Applying for Medicine
Getting a place to study Medicine is extremely competitive. Here is some advice about applying that I found with the help of a website provided by Leeds University: You want to be a doctor
Before you submit your UCAS application you will need to complete UKCAT
UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT)
Most applicants for both the five-year and six-year programmes are required to sit the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT).
The test will help the university make more informed choices from among the many applicants who apply for its medical degree programmes.
The test will not contain any curriculum or science content and you cannot revise for it. It will focus on exploring the cognitive powers of candidates and other attributes considered to be valuable for healthcare professionals. It will ensure that the candidates selected have the most appropriate mental abilities, attitudes and professional behaviours required for new doctors to be successful in their clinical careers.
It will be delivered on computer on a worldwide basis through high-street test centres.
UCAS applications
Applications for Medicine are made through UCAS and the closing date is the 15th October 2008.
Application should be made for either:
Foundation Year Entry - this level of entry is designed for students who have good grades in non-science subjects
or
Entry to the first year of the course - for students who have studied the relevant science subjects.
Foundation Course
These are six year courses whereby you enter in the foundation year, sometimes called year 0. Following successful completion of the foundation year, you enter the standard five-year course with everyone else. They are often aimed at people who have good A. Levels, but with no science background or to those you satisfy certain widening participation criteria (e.g. first person in higher education, low income etc.). Therefore it's best that you check up these courses before you apply as you may not be eligible. Here are some of the universities that do a foundation year:
UK universities offering medicine
University of Aberdeen University of London, Barts and The London Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry Queen's University, Belfast University of Birmingham University of Bristol Universities of Brighton and Sussex University of Cambridge * University of Dundee University of East Anglia University of Edinburgh University of Glasgow University of London, King's College Universities of Hull and York University of London, Imperial College * University of Keele University of Leeds Universities of Leicester and Warwick University of Liverpool University of Manchester University of Newcastle University of Nottingham University of Oxford * Universities of Exeter and Plymouth (Peninsula) University of London, Royal Free and University College * University of London, St. George's University of Sheffield University of Southampton University of St. Andrew's University of Cardiff
* For these institutions you need to sit the BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT), a subject-specific admissions test. Applicants are responsible for ensuring they enter for the BMAT by 30 September 2008. You must include your BMAT entry number in your UCAS application. This means you must in any event, enter for the BMAT test before submitting your application by 15 October 2008.
Information on how to enter and a list of centres where the test can be taken can be found on the BMAT website: www.bmat.org.uk. Any queries about the BMAT and centre arrangements should be made to the BMAT helpdesk (telephone: 01223 553366).
Personal statementYour personal statement is really important to your application. Admissions are looking for what you have got out of your experiences. You should:
explain why you want to be a doctor
demonstrate your commitment to a career in Medicine
describe your participation in school and community life
highlight your achievements
describe your hobbies and interests
explain any plans for a gap year
Reasons for choosing medicine
This may appear obvious to you. It is not obvious to the admissions tutors. The admissions co-ordinator and the admissions tutors have not met you and know nothing about you. It is vital that you tell them why you wish to be a doctor. There is no correct answer to this question but not to address it at all would seriously weaken your application.
Amount of work experience in a caring role
This does not necessarily mean medically related work experience, such as shadowing a GP or consultant. Such experience can be difficult to obtain for students under the age of 18. However, the admissions tutors are interested in caring experience which may or may not be medically related. Include how you got involved in such work, how long you have been doing it, how much time you spend each week and, most importantly, what you have gained from it.
When you are at your work experience, keep a diary. This will help you to reflect on your experiences and will help you remember certain things when writing your personal statement and at interview. Don't get too hung up on remembering endless procedures or diseases - think about what the doctor does, how do they communicate and how do they work as a team? Can you think of any examples? This is far more important than reciting endless facts. Remember to try and arrange the work experience yourself - this will make your application look better. Doing work experience with your mother or father should be avoided. Medical schools are interested in how you got involved in such work, how long you have been doing it, how much time you spend each week and, most importantly, what you have gained from it. Often people struggle to obtain work experience, but some of the following pointers may help:
Phone your local National Health Service Trust. Many trusts now have education departments with people specifically employed to help with obtaining work experience.
Speak to your general practitioner. Although you may not be able to work in your own local practise due to confidentiality issues, your GP may be able to pass you onto a friend or another surgery.
Use your existing contacts - if you have a friend/uncle/cousin/distant relative who is a doctor then try them! DO NOT go on work experience with your own relative, try to do a work experience with someone you don't know.
Speak to your school or your local branch of Connexions, who may be able to help.
Phone the admissions department of your nearest medical school; they may have a contact.
Remember it's easier to refuse you a place over the phone, via email or in a letter!
Interests/hobbies
Doctors must be able to communicate and empathise with their patients. This is enhanced by some shared life experiences. The student who is totally absorbed in his/her studies to the exclusion of almost all else is less likely to make a good doctor. Write about your interests and hobbies. Tell the tutors why you pursue them. How long have you been involved? Have you achieved any outside recognition (eg awards, certificates, etc)? The School is aware that some students may have more opportunities than others to pursue a wide range of interests. The concern is not so much exactly what you do in your spare time but that you have some spare time and that you do something with it.
Reading
To boost your personal statement and in order to prepare for the interview it is important to be up to date with current news in the world of health, the BBC website has a section, and it is also worth checking out New Scientist magazine.
A book that is considered worth reading to help your interview answers is Hippocratic Oaths: Medicine and Its Discontents by Raymond Tallis. It covers much regarding the changing experience of being a medic over the last 20 years, and seeks to identify the perceived "threats" to medicine as a profession from the media and government. It demystifies certain specific health scandals as well as widescale events, such as the cost of the MMR debate to public health in the UK. Reasons for inefficiencies in the health service are discussed and it even offers a concise history of scientific medicine, especially in regard to the potential risks posed by the rise of alternative therapies.
NB Before claiming to have done any reading in your personal statement, be sure to tell the truth or you will be tripped up in your interview!
Link to Bright Journals - a website full of advice about applying to read medicine packed with interesting articles
| back to top | © Teach First 2007