Whilst many medical schools were left a bit in the lurch with the sudden change in circumstances, some awesome people were already setting up free live online lectures to help.

Below I share several excellent providers of free live online lectures for medical students. If there are any I’ve missed please share them in a comment underneath this blog post!

All the below are aimed at UK medical students but if you’re outside the UK, no problem, you are still able to attend. Just be aware that these lectures teach UK guidelines.

Last updated: April 2021
First published: 15th June 2020

1. Bite Medicine

Some of Bite Medicine’s lectures are purely academic whilst others are focused on more practical matters, such as excelling at medical school (e.g. how to get published, how to come top of your class).

Lectures run most days of the week.

They sometimes collaborate with SMILE.

Teaching platform: Zoom

Recordings: Yes, uploaded to their website & YouTube

Slides provided: Yes

Mailing list: Yes, for BiteMedicine in general (scroll to the bottom of their website to find the sign up box)

Facebook group: BiteMedicine for Students

Facebook page: BiteMedicine

YouTube: BiteMedicine

Twitter: @BiteMedicine

Instagram: @bitemedicine

Website/webpage: Bitemedicine.com/watch

2. Pulsenotes

Pulsenotes’ lectures are super nice to look at. If you like pretty slides PLUS excellent teaching Pulsenotes lectures will be right up your street.

They team up with SMILE weekly.

Teaching platform: Zoom & Facebook live

Recordings: Yes, uploaded to their website (requires membership to view)

Slides provided: Notes are provided on their website

Mailing list: Yes, join here

Facebook group: Pulsenotes Community

Facebook page: Pulsenotes

YouTube: Pulsenotes (recordings from 3 years ago)

Twitter: @pulse_notes

Instagram:  @pulsenotes

Website/webpage: app.pulsenotes.com/live

3. The Unofficial Guide to Medicine

You may know that UGTM publish books for medical students, but maybe you don’t know that they are currently running free webinars.

What I really like about UGTM webinars is that they are super engaging thanks to the frequent use of Menti.com to get people to contribute ideas (e.g. differentials, possible investigations) as well as to set single best answer (SBA) questions.=

Teaching platform: Zoom + Menti.com

Recordings: Coming soon

Slides provided: Yes, in the Facebook group

Mailing list: Yes, join here

Facebook group: UGTM Key Clinical Cases Community

Facebook page: The Unofficial Guide to Medicine

Twitter: @UGTMedicine

Instagram: @ugtmedicine

Website/webpage: unofficialguidetomedicine.com

4. Quesmed

My favourite thing about Quesmed lectures is the huge number of single best answer (SBA) questions they get through in a single talk. Once you have a good grasp of a topic the best thing to do next is lots of practice questions so Quesmed lectures are an excellent option once you’re at this stage.

Quesmed sometimes team up with Study Hub (see below).

Teaching platform: Zoom

Recordings: Yes, uploaded to YouTube

Slides provided: No

Mailing list: No

Facebook group: Quesmed Tutorials

Facebook page: Quesmed

YouTube: Quesmed Tutorials

Instagram: @quesmed

Website/webpage: www.quesmed.com

5. Study Hub

Out of St George’s Medical School. It was started by a 3^rd year medical student wanting to organise some revision lectures for her year over the lockdown. In a short space of time it has rapidly expanded to cover multiple years and is open to students from other medical schools. Teaching is provided mostly by St George’s students and doctors.

Study Hub sometimes team up with Quesmed, Norwich MedEd and others!

Teaching platform: Zoom

Recordings: Yes, on their Notion site

Slides provided: Yes

Mailing list: Yes, join here

Facebook group: Study Hub

Website/webpage: study-hub.org

6. Norwich MedED

Out of Norwich Medical School’s Medical Education Society. Lectures are open to all medical students. Students as far away as Malaysia and Hong Kong have been signing up!

Teaching platform: Zoom

Recordings: Yes, sent to attendees who fill in feedback forms

Slides provided: Yes, sent to attendees who fill in feedback forms

Mailing list: No

Facebook: NorwichMedED

Twitter: @NorwichMedED

Website/webpage: www.norwichmeded.com

7. Learn Medicine

A more recent addition to this list, Learn Medicine offer free teaching also.

Teaching platform: Zoom

Recordings: Yes, see their website

Slides provided: Yes, see the individual event pages for each lecture on their website

Mailing list: Yes, join here

Facebook: LearnMedicine

Instagram: @learnmedicine_

Twitter: @learnmed1

Website/webpage: learnmedicine.org

Currently inactive

These lecture series are mothballed for now, but perhaps they will come back to life in future…

SMILE

Definitely the most popular provider of online lectures in 2020. They frequently had 1,000+ students tuning into each lecture!

Lectures ran every day of the week. Sometimes up to 3 lectures a day.

Lectures were not recorded and slides were not provided for copyright reasons but don’t let this put you off. The quality of the lectures was fantastic so it was worth tuning in for the live teaching.

Something unique about SMILE was its very active chat which I personally really enjoyed because you could ask and answer each other questions. There was also a bit of general chat and banter – although organisers tend to encouraged keeping this to a minimum.

Teaching platform: Zoom

Recordings: No

Slides provided: No

Mailing list: Yes, join by emailing them (click here)

Facebook group: SMILE: Sustaining Medical education In a Lockdown Environment

Twitter: @Lockdown_MedEd

Instagram: @smile_lectures

Website/webpage: No

Funky Anatomy

They ran a few free lectures in early 2021 including some live free ones via Instagram.

Teaching platforms: Zoom, Instagram

Recordings: Yes, some available via YouTube, others only accessible by members via their website

Slides provided: No

Mailing list: Yes

Instagram: FunkyAnatomy

Facebook group: No

Facebook page: TheFunkyProfessor

YouTube: TheFunkyProfessor

Becoming a Doctor

Lectures ran most days of the week. BAD (what an acronym!) also broadcasted live via YouTube and Facebook.

Teaching platforms: Zoom, YouTube, Facebook live

Recordings: Yes, uploaded to the Learning Hub on their website (requires account) & YouTube

Slides provided: No

Mailing list: Yes, join here

Facebook group: Becoming a Doctor – Current Medical Students

Facebook page: BecomingaDr

YouTube: Health Careers Live

Twitter: @BecomingaDr

Instagram: @becomingadr

Website/webpage: becomingadr.org/tutorials

COVID Medical Education

Out of King’s College London. They were one of the first to start providing free live online lectures when lockdown began. They ran weekday evening lectures that usually started around 5.30/6pm.

Teaching platform: Zoom

Recordings: Yes on request

Slides provided: Yes, on their website

Mailing list: Yes, join here (use a .ac.uk email address)

Facebook page: COVID Medical Education

Twitter: @EdCovid

Website/webpage: www.covidmedicaleducation.com

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Have some feedback on this article? Did I make an error? Please contact me via the contact page or leave a comment below.

You might also be interested in my article 5 Fantastic iPad Accessories For Medical School.

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In the time of COVID-19, understandably a lot of aspiring medics are worried about acquiring suitable work experience. The good news is that everybody is in the same boat and medical schools know that it’s far harder to get work experience right now.

The bad news is that you may not know how to get work experience because some of the usual ways of getting it have gone out the window.

In this blog post I share some ideas of what you can do instead, starting with two virtual (and free!) medical work experiences recommended by the Medical Schools Council.

Don’t forget to record everything you do in a reflective diary. Write down what you did or observed, what you learnt or felt and reflect it back to your suitability or understanding of a future career as a doctor. Also note if there’s anything you’ll now do differently (e.g. behaviour in certain situations) as a result of your work experiences.

Observe GP

A series of free interactive videos created by the Royal College of General
Practitioners (RCGP).

You’ll learn about being a GP and the wider primary care team.

