Today was our first day visiting Birmingham City University, and it was so exciting to get to visit! One thing that really stood out to me was the happy energy coming from the campus. I loved the modern buildings, the bits of green spaces, and the friendly students and faculty. We jumped right into learning about how healthcare and education work in the UK, and we quickly realized just how different things are compared to what we’re used to in the US.

The first difference that stood out to me was that the nursing students specialize the minute they enter nursing school. They choose between adults, children, mental health, and learning disability nursing. Then they complete three continuous years of education to complete their program and graduate to become fully registered nurses. In the US, we usually start with general nursing and then decide to specialize later through experience or graduate school. It was interesting to hear how the UK model really focuses students’ training early on, especially in areas like community-based care for people with learning disabilities, which doesn’t always get the same attention in US nursing programs.

Afterwards, we took a deep dive into how research and the education system works in the UK. The research seminar highlighted many similarities to what I was used to back home. Our speaker, Grant Huddleston, talked about the various types of research such as primary, secondary, qualitative, and quantitative, and also highlighted the importance of narrowing your research topic and conducting reliable data. He then shared some of his own personal experience with research as he is currently working toward his PhD and it was very interesting to hear what that journey looked like

Another thing I found fascinating was how the UK’s education system is set up. It was neat to learn about how it is broken down into the Early Years, Primary, Secondary, Further Education, and Higher Education compared to how the US breaks it into Preschool, Elementary, Middle School, High School, and University. It was also particularly interesting to learn about how they transition from secondary to further education at around age 16 through the GCSE exams, at which point they can choose to continue pursuing specialized education through their A-levels or choose more vocational options such as BTECs. This flexibility is not available to students in the US this early on, as education is usually compulsory through the completion of high school and specialization typically does not occur until the university level.

Another big difference that I noticed outside of the lectures was the amount of well-rounded support that BCU offers to their students. For example,  they recently reduced food and drink prices on campus—meals by 40% and drinks by 25%. It might sound small, but the impact has been huge. More students are eating on campus, and it’s helped ease some of the pressure of rising living costs. It made us reflect on how support like that isn’t always built into university systems back home, where help often comes through financial aid or meal plans, rather than something as direct and thoughtful as cutting everyday costs.

Overall, our first day at BCU was eye-opening. It’s clear that while the UK and US share some common goals in healthcare and education, their approaches can be really different. We’re already learning so much, and we’re excited to see what the rest of this experience has in store!