I was so excited for today because not only were we touring Birmingham City University, but we were also going to be able to speak with students and faculty about the school.

My first impression of BCU was that it was absolutely lovely inside. The building seems very modern and well put together. The students looked proper and well-educated. We were told that we’d be shown a few of their Sims to get a feel of what a typical lab day would be like. I will include some photo highlights of the school. Overall, I was very impressed.

The sessions that we listened to by faculty and previous students were very informative and I was surprised with how much I learned from listening to their presentations. Two previous BCU student union members presented to us about the school and the societies they provide. They have a Nursing society, which I found quite interesting and similar to Pitt because I’m apart of SNA. They also do something called “Big Welcome”. The way they described it sounded like summer orientation, so I’m assuming that’s kind of what it is but for the United Kingdom.

We were told a bit about Nursing in the United Kingdom and how schooling works compared to the States. Gemma, one of the BCU Nursing students had told us that university is typically a three-year program, but it’s all year round. Nurses in the UK have to register with NMG which allows them to work anywhere in the world. They also told us that when it comes down to translating different languages in the hospitals, there are translators that you can ask to help you out already at the location. The United Kingdom has a life support system that is free to the public, which I assume is apart of their universal healthcare act. You can be treated for free but you may have long wait time and sometimes you’ll have to pay for medications.

Going back to the difference between the United Kingdom and US schooling systems, in the United Kingdom, as a nursing student you are required to choose a specific path before you start your studies. In the US, we go through all different types of nursing pathways to be experienced in all fields and to find our true calling. I personally prefer the way the US runs the system, but it’s interesting that the UK doesn’t waste time and gets directly into clinicals and classes. Clinicals, too, for the BCU students are 13-hour days for a total of 2,300 hours for the entire program. I’m almost positive that Pitt doesn’t have clinical days for as long as they do. Similar to Pitt, BCU students don’t get payed for clinical rotations. Gemma told us that BCU nursing students receive five thousand pounds to help pay for their studies, which is a really nice amount of money.

We asked the speakers about diversity in nursing settings and if they struggle when it comes to that, but they said that they’re pretty diverse. I could definitely see all the diversity the University had which could not compare to the US. It was just one school but I don’t think I’ve ever seen such diversity in one place before.

Besides the sessions and presentations by the wonderful students and staff of BCU, we had high tea with scones and sandwiches. Having tea in the United Kingdom makes me feel very proper. I’m pretty sure they drink tea like Americans drink coffee, but more exquisitely. They like to make their tea and butter their scones in a specific way and I was nervous that I was going to insult them by doing it the American way. The tea tasted similar to the States but it was still very good.

Everyone was welcoming and polite to us. They were so excited that we were here, as were we. All the speakers offered to email us more information if we had questions, which was very kind of them. Their positive attitudes made me wish I lived in Birmingham and studied at BCU for nursing.

We basically finished our day by walking to a Mediterranean restaurant for dinner. My American soul kicked in and once I saw pizza on the menu, I knew. I hope we get to try more authentic English cuisines during this trip because the one plate of fish and chips that we had was to die for.

I’m so excited to continue going to BCU and learning more about them and their programs. Tomorrow we’re headed to the children’s hospital and I could not be more excited for that.