To give yourself the best possible chance of success – or at least a fighting
chance of an interview – your application needs to fulfil the tough academic
requirements and have an “X factor” that will catch the eye of the admissions
tutor, too.
Students are told that there is a limited amount of work they can do to
prepare for the aptitude test, but Joe Hamilton, a third-year medical student,
told me otherwise. Hamilton was rejected by all four of his chosen universities
the first time round. His below-par UKCAT mark was partly responsible. “Two of
the rejections I received were due to the fact that I did not score highly
enough in the UKCAT.” So how did he make sure he got a better score the
following year? “The second time around I did a two-day course in London and a
lot more practice before sitting the test.” He dramatically improved his score.
The course Hamilton took is run by Kaplan, an international exam-preparation
organisation, and teaches techniques for answering questions from each section
of the test. For instance, careful time-management counts: it is crucial that
you attempt all sections, as often the questions that carry more marks are
towards the end of the paper. That’s a useful insight, but at £315 the course is
not cheap.
“They say you can’t prepare for the UKCAT, only familiarise yourself with the
questions,” Hamilton says. “I found that was not the case and the more practice
you do, the higher the score you will get. I know a lot of others who are at
medical school with me now had exactly the same experience of the UKCAT.”
Universities will also be looking for evidence that you are genuinely
interested in medicine and have read widely around the subject, gaining insight
into the NHS and health care generally. Dr Lawrence Seymour, a consultant in
acute medicine at a teaching hospital, recommends starting as early as GCSE
year. “I would advise a would-be doctor to keep a folder and collect anything in
the general press or from medical journals such as the BMJ [formerly the British
Medical Journal] that relates to medical advances, new treatments – anything
that catches their interest.”
Before applying, students should make sure they have a clear idea of what
being a doctor is about, says David Bender, an emeritus professor of nutritional
biochemistry at
University College
London, and a former member of the medical admissions team.
“Students thinking about applying to medical school should talk to doctors and
medical students to find out what the course and the job is really like,” he
says. “It is not all the glamour you see on television.”
Nearly all medical schools require applicants to have some sort of
health-care-related work experience. I asked Dr Patrick Harkin, the deputy
director of medical admissions at the
University of
Leeds, what counted as relevant experience. “Volunteering in a
hospice is work experience, even if it’s not necessarily what you think of
first. In fact, anything that has clinical relevance is work experience. Care
homes, hospices, pharmacies, all places where something clinical is happening.”
You don’t need a long list of placements, Dr Harkin says, as long as it is clear
that you have learnt from what you’ve done. “It’s not about what you do; it’s
about how much you get out of it. Some people get more out of a week than others
get out of a month.”
Having said that, working or volunteering in a clinical setting for a
prolonged period of time is valuable. “If you stick at something for six months,
that shows dedication and an interest. If you’ve been at 15 different things we
might start to wonder about your commitment, or your ability to get on well with
other people.”
Work experience can also enhance your vital communication skills. Leo
Feinberg, president of the
University of
Birmingham’s MedSoc and a third-year medical student, volunteered
in an acute medical unit, where he learnt what he says is one of medicine’s most
important lessons: that “Patients want to talk. They may be nervous, and they
need someone to offload to.”
Only three medical schools,
Belfast’s Queen’s,
Edinburgh, and
Southampton, do not
interview prospective medical students. But certain medical schools place more
emphasis on
personal statements than
others and information about this can be found on their websites. (Many
universities provide a guide to writing the personal statement, as does
Ucas.)
Dr Harkin stresses that a personal statement
must
concentrate on the individual’s unique experiences relevant to their choice of
career. “Your personal statement is personal. It is about you. We are not after
great prose. This is not a creative writing course.” Hamilton agrees: “Anything
that I thought was relevant to my application, that I had gained something from,
I put into my personal statement.”
At the interview, tutors are looking for commitment and enthusiasm. They also
assess aptitude, empathy, communication skills and social awareness. Preparation
is vital, says Dr Seymour. “Interview practice is really, really important. Most
candidates are stumped or struggle to sound sincere when you ask them 'So why do
you want to study medicine?’ My advice is: practise.”
A realistic understanding of the highs and lows of being a doctor is
required. Prof Bender has a way of investigating this. “One of the questions I
often ask applicants is: 'Has anyone tried to persuade you that medicine is an
awful career?’”
Given the competition, it is inevitable that even some of the best candidates
will be turned down. But this should not be a deterrent. Hamilton made good use
of his enforced gap year by working as a health care assistant at a local
hospital, which he believes boosted his application the second time around.
“There are a lot of people who are second-time applicants, possibly as many as a
third or half of the year group. I have not met anyone who has regretted having
a year out – but I have met people who wish that they had had the opportunity.”
The greatest benefit of his year out, Hamilton says, was the chance “to
experience health care from the nurses’ perspective. From their point of view,
doctors who started out as health care assistants make the best doctors!”
After speaking to Joe Hamilton – and so many other helpful people – I am
encouraged, though the anxiety hasn’t completely left me. At least I know what I
need to do to give myself a chance of being accepted — and maybe one day I will
be able to look a patient in the eye and say: “Hello, I’m Dr Ford. How can I
help you?”.
Grade and aptitude test requirements vary. Check university and medical
school websites
For advice on admissions, see gmc-uk.org; for information
on the 2013 UKCAT paper and practice questions, see ukcat.ac.uk;
for the BMAT see admissionstestingservice.org; for Kaplan’s preparation
course see kaptest.co.uk.
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