Register here: rcgp.org.uk/training-exams.aspx

Brighton & Sussex Medical School’s Virtual Work Experience

Get an introduction to the NHS and how it works. You’ll also learn about the skills & roles of 6 medical specialists and gain insight into challenges & wider issues faced by doctors.

Register here: bsmsoutreach.thinkific.com/courses/VWE

Whether or not you are able to register for either Observe GP or BSMS’s virtual work experiences, also look into the following to help build your application…

Paid work

The most obvious options right now are to work as a COVID-19 vaccinator or tester. Paid roles can be found via the NHS Jobs (tester or vaccinator) and NHS Professionals (vaccinator) websites. It’s also possible to volunteer as a vaccinator – more info on that in the next section of this blog post.

Pandemic or not, excellent paid roles for work experience include being a healthcare assistant or theatre circulating assistant. Healthcare assistants mostly help care for patients on wards e.g. helping patients wash and changing their bedding. Theatre circulating assistants help out in surgical theatres, working outside of the sterile field and have duties such as cleaning down theatres post-surgery and handing sterile surgical equipment to scrub nurses using what’s called “asceptic technique”. You can find vacancies for both roles via the NHS Jobs website. It might help to filter for Band 2 and 3 roles using the options on the left-hand side of the search results.

Volunteering from home or locally

The key thing with volunteering is that you’re getting insight into caring for others, developing compassion, empathy and understanding the realities of taking care of others.

The Medical Schools Council recommend the following two sites for finding volunteering:

Do-it.org

Nextdoor.co.uk

But they’re not the only places you’ll find great opportunities. Look also at:

St John’s Ambulance (check out their COVID-19 roles: vaccinator, care volunteer and patient advocate)

COVIDMutualAid.org

The Silver Line

Red Cross

Age UK

Follow medical news

The Medical Schools Council recommend getting your health / medicine news from the following sites:

TheGuardian.com/science 

Telegraph.co.uk/health

BMJOpen.BMJ.com

Listen to podcasts

RCP Medicine

The History of Medicine

BMJ Student (Sharp Scratch)

Study online courses

The NHS Explained (FutureLearn)

And many others! As well as FutureLearn, you could also look for healthcare-related courses on Coursera. 

Listen to TED Talks & read their blogs

Visit TED.com/topics/health

Use TED to gain an understanding and insight into various issues and hot topics in healthcare.

Read medicine-related books

This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

Do No Harm by Henry Marsh

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

There are many other books you could read to show an interest in medicine but these are the ones that get recommended the most.

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Hope that was helpful! Sign up to my mailing list to get more tips in your email inbox.

Have some feedback on this article? Did I make an error? Please contact me via the contact page or leave a comment below.

You might also be interested in my article 6 Books to Read Before Your Medical School Interview.

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The post How to Get FREE Medical Work Experience during the COVID-19 Pandemic appeared first on Graduate Medicine Success.

When I was preparing for GAMSAT I came across a London-based study group via The Student Room (see below). We met up in the British Library and… I’ll be honest… the first session wasn’t the most productive! We ended up chatting about medical school applications and how intimidated we were by the test.

As time went by the group thinned down to 3 or so people. We met up occasionally, shared some resources and supported each other via WhatsApp. After each of my two GAMSAT sittings I met up with them for a drink. It was nice to feel like I wasn’t going through it all alone.

Below are 4 places you should be able to find other GAMSAT takers and therefore offers to join study groups. You could of course always set up a study group of your own!

1. GAMSAT subreddit (r/GAMSAT)

This subreddit has candidates from round the world. Tonnes of advice can be found here too.

Link: reddit.com/r/GAMSAT

2. The Student Room

Often referred to as “TSR”, this website is aimed at students studying all kinds of subjects the UK.

To find fellow GAMSAT sitters, search for the GAMSAT thread in the Medicine forum that’s created annually.

Most candidates on TSR are from the UK.

Link: thestudentroom.co.uk

3. PagingDr

This old school forum is brimming with GAMSAT advice and also potential study group members.

There is even a thread dedicated to free section 2 essay feedback which I mention in my GAMSAT Free Resources Master List.

You’ll mostly find Australia-based candidates, but there are also candidates from elsewhere including the UK and Ireland.

Link: pagingdr.net

4. Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

Explore the #GAMSAT hashtag on both Instagram & Twitter. You’re bound to find other GAMSAT takers who you can follow, get to know and share the journey with. You could even propose a virtual study group via Zoom.

There are also quite a few Facebook groups dedicated to GAMSAT. Just be mindful that some groups have been set up by companies hoping to sell courses, resources or tutoring to you. Not saying there’s anything wrong with this but if you don’t want to be sold to keep looking until you find a group that’s company-free.

Example groups:

• GAMSAT 2021 Study Group
• GAMSAT Resources & Study Group
• And find more via a FB search for groups: click here

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You might also be interested in my article 5 Excellent GAMSAT Prep Resources.

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The post Where to Find a GAMSAT Study Group appeared first on Graduate Medicine Success.

But the ever growing popularity of social media has given rise to some fantastic educational accounts on platforms such as Instagram.

Over the past 12 months I’ve been seeking out the best educational content on IG. In this blog post I share who I think are the best 8 Instagram accounts if you want to learn anatomy.

1. REV MED

Possibly the most active and engaging anatomy IG account I’ve come across.

They seem to have 10-question quizzes in their stories daily. Plus they regularly post motivational content and 2D diagrams with written explanations. They’ve recently started doing animated posts which are essentially visual mnemonics.

Instagram account: @rev.med
Website: click here

2. Institute Of Human Anatomy

Completely different approach to @Rev.Med yet still super helpful.

Their bread and butter content is short video explanations by a smiley, cheerful demonstrator using cadavers. They occasionally post quizzes in their stories.

Instagram account: @instituteofhumananatomy
YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/InstituteofHumanAnatomy

3. Funky Anatomy

AKA The Funky Professor. Their mission is to make learning anatomy fun.

They also have a popular YouTube account with nearly 50,000 subscribers.

They have a nice variety of posts: videos, study tips/motivation, quizzes and 3D diagrams with written explanations.

Instagram account: @funkyanatomy
Website: www.thefunkyprofessor.com
YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCWOnuUxMHgRAg-QoZmX8d9Q

4. Surgical Anatomy

Who doesn’t love super aesthetic anatomy drawings? Even better when they’re accurate and educational.

Their approach is simple but effective. With each pretty and detailed 2D diagram they offer a written explanation.

Instagram account: @surgicalanatomy

5. QMed Learning

Another fantastic account due to their regular quizzes (see their stories) and clear 2D diagrams with written explanations.

Instagram: @qmedlearning
Website: qmedlearning.co.uk

6. Allied Anatomy

Again, plenty of quizzes in their stories and diagrams with clear explanations. They use both 2D and 3D diagrams.

They’ve also recently started making content on YouTube.

Instagram: @alliedanatomy
YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCNLm_sQqBnUtVuGzoHyo7MQ

7. Ortho Initiative (Dr Nabil Ebraheim)

I first came across Dr Nabil Ebraheim’s content via YouTube where he has over 500,000 subscribers. He provides clear video explanations of MSK anatomy especially. 

If you’re keen on sports medicine and orthopaedics like me, you’ll probably love all of his content.

Instagram: @orthoinitiative
YouTube: youtube.com/user/nabilebraheim

8. Anatomy Zone

New to Instagram, but very established on YouTube with over 750,000 subscribers. AnatomyZone have finally made it to IG!

Their content is growing and the account manager, Peter, tells me they’re experimenting with different things at the moment. Definitely one to watch. 

Currently they’re posting quizzes and written explanations with both 2D and 3D diagrams.

Instagram: @anatomyzone
Website: www.anatomyzone.com
YouTube: youtube.com/anatomyzone

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Enjoy! Sign up to my mailing list to get more study tips in your email inbox.

