma patients and niches such as military trauma. It is currently the only full time Trauma masters in the country and the only one available for intercalating medical students as far as I am aware. Another selling factor of the course was being taught by leading experts in their fields- this has created many opportunities for myself such as a attending shifts with the Major Trauma Service and Emergency Surgery cases with military surgeons, without the course I would not have been able to create these opportunities as easily.

I chose to study at the University of Birmingham because I am already a Medical Student here and have found the teaching to be engaging and enjoyable so far. Birmingham as a city also has a lot to offer with a multitude of different activities so I wanted to remain where I had created bonds and friendships. I have worked as a Health Care Assistant in A&E alongside my studies since first year and have become interested in trauma care as a result. When I was considering intercalation the MSc in Trauma Science sparked my interest as it covered both the foundations of trauma patients and niches such as military trauma.