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Exeter medical school interviews, Interviews at Durham Medical School, medical school applicants, medical school interviews, medical school interviews at Durham, Medical School Interviews at Newcastle Medical School, Plymouth medical school interviews, St Andrews medical school interviews
Newcastle and Durham
Durham Interview
The interview at Durham University, Queen’s Campus, Stockton, will be conducted by two selectors and takes about 45 minutes. Prior to and during the interview the selectors are not given access to the application information, including the reference and personal statement, as the interview is designed to explore the candidate’s personal qualities. At the conclusion of the interview each selector will grade the candidate’s performance and complete an assessment form. These grades
are used as the basis for the decision making process for actual offers. Interview selectors will not convey their recommendations to the candidates at the time of the interview or at any time thereafter.
Why Durham?
Durham is known as a prestigious research university. Its collegiate system means that you socialise with students from other courses to a larger extent in a historic beautiful city. The Colleges provide a key role in the pastoral care and social centre of students with each running a college tutorial system. Most colleges have their own sports teams and theatre and orchestra and compete in intercollegiate leagues.Moving to Nottingham for the final two years enables you to experience a very different type of city – modern and vibrant.
The course is integrated systems based with little PBL
Newcastle
The interview will be conducted by two selectors and will last approximately 25 minutes. At the conclusion of the interview each selector will grade the candidate’s performance and complete an assessment form. Candidates will be assessed and graded under 5 main categories:
• Choice of Newcastle.
• Reflection on commitment to care and role of a doctor.
• This will cover commitment to care of others; insight into a career and the role of a doctor; understanding the NHS and ethical issues.
• Reflection on personal attributes.
• This will cover learning styles; communication skills; fluency and ability to deal with questions; ability to explain a specific concept; non academic and personal interests (ability to describe personal interests and expand on those described); personal attributes (strengths/weaknesses; self motivation; leadership; teamwork and coping with stress).
• Verification of Personal Statement.
• Ability to verify their personal statement, drawing on examples therein and
expanding on them.
• Overall performance at interview.
• The selectors will assess the overall performance of the applicant and award an
overall score.
Your personal statement, reference and contribution at interview are the sources from which the selectors will make their judgement.
Why Newcastle?
Newcastle Medical School consistently ranks as one of the top medical schools in the UK due to high levels of teaching and research. It is the first institution in the UK to be given permission to pursue stem-cell research. The BMC Medicine journal reported medical graduates from Oxford, Cambridge and Newcastle performed better in postgraduate tests than any other medical school in the UK.
The course is a good combination of lectures, seminars and practical experience, there is little PBL. Newcastle was one of the first medical schools to introduce an integrated course which is especially important in the first two years. From the third year onwards you spend most of your time in hospitals.
Facilities
The facilities are great. The libraries are full of all the books you need and the 24-hour computer clusters prove invaluable when deadlines are looming. The Sports Centre is really good – lots of fitness machines, weights and classes.
Living
‘Newcastle is simply fantastic – it is a small friendly city, cheaper than most parts of England. There are clubs, concerts and sports, there is so much to do – you couldn’t possibly get bored. Transport is good, with trains, an airport and the Metro taking you almost anywhere you want to go. Living in the city has proved inexpensive, leaving plenty of student loan spare for fun and games! The beach is about 9 miles away.’
Multi-million pound refurbishment
Newcastle University Students’ Union reopened in autumn 2011 following an £8m refurbishment. The inside of the Grade II listed building has been transformed, with some outstanding new facilities in the heart of campus:
• 24-hour computer clusters and social learning areas
• brand new Student Advice Centre
• a dedicated sports, societies and volunteering area
• revamped bar serving food and drinks
• huge gig and event space, hosting live gigs and regular Saturday club nights
• Subway sandwich shop, banking services and ATMs
• café with facilities to work and relax
• shop selling student essentials
• IT repair centre
• print design service
For information on clubs to join look at the following link
Click to access alternativeprospectus.pdf
Exeter and Plymouth interviews
Peninsula has split to form Exeter and Plymouth Medical Schools
Exeter Medical School
Exeter was voted University of the Year in 2012. It is a prestigious Russell Group University.
Offers for interviews were sent out in letter form and were arriving on the weekend starting 16th November.
Successful candidates at the initial application stage will be invited to an interview which is designed to determine whether applicants have the non-academic qualities such as the communication skills, reflectiveness and empathy required to become a successful doctor.
“The interview is a structured process of approximately twenty minutes, using a predetermined scoring system. This is to help ensure that candidates receive as close to an identical experience as possible. On each interview day candidates will attend an introductory talk giving further details about the interview process prior to completing pre-interview exercises.’
Home/EU fee-paying interviewees will be asked to complete the following two pre-interview exercises, for which they have half an hour:
– Complete a written questionnaire, which aims to investigate a candidate’s commitment and motivation to study medicine or dentistry.
– Consider three scenarios, which centre upon contemporary ethical issues related to medicine or dentistry, and select one as the basis for their interview.
Why Exeter?
Exeter was voted University of the Year in 2012. It is a prestigious Russell Group University There are over 150 affiliated student societies. The Northcott Theatre is located on the campus of the university
Exeter University campus is very green and scenic, not all concrete and tightly packed like some university campuses. The campus is situated on the edge of the city within parkland which makes the whole place have a great atmosphere.
Exeter is a beautiful ancient city. First established by the Romans it has many beautiful ancient streets but has all the amenities of a modern city as well. It is located in Devon near many tourist areas.
Exeter Medical School uses a lot of PBL
Plymouth
.
The Interview
The interview is structured and formal to make sure every student is asked the same questions and receives the same prompts. It’s not a test of your scientific knowledge but aims to explore your attitudes, outlook and way of thinking.
