How can I become a competitive applicat for GEM?

Many med schools require a life science degree for GEM and nursing does not qualify for this. There are no standard GEM courses that prefer healthcare-related degrees, that I am aware of, though there are courses for those already working in healthcare

Hi,

I am currently in sixth form studying BTEC Applied Science L3 Diploma alongside A-Level Sociology, I do not have the best GCSE results ranging from 4-6 and would love to do medicine for my further studies. I have came to terms with the fact that with the course of education I have taken and with my GCSE results combined, i will not be a successful applicant but I have been looking into GEM.

I am looking at using an Adult Nursing degree to be a step up into GEM mainly because most universities will accept my qualifications.

What I am wandering is what can I do to make myself look like a successful application when I come to applying to GEM?
What can I do now to help me get into GEM?
Should I focus on getting into the nursing degree (i.e. focus my work experience shadowing a doctor or nurse)?

Hope to hear soon,
Thanks.

You get life sciences trust me. I finished before Christmas break a 3 hour exam for AP. I passed luckily but loads failed as it was ridiculously in-depth for what we will everrrr need! Taught by a doctor and some physiotherapist. I just don't think it's the right option but I do know nurses are excepted obviously depends on grades and competition. A handful from honours last year got accepted from our university. I don't know how they have the energy to do another four years! Maybe different for us as my degree is 4 years. If I didn't have science already I would only have got accepted for the 3 years with out honours but that's only my experience.

Was there a particular reason that stopped you from achieving higher grades in your GCSEs?

If those grades weren't a reflection of your true academic ability, the most practical option would be to take some A-levels. If you can manage intensive study, you could pick up biology and chemistry alongside sociology and complete them within a year, so it counts as a single sitting (some colleges and online providers do offer intensive one-year A-level courses). Alternatively you could restart your A-levels in September with three new subjects. Three good A-levels obtained at the same time would make you eligible to apply to quite a lot of medical schools. (Not all of them put weight on GCSEs - my own doesn't score them at all!) Statistically this would give you a far better chance of getting into med school than pursuing GEM, which is more competitive than standard undergraduate medicine and has higher selection test thresholds.

If you don't think you can get the necessary A-levels, the best advice I can give is to choose a degree that you'll enjoy in its own right and that leads to a job that interests you for its own sake. Don't pick a course just because it seems like a good option for GEM. I can't stress this enough. Many aspiring GEM applicants go for biomedical science, biochemistry, or pharmacology, because these degrees are accepted by all GEM programmes and they want to maximise their chances. They don't always pause to consider whether they would like the course. At my med school we occasionally have collaborative teaching sessions with the pharmacy students, and I've met quite a few who only chose the degree as a stepping stone to GEM and who absolutely hate it. Don't do that to yourself. Life's too short, and as GEM is so competitive there's a real risk that you would use up your student finance on a degree you don't like for a career you don't really want. You learn the most when you're happiest, and that means finding a degree that meshes with your interests and skills and that stretches you intellectually without overwhelming you.

So, leaving GEM to one side for a moment, what would that look like for you? If you know you definitely want to work in healthcare, have you explored professions outside the obvious medicine-nursing duo? Dietetics, midwifery, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, radiography, speech and language therapy, social work...the list goes on. Entry requirements vary from university to university, but a solid grade in your BTEC and GCSEs at 4 to 6 would be fine for several pre-registration degrees in these professions. If you don't know much about healthcare outside of medicine and nursing, and you're not sure what might suit you, this NHS careers quiz is a helpful starting point. It's also got a course finder and a filtering tool to let you compare different areas. (Its top matches for me were psychiatry and learning disability nursing, and as I'm seriously considering LD psychiatry, it seems pretty accurate! 🙂)