You might also be interested in my article 9 Amazing Free Live Online Lecture Series for Medical Students.

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The post 8 Best Instagram Accounts for Learning Anatomy appeared first on Graduate Medicine Success.

That winter I Googled recommended preparation materials and tried many.

Many times during the application process I doubted if I would even get into medical school. But the first interview I did – it was nerve-wrackingly at my first choice – was successful. When I saw the offer letter it felt incredible!

Through research, personal experience and now having helped others with their interviews I feel I’ve got a good grasp of the books you will benefit from reading. Below I share with you my top 5.

Updated 8th November 2020

1. Medical School Interviews (2nd Edition) By Olivier Picard and George Lee

This bestselling book offers a truly comprehensive guide to preparing for interviews, from model answers to all the knowledge you’ll need. I used it myself to help me succeed. 

Its only drawback is that the hot topics do not update with each year the book ages. Therefore, a fantastic compliment is the Hot Topics section of my Medical School Interviews Crash Course ebook. This ebook is updated annually. You can download it for free when you subscribe to the mailing list.

A free alternative to Picard and Lee’s book is the recently released ebook by WeAreMedics. I didn’t personally use this book so I can’t recommend it per se, but since it’s free it could be worth a look!

2. A Very Short Introduction to Medical Law by Charles Foster

For interviews you will need to know the four pillars of medical ethics and understand how to use them to make a judgement call in an ethical predicament.

Charles’s short book is informative and witty. You are sure to find the cases he explores incredibly interesting.

A perfectly good alternative (or supplement) is A Very Short Introduction to Medical Ethics by Tony Hope. Both cover the essentials you need to know.

For a quick but effective one-page tutorial on medical ethics check out my free Medical School Interviews Crash Course ebook. You can download for free when you subscribe to my mailing list.

3. Do No Harm by Henry Marsh

Everybody I know who has read this book has loved it.

Written by a British neurosurgeon, this book provides a peek into the highs and lows of being a surgeon.

Henry also highlights multiple ethical predicaments he has encountered in his career and you will get a glimpse at the uncertainty, responsibilities and mistakes you must shoulder as a doctor.

4. This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

Adam Kay is an ex-doctor-turned-writer-and-comedian. The book is a repurposed diary from his years training as a doctor.

Funny yet touching and honest, it’s a great read because you’ll get a valuable insight into the ups and downs of working on the NHS frontline. It is genuinely hilarious in parts too!

5. Medical School Interviews Crash Course ebook

This book is packed with essential knowledge, advice and tips for acing your interview.

Because it is updated and improved annually you can trust the content to be relevant and up-to-date. (Every year I also welcome feedback from readers like you! This helps me to continue to improve the book).

It will be helpful to both graduates and school leavers. Plus it covers both panel interviews and MMIs.

Download it for free when you sign up to my mailing list.

-—

You’ve got this! Good luck.

What’s your favourite medicine-related book? Leave a comment below.

The post 5 Books to Read Before Your Medical School Interview appeared first on Graduate Medicine Success.

Experienced writers can be overconfident and be caught out by the restrictive time limit.

Inexperienced writers can neglect this section in favour of prep for the more intimidating Section 3.

But if you want a nice score boost, I recommend you get serious about Section 2!

Essential Info

Section 2 is the “Written Communication” section for which you need to write two essays in response to two “tasks”. ACER want to see what kinds of ideas you can come up with on the fly and how well you can express them in writing.

Each task will consist of 4 “comments” or quotes (in the past it was 5) from which you can ascertain a common, general theme. Feel free to respond to one quote, 2-3 of the quotes or the whole general theme.

It isn’t necessary to give your essays titles. But it might help YOU to do so! More on this later…

Timing info

Number of essays: 2

Reading time: 5 mins

Writing time: 60 mins

Writing time per essay*: 30 mins

*You can actually spend more time writing one essay than another because you have a total of 60 minutes to write both.

Themes

Task A (socio-cultural issues)

Writing style: argumentative, academic

Example topics:

• War
• Government / democracy
• Technology
• Crime
• Art

Task B (personal and social issues)

Writing style: emotional response, reflective

Example topics:

• Ageing
• Beauty
• Forgiveness
• Happiness
• Intelligence
• Love

Official advice from ACER

Each essay will require you to “produce and develop ideas in writing” meaning they’re testing your ability to come up with ideas off the cuff and express them effectively.

ACER warns that “pre-prepared responses and responses that do not relate to the topic will receive a low score.”

It might be comforting to know that you will not be assessed on the “correctness” of your point of view. So whether you’ll be expressing right-wing, left-wing or middle-ground views, in theory it should not impact on your score.

Unlike what you may have come across in your academic journey so far, you will not be asked to respond to a specific question or be given a title. Instead, you will need to ascertain a common theme FIRST from the comments/quotes provided and respond to that.

You will be marked on the “organisation and expression” plus “thought and content” of your essays…

Thought and content (quality of what is said)

• “What is made of and developed from the task” (e.g. depth provided for each idea you present, shown you can understand both the explicit and implicit meaning in the quotes, backed your ideas with evidence and examples)
• “The kinds of thoughts and feelings offered in response to the task” (e.g. considered both sides of an argument, provided original and unexpected ideas)

Organisation and expression (the quality of the structure developed and the language used)

• “Shape and form of the piece” (e.g. paragraphs, linking of paragraphs, logical order of ideas)
• “Effectiveness and fluency of the language” (e.g. grammar & spelling, jargon-free and appropriate wording, varying length of sentences)

Unfortunately, that’s all the detail you can get out of ACER about how exactly they will assess you!

You will notice, though, that knowledge per se (e.g. regurgitating political/historical facts) is not credited.

How to prepare

Firstly, read around gathering ideas and build an ideas bank. Many people are a fan of the book The Meaning of Things by AC Grayling because each chapter is essentially a little essay in response to a likely Section 2 theme!

In supplement to AC Grayling’s book, read widely and make sure to consider opinions that may not align with your personal beliefs.

Seek to develop an understanding of different viewpoints and reflect on insightful or surprising ideas you come across. This is far more useful than memorising facts to regurgitate.

Free sources of Section 2 ideas include TED Talks, The Guardian: Opinion and The Conversation.

Secondly, decide on the structure you’re going to use (including if you’re going to use one at all!) and the phrases and language you’ll use as part of that structure. I provide example essay structures later in this blog post…

Thirdly, PRACTICE. You cannot get better at writing if you do not write! I recommend at least 20 practice essays, at least 16 of those timed (5-10 mins planning, 20-25 mins writing). Do not under appreciate the value of using 5-10 mins to plan your essays. This will help ensure quality over quantity.

Tips for practicing

• Naturally you’ll want feedback on your essays but, as I mentioned earlier, ACER (who administer the test) aren’t very open about their marking criteria. However, you can get your essays marked by ACER’s official marking system if you have some spare cash. Link: https://gamsat.acer.org/prepare/preparation-materials
• You could also form an essay exchange group with some study buddies. How does this work? You take turns setting the quotes each week using a quote generator. Every week you all write an essay in response and have your best go at marking each other’s work. I did this and it was a great help for me (plus I was able to steal some excellent ideas from other people!)
• On my FREE GAMSAT Resources Master List page I link to free quote generators and practice essays that you may find helpful.

My approach to Task A

This is your chance to show you can generate interesting, original (i.e. unexpected) ideas and arguments on the fly. This is the step-by-step approach I used to score 67 in section 2.

1. Ascertain the theme

Read all 4 comments/quotes. Look for keywords, sentiments and topics that are in common between them, as well as contrasts and paradoxes. It may not always be obvious, but a common general theme is always in there e.g. democracy, technology.

2. Create an essay title / question to answer

Once you have determined the theme (see above), you can choose to either respond to one comment/quote, or create your own essay title or question to answer based on that theme. Pick a title or question that you could imagine two people disagreeing over.

