Vertical Peer Groups

All students on the BMedSci are assigned to a Vertical Peer Group (VPG). These groups have members from each year of the BMedSci, as in the picture below. They are intended to be a source of information and support, from people who are on the course and understand the student experience, rather than staff who may not have the same questions or perspectives as students do. 

VPGs are assigned at the start of the course, and members are encouraged to make contact and share questions and advice. This could be study related (for example, 'how to best learn the BioMed content' or 'how to prepare for the dissertation'), placement related (such as 'how to manage on your first placement in a hospital setting' or 'public transport'), or other areas of student life (like 'where does the best coffee?' or 'is the HCS Society worth joining?*').

You can use your VPG however works for you. They are NOT monitored by staff. However, they aren't meant to replace the other support available. Gill Turner is always available as your Student Support Advisor. Her role is to support your wellbeing whilst you are at University and help you thrive. She is a good first point of contact if you have any worries as she has a great working knowledge of support the University can offer, and can help you in touch with the right people. She is also a good person to just have a good chat with. You can email her on g.a.turner@sheffield.ac.uk 

In addition, you will have an Academic Tutor who you can go to for questions about the academic side of your studies, and the University has plenty of support available for other questions or concerns: you can find more information on this in the AHPNM general handbook, here: Help and support 

*it is! See HCS Society  or HCS Society (Students' Union page)