UK Medical School Admissions Mark Blakemore, Director, International Development St George’s, University of London

Overview St George’s and medical education in the UK Medical programmes and admissions Overall application process and components: Academic requirements Personal statement and previous experiences Entry tests Interviews Further resources

St George’s, University of London One of the UK’s oldest medical schools – founded 1733 UK’s only dedicated medical and health sciences university College of the University of London Shared site with St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London Top 250 university worldwide & number one in the world for research influence (Times Higher Education World Rankings)

UK Medical Education 31 publicly funded school-leavers’ programmes 14 graduate entry programmes Each public medical school recruits to a quota. Average of around 10 initial applications per place Currently 7.5% of the quota can be non-EU students (school-leavers’ programmes) – under review New private medical schools/programmes being created Linked to overall expansion of medical school training places

Medical programmes (Example) What will I do? Foundation training A level / IB diploma or equivalent Medicine MBBS (5 years) Biomedical Science BSc (3 years) Clinical Science years, plus short general practice and community visits; Case Based Learning Year 1 Year 2 MBBS4 Year 1 Problem Based Learning and clinical rotations Clinical Transition Year Advanced Biomedical study and independent research Intercalated BSc (optional in 5-year programme) Clinical rotations in a variety of hospital departments; revision, exams and teaching sessions Penultimate Year Final Year Foundation training

Overall Application Process - Summary Applications through UCAS (4 medical programmes and 1 non-medical programme) 15th October deadline, to allow time for assessment of: Academic requirements Entry tests Personal statement, reference and previous experience Candidates at interview Some universities weight different components (differently) Others have a series of ‘minimum’ requirements (and more emphasis on the interview)

Academic Entry Requirements Majority of medical schools’ A level requirements are AAA, IB requirements normally 36+ Biology and Chemistry generally most important, physics and maths have different importance at different schools Adjusted criteria schemes, and pre-university programme progression, vary Consideration of GCSEs (or equivalent) is usually included in assessment of candidates

St George’s Academic Entry Requirements Course A level IB diploma AP tests Swiss Matura French Bacc Esame di Estato Abitur Medicine MBBS AAA including Biology & Chemistry 36 overall including 18 at HL and 6 in HL Biology & Chemistry* 5,5,5,4 to include 5’s in Chemistry, Biology & another Group A subject Minimum 5/6 over all subjects including Biology & Chemistry Science stream with 15/20 to include Life Science, Chemistry & Maths To be confirmed for 2018 entry Biomedical Science BSc/MSci ABB including Biology & Chemistry 34 overall including 16 at HL and 6,5 in HL Bio & Chemistry* 5,4,4 to include Chemistry, Biology & another Group A subject Science stream with 14/20 to include Life Science, Chemistry & Maths Liceo Scientifico with 84 overall including Natural Science & Maths 2.1 overall with min. 10/15 in Biology, Chemistry and Maths Physiotherapy BSc ABB 34 overall including 16 at HL* 5,4,4 to include 2 Group A subjects Minimum 5/6 over all subjects Science stream with 14/20 Liceo Scientifico with 84 overall overall * IB diploma to include grade 5 in SL Maths and English if grade B not achieved at GCSE/iGCSE

St George’s English language requirements Qualification GCSE / IGCSE / O level English as a First Language GCSE / IGCSE / O level English as a Second Language IB diploma IELTS OIB (French Bacc) Matura Bilingual Award Medicine MBBS and other clinical courses B A SL English grade 5 / HL English Language grade 4 7.0 overall including 7.0 in Writing and 6.5 in each other section 14/20 in English in bilingual award 5/6 in English in bilingual award Biomedical Science BSc/MSci C 6.5 overall including minimum 6.0 in each section

