Plymouth Medical School Applicants 2016

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I also have a statement of result and not the certificate so I will call up tomorrow if I get a chance during the day.

Yeah I'm going to call them up too. Hopefully it can be resolved because even if I do order replacements, it'll take about a month

Reply 121

painandpride15

Original post by WayneEnterprises

Yeah I'm going to call them up too. Hopefully it can be resolved because even if I do order replacements, it'll take about a month

Exactly, let me know you get on and what they say please.

Reply 122

painandpride15

Original post by lightwoXd

Now that's just mean tbh, if they're gonna be like that I don't want to go to their university anyway :tongue:

I agree haha.

Reply 123

JulietR

How is everyone preparing for the interview??

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Reply 124

WayneEnterprises

Original post by painandpride15

Exactly, let me know you get on and what they say please.

Signed letter from school to confirm grades and when the exams were taken. Alternatively they would accept replacement certificates after the interview if they dont arrive in time.

Reply 125

sortofmusician

They just emailed me to say that results statements are fine as long as they were received on results day and aren't provisional results, or you can use the alternative of the signed letter from your school. Hope this helps! :smile:

Reply 126

Al1c3

Original post by lightwoXd

I just put 'Interview Attendance Confirmation' in the subject line of mine and just said that I was confirming attendance of my interview at [quote date/time].

Someone will email you back once you've sent it, so you should be okay :smile:

thanks. got the email back too 😊 best of luck with interview

Reply 127

lightwoXd

Original post by Al1c3

thanks. got the email back too 😊 best of luck with interview

Aw no problem at all :smile:

Good luck to you too! :biggrin:

Reply 128

10nasir

Got an interview for 27th, very happy!!! Have to make a 6 hour train journey though but it should be fun hahaha

Stats are: A*AAa
UKCAT: 710 overall

Reply 129

Applicant75235

Does anyone know how the international applicants are selected and if it is the same idea of ukcat sub section cut off and how much interviews are given out?

Any international applicants over here?

Reply 130

lightwoXd

Original post by 10nasir

Got an interview for 27th, very happy!!! Have to make a 6 hour train journey though but it should be fun hahaha

Stats are: A*AAa
UKCAT: 710 overall

Congrats!! :biggrin:

Haha tell me about the 6 hour train journey, trying to sort mine out now. Absolute nightmare but hopefully it'll be worth it!

Reply 131

JulietR

Anybody know how many people sit on the interview panel??

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Reply 132

Dr Gin

Original post by JulietR

Anybody know how many people sit on the interview panel??

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There were 3 last year (maybe 4 for some panels, not sure) with a mix of various medics, related professions and lay people as far as I know...

Reply 133

JulietR

Original post by Dr Gin

There were 3 last year (maybe 4 for some panels, not sure) with a mix of various medics, related professions and lay people as far as I know...

Thank you, I know your daughter now goes to Plymouth. Would you be able to tell me just in general how she prepared for the interview?

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Reply 134

10nasir

Original post by lightwoXd

Congrats!! :biggrin:

Haha tell me about the 6 hour train journey, trying to sort mine out now. Absolute nightmare but hopefully it'll be worth it!

Hahahah I'd travel however long they want me to as long as I get the place hahaha

Is yours for the 27th too?

Reply 135

Multiplication

Original post by 10nasir

Hahahah I'd travel however long they want me to as long as I get the place hahaha

Is yours for the 27th too?

Mine's on the 27th aswell! Approximately 4:30pm I think.

Reply 136

Dr Gin

Original post by JulietR

Thank you, I know your daughter now goes to Plymouth. Would you be able to tell me just in general how she prepared for the interview?

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Most of the prep she did was generic: she attended 7 interviews over 2 years and this was her 4th so she had a really confident and clear idea about her motivation for medicine and a good understanding of the NHS/career structure, importance of teamwork, leadership, professionalism and stress management etc. etc. As Plymouth (and Exeter at the time) has such a clear structure to their interviews she read Tony Hope's Medical Ethics book and also read-up on the ministryofethics.co.uk website so that she understood a little background to some of the ethical dilemmas that might come up at interview and had a planned approach ready (she did the BMAT in her second application cycle and the essay prep for that helped her develop the ability to present a balanced argument).
Hope this helps!

Reply 137

curious_M

Original post by Dr Gin

Hi
Sorry to intrude; what would be your advice for preparing for MMI interview(particularly role plays....). Any interview course that preps that preps you well for MMI in your view?? many thanks

Reply 138

JulietR

Original post by Dr Gin

Okay thank you. That is a lot of interviews! I will definitely look at that ethics website

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Reply 139

Dr Gin

Original post by curious_M

Hi
Sorry to intrude; what would be your advice for preparing for MMI interview(particularly role plays....). Any interview course that preps that preps you well for MMI in your view?? many thanks

For role play it depends on you. If you are a bit of an extrovert you will probably be fine anyway but if the thought of a role play fills you with dread then it is a really good idea to try to practice in front of an audience to get rid of your nerves ready for the real thing. The main thing to remember is that the actor working with you will not break out of role, they will take it 100% seriously - no giggles, no feeling ridiculous etc. so it is really important that you allow yourself to immerse totally into it without feeling silly. Usually the main things being assessed are your communication skills (verbal and non-verbal), your empathy and your ability to come up with a 'safe' coping strategy for the situation you're in (thinking on the spot). My daughter asked the drama teacher at school to act in a selection of scenarios and her and her peers tried out each part with her in turn. They laughed at each other and themselves but gradually started to feel happier with the concept.
Otherwise for MMI it really depends where you are going to: some med schools treat it literally like an exam where you do a maths test, a written comprehension, a pictorial comprehension, a video consultation analysis, a manual dexterity test, a role play, an ethics question etc etc. one of the med schools my daughter was interviewed at only used a human examiner in one of the stations. Others use the MMI format to expose you to lots of individual examiners and then each one has a mini interview/conversation with you (more like a panel interview) on a set topic. You still need to be really clear on the same 'syllabus' of stuff whatever the format.
Many of the med schools that use MMI do so because they consider them to be more protective from litigation (they can quantify and defend the reason why Jonny got the place not Jemima because everything is objectively measurable and 'identical' for each applicant) however, IMO, the best candidates are often found when examiners are allowed to go off-piste a little to find out what is under the glossy surface; sadly very few med schools have the balls still to do this. It also depends on the selection process for interview: for instance med schools that use relatively low academic criteria and have already thoroughly assessed the PS pre-interview may be more likely to have a very academic interview process to test for levels of science, mathematical and English ability.
My daughter didn't go on any interview preparation courses. The first year she had 3 interviews and got no offers so she set-up 'MedSoc' at school and she and her fellow potential medics/dentists (yrs 11, 12, 13) met up every week to discuss medical issues and practice interview questions together. Listening to others answering questions on the spot very quickly helps you to work out what sounds good and what sounds weak. I'm a GP so I helped them all by suggesting questions and offering them my advice about how to approach answering them. Gradually they all honed their interview techniques and all agreed that working together as a team for a few months had strengthened their individual chances. (My daughter got 3 offers from 4 interviews on her second application cycle so it made a massive difference to her). It's well worth trying to find someone to work with if you possibly can…

Good luck!