graduate medicine after gaining Bsc

i got into medicine on my first attempt after doing a biomedical science degree. although i had bucket loads of relevant work experience. my advice is to ignore the statistics, you shouldnt be bothered whether most people get in on their second attempt - you should be focussed on your own application profile.

hey ho,

Is there any medics out there who are on a course after studying biosciences,chem etc,3yr Bsc?

i wonder how many of you got into medicine on 1st attempt because iv heard

of many people getting a place after 2nd attempt (with wrk experience under

their belt), not so many 1st timers ?!

although i had bucket loads of relevant work experience.

dances with lamposts (lol!) ;
what type of work experience did u have when applying ?

im actually a 1st yr chemistry studnt -
im going to try to do part time HCA wrk, i need to get voluntary hospital wrk under my belt befre i apply.

Mind sharing what the bucket loads of work ex was, trying to avoid being a grad on 5year course if possible.

OP if you want to improve your chances of getting in on 1st application maybe consider applying to some 5yr course aswell as GEP

Hey, no i dont mind sharing. it wasnt work that i did specifically to get into medicine, it was just work that i somehow stumbled across and when i came to the decision that i was going to apply for medicine i realised that i already had the work experience.

- i started as a volunteer sailing instructor to sea cadets when i was about 16 for a few years (only in the summer),
- whilst i was doing my degree, i worked part time at a motor racing circuit as a first aider - very cool as i got to drive the ambulance on the track and help the doctors/paramedics with treating casualties. that was for about 3 years (mostly in the summer). (this was with a private company - not st johns or red cross)
- i did the years lab placement while on my biomed degree, got to see/help with a post mortem, endoscopy, cystic fibrosis sweat test, glucose tolerance test, rapid access breat clinic, cytology, others that i cant remember! not really relevant to my application but very interesting.
- after graduation i worked part time (20 hours/week) as a physiotherapy assistant doing nerve conduction tests on patients with ? carpal tunnel syndrome and other similar complaints. very good for direct patient contact and liaison with doctors/other health professionals. i did this for about 2 years.
- meanwhile, i worked full time as a traceability officer for the blood bank - not relevant at all but i needed money. very boring job!!!! this was for 1 year.
- now, im working as an arthroplasty clerk until the end of august when i get ready to start med school!! again, boring job but i need the money. although, i got to go and watch a hip replacement a couple of weeks ago. very cool.
- i have been an appointed first aider for my karate club for a couple of years, never had to do anything with that though (and i didnt mention it in the interviews)

thinking about it, there isnt 'bucket loads' there. but i had a LOT to talk about at my interviews, at my st georges one they asked me to tell them about it and i waffled on for aaaaaagggges, after a while i realised that i was still talking and had to force myself to shut up so that i could get on with the interview.

i think it was important that i had lots of stories to tell: eg. telling them about having to do cpr for the first time at the track , or about when patients want to speak welsh to me when i do their nerve conduction tests (i cant speak much welsh), or about expecting the unexpected when teaching sailing and the kids on your boat go playing in front of the ferries when its just about to leave the harbour!

my application profile is posted here (it has my gcse and a level grades ): http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?p=18111551#post18111551

hope that helps, if you want any more info then let me know.

Gillian.

p.s. i think its important to note that i have never worked in a care home, i have never been a hca and the only volunteering ive done is the sailing instructing which wasnt at all related to medicine or even aimed at a medicine application. so yes, i think that they can be valuable experiences for people but having something a little different cant hurt.

p.p.s. sorry about the essay!