Personal statement, reference and previous experiences Some universities ‘score’ personal statement, others don’t (and refer back at interview) Overall lack of prescription around previous experiences – many talk around ‘caring situations’ or ‘health-related’ experiences. Only 2 schools refer directly to clinically related experience Whole range of co-curricular experiences can be relevant Key for students to demonstrate learning and reflect on their experiences MBBS: For this purpose hands-on experience in a nursing home or similar environment can be more rewarding and informative than shadowing and talking to doctors. Biomedical Science: no work experience necessary. We’re just looking for an interest in subject as reflected in the personal statement (UCAS form). Physiotherapy: would prefer Physio work experience, but would except experience of working with the public e.g. nursing homes, care homes ( interactions and communication) for a period of 1-2hrs per week for about 3mths. Looking to assess from application and interview app’s understanding of NHS Physio (have they done their research and reading), Physio as a career & understanding of working with the public. Again those students studying on the Foundation in Medical and Biomedical Sciences will receive assistance in obtaining this type of work experience. Radiography: Desirable prior to interview – 1 or 2 days shadowing within the profession, again students on the Foundation in Medical and Biomedical Sciences who progressed to this route will receive assistance on how to obtain relevant work experience.

Entry Tests (1) - UKCAT Used by 24 university for school leavers programmes (many graduate programmes use GAMSAT) Taken July – early October prior to application at Pearson testing centres – immediate results Each university sets a cut off – is used as a primary tool to select for interview Explores cognitive powers and other attributes considered to be valuable for healthcare professionals No specific curriculum or science content No revision required but practice question taking advised Significant number of preparation programmes now available

UKCAT Structure Subtest Items UKCAT (includes 1 minute per subtest for instruction) UKCATSEN (includes 2 minutes per subtest for instruction) Scoring Verbal Reasoning 44 22 minutes 28 minutes 300-900 Decision Making 29 32 minutes 39 minutes Quantitative Reasoning 36 25 minutes 31.5 minutes Abstract Reasoning 55 14 minutes 17.5 minutes Situational Judgement 69 27 minutes 34 minutes 1-5 Total time   120 minutes 150 minutes For UKCAT 2016, no score was assigned to the decision making sub-test Situational judgement test still under development, and being used by schools in different ways

The UKCAT cut-off Entry year  St George’s Overall Minimum UKCAT Score Requirement  2013  2530  2014  2590  2015  2550  2016  2600 2017 1870* * The 2017 entry UKCAT consisted of only three assessed sections plus the situational judgement test. For 2018 entry the test will return to a 4+1 section format.

The BMAT Test Questions Minutes Scoring Aptitude and skills 35 60 1-9 Pen and paper test In sections 1 & 2, average score is 5; 7 is exceptional Section 3 is an essay marked by 2 examiners Taken in school in November after UCAS deadline Results published in late November Test Questions Minutes Scoring Aptitude and skills 35 60 1-9 Scientific Knowledge and Applications 27 30 Writing task 1 from choice of 4 A-E for English

Interview types - summary   Multiple Mini Interview Panel Interview Semi-structured interview Assessment Centre No interview Undergraduate Entry 21 6 2 1 Graduate Entry 8 4

Multi Mini Interview (MMI) Pre-eminent interview style in the UK Details differ across schools – consistent philosophy “Speed dating” as candidates move around a number of “stations” completing different activities - same experience for every candidate Blind scored by individual assessors – reduce individual bias Assessors are a mix of faculty, other staff, and community – representative of future patient mix Questions are both medically and personally focussed Training provided and questions annually reviewed and updated, particularly around cultural neutrality (shared question banks and question design)

Example MMI formats St George’s, University of London Brighton & Sussex Medical School Number of stations 8 5 Duration of stations 5 minutes 10 minutes Time between stations 15 seconds 60 seconds Question format Mainly a task or question with five minutes to respond. One station has an actor role play Ten-minute discussion with one interviewer. One station has two interviewers. Total duration 42 minutes 54 minutes

Core competencies tested at interview Academic ability and intellect Empathy Initiative and resilience Communication skills Organisation and problem solving Team work Insight and integrity Effective learning style

Thank you – global@sgul.ac.uk Resources St George’s, University of London www.sgul.ac.uk www.atasteofmedicine.com Medical Schools Council www.medschools.ac.uk Biomedical Admissions Test www.admissionstestingservice.org/ NHS Careers www.nhscareers.nhs.uk General Medical Council www.gmc.org.uk UK Clinical Aptitude Test www.ukcat.ac.uk Thank you – global@sgul.ac.uk