3. Pick a side

Now you have a self-made essay question to answer, or a title to respond to, decide which side of the argument you sit on. It doesn’t matter if it genuinely aligns with your actual views. No one is going to check!

4. Brainstorm

Come up with 3-4 supporting ideas for the side you have picked PLUS supporting evidence (e.g. recent news piece, historical fact, research finding or a quote from a notable person) for the assertions you will use. You may only find time to include 2-3 main ideas, but that’s fine. Lastly, come up with at least 1 idea that supports the opposing side of the argument to show you can foresee and understand different opinions.

5. Plan around a structure

The structure I used is below. Feel free to use it or a variation of it.

6. Write!

Style tips:

• Your idea bank should have breadth. But your essays should have depth!
• Link your paragraphs together.
• Vary the length of your sentences. Use both short and long ones.
• Use active words instead of having a passive voice e.g. “Teachers believe that…” vs “It is thought that teachers believe…”
• Aim for 300-500 words maximum. Depending on your handwriting, this could be the equivalent of 2-3 sides of A4 paper.
• It’s a myth that you need to memorise quotes and regurgitate them.
• It’s a myth that you can’t use “I”. Feel free to if it suits your writing style.
• Aim to be clear and persuasive. Stick to clear, plain language that gets your point across. There are no bonus points for sounding pompous!

Phrases you may find handy:

• Starting argumentative paragraphs: firstly, one reason for this, first of all, secondly, thirdly, finally, another reason is
• Contrasting: however, in contrast, despite, nonetheless, nevertheless, yet, on the one hand, on the other hand, on the contrary, in spite of this
• Emphasis: clearly, indeed, in fact, most importantly
• Providing examples: moreover, similarly, furthermore, in addition, besides, also
• Concluding: consequently, in conclusion

7. Proof-read & edit

Leave a few mins at the end of each essay to read through them. Check writing is legible, there are no missing or duplicate words and that it all generally makes sense.

My approach to Task B

Task B is your chance to show you understand emotions and can learn from and reflect on experiences. This is the step-by-step approach I used to score 67 in section 2.

1. Ascertain the theme:

Read all 4 quotes. Look for keywords, sentiments and topics that are in common between them, as well as contrasts and paradoxes. It may not always be obvious, but a common theme is always in there e.g. love, ageing

2. Create an essay title / question to answer:

Once you have determined the theme (see above), you can choose to either respond to one comment/quote, or fashion an essay title or question to answer based on that theme.

3. Think of a relevant personal experience you learnt from:

This does not have to be a genuine experience of yours. You could adopt the experience of a friend, family member or even a character of a TV show or movie!

4. What did you learn from this experience? How could this relate to society as a whole?

Include a paragraph before your conclusion explaining an implication for society.

5. Plan around a structure.

The structure I used is below. Feel free to use it or a variation of it.

6. Write!

Style tips:

Because this a reflective, more personal essay than Task A, definitely feel free to use “I” and delve into what you have felt and learnt. Analytical, argumentative writing is not as suitable for this task.

Otherwise, similar to Task A…

• Vary the length of your sentences. Use both short and long ones.
• Aim for 300-500 words maximum. Depending on your handwriting, this could be the equivalent of 2-3 sides of A4 paper.
• Use active words instead of having a passive voice e.g. “Teachers believe that…” vs “It is thought that teachers believe…”
• Aim to be clear and persuasive. Stick to clear, plain language that gets your point across. There are no bonus points for sounding pompous!

7. Proof-read and edit

Leave a few mins at the end of each essay to read through them. Check writing is legible, there are no missing or duplicate words and that it all generally makes sense.

Final Tips

• DO NOT MEMORISE TEMPLATE ESSAYS AND REGURGITATE THEM IN THE EXAM. You are setting yourself up for a bad score. ACER warn against this in their official advice! Develop the skill and confidence to respond effectively to whatever is thrown at you on test day instead.
• Your idea bank should have breadth. But your essays should have depth!
• Back up every point you make with evidence.
• Consider an unexpected approach to the theme and individual quotes.
• Aim to come across as an expert (even if you’re not!). You must write with confidence.
• Read your practice essays out loud. This will help you spot awkward grammar and phrasing.
• It’s fine to write as if you are talking to the examiner for both tasks e.g. part-way through the essay you could share that you’ve changed your mind! “It now occurs to me…”
• Feel free to share how much you agree or disagree with certain comments/quotes.
• Don’t take comments/quotes at face value. Consider intended meanings i.e. read between the lines!
• Some people don’t recommend using a structure at all! Instead they suggest writing as if you are arguing a point in an email/text message/forum post. It’s important to find what works best for YOU and YOUR writing style.
• Keep your writing LEGIBLE. You won’t get any marks for writing that can’t be read!
• TheMedicBlog has produced a free essay marking guide. I didn’t use it myself but as it’s free might be worth checking out.

TL;DR

• Gather a wide range of ideas e.g. via The Meaning of Things by AC Grayling and TED Talks.
• When writing the essays, provide depth to a few ideas, rather than lots of ideas that you barely explain.
• Decide on the essay structure you’ll use (if you’ll use one at all).
• Practice either alone or with an essay exchange group of study buddies.
• Mark your own or study buddies’ essays to help improve your ability to critique writing, and in turn improve your awareness to improve your own writing.
• The only way to improve writing is… by writing! So write!!

Further reading:

• Marking sheet to use with your own essays or study buddies.
• Writing an introduction advice by GAMSAT English Tutor.
• Essay writing tips by GAMSAT Edge.
• Example essays on beauty on the Gold Standard GAMSAT forum.

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Good luck! Sign up to my mailing list to get more tips in your email inbox.

Have some feedback on this article? Did I make an error? Please contact me via the contact page or leave a comment below.

You might also be interested in my article A Beginner’s Guide to GAMSAT Section 3.

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The post A Beginner’s Guide to GAMSAT Section 2 appeared first on Graduate Medicine Success.

ACER, the company that administrates the exam, doesn’t give much away. As a result, many are left speculating about how they will actually beat the GAMSAT.

I’m by no means claiming I magically have all the answers. Consider this blog post simply advice, not dogma. Keep your eyes and ears open for advice from others who have also succeeded at this exam as I’m sure they could have some great tips too.

I’ve prepared the below based on my own experiences doing the exam (two sittings, successful on the second), helping others and analysing the success stories of very high scorers.

Essential info

Section 3 is the “Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences” section. It is the longest and arguably toughest part of the GAMSAT. All questions are multiple choice.

Breakdown of timings:

In reality the time you spend on each question will vary – some questions take more time to solve than others. So take the average time per question as a rough guide.

You’ll notice that people sitting the digital exam due to the COVID-19 pandemic will have more time on average per question than if they were sitting the traditional pen-and-paper exam.

To learn more about the unique 2020 exam arrangements, read this article >>> GAMSAT, UCAT & BMAT 2020 Updates

Content

Official advice from ACER:

There is no official syllabus for Section 3. I REPEAT. No official syllabus! Why? I don’t know. It’s annoying isn’t it.

However, ACER do provide some useful advice. In summary:

• In the Information Booklet they explain that “success in GAMSAT is unlikely without knowledge and ability in the biological and physical sciences.”
• The same booklet also states that the split between the sciences will be: 40% Biology, 40% Chemistry, 20% Physics.
• They go on to list the reasoning and problem solving skills tested in the exam. Such as analysing and interpreting data, extrapolation, interpolation, estimation, making generalisations, evaluating lines of reasoning and selecting out relevant information.
• On their preparation strategy page they recommend obtaining textbooks for first year degree level Chemistry and Biology, and A level / leaving certificate / year 12 level Physics in order to obtain a certain level of “assumed knowledge”.

