Cambridge Medicine

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01/05/05

Okay so here goes, I have just been accepted onto a graduate entry medical course and upon checking out some of the other sites out there aimed at people wanting to get onto a fast track course, I felt they were a little negative to say the least. So here I am tentatively dipping my toe into blog-land, with the hope of possibly shedding a little light (and hope) as to how to go about applying and what you might expect.

Why Study Medicine?
05/05/05

I decided that medicine was the way to go close to the end of my PhD. I decided to do a PhD after doing an Honours degree in Immunology and unlike most people the thought of doing medicine hadn't really been big in my mind up until then. I wanted to be a scientist and cure the world that way. I went to Oxford to do my PhD having done my degree in Glasgow, and no not because I'm in anyway poncy but because the lab that offered me a studentship were one of the leaders in the field and that just so happened to be there. Having got near the end I was a bit fed up, fed up of feeling detached from the outside world and fed up with going home at night inconsolable because all my cells had died!!! I just felt so removed from the important things in life. I had also realised that despite the fact that my PhD was actually going pretty well I was unlikely to cure the world of anything as was starting to wonder what the point was. That was when I started the think about medicine; well I loved people, still loved medical science and wanted to do something worthwhile. So once I had comforted and reassured all the people who nearly died of shock (boyfriend, parents, supervisor) I started to think about applying - where to apply and how to go about it.

Choice of University
12/05/05

The uni’s I chose to apply to were, Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol and Southampton. Yes, yes I know what you are thinking - Oxbridge and all the connotations that that conjures up! No, the reason I applied there was despite having some pretty big reservations when I first moved there, I had got used to the system in Oxford and didn’t feel at all intimidated by it. Also having gone to both of the open days they both seemed to aiming at creating ‘academic’ doctors, exactly what I saw myself being. Now if I am truly honest my first choice what Cambridge. After three years I was sick of Oxford (it isn’t a very big town) and my boyfriend already lived in Cambridge so that would make life easier for both of us. Anyway to cut a long story short both Oxford and Cambridge made me offers whereas Southampton and Bristol both rejected me without an interview. So there you go, Oxford and Cambridge are supposed to be the elite universities but in the end they were the only ones that wanted me!

The Application process.
17/05/05

Basically so long as you have the `grades` to get in (2:1 degree) it appears to be all down to the personal statement. Experience seems to be important, possibly different kinds of medical experience. I was fortunate because the field that I was working in was very `medicy` meaning I had a lot of medical contacts. I did weekends in A&E, did some GP shadowing, shadowed a renal consultant for the day (during which I passed out but that’s another story) so I had quite wide ranging experience. Like I say I was fortunate to have contacts but hospitals and GP surgeries expect people to contact them about experience so don’t be put off. As for the other things they are looking for, it is difficult to tell but the things I focused on where my commitment to medicine, the applicable skills I had and the fact that I wasn’t a boffin but a well rounded person with other interests. I guess it is important that your statement stands out in the pile from the other hundred so my advice is to try and avoid the contrived sounding ‘want to help people’ sort of stuff.

Medicine Interviews
20/05/05

Then there were the interviews. No actually for Oxford first of all there was the entrance exam. Yes it is hard but you can’t study for it so don’t worry about it. It is mostly data interpretation and problem solving stuff but you will be massively short on time and the people I know that have managed to get in all took the same approach - plan your time and make sure you get to the end of the paper. Don’t spend ages mulling through one question, bash it out and get to the end. Cambridge also has an entrance exam but you don’t have to take it if you have the right qualifications. Anyway then there were the interviews. Cambridge was first and it was a complete b**ch! First of all it was at 8 in the morning (never my best time) and then they were mean and I was rubbish. Oxford was better possibly because I was better prepared and knew what to expect. The questions ranged from the expected, `why do you want to be a doctor`, to `what scientific breakthroughs have allowed stem cell therapy to be considered as a treatment to Alzheimer’s`!! It is difficult to know what they want as like I say I was rubbish in the Cambridge one, although I think one of the tings that might have saved me there was mentioning that I had taught medics at Oxford (one of the things I did from time to time when money got tight).

Going to Cambridge
22/05/05

So that is the story so far. The gods smiled down on me and I got into Cambridge. I have since moved there and, having just passed my PhD viva, am working for the summer at an engineering company where I am paid to try and break bits of chemistry equipment. I start the course in October and, having got my Hep jags sorted out am now wading through the forms for the criminal records check that I have to do. I am also waiting to hear back from the LEA (Local Education Authority) about funding so hopefully I shall have something more to write very soon...........