Today was such a great first day at BCU! There was so much new knowledge acquired and so many new faces that we met, and it was so cool to see the differences in the education system here in the UK compared to the United States!
When we entered BCU, we got to meet Ana, who is our program coordinator at BCU! She is such a kind and caring individual, and I can’t wait to see what else she has in store for us over the next few days. We were welcomed by Lisa Abbott, the associate dean, who talked to us about her story and a little bit about the nursing program at BCU. It was very interesting to learn that their nursing program is only 3 years, and they get over 2,300 hours of clinical hours. I found it so fascinating that the students got to pick which specialty they were going to do placements in, and how they had already decided whether they were going to be caring for adults or children. BCU also offers placements in learning disability nursing, which is so unique and different from the US.
After a campus tour around BCU, we came back to listen to Grant Huddleston, who gave a really insightful presentation on education and education research, and how to approach it. For the UK’s education system, one of the main differences that stuck out to me was the concept of college and university. College in the UK means a 2-year period where students pick a few subjects and specialize in tests for those classes, called A levels. These A levels are what ultimately deny or get you into university. It’s the main thing universities look into when accepting you into their university, which couldn’t be more different than the US. For us, our GPA, our extracurricular activities, recommendation letters, leadership, and more were factored in when deciding whether we are accepted into a university or not. Another aspect of BCU that I found really considerate is that they have special support services for individuals who didn’t take A-levels or didn’t do well on them. BCU takes these students and allows them to have one extra year (makes it a 4-year degree) so that they can learn more about the foundations of their area of interest. Additionally, I found it really amazing that BCU cut the costs of their food by 40% to make their meal options more affordable and accessible for students. It was really adamant that BCU strives to give countless helpful supporting services for their students who may be low-income and just works to ensure their students are getting the best education and resources they need to succeed.
Another really important thing we learned about was positionality and how ontology and epistemology can affect that. Epistemology, or the knowledge we know from our own experiences, can affect our ontology, or the reality in what we believe in. The truth/reality we believe is shaped by how we grew up and what we’ve experienced, which affects our positionality in certain topics. Everyone has different experiences that shape them into what they believe in, which allows everyone to have different positionalities and views on situations and ideas.
Overall, today was such an insightful day, full of important topics and lessons about the education system in the UK. It only makes me more excited to see what tomorrow brings when we learn more about the healthcare system! I can’t wait!