My personal experience:

I’m a science graduate and I sat GAMSAT twice. First time I was one mark below the Nottingham cut off. I was gutted. But the second time I got a good score (top 12%).

The first time I sat it I noticed there was a fair amount of Physics. Then again, maybe this only stood out to me because Physics is my weakest science.

The second time I sat it there was barely any Organic Chemistry. And in fact, the whole exam felt like 95% reasoning and 5% knowledge even though every questions’ preamble had some basis in science. It was just reasoning dressed up as science!

I’ve spoken to others since my last GAMSAT exam, both in real life and via forums, and it seems I’m not the only one who feels GAMSAT Section 3 is now super reasoning heavy.

Key takeaways:

• Knowledge will help you somewhat, but not nearly as much as you might hope it will. This is particularly important for science grads to hear! Don’t be overconfident.
• The official 40 / 40 / 20 split won’t necessarily apply to each individual sitting. So, don’t be surprised if you have way more of one science and/or way less of another when you sit your test.
• Working on problem solving and reasoning skills should not be overlooked in your preparation.

Unofficial syllabuses:

In the absence of an official syllabus you could use one of the following free ones:

1. GradMed (I personally used this one)
2. AceGAMSAT
3. Griffiths’ GAMSAT Review

How to study

You may already know that it’s far more important to be able to apply knowledge, problem solve and understand science concepts than it is to be able to regurgitate facts for this section. Making it unlike the majority of school and university exams.

If you weren’t already aware of this, the clue is in the name of the section: “Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences”. This is also explained in the official ACER GAMSAT Information Booklets released for each sitting.

Just to illustrate how unlike a normal science exam this test is, I had a few lessons with a Physics tutor in preparation for my first sitting. The tutor was doing a PhD in Physics at one of the top universities in the world. Despite this they were often stumped by the GAMSAT style questions I showed them!

Having said all that, a good level of basic science knowledge, familiarity with more advanced science concepts and a good understanding of them could improve how quickly you comprehend and answer questions. Given that Section 3 is extremely time pressured (many people don’t finish it – I didn’t) you’re likely to benefit from the speed boost, even if it’s only modest, because you’ll get round to answering more questions.

Great. But the question remains… How exactly should you study??

Understand

Make sure you UNDERSTAND what you cover in your prep.

I emphasise understanding because maybe in the past you’ve crammed for science exams and got away with it. I’ve regurgitated things I’ve half understood and got good scores even at degree level. But this approach won’t do you any favours in the GAMSAT.

So what do you need to do to truly improve your understanding?

Go over topics with a nit comb. Look up EVERYTHING you don’t fully understand. This will feel inefficient but it’s important.

Once you feel pretty comfortable with a topic, nonetheless challenge yourself with probing questions and end-of-chapter style quizzes (available on the Khan Academy website and most textbooks). You could also ask study buddies, a mentor or hire a tutor to challenge your understanding.

GAMSAT style practice questions are also great at exposing flaws in your understanding or basic science knowledge. Which is why I recommend doing lots of practice questions also. More on that later on…

Language, symbols & units

This goes with the above but make sure you really understand the SCIENCE LANGUAGE, SYMBOLS and UNITS you come across in your prep.

For example, what does “oxidation” actually mean in Chemistry? When a chemical is oxidised one of the following happens: gains oxygen, loses hydrogen and/or loses electrons. Yet many people only associate it with losing electrons due to the OIL RIG mnemonic.

By the way there’s a video I love by Crash Course on how to speak “chemistrian” (Chemistry terms!)

Fill in the gaps

Fill in gaps in your understanding and basic science knowledge with Khan Academy video tutorials, tutorials by others (see my Free GAMSAT Resources Master List) or by going through a science textbook. Gaps will be exposed by challenging yourself, getting someone else to challenge you or doing practice GAMSAT style questions.

If you’re a non-science graduate, you’ll probably want to start with GCSE level science before moving onto A level and first year degree level. Check out the BBC Bitesize website.

Feynman Technique

Utilise the Feynman Technique when you study. This is essentially when you prepare to teach a topic to a child or someone who knows far less than you (even if you don’t actually teach it to anyone).

To effectively teach a concept such as F=ma to a child, you will need to use simple language and to-the-point statements. Else they’ll wonder what you’re on about and get bored. Drawings and analogies may also help.

If you struggle to explain something with complete clarity, it’s a clue that you don’t fully understand it yet. Cue: you need to go over it again. Read more about the Feynman Technique here.

Maths without a calculator & numerical reasoning

Work on your mental maths. There is no calculator in GAMSAT but you are likely to encounter questions that you can only beat with numerical reasoning.

Practice rearranging and combining formulas. This is easier when you understand the scientific theory behind formulas and the associated units. I have a list of Physics equations I came across in my own GAMSAT prep on my Free GAMSAT Resources Master List page (I’ve included a table of units).

Should you memorise formulas? Mostly no. Some of the basic ones perhaps since there is an “assumed level of knowledge”. But in most cases you will either be given a formula or be expected to construct it on the fly based on info given in the question.

Working with graphs, diagrams & tables

Practice interpreting graphs, diagrams and tables. You could do this with study buddies, a mentor or a tutor. The important thing is to be challenged (and challenge your study buddies in turn) because this will force you to re-examine and justify the inferences you’ve made.

Also work on extrapolating and interpolating.

When doing GAMSAT-style practice questions you should come across plenty of graphs, diagrams and tables.

If you want additional practice, a good place to search for free science graphs and data tables is open (free access) scientific journals such as BMJ Open.

Other reasoning skills

I’ve already mentioned numerical reasoning, as well as working with graphs, diagrams and tables.

But you could also benefit from working on spatial reasoning (might be required for e.g. biological enzymes or stereochemistry questions).

Verbal reasoning is also of use. At times you’ll be presented with a block of text and you’ll need to distil out the important information.

Pattern recognition is another helpful skill, especially for Organic Chemistry e.g. spotting the chiral carbons in a complex molecule.

How to improve your reasoning skills

1. Practice using the official ACER practice papers, especially Practice Test 3 (most reasoning heavy Section 3).
2. Ask yourself “how and why” when completing and reviewing practice questions.
3. Reflect on the answer explanations available for the ACER papers and other practice Qs you use. Compare the thinking process they use to explain the answers with your own.
4. Discuss your reasoning with study buddies, a mentor or tutor. They can point out faulty logic.

The aim is to develop and refine thinking patterns that will allow you to solve complex problems efficiently.

Personalised study plan

There is no one size fits all study plan out there. Best to consider your strengths and weaknesses and construct a study plan around them.

Either way, some key things I think you should include in your Section 3 study plan:

1. Official ACER practice questions.
2. Reviewing your answers to the ACER practice questions.
3. Filling in holes in your understanding and knowledge with Khan Academy, A level revision guides etc.
4. Practicing numerical reasoning and other problem solving skills.

This is not an exhaustive list!

Practice questions

At some point you HAVE to get your head out of books/YouTube video tutorials and into practice papers.

Start off doing questions un-timed so you have time to figure out the best way to approach each question and develop the necessary problem solving skills. This is a good initial chance to learn how to think like ACER.

In the last month, switch to timed questions. Aim for 1 min 30 secs per question average if you’re doing the pen and paper version of GAMSAT. If you’re doing the digital one, have the practice Qs on your computer screen (to simulate the exam as closely as possible) and give yourself 1 min 53 secs per question.

The ACER practice questions are the closest to the real exam. Practice Test 3 (pink cover) is the closest out of all of them due its heavily reasoning-based section 3.

Des O’Neil and Ozimed are often recommended by successful candidates. Just a word of caution – Des O’Neil resources stopped being updated several years ago and I personally found that Des Section 3 questions required far more knowledge and too little reasoning compared to the real exam.

