March 9, 2015, by studentcontributor
Student life and Medicine
Hi, Cat again! I’m going to be letting you know a bit about some of the great activities on offer for students in Nottingham.
Societies
Not all of your time at university has to be spent doing work for your medical degree, and the University of Nottingham is lucky enough to benefit from over 200 societies that all students can join (everything from Food Soc, where members go to different restaurants and try new food, to Quidditch and Harry Potter society). There’s definitely something for everyone! I’ve been making the most of my pre-clinical years by joining one of the music societies and have been a member of the University’s big band (Moonlighters) for over a year, which has involved a number of gigs at formals, balls and a jazz club night at Spanky van Dykes (one of the many restaurants/bars in town).
Sports clubs
As well as the plethora of societies, there are also over 70 sports clubs that students can join (everything from lacrosse to water polo), and Wednesday afternoons are left free so that students go to fixtures/training. Getting involved with sport at the University of Nottingham can open up all kinds of exciting opportunities, such as competing against other universities in the UK (BUCS), taking part in Varsity matches against Nottingham Trent (the ice hockey match is one of the most popular events of the year, with over 2000 spectators in the Capital FM Arena) or even travelling to the campuses in China or Malaysia as part of the Tri-Campus Games!
MedSoc
MedSoc (the society that all medics can join when they come to medical school), also has its own separate societies that are exclusive to medics, designed to accommodate the busy timetable that clinical students will have. Examples of MedSoc societies are Musical Medics (with its own choir, orchestra and jazz group); hockey, netball and rugby teams; and societies based around future specialties such as Scrubs (surgery) and Teddy Bear Hospital (paediatrics). Most of these societies are free to join, and can be a great way of meeting medics from other years who might be able to offer you advice on the course/medic life in future years!
Nottingham city
Of course there’s more to Nottingham than just the university’s campus! The city benefits from both a concert hall (Royal Theatre and Concert Hall), and Rock City (one of the best live music venues in the country) as well as theatres such as Nottingham New Theatre and Nottingham Playhouse. There are also plenty of independent cafés and bars to discover such as The Pudding Pantry, which offers freshly made bacon 
sandwiches and salted caramel brownies on its extensive menu! There’s often something to do in Market Square (a large open area right in front of the town hall) too. At the moment there’s a big Ferris wheel which offers wonderful views right across the cityscape, but over Christmas there’s a Christmas market with a multitude of stalls offering everything from mulled wine to fudge to handmade gifts, as well as an ice rink!
Hopefully this has given you an idea of just how much Nottingham has to offer you in the time you aren’t in the medical school: there’s so much going on that you’ll still be trying new things throughout your entire time at university!
No comments yet, fill out a comment to be the first
Leave a Reply