Nurse to medical school

Hey I'm graduated with children nursing with a 2:1 I want to go into medical school graduate entry. How can I increase my chances to get accepted as I have not done a life sciences degree. I am interested to go to St georges graduate entry medical school in London if anyone doing that course has some advice pls let me know

FYI my A Levels are average BBC

(edited 2 weeks ago)

Reply 1

GradMedImmy

Original post by gg.angel

Hi, there are lots of unis that take non-science graduates onto their GEM courses so don't worry about that! (QMUL, Chester, Dundee, Newcastle, Nottingham, Southampton, St George's, Surrey, Swansea, Worcester, Warwick....)

I would say start preparing early! Figure out unis you are interested in and check their other requirements to see which you are eligible for. Narrow it down to a list of maybe 5-6, go to some open days or look online to ask for advice and pick your favourites. Plan ahead for any entrance exams you will need to take (UCAT and/or GAMSAT) and revise early. You can sit both exams but it would be quite time consuming for revision, so it may be more strategic to choose unis that all only want one or the other!

In the meantime get varied medical work experience (nursing placements are good but not enough!) - so try and shadow some GPs or consultants, maybe get a job as a HCA, the wider variety and longer lasting experiences the better. But vitally - reflect while you're doing those. What do you see that makes you more informed about a doctor's role? Which aspects of healthcare and patient care do you like/dislike? What challenges do you see the NHS having? How do you learn and adapt in your role to cope with the stress? - having a reflection diary will be valuable later on when preparing for interviews, having specific examples of challenging situations or teamwork etc. to draw on!

It is a difficult job so really, what will mean you don't quit once you graduate? That is really what they want to see for GEM - showing them that you're making an informed decision about the realities of the job, and you're choosing to do it because you have shown that you can cope with the pressures. It isn't so much about impressing them with scientific knowledge or your understanding of some NHS managerial structure - it is about resilience.

Hope that helps, good luck!