Review your answers to practice questions

When marking practice questions truly POUR OVER them to make sure you understand the answers.

Put as much effort into reviewing your answers as doing the questions. Make sure you fully understand each question you get wrong AS WELL AS each question you get right. It’s during reviewing that you can really learn to think like ACER.

You may think if you got a question correct you don’t need to review it, but what if it was a fluke? What if there is a golden nugget of understanding waiting for you if you double check your reasoning was correct?

Do 1-2 simulated exam days

What I mean is, reserve a whole day in a quiet area to do at least one entire ACER practice test from start to finish. Follow the structure and timing of an official exam day e.g. have a 1 hour lunch break between sections 2 and 3.

As I said earlier in this blog post, timing is one of your biggest enemies in GAMSAT. This is a fantastic way to further work on your time management e.g. aim to be at least 50% of the way through when you’re half way through the allocated time.

You’re unlikely to finish this section even with a decent timing strategy. But it’s definitely worth a shot to get a few extra points.

I didn’t finish my section 3. I guessed the remaining 20 or so questions. Yet I still got the score I needed to get 3 interviews so don’t panic if you don’t finish in your practice exams, or the real exam.

TL;DR

• When studying focus on truly UNDERSTANDING science concepts rather than being able to regurgitate them.
• Avoid passively reading, watching or cramming. Instead, teach science concepts to others (even if its just your cat) and actively seek to understand the important ideas, key terms, symbols and units.
• Work on reasoning skills: numerical reasoning, working with graphs, verbal reasoning, pattern recognition, spatial reasoning.
• Do the official ACER practice papers, especially Practice Test 3 (pink cover).
• Work on your TIME MANAGEMENT, especially in the last month before the exam. Time is one of your biggest enemies in the GAMSAT.

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Good luck! Sign up to my mailing list to get more tips in your email inbox.

Have some feedback on this article? Did I make an error? Please contact me via the contact page or leave a comment below.

You might also be interested in my article A Beginner’s Guide to GAMSAT Section 2.

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The post A Beginner’s Guide To GAMSAT Section 3 appeared first on Graduate Medicine Success.

For graduates money can be an especially big worry because there is less support to get you through a medical degree than if you are a school leaver. If you get onto a 4-year Graduate Entry Medicine course there may be, however, substantially more funding available to you than if you opt for a standard entry 5- or 6-year course.

Having said that, there are still holes in funding you should be aware of.

So, in this blog post I will explain how government funding for Graduate Entry Medicine works. But I will also share ideas of how else you can look to fund your studies. Plus, I’ll share some financial survival tips I’ve picked up from doing two previous degrees in notoriously expensive London.

Disclaimer: I’m not a certified financial adviser and so the below should not be considered financial advice. What is written here is merely for information and educational purposes. For advice on your specific circumstances consider seeking help from your relevant funding agency, medical school’s student services and/or finance support team, or an independent financial advisor.

 Contents

Click the links to jump to each section

• Funding breakdown by country for GEM
• Standard entry Medicine for grads
• Where to apply for a student loan and NHS bursary
• Scholarships, bursaries and other sources of funding
• Military sponsorship (cadetships)
• Money SAVING tips
• Money MAKING tips
• Further reading
• Resources to boost your money IQ for life

Quick glossary

Tuition fees = paid to your university to pay for your teaching.

Living costs = costs other than your course fees e.g. rent, groceries, travel.

Loan = money sent to you that at some point you’re expected to pay back usually with interest.

Interest = extra money you pay on top of what you borrowed when you receive a loan (as a result you will owe more than you borrowed).

Maintenance loan = loan paid to you for the purpose of covering your living costs.

Grant or bursary = money given to you that you won’t ever need to pay back.

Means tested = depends on your “means” i.e. household income.

Non-means tested = does not depend on your “means” i.e. household income.

FUNDING BREAKDOWN BY COUNTRY FOR GEM

If you’re from England

During your degree you can receive help from Student Finance England and the NHS Business Services Authority. Make sure to double check the information below with them so you can be confident you have information that’s correct and relevant to you.

Use this calculator for an estimation of how much you could get from Student Finance.

Year 1

You pay: ~ £3,500 towards tuition fees.

NHS pays: Not available

Student Finance England pays: Exactly how much could depend on your location and household income.

Student Finance England (SFE) will cover the rest of the tuition fees with a loan unless you’re happy and able to pay the full ~£9,000. This is regardless of household income i.e. it is non-means tested.

SFE will also provide a maintenance loan of ~ £4000 minimum towards your living costs (if living away from home) or ~ £3400 minimum (if living at home). You could be eligible for more than this, but it depends on your household income.

If you’re not from England funding could differ significantly so, please double check with your relevant funding agency (all listed further down).

Real life example:

To provide an example, I’m at a London-based school and in my first year I paid ~ £3,500 towards tuition fees. The rest of my tuition fees were covered by SFE.

I also received a £12,500 maintenance loan from SFE to help with my living costs (rent, groceries, bills, commuting etc).

Working part-time as a private tutor and being lucky enough to have some help from my parents allowed me to both pay the £3,500 towards my tuition fees and cover any living costs that went beyond the £12.5k maintenance loan. And I did find my living costs went slightly beyond this.

Years 2 – 4

Don’t be fooled into thinking that just because you no longer need to pay £3,500 towards your tuition fees (now covered by the NHS) that you won’t need to find any money. This is because even though the NHS will be sending you money from now on, you’re going to find that SFE will be sending you LESS.

You pay: Exactly how much will vary depending on your circumstances. I personally had to cover a hole in funding of £2700 in 2nd year for living costs. You may have more or less of a shortfall to cover than I did.

NHS pays: ~ £3,700 towards your tuition fees and at least £1,000 (non-means tested grant) towards living costs. How much more you could get depends on location, household income and/or if you could be considered “independent” as opposed to dependent on your parents. You don’t need to pay this back.

Student Finance England pays: They’ll cover the rest of your tuition fees with a loan. Your maintenance loan will be LESS than it was in 1st year. Exactly how much maintenance loan you will get for living costs depends on your location and household income.

Real life example:

So how did things actually change for me financially in year 2?

My tuition fees were fully covered by SFE and the NHS combined. All good so far.

From SFE I received a maintenance loan of £3300 But in my first year I received £12,500… That’s £9,200 less compared to my first year!

Thankfully the NHS bursary helped me to plug some of that £9,200 hole. They sent me £6500 total over my second year. So ultimately, I covered £2700 myself.

I received more than £1,000 from the NHS by proving that I was eligible to be considered “independent”. I did this by showing that I had supported myself financially for at least 3 years before beginning my course. My proof was letters from previous landlords confirming that I paid for my own rent as well as payslips. Payslips alone weren’t enough because – and this reasoning is understandable to be fair – receiving money isn’t proof that I actually supported myself with it.

So, despite the NHS covering the £3,500 odd I had previously covered myself for tuition fees, because of the reduction in maintenance loan from SFE, I still found myself needing £2700 to cover ALL my expenses. Again, part-time work as a tutor and help from my parents allowed me to afford this.

Remember, if you’re not from England funding could differ significantly so, please double check with your relevant funding agency (all listed further down).

If you’re from Wales

During your degree you can receive help from Student Finance Wales and NHS Student Awards Services. Make sure to double check the information below with them so you can be confident you have information that’s correct and relevant to you.

Year 1

You pay: ~ £3,500 towards tuition fees.

NHS pays: Not available

Student Finance Wales pays: Exactly how much could depend on your household income. You will receive a combined loan and grant.

 Years 2-4

You pay: Exactly how much will vary depending on your circumstances.

NHS pays: ~£3,500 towards tuition fees. You will also receive £1,000 minimum towards living costs. You may receive more depending on your location and household income.

Student Finance Wales pays: The rest of your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan.

