Medicine Routes of entry and entryrequirements

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MedicineRoutes of entry and entry requirements

• Gordon Dent
• Director of Admissions and Senior Lecturer in
  Pharmacology
• Keele University School of Medicine

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Who are we?

• Admissions tutors administrators
• Our job
• to fill the available places in medical schools
  with the best possible students
• We can only offer places to people who apply
• We cant offer places to every-
• body who applies

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Who are you?

• Somebody who wants to study medicine at
  university
• Somebody who wants to be a doctor
• Somebody who is prepared to work very hard to
  achieve your goals
• Would like to meet

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What are we looking for?

• Academic ability
• Commitment
• Awareness of what medicine involves
• Work/life balance
• Capacity for self-directed learning
• Communication
• Team work
• Empathy/understanding/desire to help

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What are you looking for?

• A challenge
• A scientific education
• An opportunity to contribute
• A chance to improve peoples lives
• An interesting career
• Lifelong learning

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What are your chances of getting in (2006)?

• Aberdeen N/A
• Barts London 277
• Birmingham 370
• Brighton Sussex 138
• Bristol 216
• Cambridge 280
• Cardiff 300
• Dundee 154
• East Anglia 130
• Edinburgh N/A
• Glasgow 233
• Hull/York 130
• Imperial 326
• Keele 128
• Kings College London 336

• Leeds 238
• Leicester 235
• Liverpool 268
• Manchester 380
• Newcastle 225
• Nottingham 246
• Oxford 150
• Peninsula 167
• Queens (Belfast) N/A
• Sheffield 241
• Southampton 206
• St Andrews 120
• St Georges 187
• University College 330
• London

Source http//www.medschoolsonline.co.uk
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Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 Places
Available 90 120 130 130 Applications 530 589 1013
1210 Interviews 360 402 505 400 Offers 212 272 26
4 250
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Routes into Medicine

• Entry points
• Qualifications
• Personal Statements
• Interviews

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Routes of entry

• A104 Health Foundation Year for Medicine (6 years
  including foundation year)
• For students with academic qualifications of
  appropriate standard but lacking specific science
  qualifications
• A100 Standard Entry (5 years)
• For students with appropriate academic
  qualifications
• A101 Graduate Entry (4 years)
• For graduates in any discipline

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Routes into Medicine

• Entry points
• Qualifications
• Personal Statements
• Interviews

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A100 MBChB

• GCSE
• Minimum of 4 A/A grades (unless with verified
  extenuating circumstances)
• Minimum grade B in
• English language
• Mathematics
• Any science not offered at AS or A2
• Overseas equivalents judges on an individual basis

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A100 MBChB

• A-level
• Standard offer AAB
• Chemistry required at minimum of AS grade B
• Either Chemistry or Biology required at A2, plus
• at least one additional hard science (physics,
  chemistry, biology, mathematics)
• one additional rigorous academic subject assessed
  by non-school-marked examinations
• Predicted grades below BBB very unlikely to lead
  to invitation for interview

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A100 MBChB

• International Baccalaureate
• Standard offer 34 points
• Higher level (grade 6 minimum)
• Chemistry or Biology plus one additional hard
  science and one additional rigorous academic
  subject
• Standard level (grades 6, 5, 5)
• any academic subjects
• Theory of Knowledge/Extended Essay not currently
  taken into account

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A100 MBChB

• Degree
• Graduates holding or expecting to attain a
  2i in a relevant science subject may apply for
  A100 or A101 (see next slide)
• Requirements for GCSE English language and
  mathematics still apply
• Applications dealt with individually may require
  specific A-levels or evidence of degree course
  content
• Graduate applicants to A100 must have taken UKCAT
  (see later slides)

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A101 Graduate-Entry Programme

• Direct entry to year 2 of MBChB programme
• Degree
• Minimum 2i in any subject(s)
• No overseas students (currently)
• Applicants to A101 must have taken GAMSAT (see
  later slides)

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A104 Health Foundation Year for Medicine

• Open to entrants with AAB at A-level but without
  A-level biology or chemistry
• Other level-3 qualifications considered
  (including Access to HE but not Access to
  Medicine)
• Shared health foundation year with pharmacy,
  nursing and physiotherapy students

