Get into UK Medical School For Dummies E-Book

Chris Chopdar

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 352

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

Get the book and get into medical school. Sound simple? Well, it isn't. But Get into UK Medical School For Dummies contains the information you need to get ahead of the competition and give yourself the best possible shot at success. Doctors Chris Chopdar and Neel Burton guide you through the entire process from deciding whether a career in medicine is right for you to sitting for interviews. Along the way, they provide the proven advice and coaching that has resulted in hundreds of acceptance letters on topic such as: * Why choose medicine (and why you may decide not to) * Long term planning -- The A-levels, extracurricular activities, volunteer opportunities, and work experience that can make you a more attractive candidate; and what to do if you're lacking in these categories * Personal statement -- Plenty of insight and examples to help you create a winning and -- truly personal -- personal statement * Research -- Put together a plan that ensures you find a university that's right for you * Test preparation -- An overview of the UKCAT and BMAT, preparation strategies, and sample questions * The interview -- Common questions, how to tackle them, and the importance of body language * The decision -- Tips on choosing between multiple offers!

Leseprobe

Get into UK Medical School For Dummies®

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/getintomedschooluk to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Conventions Used in This Book

What You’re Not to Read

Foolish Assumptions

How This Book Is Organised

Part I: Targeting Medical School

Part II: Sitting the Tests

Part III: Preparing for Interviews

Part IV: The Part of Tens

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Targeting Medical School

Chapter 1: Deciding whether to Study Medicine

Working as a Doctor

Knowing the benefits

Accepting the downsides

Succeeding as a Doctor

Liking people and communicating well

Enjoying intellectual activity

Thriving on stress

Being reliable and trustworthy

Studying Medicine: Medical School and Beyond

Chapter 2: Choosing a Medical School

Weighing Up the Various Factors

Understanding the limitations of statistics

Living where you want

Learning in the way you prefer

Thinking about other differences

Aiming at Oxbridge

Living in colleges

Studying in tutorials

Overcoming preconceptions

Applying to Oxbridge

Funding Your Place

Understanding the changing tuition fees

Charging in the devolved administrations

Paying as a graduate medical student

Chapter 3: Planning Your Application

Timing Your Application

Using UCAS

Taking a Different Path

Applying as a graduate

Assessing application options without science A-levels

Considering applications from outside the UK

Chapter 4: Building Your Foundation for Medical School

Getting the Necessary Grades

Counting up your GSCEs

Notching up A-levels

Scoring with Scottish Highers and IBs

Looking at other options

Showing Commitment to Your Chosen Career

Maintaining your interest

Experiencing healthcare first-hand

Demonstrating That You Have the Right Stuff

Joining in at school

Getting involved in your community

Reflecting on Your Progress

Getting a Good Reference

Chapter 5: Writing Your UCAS Personal Statement

Hitting the Right Notes in Your Statement

Structuring your statement

Knowing what to include

Practising Your Writing Skills

Writing correctly

Producing efficient writing

Using active phrasing

Selling Yourself to Interview Shortlisters

Knowing who reads your statement

Using shortlisting to your advantage

Avoiding Statement Pitfalls

Part II: Sitting the Tests

Chapter 6: Dissecting the UKCAT

Exploring the UKCAT

Considering the UKCAT Process

Finding out whether you’re exempt from taking the UKCAT

Noting the crucial dates

Uncovering the UKCAT registration process

Tackling the UKCAT on the day

Unveiling the UKCAT’s Overall Structure

Thinking about the timing

Understanding the marking systems

Weighing up the scores

Examining the Subtests

Getting the message: Verbal Reasoning subtest

Working with numbers: Quantitative Reasoning subtest

Recognising patterns: Abstract Reasoning subtest

Making up your mind: Decision Analysis subtest

Discovering yourself: Situational Judgement subtest

Chapter 7: Practising the UKCAT

Verbal Reasoning Sample Questions

Passage 1

Passage 2

Passage 3

Quantitative Reasoning Sample Questions

Numerical presentation 1

Numerical presentation 2

Numerical presentation 3

Abstract Reasoning Sample Questions

Display 1

Display 2

Display 3

Decision Analysis Sample Questions

Scenario

Checking Your Answers

Verbal Reasoning subtest

Quantitative Reasoning subtest

Abstract Reasoning subtest

Decision Analysis subtest

Chapter 8: Breaking Down the BMAT

Grasping the Purpose of the BMAT

Sitting the BMAT

Knowing the important dates

Considering the registration process

Facing test day with confidence

Working efficiently on test day

Analysing the BMAT’s Structure

Examining the test’s sections

Getting your timing right

Making sure you understand the marking

Using the test scores

Chapter 9: Studying BMAT Questions and Answers

Aptitude and Skills Sample Questions

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Scientific Knowledge and Applications Sample Questions

