Choosing Your Medical School

I am going to fly past the fact I haven't posted anything for about 3 months and get on to a important topic for prospective Medical students, which Medical School?!

Choosing the right University and course for you is especially important with Medicine as you could be spending up to 6 years there!
So here's a couple of things to think about, an in the next post I'll do a summary of each medical school

• Interview - most places will interview, with a few exceptions such as Belfast, Edinburgh and Southampton. However you will more than likely to be called for an interview so you might want to think about what type you think you'll excel in. Some, for example Sheffield, conduct "coffee table" interviews, which only last 15 minutes or so and are meant to make the candidate feel as comfortable as possible. Others, such as Cambridge, have a interview for Medicine and ethics etc and then another interview about purely about science. I guess it depends on your nerves! Also different places will have different types on people on the interview panel. It can range from simply 2 admissions selectors and one clinician (Aberdeen) to a member of the medical faculty, a GP and another health professional (Brighton and Sussex Medical School). So whether you respond better to peers or member of authority should be taken into consideration.
• Teaching Methods - how you learn is important. There are 3 main types of teaching; a discipline based approach, a system based approach or Problem-Based Learning. The discipline based approach is quite a traditional teaching style and tends to be lecture based. You are taught the disciplines of anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology etc as separate modules. Systems based is also quite traditional and involves being taught each body system e.g. cardiovascular system, endocrine system and then you would be taught the anatomy, physiology and pharmacology within these systems. PBL is very different from both. You instead are in small groups and given a "case", you discuss this, go away and gather information about the condition, treatment etc and come back to compare. People seem to love or hate this method so I recommend doing some personal research into it before deciding if it's for you.
• Type of course - Integrated vs. Traditional. A traditional course involves the first 2-3 years being lecture based learning, and then the last years of white coats and stethoscopes in hospitals. Integrated (as the title would suggest) involves a less separated approach and has clinical contact with patients earlier on in the degree. The traditional courses may suit you more if you are interested in research, or have a very scientific grounding and wish for a bit more knowledge before being let loose on real people. The integrated course may be better for you if you are very hands on and confident! More info can be found on individual university websites :) Also course length needs to be taken into consideration, some are 5 some are 6! Often the 6 year courses include an intercalated degree, more on this now
• Intercalated degree - many universities offer students the chance to take an extra degree between their second and third year in medical school. In some places (Oxford, Cambridge, UCL) it is part of the course and mandatory. An intercalated degree is very useful as it teaches extra skills and can boost the CV, as most junior doctors will have very similar ones. However if you are more keen to get on with being a doctor, or if you think 5 years is long enough, an extra degree might not be for you.
• Location - There's a lot to consider here, how close is it to home? Town vs City? Do I want to spend 5/6 years here? Night-life? Housing- is it provided or do I need to be able to find cheap accommodation? Cost of travel - it's going to cost more to travel from Belfast to London than it is from Leeds to Manchester, and rather importantly do I want to work here? Research has shown that, apart from London, most graduate Medical students end up working in the immediate area of their Medical School. So you really need to like where ever your going! Visit on open days and have a nosy around, not just where the happy students take you! When you've decided on your final 4 maybe take one last visit there, and possibly take a friend or someone for a different perspective, remember this is 5/6 years!! That's over half a decade!
• A-Level Requirements - This is important when choosing the right medical school, do you crack easily under pressure? Or excel in the challenge? Even though there is a general consensus that you need "AAA" for medical school, this is not true. Some places (Aberdeen, Bristol) only ask for AAB, and on the other end of the spectrum, Cambridge has started asking for A*AA. So you need to do your research and see where's best for you! I'll be doing a post later on A-Level requirements, so you could just be lazy and wait for that :)

Even though there are obviously other points to consider, I think these are the main ones, but of course I don't know what's important to you! You could be an avid sportsman who's main priority is access to the gym, or may have a significant other who you don't want to live too far away from.

Choosing where you want to go is vital, so give it some thought :)