Warwick GEP (A101) Applicants 2015

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am1992

Congratulations to everyone with offers!! But don't give up to all that did not, be positive!!! I went to the Warwick (it's my favourite uni for GEM) open day on Monday, and it seemed as though their favourite type of work experience for people to have is care home roles and HCA. They seemed half against/ half unsure of St. John's first aid roles and I was just wondering if that reflected on most you guys receiving offers and invites to interview. I have been struggling to get a job in a care home since last year as I don't have a NVQ and I was wondering if it will reduce my chance of being selected for and interview...? I've also had no luck finding HCA roles because of the same reason :frown:

Any responses will help :biggrin:

what kinds of WEX did you guys get?

I got 4 offers from my unis and in each interview talked prob 40% about my first aid volunteering with Red Cross (equivalent to St Johns). Indeed it was the main motivator for me going into medicine from law and Durham in particular seemed fairly impressed with my tales of performing CPR at music festivals etc, given that the interviewer said it was great that I had real clinical experience. Can't think why they would be against it and indeed at the Warwick interview I talked about first aid stuff at 2 of my stations and got an offer. It's good for teamwork, leadership, working with other healthcare professionals, allows genuine responsibility (potentially life or death) and gives real clinical experience. Furthermore it allowed me to state what area of medicine I'd consider specialising in (emergency med) and gave me something to back that up with. That's my take on it anyway.

HCA stuff is great, I did it for 3 months and there's lots to talk about regarding empathy etc. as well as understanding other roles in health. I would say that most people have done this kind of thing though so it's kind of obligatory to have some kind of care related background from somewhere, even volunteering.

I tend to have found other positions of responsibility were also useful. I sit on the Children's Panel in Scotland for example (basically a magistrate for kids and teenagers) and have picked up transferrable skills. It's a bit different and shows broader interests. Joining a sports team is also good.

You'll need to do a week or two shadowing in a hospital. How useful this is really depends on the quality of the placement but I found I was able to talk about it.

Hope that helps!

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1321

nug

Original post by MJK91

Think I've finally sussed out your identity :P You're firming Notts right?

Damn it, I wanted malamutes.

Yup I'm the malamute's mummy!

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Reply 1322

nug

Original post by ceciafb

Happy for you that you ended up getting four! definitely firming notts?

Thanks. I am definitely firming Notts :biggrin:

How about you?

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Reply 1323

Zorg

Original post by nug

Yup I'm the malamute's mummy!

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Will the Malamute be joining us in Nottingham? If so, stress relief sorted!

Reply 1324

Brachioradialis

Original post by renren95

Any responses will help :biggrin:

what kinds of WEX did you guys get?

I think the thing with Warwick is (as you can guess from their admissions criteria) that they love versatile experience and backgrounds.

The only solid requirement is that you meet the academic requirements, and that you have **some** form of caring experience (not in the family -- that was my mistake last year)

HCA work shows dedication; the longer your work experience the better. St John's could be anything from an afternoon volunteering to an entire week. I imagine if you did loads with them then they wouldn't turn it away as experience.

My experience was seeing some patients at work (allergy testing in a hospital), going abroad to help with clinical research (so clerking patients, reporting results etc), and volunteering in another hospital just talking to patients/relatives :smile:

Then beyond that public health work.

Reply 1325

Going_To_California

I spoke to a careers person at Warwick for medicine as I did my UG here. She said that some admissions tutors see first aid as "handing out plasters and talking to drunk people" and was a bit dismissive of it generally... It seems a shame, because having done a little first aid, you get to see a variety of injuries, often not serious, but even so, people can be quite distressed and dealing with people who are upset is a skill in itself...
I think it's good experience to have, and I imagine a lot of places do too.

Reply 1326

Awesome_Alien

Original post by renren95

Any responses will help :biggrin:

what kinds of WEX did you guys get?

