Medicine 2012...(hopeful entrants) !!

Why do you all want to do medicine?

Because I get to be elbow deep in someone's body, and it was either this or forging a career as the Glasgow Ripper.

Because I get to be elbow deep in someone's body, and it was either this or forging a career as the Glasgow Ripper.

Either your incision is in the wrong place, or the patient is huge for you to be elbow deep.....

Maybe it's best that I don't know

Probably.

Seriously though. I'm not a nutter. I want to be a doctor because I like people. I think we're interesting. No other real reason than that really.

I gathered that you weren't that strange

People are always good

Heyy
Thanks for the Good Luck.. we all need it !
What were your GCSE grades, AS & A2 grades ? If you dont mind could you please PM me your personal statement.. really need help on how to go about it.
Thankss Bubbles :P

Already found it in my school library, it will be well read by the summer . I just noticed the personal statement guide also written by icsmedical, anyone know if it's any good?

Thanks I did get 1 day in radiography and a few days with my GP and just started volunteering in paediatrics. I got a bit scared of the interviews Queens are going to use, like multiple scenarios and things.

It is very good, so long as one keeps in mind that the sample personal statements aren't templates, and to make sure not to accidentally be too influenced by them. But you already knew that, as you have your own unique reason for choosing medicine, and experiences, was just saying in case.

Already found it in my school library, it will be well read by the summer . I just noticed the personal statement guide also written by icsmedical, anyone know if it's any good?

Haha yeah
Just want to help people because I'm one of the very few people who have applied to medicine from my school in a good few years and they didn't help me at all. I went into the whole process totally blind and I didn't even know what the UKCAT was until my dad happened to find out about it! Managed to learn alot through applying !

I'm not saying you need to do all this but this is what I did, and it worked!

I got unconditionals for Edinburgh and Dundee. And a conditional for Glasgow (BB Advanced Higher, C Higher) and I withdrew from St.Andrew's as it was my last choice.

I got 722 in UKCAT.
6 As at Scottish Higher; Biology, English, Maths, French, Chemistry and Geography.

Advice I'd give would be:
Get in contact with your local NHS Trust or any doctor you know and try to get work experience. I wrote out 50 letters to GPs and hospital departments asking for work experience with my name, my age, why I was looking for work experience, what I hoped to learn etc. Try your best to get experience in at least 2 different environments, although don't worry too much if you don't. Just remember to write and talk about what you learned from the experience (e.g I learned that there was alot more paperwork involved than I thought, but I said that this still would not put me off or I said that I learned that teamwork was absolutely essential in hospital and GP work, and everyone uses their best skill to provide the best possible care for patients.) Don't feel bad if you can't get much experience, just talk about your enthusiasm for what you did do and see and what you learned. The unis know that its difficult to find work experience!

Do voluntary work for as long as possible before you apply in any kind of environment but a nursing home/elderly group/hospice/youth group would be great. I had volunteered at an equestrian centre for four years and although its not medically related it showed dedication and I used it to say I had increased my communication skills in dealing with people and people who have difficulties communicating (I worked with Riding for the Disabled Association). I also mentioned in my personal statement that I had applied to volunteer in a hospice however Disclosure Scotland had not come through. However, at interviews, I spoke about my experience there and how it had helped me learn to cope with my emotions.

Try to apply strategically. Look into which unis put most importance on which factors (UKCAT, work experience, non-academics etc.) look at your strong points and apply accordingly. Applying to medicine is as much strategic as it is luck and grades etc.

Do as much at school as you can. Get involved in any projects, fundraising, head girl etc. And use this in your personal statement to show what you learned. Everything in applying for medicine is what you gained and learned, not what you did! (e.g I was in the yearbook committee, it developed my teamworking skills and helped me to express my opinions more clearly) Also try to make sure you have some hobbies to write about. They like to know that you're a well rounded person!

I'd definitely advise buying the ISC books for the UKCAT test and Medicine Interviews. The Medicine Interviews book gives you lots of questions to look at and you can prepare some things in advance (Why do you want to do Medicine? Why that uni? What do you know about PBL? Modernising Medical Careers? Ethical Questions etc.) They cost quite a bit but definitely worth it! So save up and get them. The UKCAT book questions are so much harder than the actual test but they really prepare you well seen as if you do a selection of the questions, you've done wayy more that is in the test.

Make sure you dress appropriately for any interviews, a smart suit or a pair of nice trousers and a blouse are fine.

Try to do a mock interview with a family member or teacher to be more prepared.

Put BBC Health news (http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/news) as your internet homepage. I'd advise picking a condition (I chose Alzheimers as my gran has it and I wrote about it in my personal statement) and researching it in depth to be able to speak about it in detail at interview. Don't ignore everything else though, look at any news as all interviews asked me if I had looked into the news about medicine.

Keep a notebook and write out anything you think of. (e.g answers to common questions, details or medical news)

Most important! Be yourself, especially at interview! And don't give up! I was lucky enough to get in first time round. But many amazing applicants are rejected and need to re-apply. If it happens, take a gap year, get more work experience, find a job and don't worry, it'll happen!

Good Luck and if you need any more advice, just ask!

Ah the benefits of being at school....some of us had to buy these books!!

Personally I didn't find the personal statement book to be of any great use, others may disagree but I was always fairly confident when it came to writing my PS and preferred it to be something that portrayed who I am rather than a samey, generic sounding one.... As an example the book tells you to avoid using humour: I decided to completely ignore this advice and got 4 interviews. Whether that was because of, or despite the humour I don't know, but it seemed to work!

The "Medical School Interviews" book is really quite helpful however (assuming/hoping you get that far!), but again be careful to use it as a guideline rather than remembering the responses verbatim- you're answers should reflect who you are and have at least an element of truth in them!

Oh I love it! It's amazing. But honestly? I think i'd like anywhere, all the places I applied I would have been happy to go to. I really would start trying to get places on open days early, they run out so quickly. Just blag it as a sickie if your school gives you grief, if you care enough about your uni, you're gonna care enough to catch up. Try to get a med specific one too, much more helpful.