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Writing Task Sample Question

Checking your Answers

Aptitude and Skills

Scientific Knowledge and Applications

Writing Task

Chapter 10: Getting to Grips with the GAMSAT

Introducing the GAMSAT

Taking the GAMSAT

Getting the dates right

Registering for the GAMSAT

Preparing for test day

Performing well on test day

Deconstructing the GAMSAT

Examining the sections

Considering the time pressures

Making out the marking

Studying the scores

Part III: Preparing for Interviews

Chapter 11: Performing Well in Interviews

Knowing What to Expect

Getting shortlisted

Knowing the interview format

Putting Yourself in the Interviewers’ Shoes

Getting Ready for Interviews

Arriving on time

Going in with the right attitude

Knowing your brief

Controlling the Signals You Send Out

Looking the part

Sounding the part

Chapter 12: Preparing for Common Interview Questions

Talking about Yourself

Taking control of the interview: ‘Tell me about yourself’

Showing your motivation: ‘Why do you want to study medicine?’

Detailing your work experience: ‘How have you tested your commitment to medicine?’

Understanding your role as a doctor: ‘Why didn’t you choose nursing?’

Explaining your choice of school: ‘Why have you applied here?’

Knowing yourself: ‘What’s your main weakness?’

Understanding a Medical Career

Researching doctors’ tasks: ‘What does a doctor do in an average week?’

Thinking about your chosen career: ‘What makes a good doctor?’

Demonstrating that you’re well informed: ‘What are the good and bad points of being a doctor?’

Thinking around Scenarios

Displaying the right stuff: ‘Give an example of a time when you demonstrated. . .’

Coping with tricky events: ‘How would you deal with. . . ?’

Tackling controversies: ‘What do you think about. . .?’

Revealing your determination: ‘What will you do if you don’t get in?’

Speaking and listening well: ‘What are good communication skills?’

Expecting the unexpected: The uncommon question

Questioning the Questioners: ‘Do You Have Any Questions for Us?’

Chapter 13: Staying Current: Medical Topics You Need to Know About

Understanding How the NHS Works

Getting to grips with NHS facts

Working in the NHS

Thinking about Ethical Problems

Evaluating the arguments on abortion

Examining euthanasia

Mulling over organ donation

Weighing up vivisection

Researching with stem cells

Considering changing lifestyles

Accepting uncertainty

Chapter 14: Following the Interview

Tracking Your Progress

Replying to Offers and Handling Acceptance

Accepting offers

Going to medical school

Overcoming Obstacles

Considering your next step

Reapplying to medical school

Thinking about studying abroad

Part IV: The Part of Tens

Chapter 15: Ten Great Ways to Stand Out from the Crowd

Starting to Prepare Early

Analysing Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Getting Your Personal Statement Right

Accepting That Work Experience Matters

Revising for the Selection Tests

Keeping Up to Date with Medical Matters

Practising Interviews

Staying Cool under Pressure

Discerning What Makes You Unique

Avoiding Standing Out in the Wrong Way

Chapter 16: Ten Top Tips for Coping with Stress

Keeping the Big Picture in Mind

Staying Motivated

Taking the Long View

Breathing Deeply to Stay Calm

Relaxing Your Muscles Progressively

Visualising for Success

Working Hard to Combat Anxiety

Refusing to Run Away

Sparing Your Friends and Family

Giving Yourself a Break

Cheat Sheet

Get into UK Medical School For Dummies®

by Dr Chris Chopdar and Dr Neel Burton

Get into UK Medical School For Dummies®

Published byJohn Wiley & Sons, LtdThe AtriumSouthern GateChichesterWest SussexPO19 8SQEngland

www.wiley.com

© 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, West Sussex.

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ISBN 978-1-118-45043-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-45042-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-45041-3 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-45040-6 (ebk)

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Introduction

So, you want to be a doctor. Great – clearly you love a challenge! Medicine is an exciting and varied career with interesting science underpinning clinical practice. Doctors meet a wide cross-section of society and help people through difficult times. The job can be tough, but it’s also very rewarding when approached positively.