I volunteered at an old age day care center once a week for about a year and I talked about it in my personal statement and at the interview at warwick, they seemed alright with it. do-it.org is a pretty good site if you want to volunteer!

Reply 1327

GoredGuar

Original post by renren95

Any responses will help :biggrin:

what kinds of WEX did you guys get?

Work experience wise, I had worked as an Operating Department Assistant in my gap year (1,400+ hours), and I'm currently volunteering at a local hospital for patient surveys, and working as a HCA (250+ hours so far). Plus some charity Anthony Nolan work in my undergrad degree.

Last year I was underprepared for interviews and messed them up majorly. XD

Reply 1328

Cats-R-Us

Original post by pyramid_song28

hey, out of interest did Warwick say why they aren't so sure about voluntary work as a First Aider with St John Ambulance?

I've heard the same thing, and seem to remember it being to do with the fact that you get trained by them to carry out certain procedures... and that the universities don't like this so much because they have ANOTHER certain way of training you for these procedures, and it's easier to train their method onto a blank page.

Hearing this is why I didn't go the St John Ambulance route either.

Reply 1329

nug

Original post by Zorg

Will the Malamute be joining us in Nottingham? If so, stress relief sorted!

The malamute is already in Derby although not sure he is always a stress reliever! He's very strong and likes squirrels....

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Reply 1330

Going_To_California

Original post by nug

The malamute is already in Derby although not sure he is always a stress reliever! He's very strong and likes squirrels....

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He sounds great! I really miss having pets at university!

Reply 1331

sonic25

Hi guys i WAS JUST WONDERING.

Does anyone know when we have to sort out student finance by.

I remember someone saying we have to wait until we get confirmation from the uni before we can apply

does anyone know exactly how it works?

thanks

Reply 1332

danisk

Original post by sonic25

Think I remember reading somewhere that u can apply before u get confirmation

Reply 1333

Brachioradialis

Original post by nug

The malamute is already in Derby although not sure he is always a stress reliever! He's very strong and likes squirrels....

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Do you find more often than not you are horizontal and not in a standing position? :P

Reply 1334

ranelagh75

Original post by Cats-R-Us

I have to say: this is not true, at least not in the case of WMS.

All training for BLS is not done via WMS, it's done via the partner hospitals, and in my direct personal experience these trainers are delighted for any and all BLS training that students have coming in, be it from SJA or elsewhere. The stuff that first-years get is not particularly complex stuff anyway, and any competent SJA FA or above will have it and more, trust me.

I know a few people in our cohort who only had SJA as background and using SJA experience was absolutely fine (they were admitted to the course, after all). It is far more important that applicants can demonstrate that they have empathy, compassion and the ability to work well in a team in stressful situations than what those specific situations actually are.

Reply 1335

lv587

Original post by ranelagh75

Along the same lines as this, I went for a talk at WMS last year for current Warwick students about applying to grad med (not WMS specific, not that it really matters) and they had a student talking about her experience and the bulk of it was SJA. Would assume from this that they value it as much as any other experience.

Reply 1336

djbe

Has anyone been told they are on the waiting list? Haven't heard either way from Warwick

Reply 1337

LostInYourMusic

[QUOTE=renren95;55024529)... what kinds of WEX did you guys get?

I've spent the last year working as a HCA but in a mental health unit. I got in straight out of uni and with only supermarket work under my belt. It's actually been really good because I've developed my communication so much, especially with patients who are delusional or senile so calming them down can be an effort :P you get a wide range of patients too; aggressive to manic to almost catatonic. I also feel like I get a different view on the physical stuff, because I have to sit with patients on general wards for hours at a time and accompany them to scans and appointments. I got to go into the staff area for a CT scan though instead of being told to wait outside so I got to watch that being done. I've even heard a baby's heartbeat by going to someone's maternity appointment. It also means I've sat in on countless doctor consultations. So don't discount mental health! :smile:

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(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1338