The Student Room Group

Tips for Medicine Application Process

Hi everyone,

So I am currently in the process of creating a document for prospective applicants to walk them through the medicine application process.

To end the document, I was thinking of having a section where you can give tips from your own experience. If you could post a tip and then your position ie. applicant, med student etc.

Thanks:biggrin:
(edited 2 years ago)

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Original post by _Rusty_
Hi everyone,

So I am currently in the process of creating a document for prospective applicants to walk them through the medicine application process.

To end the document, I was thinking of having a section where you can give tips from your own experience. If you could post a tip and then your position ie. applicant, med student etc.

Thanks:biggrin:

Many such documents and resources already exist. There are books, websites, blogs and videos devoted to this very purpose. What makes yours unique?
Original post by Turning_A_Corner
Many such documents and resources already exist. There are books, websites, blogs and videos devoted to this very purpose. What makes yours unique?

Didnt think I'd have to sell it:lol:
Well firstly its current, the MSC has only recently changed there guidance on work experiance so that means that some will be out of date

Secondly this thread right here. I dont want it to be just another document of this is what I did, do it. I want it to be, this is what lots of Dr, Med Students, applicants etc thought of the med process, its fine whatever is happening on yours because it has happened to others

Secondly its heavily referenced with lots of links. It not just opinions, its fact. Its left free and open so if you want to read more about Dr Bawa Garba or more about the UCAS stats, you can.

My aim for the document initially was just to send to my school because the teachers through no fault of their own had no idea of the admissions process so its for the teachers as much as it is for the students.

Ive had input from others on here and they have said it looks good. They may be contributing if they think of anything else.

Once its all done Ill be putting it on TSR. Anything I havent answered feel free to ask:smile:
Applicant
Dont leave interview practice too late, do regular question each day and stay on track :smile:
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AliceKS
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Original post by teebslmao
Applicant
Dont leave interview practice too late, do regular question each day and stay on track :smile:

Re: interview preparation, even if you don't have interview invites start doing prep anyway after you find a break eg. after UCAT/BMAT even if it's just light like @teebslmao has said. Med schools often give you only a week to two weeks notice and there is always more ground to cover than you thought so you gotta start that grind early
Applicant
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by _Rusty_
Hi everyone,

So I am currently in the process of creating a document for prospective applicants to walk them through the medicine application process.

To end the document, I was thinking of having a section where you can give tips from your own experience. If you could post a tip and then your position ie. applicant, med student etc.

Thanks:biggrin:

Watch 24 hours in A&E and observe the doctors tone of voice, body language, phrasing. Eventually you realise you can instinctively tell when someone is a doctor, the respectful but inquisitive, polite tone. - Applicant
Interview Prep: Practice with someone/ get someone to ask you questions. Didn't do this last year when I got interviews, thinking I'd be fine, but it meant I couldn't answer on the spot and kept messing up. It doesn't have to be someone who's a med student or doctor, you can ask family or friends to assess you on your communication. Even recording yourself and watching it back will help you improve. Definitely worked this time around, I felt so much more confident and could answer questions properly without stumbling or messing up. It's scary to think about, especially if you're embarrassed to mess up in front of people, but honestly just go for it, and it's actually not as bad as it seems! :h:
Re-applicant (Gap year)
Original post by Ellome
Interview Prep: Practice with someone/ get someone to ask you questions. Didn't do this last year when I got interviews, thinking I'd be fine, but it meant I couldn't answer on the spot and kept messing up. It doesn't have to be someone who's a med student or doctor, you can ask family or friends to assess you on your communication. Even recording yourself and watching it back will help you improve. Definitely worked this time around, I felt so much more confident and could answer questions properly without stumbling or messing up. It's scary to think about, especially if you're embarrassed to mess up in front of people, but honestly just go for it, and it's actually not as bad as it seems! :h:
Re-applicant (Gap year)

Also, volunteer! Everyone is hell-bent on getting medical-related work experience but you honestly don't need to have had experience in a hospital and GP, especially since you might not be able to with COVID. Volunteering at a care home, or primary school long term can help you actively build on communication and empathy skills etc. and imo, that's way better than just watching the doctors see patients. Remember it's the quality not the quantity that matters. I spent one week at a GP and there were lots of things I saw that I talked about at interview. But having volunteered in a school and care home and now working in my gap year means I'm actually using the skills of the doctor (communication, teamwork, empathy etc.) so I can talk about that at interview too. Also try and complete any sort of online medical work experience - BSMS, Observe GP, Springpod, it helps with giving a good background about being a doctor which is useful to know!
Anyone else?

Spoiler

(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by _Rusty_
Anyone else?

Spoiler



For interviews: Apply strategically to places where your stats will get you an interview, unpopular opinion but don't have 'aspirational' choices if it means there's a large chance you won't be interviewed, learn answers for common standard questions, have experiences for every single interpersonal skill you could think of, know ethical pillars, know some topical NHS issues, confidence is 50% of the battle, practice with people and look the part in your interview as first impressions matter :smile:
Original post by _Rusty_
Hi everyone,

So I am currently in the process of creating a document for prospective applicants to walk them through the medicine application process.

To end the document, I was thinking of having a section where you can give tips from your own experience. If you could post a tip and then your position ie. applicant, med student etc.

Thanks:biggrin:

What are you planning to do with this resource and who will it be avaliable to? Are you a med student...?

From my own experience - producing the GCSEs document used on TSR and also trying to run the wiki project before med school took over :colondollar: - this is incredibly hard work and it would be useful to have more information on what you are actually trying to do and why. Personally I am happy to contribute if you are happy to make this document freely avaliable on TSR and I'm happy to work with you to make that happen and save content as wiki pages so they're not lost to link rot.