If you’re from Scotland

During your degree you can receive help from Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS). Make sure to double check the information below with them so you can be confident you have information that’s correct and relevant to you.

Year 1

You pay: Full cost of the tuition fees.

NHS pays: Not available

SAAS pays: Exactly how much could depend on your location and household income.

Years 2-4

You pay: Full cost of tuition fees.

NHS pays: Not available – unlike for England and Wales no bursary funding is available via the NHS. HOWEVER you can receive more support from SAAS than a student from England or Wales can from Student Finance England or Wales.

SAAS pays: Exactly how much could depend on your location and household income.

If you’re from Northern Ireland

During your degree you can receive help from Student Finance Northern Ireland. Make sure to double check the information below with them so you can be confident you have information that’s correct and relevant to you.

Year 1

You pay: Full cost of the tuition fees.

NHS pays: Not available

Student Finance NI pays: Exactly how much could depend on your location and household income.

Years 2-4

You pay: Full cost of the tuition fees.

NHS pays: Not available – unlike for England and Wales no bursary funding is available via the NHS. HOWEVER you can receive more support from Student Finance NI than a student from England or Wales can from Student Finance England or Wales.

Student Finance NI pays: Exactly how much could depend on your location and household income.

Standard entry Medicine for grads

In this blog post I’m focusing on GEM but if you’re a grad considering standard entry Medicine, here’s some of the key things to know:

• Years 1 to 4: Bad news is you will need to self-fund your tuition fees. Good news is you will be able to apply for a maintenance loan.
• Years 5 to 6: Your tuition fees will be paid for by either the NHS (if from England and Wales) or SAAS (if from Scotland). You can also apply for a maintenance loan from Student Finance/SAAS and a NHS bursary for living costs provided you’re eligible.

Where to apply for your NHS bursary and Student Finance loan

Which funding agency you should apply to will depend on whether you’re from England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Student Finance England: https://logon.slc.co.uk/cas/login

Student Finance Wales: https://www.studentfinancewales.co.uk

Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS): https://www.saas.gov.uk

Student Finance Northern Ireland: http://studentfinanceni.co.uk/

If you’re from England, apply for your NHS bursary via the Bursary Online Support System (BOSS): https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-bursary-students/how-apply

If you’re from Wales, apply for your NHS bursary via NHS Student Awards Services: https://nwssp.nhs.wales/ourservices/student-awards-services/

Some tips

• Apply as soon as applications are open to avoid any delays. The closer to the start of term you get, the higher chance of delays because more and more people will be applying.
• For both Student Finance/SAAS and NHS bursaries you’ll want to gather the necessary evidence and have it ready as early as possible. I ended up in a situation where NHS BSA needed proof that I had supported myself financially for 3 years. I sent 3 lots of evidence and it needed it sent special delivery each time. The result was a long, drawn out process that cost a lot of money in terms of postage.
• Get on the phone! Sometimes it’s easier for everyone to just have a conversation on the phone. Misunderstandings are less likely, and problems seem to get resolved quicker, in my experience.

Scholarships, bursaries and other sources of funding

Scholarships and bursaries at your med school

There are a range of scholarships around with various eligibility criteria. Most medical schools have their own scholarships and bursaries.

Whether you are eligible will depend on your age, background, household income and other factors. It’s important to double check what’s available at YOUR medical school.

Your personal tutor and/or students’ union should be able to signpost you to the correct people to speak to. If not, reach out to the finance or student support services at your uni.

Examples:

• Nottingham’s Franks (£2,500) and Cameron Gifford Scholarships (£500)
• Oxford’s Oxford Bursary (£500-3,200)
• St George’s Opportunity Fund Grant
• Kings College London’s King’s Living Bursary

Other bursaries

Disabled Students’ Allowance is for those with mental health problems, long term health issues, learning difficulties or any other disability.

Adult Dependants’ Grant is for those who are taking care of an adult who depend on them financially.

Childcare Grant is for those with children under 15 years old. Or who have children under 17 years old who have special educational needs.

Child tax credit, child benefit, Parents’ Learning Allowance and NHS bursary childcare allowance all also support people with children.

Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust provides grants for those over 24.

Professional Aids Council could provide help if you’re in a clinical year.

Various charitable trusts may also be worth applying to.

Hardship funding

Your medical school will try to support you if you run into financial trouble. The first person you may want to talk to is your personal tutor who can provide advice and advocate for you.

Alternatively, you could reach out to your students’ union for advice.

BMA Charities offers grants to both doctors and medical students in financial difficulty. Their BMA Medical Educational Trust has grants for students taking Medicine as a second degree. To see if you’re eligible, take their eligibility questionnaire.

NHS hardship grant offers between £100 – £3,000 for eligible students in genuine hardship.

The Royal Medical Benovalent Fund has a list even more sources of hardship funding.

Military sponsorship (cadetships)

In return for several years’ commitment to the military post-graduation (exactly how long varies between the services) you can receive full funding for a proportion of your medical degree plus a salary or bursary while you’re still a student. Once you graduate and are in a service, the pay is good and so are many of the benefits.

You can’t apply for any of them until you’re already in medical school.

• Army
• Royal Navy
• Royal Air Force

Due to the huge commitment you’d be signing up for in return for sponsorship, I’d say it’s worth checking you’d be happy in the military. None offer sponsorship for your first year of medical school, so it’s a good time to do one of the following…

• For a flavour of the Army, sign up to your local University Officer’s Training Corps (UOTC).
• If you’re considering the Royal Navy, get a taster at a University Royal Naval Unity (URNU).
• Get an idea of Royal Air Force life by joining a University Air Squadron (UAS).

I got part-way through the Royal Navy cadetship application process before realising that military life is not for me. I figured this out when I joined an URNU. That doesn’t mean to say military life isn’t suited to you though! I’m very happy to provide (free of course) advice to anyone looking to apply for the Royal Navy cadetship. Just drop me an email.

Money saving tips

Student discounts

Make sure you’re getting all the student discounts you can. I’m personally a fan of UniDays and regularly use the app to check for discounts.

Back in the day (early 2010s – showing my age) it was all about the NUS card. UniDays seems to have overtaken the NUS card in terms of popularity, but it’s still a thing. It’s been renamed TOTUM.

Student bank accounts

Student bank accounts come with the option of interest free overdrafts plus other benefits. For example, a free rail pass.

A few things to keep in mind:

• The bank will run a credit check when you apply for a student bank account. Too many credit checks in a short period of time can have a bad effect your credit score.
• The overdrafts don’t stay interest free forever. At some point after graduation you will need to pay off the overdraft if you don’t want to be charged interest.
• It’s tempting to dip into interest free overdrafts, but they’re best used as back up money.

Travel smart tips

1. Live within walking or cycling distance of your medical school so that you can save money on your commute.
2. Get reimbursed for travel to and from clinical placements. GEM students can get this via the NHS bursary provided the costs are more than they would be normally travelling to/from uni. To do this, keep records and/or receipts of your journeys and complete the relevant form. Check out the NHS BSA website for more information (click on “Practice Placement Expenses”).
3. If you’re in London, make sure your Oyster card or contactless bank cards are registered on the TFL website. This will allow you to login and download a record of all the journeys (and associated costs) you’ve done on public transport. Note, however, that if you take a non-TFL train or other mode of transport you will need to hold onto any receipts because these journeys won’t show up on your TFL account.

No need to pay for brand new textbooks

Textbooks can cost a lot of money. Save money by borrowing library books instead.

You could also borrow books off friends or buy second-hand books via Facebook Marketplace, Facebook groups or Amazon.

Budget

Some bank account apps have budgeting tools. These allow you to plan in advance how much you want to spend on groceries, rent, travel etc. each month.

What’s great about these apps is that they will hold you accountable by tracking your spending and alerting you if you overspend in any particular category.

Banks that offer these kinds of tools in their apps include Monzo and Starling.