The first stage of your career is to prove to medical schools that you deserve the chance of training with them. Universities want to know that you’re committed to a career in medicine and that you have a solid grasp of its rewards and challenges. They need to be certain that you can cope with the tough and unrelenting academic challenge of completing a medical degree, and they work hard to ensure that successful candidates have strong ethical awareness and good communication skills.

These varied demands mean that the application and selection process is dauntingly long and can sometimes be very frustrating. In fact, the prospect of this marathon application puts off a number of otherwise excellent candidates. So to study medicine, you need not only to have a broad range of skills, but also to be sufficiently motivated to put yourself through the application process. If you follow our advice and take things one step at a time, you can make things much easier for yourself and, hopefully, fulfill your dream of becoming a doctor.

We’ve been helping people get into medical school for many years. As doctors ourselves, we understand what medical schools require (and what medicine requires!), and ensure that our students know what they should be including on their applications. We also guide them through the selection tests that they face, such as the UKCAT (United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test) and the BMAT (Bio-Medical Admissions Test), and then help them to prepare for their interviews.

This book gives you the benefit of our accumulated experience. If you’ve got the talent and are prepared to put in the work, you should be well on your way to getting into medical school.

About This Book

We really want you to get into medical school; otherwise we’d have chosen a different title for this book! Get into UK Medical School For Dummies is aimed at intelligent, motivated people who quickly want to get to grips with a career in medicine and how to apply successfully to UK medical schools. We make this task as easy as possible, breaking down the various parts of the application process into short chapters and sections.

As well as teaching prospective medical school applicants, we’re also psychiatrists and we leverage that background to show you some techniques to present yourself in the best light and cope with the stresses of the application process. These approaches help you apply successfully, and fortify you for the challenges of medical school and beyond.

In this book you find:

Information on medicine as a career.

What medical schools are looking for and how to acquire these skills.

How to choose a medical school.

How to apply to medical schools.

How to write a compelling personal statement.

Strategy guides and sample questions for the extra tests you may face: the UKCAT, BMAT and GAMSAT (Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test).

Help on interview skills, including commonly asked questions and how to answer them.

Some broader tips and strategies to help you navigate the sometimes confusing world of medical school applications.

Conventions Used in This Book

We don’t use any strange conventions in this book. We write and arrange it as straightforwardly as possible, so that you can focus on the content. Having said that, here are a few basic conventions to be aware of:

We use italics to highlight important words.

We use bold text on crucial keywords in lists and to indicate correct answers in answer sections.

We use this font for web addresses. Keep in mind that some addresses can be long, extending over two lines of text. Just ignore the line break when typing them out.

We use the terms applicant, candidate and student interchangeably, and we do the same with medical school, institution and university.

What You’re Not to Read

You can skip anything in sidebars – grey boxes with text in them – if you’re in a rush. These boxes give you extra background information or relate a light-hearted anecdote. Taking occasional short breaks as you study is a good thing, however, and reading these sidebars helps you do just that.

Foolish Assumptions

Anyone who writes a book has to make some assumptions about the readers. In this book we assume that you want to apply to a UK university in order to study medicine. Some aspects of this process are the same in any country, and so you get some benefit even if you’re applying elsewhere, but the bulk of this book is built around the assumption that you’re applying to UK medical schools.

We also assume that you’re prepared to put in some work. Little in life is handed to you on a plate and a place at medical school is no exception. If you want it, you need to invest time and effort.

We should mention that the sample questions we provide in this book are designed for revising applicants, to help them acquire the skills needed to answer a range of potential questions. The questions aren’t designed to be used by test administrators. Also, this book focuses on an overview of the entire medical school application process so there isn’t space to provide large numbers of questions for each exam. You will need to do many more practice questions than are contained here and we advise you on useful sources for these in the relevant chapters.

How This Book Is Organised

We divide this book into four parts to make the information more manageable. Most of the divisions are self-explanatory, but the information in this section helps you quickly identify the part you’re looking for.

Part I: Targeting Medical School

This part introduces you to a career in medicine and how to choose and apply to medical schools. In Chapter 1 we sketch out the pros and cons of studying medicine and being a doctor. We also give you some pointers about what kind of person tends to be successful in applying to medical school. Perhaps more importantly, we think about what kind of person makes a happy, successful doctor.

