Yesterday, I was so excited to start to explore Birmingham! As we began to walk around the city, I thought it was so cool how there were canals going through the city. I have never been to a city like this, and I did not realize Birmingham would be like this. Brindley place was so fun and lively and I definitely want to explore it more and try out some more restaurants. I also really like how there are no cars going through areas like Brindley place and Chamberlain Square. I know there are some roads in Pittsburgh that are closed off to cars and have a lot of nice restaurants, similar to these areas here. However, I think with Brindley place and Chamberlain square, Birmingham has much bigger areas that have nice buildings and restaurants and don’t have noisy, busy roads running through the middle of them. Also arriving here yesterday it was interesting to begin to notice all the little things the people here say differently than us in America. For example they call the bathroom “toilets,” they say “cheers” in place of thank you, they say “are you okay” instead of “how may I help you” at the front desk of the hotel or restaurant, and they use the word “brilliant” frequently.
Today, I loved getting to meet the professors from Birmingham University. They all were so friendly and had such fun, bubbly personalities which made it so enjoyable. I believe both Claire and David said they had worked in the ICU which was really exciting to hear because I am interested in working in the ICU in the future, so I will definitely be asking them more about their experience over the next two weeks. It was very interesting to see how closely healthcare and education are intertwined at BCU. The faculty from both the nursing and education schools seemed to know each other well and work together.
I enjoyed learning about some of the similarities and differences between the nursing education at Pitt and here at BCU. For example, at BCU the students do not pursue minors. They just focus primarily on nursing or education and they have profession based classes rather than subject based classes. Although professor Marks explained that we have this at Pitt in the engineering school, in nursing there are definitely some liberal arts requirements we have to fulfill in order to graduate. Also, during lunch we were talking to one of the professors and telling him about our chemistry and microbiology classes, and he explained to us that BCU students would not even have classes that specific. I believe their classes are more focused on nursing starting right from the first year; whereas, we cover more of the general science topics in our first year. A similarity between Pitt and BCU is that research is highly valued and encouraged. Claire mentioned multiple research centers they have on the BCU campus and explained that research is prominent and every student is encouraged to do research. Research is prominent at Pitt as well, especially within the school of nursing. With the Undergraduate Research Mentorship Program at Pitt nursing students are able to work alongside faculty members performing research, and Claire mentioned similar work being done by nursing students at BCU. I think this is a really valuable and unique opportunity that both Pitt and BCU students are lucky to have.
Furthermore, it was surprising to hear that after graduating from BCU with their BSc honors nursing degree, students do not have to sit for an exam equivalent to the NCLEX. I believe that they can work anywhere in the UK from Birmingham, Manchester, Wales, or Scotland. In the US, we first have to pass the NCLEX and get licensed in the state we are going to practice.
Looking at education, I was not surprised to hear about how testing based their education system is. in England With the GCSE and A-level tests their education system is very much based on preparing for tests and performing well on these exams. This is similar to standardized testing in the US but it seems as though tests are more heavily valued in the UK for entry into University. I believe the A-levels are the main aspect to getting accepted into university; whereas, in the US, schools are beginning to become “test optional” and focus more on “holistic review.”
After class at Birmingham, we went to the Birmingham Museum and took a walking tour of Birmingham. I loved all the art throughout the museum, and my favorite section was the part dedicated to COVID and portraying what COVID was like for all different people. On the walking tour, I loved seeing the inside of the library. It was beautiful, and I loved how all the books were color coordinated. I also loved the view of Birmingham from the top of the library. Lastly, I learned that Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice!
