Medicine GEM advice

Hello,
I have graduated from university with a 2:1 this year and I sat my UCAT and received a really low score which I am aware will not get myself into Medicine next year, I am really disappointed because I worked really hard. I have no clue what to do now. I am considering to applying to Europe to do medicine but I am not sure if that is the right move. Any advice would be appreciated as I am so confused

Reply 1

jinit.bafna

What score did you get?

Reply 2

Crazytiger

Original post by jinit.bafna

What score did you get?

I got 2400, Which is awful I think I did too much for revision and it got the better of me.

Reply 3

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

I think it's not uncommon for GEM applicants to apply a couple of application cycles in a row. Maybe take the opportunity to find substantive experience through paid roles as an HCA or similar and apply in the future?

Reply 4

Crazytiger

Original post by artful_lounger

Do you suggest to retake the UCAT next year or take the GAMSAT in march and september?

Reply 5

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Crazytiger

Do you suggest to retake the UCAT next year or take the GAMSAT in march and september?

The two aren't mutually exclusive I think so you could always do both to have more options :smile:

Reply 6

Crazytiger

Original post by artful_lounger

The two aren't mutually exclusive I think so you could always do both to have more options :smile:

are there any other options such as medicine in europe?

Reply 7

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Crazytiger

are there any other options such as medicine in europe?

Well that remains an option in principle, however I think realistically if your goal is to work in the UK within the NHS you're better off aiming to get into medical school here and getting more experience in the NHS in the process of applying to medical school here.

Also many European medical schools have a different admissions/retention model to the UK; in the UK it's very competitive to get into the course, but almost everyone who gets onto a medical degree completes it successfully. For a lot of those European medical schools, they accept most applicants, however only the top X% progress through each year and so far fewer ultimately successfully complete the course.

There are also issues around e.g. you're learning clinical skills in a country that you don't speak the language of - while the lectures may be in English, the patients and the healthcare workers you end up getting exposed to on your placements won't be, so you might find you have much weaker clinical skills when you start working in the NHS due to the language barriers in your training (unless you happen to speak the language of the country already).

It's also very expensive usually.

Reply 8

Zergyo1010

Original post by Crazytiger

Hi, what did you decide on? I am in a similar situation as you. I got 2420 in the UCAT and am a graduate. I am also considering studying abroad, such as Medlinks Caribbean University, which is a four-year postgraduate program.

Reply 9

Appio001

Hey there,

I would still recommend applying - it is better than not. I would just say to apply strategically. There are a few new GEM courses which typically tend to take lower UCAT scores i.e., UEA, Worcester, Chester and Surrey. Maybe give these a go if you like what you've seen?

Also I agree with what has been said with regard to studying in Europe and progression to the next academic year as well as having weaker clinical skills due to the language barrier. It is more common than you might think. For this reason if you were strongly considering going abroad to study Medicine I would suggest the Caribbean.

However, ultimately it is best to weigh up the pros and cons and see what is best suited to you :smile:

As a graduate you have the option of studying four years or three (at one institution I am aware of) rather than studying six in Europe. Although there are four year GEM courses in Europe these are not accepted by GMC so essentially if you studied on them you would not be permitted to practise as a Doctor in the UK. This means that if you were to study in Europe it would only be the six-year Medical courses you could study however after already obtaining a degree this might not be favourable particularly for financial reasons.

In a majority of Caribbean medical schools locations English is the most commonly spoken language. This means that not only will your degree be taught in English but you will also have the ease of communicating with other healthcare professionals as well as patients in English thus having the opportunity to build on your clinical experience.

A few Caribbean medical schools have cheaper tuition fees than the UK ranging from £3-6K per annum. Although some may think self-funding is an expensive choice a lot of people tend to forget that the money you receive from SFE is a loan which accumulates interest from the moment you receive it and that you will have to pay it back at an increased rate.