In Chapter 2 we help you choose between the UK medical schools. We describe the points of difference between universities and the current funding situation in the UK. Chapter 3 provides a clear timeline for the application cycle, incorporating all the various hurdles in your way. We also point out the specific challenges that graduate and international applicants have to deal with.

Chapter 4 covers academic and non-academic entry requirements, explaining the importance of extracurricular activities and work experience. Chapter 5 is all about writing a strong personal statement for your application form. The personal statement is crucial to the shortlisting process, and so it pays dividends to focus on creating an excellent text.

Part II: Sitting the Tests

The chapters in this part describe the extra selection tests that many universities require candidates to take. In Chapter 6 we explain the UKCAT, including how and when to apply, and review its structure and timings. Chapter 7 contains a small selection of sample questions. (You can find many more practice questions in our companion book, UKCAT For Dummies.)

Chapters 8 and 9 review the BMAT and provide a selection of sample questions, respectively, and Chapter 10 covers the GAMSAT format.

Part III: Preparing for Interviews

This part explains the importance of interviews to the selection process and prepares you for the questions you may encounter. Chapter 11 discusses interview technique, including controlling body language and tone of voice, and Chapter 12 reviews the most common interview questions along with strategies on how to answer them effectively.

Chapter 13 contains an overview of the UK’s healthcare system and some of the current challenges facing it, as well as discussing some common ethical quandaries that clinicians come across. The vast majority of newly qualified doctors commence practice in the NHS (National Health Service) and many work their entire careers in it. Medical interviewers are keen to ensure that students are going to be capable of working within its structures and so frequently ask about current controversies and the medical ethical issues that arise. This chapter prepares you for these questions.

In Chapter 14 is information on your next steps after an interview, including how to choose between offers and prepare for life at medical school. We also assess your options if you don’t receive any offers.

Part IV: The Part of Tens

Every For Dummies book comes with a Part of Tens: sets of concise tips designed to boost your productivity. We focus on strategies to help you stand out from the crowd of applicants in Chapter 15 and provide tips to cope with the stress of applying in Chapter 16.

Icons Used in This Book

Throughout this book, we use icons in the margins that flag up important information. Here’s what they mean:

This icon highlights the most important information and insights in the book. We suggest you read this material carefully.

Anyone can look up facts; our experience gives you strategic shortcuts to simplify your approach to the application process. We mark these hints in the text with this icon.

Selection processes for medical school can be tricky. This icon flags up potential pitfalls that many candidates fall into. Avoiding these mistakes dramatically improves your odds of success.

Some aspects of the selection process are underpinned by a lot of research and testing. You don’t need to know this in order to get in, but understanding just why people are asking you to do things can sometimes be useful. This icon marks these explanations.

Beside this icon we include some quick exercises to make this book as practically useful for you as possible. We design them to help you get ahead of the competition, especially in areas that many candidates find tricky.

Where to Go from Here

You can read this book cover to cover for a full overview of how to get into medical school or cherry-pick those parts and chapters that address the bits you’re most worried about. If you need to get on with your UCAS personal statement, turn straight to Chapter 5 now for some invaluable guidelines; if your UKCAT is fast approaching, revise the content of Chapters 6 and 7; or if you have a looming medical school interview, Part III is waiting for you to check that you’re not missing anything vital.

The choice is yours; the book’s structure is flexible enough to be used whichever way meets your needs the best.

For more about applying to medical school in general, further resources are on our own website (www.getintomedicalschool.org). And for updates about the application process (relevant dates, contact information, and so on) and changes to the tests visit us at www.dummies.com/go/getintoukmedicalschool.

We both wish you the very best of luck in your future career. And remember, one day we may be under your medical care, and so we have every interest in making sure that talented students succeed and get into medical school!

Part I

Targeting Medical School

In this part…

Part I is about getting to grips with the challenge of applying to medical school. The application process seems long and tiresome but breaking it down into smaller chunks makes it much easier to digest.

Your first step is making a positive choice to become a doctor. Then you need to choose some medical schools, successfully complete your application and meet the academic requirements. On top of all this, you need to get the right sort of work experience to complement your extracurricular activities in demonstrating your commitment and aptitude for medicine.

The chapters in this part cover each of these steps in turn, culminating in a chapter on how to write your application to present yourself in the best possible light.