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Aptitude tests

• GAMSAT
• Graduate entry programmes (St Georges, Derby,
  Swansea, Peninsula, Keele)
• BMAT (Biomedical Admissions Test)
• Standard 5-year programmes (Cambridge, Oxford,
  Imperial College, University College London)
• UKCAT (UK Clinical Aptitude Test)
• Majority of medical schools, including Imperial
  graduate entry programme

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Universities using UKCAT (2009 entry)

• Aberdeen University
• Birmingham University Graduate Entry Medical
  Degree
• Brighton and Sussex Medical School
• Cardiff University
• Dundee University
• Durham University
• East Anglia University
• Edinburgh University
• Glasgow University
• Hull York Medical School
• Imperial College
• Keele University
• Kings College University of London
• Leeds University
• Leicester University
• Manchester University
• Newcastle University
• Nottingham University

• Oxford Graduate Entry Medical Degree
• Peninsula Medical School
• Queen Mary, University of London
• Queens University, Belfast
• Sheffield University
• Southampton University
• St Georges Medical School, University of London
• Warwick University

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UKCAT

• Important dates 2008
• 1st May registration opens
• 7th July testing begins
• 26th September bursary application deadline
• 26th September registration deadline
• 10th October last test
• 15th October UCAS application deadline

• Five subtests
• Verbal reasoning
• Abstract reasoning
• Quantitative reasoning
• Decision analysis
• Non-cognitive attributes

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Routes into Medicine

• Entry points
• Qualifications
• Personal Statements
• Interviews

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Personal statements

• Broadly similar criteria looked for by most
  medical schools
• motivation
• experience
• interests
• communication
• team working

• UCAS/admissions teams aware of plagiarism of
  personal statements
• similarity detection software used to identify
  copying

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Personal statement

• Give us an all-round picture of who you are
• Convince us that you really want to be a doctor
• Emphasize your strengths but display some
  humility
• Dont write in verse, stream-of-consciousness or
  ALL IN CAPITALS

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Motivation

• Think hard
• Why do you want to be a doctor?
• Why not a research scientist, nurse,
  physiotherapist, pharmacist, social worker,
  lollipop man/lady?
• What knowledge do you have of the healthcare
  system?
• Have you talked to doctors?

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Experience

• Are you willing to give up your time to help
  others?
• What have you brought to gained from the
  experience of caring for people?
• Interests
• Do you have a range of interests, not purely
  school-led activities?
• Can you cope with stressful distressing
  situations?

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Communication Team Working

• Have you been entrusted with responsibility for
  people organizations?
• Do you think about how to help others?
• Can you communicate effectively with different
  people?
• Do you make an effort to overcome communication
  barriers?
• Can you work independently and in teams?

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Reference

• Reference should support personal statement
• Make sure referee is aware and supportive of
  your ambitions
• Encourage referee to tell us about more than your
  academic abilities
• Grade predictions are important and should be
  realistic

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Routes into Medicine

• Entry points
• Qualifications
• Personal Statements
• Interviews

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Interview

• Medical School, Keele Campus
• Layout of Interview Room

Candidate
Panellists Academic Clinical Lay
Chair
Panel
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Interview

• Not directly related to personal statement
• (but beware of self-contradiction)
• Motivation determination
• Understanding of the course
• Experience in caring roles
• Understanding of what being a doctor involves
• Range of extracurricular activities/interests
• Topical discussion
• Reasoning, summarizing

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Interview

• Answer the question you are asked, not the
  question you prepared for
• Highly rehearsed answers are very obvious
• If you dont understand the question, ask for
  clarification
• Give full answers but dont ramble there is
  limited time available
• Try to practise answering questions (about
  anything that requires thought) under pressure

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Offer

• Offers come via UCAS and school
• Your decision on whether to accept offer by date
  determined by UCAS
• Firm / Insurance offer
• Check ALL conditions of offer (CRB etc)
• Consider Visit / Open days before final decision

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RESULTS DAY

• The Universities have results early in order to
  make decisions
• UCAS web site will record you as Unconditional
  Offer if you have a place
• Below AAB ???????

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• We do want students
• We do need doctors
• Are you the right person?