If you’re selected for interview for the BMBS programme you need to show us you have the following essential qualities to become a doctor of tomorrow:
• Integrity
• Veracity and honesty
• Flexibility
• Motivation and commitment
• Pro-social attitudes e.g. students who show empathy and who are non-judgmental
• Communication skills, including listening
• Potential for leadership
• Students who show insight into what it is to be a doctor
• The ability to be a team player
• The ability to deal with stress appropriately
• Problem solving skills
• Students who know their limitations, their strengths and weaknesses
• Reflectiveness
• Students who demonstrate a suitable approach to life and people
Why Plymouth?
The main campus is in the centre of the city. There is a thriving student population. Halls are comfortable and reasonably priced. The sea is a15 min walk away and Dartmoor National Park a short drive away. There are many clubs and societies.
Plymouth is the only UK University to have its own diving and marine centre where students can gain an internationally recognised diving qualification as part of their marine-based degree. It also has a state-of-the-art Immersive Vision theatre, and a natural-light photography studio, thought to be the only ones of their kind in a UK university.
The university offers 24/7 access to on-campus computer suites and its library, and recently opened a new employability centre – Gateway – which provides careers information, CV advice and interview tuition to all current students and recent graduates. It is also constructing a £19m marine facility that will house the country’s most advanced wave-tank facilities.
Plymouth Medical School uses a lot of PBL
St Andrews
The interview itself is a formal though friendly process and lasts 20 minutes. The interview panel comprises two (occasionally three) interviewers. About half of the interviewers are practising clinicians. Interviews will take place in individual rooms. The interview is not a test of your academic knowledge. The purpose of the interview is rather to assess your potential as a medical practitioner and to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your ability to think critically and with insight on a range of topics related to a career in medicine.
Candidates will ordinarily be given an opportunity to ask questions regarding the University and the Medical programme that is on offer.
The interviewers appreciate that some candidates will be nervous and will of course make allowances for this. The interview panel, in addition to forming an overall impression of the student, will be assessing in particular the following areas:
• Ability to communicate.
Communication skills are essential to the practice of almost all aspects of medicine. We expect candidates to be able to express their ideas clearly and coherently and to be able to follow a reasoned argument. Just before your interview you will be asked to read a short article on a medically related topic. This will only take about 10 minutes. The interview panel will then ask you questions about the article. They will be assessing your comprehension and ability to summarise as well as communication skills.
• The St Andrews course.
The panel will expect the candidate to have a general understanding of our course – details of which can be obtained from our website. In particular, we expect candidates to be aware of the way in which we deliver the Medical programme and to have an opinion on its appeal to them, its advantages and limitations.
• Previous experience.
The interview panel will be interested in how you have prepared yourself for entering into a medical career. They will be keen to know what you have gained from work experience in a medical or ‘caring’ environment or indeed some other environment that you feel has been relevant in preparing you for a career in medicine.
After interviews applicants are ranked on the basis of all four areas of assessment; academic performance, personal statement and reference, UKCAT score and interview score.
Each of the four areas of assessment is given a different weighting;
• Academic performance: 50%
• UKCAT: 15%
• Personal statement and reference: 15%
• Interview: 20%
Offers are then made from the top of the ranking in relation to the number of places available.
Why St Andrews?
Students entering Medicine at St Andrews have the opportunity to graduate after three years at St Andrews with a BSc Honours degree in Medicine before moving on to one of the Partner Medical Schools to complete their training as a doctor and graduate with an MB ChB.
Top in ‘student satisfaction’ survey
The School of Medicine has been rated very highly in the UK ‘student satisfaction’ ratings, in top place for 2 of the last 3 years. This is judged on course quality, staff and teaching facilities.
Medicine housed in a new £45m School of Medicine and the Sciences
Since 2010 the School of Medicine has been housed in a new £45m School of Medicine and the Sciences and is one of the first UK Medical Schools whose research facilities are fully integrated with the other sciences and key university disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology and psychology. This facility offers an important new dimension to medical research and the training of new doctors.
A highly supportive educational environment
The small size of the School (around 170 in each year group) allows staff to get to know students individually and this encourages a friendly atmosphere. A tutor will be concerned with your personal welfare and academic development as we aim to provide a supportive environment in which you can thrive.
Diverse range of students from all around the world
At St Andrews we welcome students from all around the world and in Medicine we value the diverse influences such students can bring to the cohort entering each year.
Formal partnerships with highly prestigious Medical Schools in Scotland, England and Canada
The system-based approach to teaching was very logical and allowed a combination of traditional and new teaching methods to be incorporated. The Medical School, being smaller than most others, allows this accessibility and personal teaching that otherwise may not be possible … The town’s social scene is also excellent. The lack of night clubs is more than made up with by the many pubs, bars, and numerous societies and sports clubs.” St Andrews is a really beautiful and unique place to live and study in, what other medical school is surrounded by so much history right beside the sea?!”
St Andrews is Scotland’s first university and the third oldest in the English-speaking world, founded in 1413. St Andrews is currently ranked as the fifth best university in the UK according to most recent university league tables, St Andrews has a diverse student body and cosmopolitan character due to its over 30% intake of international students from well over 100 countries, with 15% of the current student body coming from North America.[9] Throughout its more recent history, St Andrews has maintained strong links with leading academic institutions in the United Kingdom including the Oxbridge and also the top research schools from United States and Canada, including McGill, Harvard, MIT and Princeton to name a few.
St Andrews Medical School uses little PBL
Famous alumni:
Alan MacDiarmid, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry
Sir James Black, Nobel prize winner in Medicine
Walter Haworth, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry
Sir Chris Hoy, World, Olympic and Commonwealth Cycling Champion
1865–1868: John Stuart Mill, English philosopher and political economist
1922–1925: Rudyard Kipling, Nobel Prize winner, B