As a student there are many places you may turn to for support, including family, friends, your GP, the University Counselling and Mental Health Service and those teaching you. The Student Pastoral Support (SPS) teams in the Programme are also here to support you if you are having difficulties during your time on the Medical Programme and can give specific tailored advice and guidance around impact of personal circumstances on the Programme.
Studying Medicine is different to studying many other subjects, as it places different demands on your time, emotional resources and professional behaviour. Seeking help is not a weakness, but rather a sign that you have the insight to know when going it alone is not the best plan. We all need help at different times throughout our career. Like you, we want to ensure that you enter Foundation Training as a resilient, professional doctor, aware of when and where to seek help and armed with strategies to cope with whatever difficulties you may face in your future career.
The primary aim of SPS is to ensure that you are given the opportunity to overcome any barriers to your wellbeing, or make reasonable adjustments for disability, before the point at which it could affect your studies. We will ensure that you are linked in appropriately to the broad range of support available both within the Programme and the wider University – including the confidential one-to-one University Counselling and Mental Health Service, the Disability Advisory and Support Service and academic support.
You can also meet with SPS for advice about taking time out, to discuss any doubts you may have about medicine as a vocation, or if you are considering withdrawing from the Programme altogether. It is important that if you are wishing to take a year out (for reasons other than intercalation) you discuss this in the first instance with SPS as we can help you look at all your options and make an informed decision. Interrupting your studies can be a really helpful choice to allow you to overcome issues you are facing, and is in no way a black mark on your record. See also: Interrupting your Studies
The Central University SPS Team in the Stopford Building work closely with Programme staff in The GEM Year, Years 1 & 2 and at the Clinical Education Campuses to support you across all years and at all sites. The SPS Service is led overall including the Central SPS team by the Associate Programme Director for Student Wellbeing. Each Clinical Education Campus also has a local SPS team to help you whilst you are on placement in years 3-5 (See Contacts).
The SPS team is happy to arrange a meeting, face to face, by phone, or online. Just contact us via email or telephone if you would like to discuss matters outside immediate academic concerns. We can help you with: Personal, family, financial or health issues, also anxiety about your studies, discussion of the responsibilities of being a medical student and doctor, advice regarding Mitigating Circumstances for assessments and Special Circumstances for Foundation Training and applications to the MBChB Hardship Fund.
If you have any worries or concerns regarding your wellbeing, please get in touch: med.sps@manchester.ac.uk, 0161 275 1452
Further information about the support available from the SPS Team is on 1Med.