You can have a look at the wiki project so far here https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7063146 and here https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7034513 to give you an idea of some of what's already been worked on.

Apologies if this comes across as harsh, but it would obviously be unfair for people to share stuff freely on here, not realising you are hoping to profit off of a guide!
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by _Rusty_
Anyone else?

Spoiler



Thanks for the tag. I'll respond once I've had a think!
Original post by becausethenight
What are you planning to do with this resource and who will it be avaliable to? Are you a med student...?

From my own experience - producing the GCSEs document used on TSR and also trying to run the wiki project before med school took over :colondollar: - this is incredibly hard work and it would be useful to have more information on what you are actually trying to do and why. Personally I am happy to contribute if you are happy to make this document freely avaliable on TSR and I'm happy to work with you to make that happen and save content as wiki pages so they're not lost to link rot.

You can have a look at the wiki project so far here https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7063146 and here https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7034513 to give you an idea of some of what's already been worked on.

Apologies if this comes across as harsh, but it would obviously be unfair for people to share stuff freely on here, not realising you are hoping to profit off of a guide!

Yes definitely, I will put it on TSR, it's almost done now. Hang on a sec, I'll share it with you:smile:
Original post by _Rusty_
Yes definitely, I will put it on TSR, it's almost done now. Hang on a sec, I'll share it with you:smile:

Er, it looks very comprehensive, and it is good to have everything in one place, but.... I am a bit curious as to why you have referenced government figures etc, but are happy to literally take screenshots of resources produced on TSR or link to them, without a reference or acknowledgement? :confused:
These resources are public and I am sure everyone wants to help as many people as possible, but you are clearly aware of referencing conventions, so I am not sure why you have not used them? Once you have referenced things correctly, it will be a good guide, and I would be quite happy to make it a TSR article and see if we can reference it in some of the megathreads.

Equally, it will become out of date quite quickly using 2021 data - how would you feel about contributing to updating some of the TSR resources as well? :smile:
Original post by becausethenight
Er, it looks very comprehensive, and it is good to have everything in one place, but.... I am a bit curious as to why you have referenced government figures etc, but are happy to literally take screenshots of resources produced on TSR or link to them, without a reference or acknowledgement? :confused:
These resources are public and I am sure everyone wants to help as many people as possible, but you are clearly aware of referencing conventions, so I am not sure why you have not used them? Once you have referenced things correctly, it will be a good guide, and I would be quite happy to make it a TSR article and see if we can reference it in some of the megathreads.

Equally, it will become out of date quite quickly using 2021 data - how would you feel about contributing to updating some of the TSR resources as well? :smile:

So initially this was for students at the 6th Form I used to go to. Through no fault of their own, they were clueless. As time went on and saw people on TSR asking the questions I was literally putting into the document, I thought well why not just put it on here. The referencing TSR resources, I wasn't sure where they came from. I acknowledged the A Level and GCSE requirements were from TSR (I'll make it more obvious) but the Oxford graph, for example, I found on Oxfords website so Idk where it comes from. I meant no offence by that, you can see what I wrote about TSR in it as well:lol:

I would be happy to help with the resources. I used 2021 data for some things for a guide but I did try and keep it quite open, for example not saying what a 'good' score is.

EDIT: I am trying to fix it by the document isn't loading properly:facepalm:
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by _Rusty_
Anyone else?

Spoiler



BTN has just put up my tips on the Wiki :biggrin:

I've linked it below:
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/university/apply/medicine/what-to-do-after-an-unsuccessful-first-medicine-application
Original post by KA_P

I didn't know the wiki was a thing until about 5 mins ago:lol:
Original post by becausethenight
Er, it looks very comprehensive, and it is good to have everything in one place, but.... I am a bit curious as to why you have referenced government figures etc, but are happy to literally take screenshots of resources produced on TSR or link to them, without a reference or acknowledgement? :confused:
These resources are public and I am sure everyone wants to help as many people as possible, but you are clearly aware of referencing conventions, so I am not sure why you have not used them? Once you have referenced things correctly, it will be a good guide, and I would be quite happy to make it a TSR article and see if we can reference it in some of the megathreads.

Equally, it will become out of date quite quickly using 2021 data - how would you feel about contributing to updating some of the TSR resources as well? :smile:

I think its fixed now, I only found 2 things I had to reference. Can you check?:smile:
I'm not sure if this has already been said, but my biggest tip would be to consider the strengths and weaknesses in your application and apply strategically. For example, King's place a very heavy emphasis on GCSEs, while SGUL and Southampton rank just by UCAT to select for interviews. So if you don't have the best GCSEs, it may be worth avoiding King's. Another example is how UEA consider UCAT and interview performance in making an offer, both weighted 50%. So if you did well in UCAT but are not too confident with interviews, UEA might be a good option.

So look very carefully at the selection criteria for all med schools. Once you've identified the unis you are most likely to be interviewed by, you can then take any other factors into account to pick your 4, like location, prosection vs dissection, teaching method or whatever you like!
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by micholate9
I'm not sure if this has already been said, but my biggest tip would be to consider the strengths and weaknesses in your application and apply strategically. For example, King's place a very heavy emphasis on GCSEs, while SGUL and Southampton rank just by UCAT to select for interviews. So if you don't have the best GCSEs, it may be worth avoiding King's. Another example is how UEA consider UCAT and interview performance in making an offer, both weighted 50%. So if you did well in UCAT but are not too confident with interviews, UEA might be a good option.

So look very carefully at the selection criteria for all med schools. Once you've identified the unis you are most likely to be interviewed by, you can then take any other factors into account to pick your 4, like location, prosection vs dissection, teaching method or whatever you like!

Thank you:smile: you're a GEM applicant aren't you?

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