If you don’t have a bank that offers this, you could use one of these third party budgeting apps. If you have more than one bank account, they can connect to all of them at once via open banking technology. Completely free! I’ve personally used Yolt and Emma in the past.

You could also be old school use an Excel sheet to track your finances. I use Save the Student’s budgeting spreadsheet.

Food shopping tips

1. Shop at budget supermarkets such as Lidl or Aldi. Your money will usually go further.
2. Frozen food is often better value for money than non-frozen food.
3. For healthy yet cheap recipe ideas, my go-to is Lean Student Chef (Rob Eades). Check out his instagram and website.
4. Cook a tonne of food (AKA bulk cook) once a week. Either freeze the leftovers or box them up in the fridge so you’ve got a bunch of meals ready to heat up in the microwave anytime. Good things to bulk cook include salads, spaghetti bolognaise, chilli con carne and curries.
5. And whatever you do, try not to food shop when you’re hungry!

Rent smart tips

1. Fancy free accommodation? Apply for a student halls resident / pastoral role. These sorts of jobs allow you to live in student halls for free. Duties tend to include welcoming new students to halls, dealing with complaints about noise, making sure no wild parties are going on and looking out for the wellbeing of residents.
2. Live in a flat share or house share instead of a studio. It might be annoying sharing a bathroom sometimes. Especially with people you don’t know. But it will save you money.
3. Student halls aren’t necessarily the cheapest option! Private halls (run by independent companies) can be especially pricey. Sometimes the best value rooms are flat shares and house shares rented by independent landlords.
4. Living close to uni will minimise (or obliterate) your travel costs. I can’t speak for elsewhere but in London hopping on the underground everyday can drain your pockets fast – when you’re living on a student budget anyway.
5. Bills included rentals can be a great find. Especially if gas and electricity are included because in winter their usage goes way up.
6. Live at home! (This may result in reduced financial support from your home nation funding agency and/or NHS, however.)
7. Shop around. An extra £30 per month for a bigger room may not seem like a big deal at first glance but rent adds up quickly because it’s such a large expense. If you’re in London, in my experience it’s possible to get a decent enough room for £500-650 per month including bills depending on the borough you’re in.

Buy electronics second hand

I personally use CEX a lot, especially for getting new Apple products. You can take in your old devices, DVDs etc. and receive a discount on future purchases in exchange.

You can also trade your stuff for cash although you get less than if you took a voucher / discount on your next purchase.

CEX have stores all over the place. They also have a website.

Money making tips

Prizes

Build your medical CV and bag potentially £100s at the same time by going for essay and other academic prizes.

Your uni may provide prizes of its own, for instance if you’ve come top of your year in OSCEs.

Many prizes are also organised by external organisations such as the Royal Society of Medicine, various Royal Colleges and others.

There are also research projects you can undertake and receive money for.

Part-time, flexible jobs

1. Part-time jobs working for unis / medical schools tend to be flexible and decently paid. At my medical school you can work as an anatomy demonstrator (teaching anatomy in the dissection room), as a clinical skills tutor (teaching clinical skills in preparation for OSCEs), in the students’ union shop or bar, or as a student ambassador (showing new students around).
2. Private tutoring is a well-paid and flexible part-time earning option for many students. As both a graduate and medical student you have credentials that are likely to attract students. Bonus: because you are your own boss you can arrange your work around your studies! In London you can easily start out on £20-25 per hour for primary and secondary school age teaching. Elsewhere you’re probably looking at starting on £15 per hour. I’ve been private tutoring for 4 years. For advice getting started as a private tutor feel free to drop me a line.
3. Bank Health Care Assistant (HCA) work is a great option if you’ve previously worked as a HCA. Sign up via the NHS Professionals website.
4. Babysitting or nannying can also be a fantastic part-time earner. I’ve seen babysitting jobs advertised on the job boards of various unis.
5. Work freelance via Fiverr and similar websites. If you have a creative skill such as graphic design, web design, writing or music making this might be worth a try.
6. Take surveys for money. This isn’t something I’ve done myself, but I’ve seen a fair few people recommend it. You’re unlikely to get a lot of money, mind you.

Sell your unwanted stuff

Sell your stuff second hand via noticeboards at uni, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, Facebook groups and the various other websites and apps that are around these days.

I’ve made £100s selling books, electronics and clothes I didn’t want anymore.

Paid clinical trials

It’s possible to sign up for clinical trials and get paid for your trouble. Pay varies depending on the study.

For more info check out Save the Student’s guide on this.

I’m not sure how I feel ethically about this. But I’ve decided to mention it so people are aware it’s an option.

Blogging, YouTube and social media

It is becoming increasingly popular for medical students to start their own YouTube channels, blogs and influencer-style social media accounts. People have various reasons for starting these, but some do this in the hope of earning money.

However, this is NOT a quick or reliable way to earn money. It takes time to build enough of a following to generate any money through ad revenue or attract the attention of potential sponsors.

So, I personally think you should only do it if you’d be okay with never earning any money from it.

Further reading:

• BMA medical student finance guide
• Royal Medical Benevolent Fund
• Save the Student’s article on grants, bursaries and scholarships
• Medical Schools Council

Resources to boost your money IQ for life:

• Save the Student: Blog empowering students to make the most out of their money. They also share deals and discounts.
• Money Saving Expert: Website dedicated to helping others understand money. They also share deals via their newsletter e.g. internet provider discounts. They have written some very enlightening articles on how student loans work!
• Vestpod: An organisation seeking to provide supportive, fun and practical financial education. I’ve attended a couple of their workshops and found them really useful.

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Hope that helps! Sign up to my mailing list to get more tips in your email inbox.

Share your own finance tips with other readers below by leaving a comment!

Have some feedback on this article? Did I make an error? Please contact me via the contact page or leave a comment below.

You might also be interested in my article FREE Medicine Personal Statement Reviews: Where to get free quality feedback.

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The post The GEM Financial Survival Guide (Graduate Entry Medicine funding) appeared first on Graduate Medicine Success.

One thing we have as graduates is previous experience writing at least one successful personal statement! However, Medicine, and especially Graduate Entry Medicine, is extremely competitive and so understandably you are looking for some specific help.

In this blog post I share the 7 steps I went through to write my personal statement. If you’d like to read my successful personal statement, just click here!

First things first – make sure to write and save your personal statement in Microsoft Word or an equivalent programme. You’ll copy it across to the UCAS form only once it’s near 100% polished in step 7.

1. Plan

Once you have a clear structure in mind for your personal statement, the rest will feel easier. Now, you don’t need to structure it exactly like I did. But the below will give you an idea of what you could do – I wrote 6 paragraphs and used the following structure (each box represents a paragraph):

2. Brainstorm

If you want to write a killer personal statement, it all starts here. Invest a sizeable amount of time into this brainstorming stage.

Jot down some ideas about what you could mention in your PS. Use the following as prompts:

• Academic work or achievements that will demonstrate an enthusiasm for science and learning. Also, that you possess intellectual curiosity e.g. a dissertation, essay, group project
• Medicine-related books you’ve read that are thought provoking or inspiring e.g. This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay
• Medicine-related talks you’ve attended or watched online that you have found thought provoking or inspiring e.g. TED Talks
• Moments during work experiences & volunteering that have shown you the qualities doctors need and the realities of working in healthcare. Recall the details of any moments that have particularly inspired you to pursue this career or helped you to realise you are a good fit for it. Look at your work experience / volunteering journal for inspiration, if you kept one.
• Extra-curricular activities or positions of responsibility that demonstrate you possess qualities doctors need (such as teamwork, empathy and time management) e.g. captain of a sports team, member of a sports team, being in an orchestra or choir, being on the committee of a society, leading a campaign, fundraising, part-time jobs, other hobbies and interests

Struggling to find work experience? Check out my blog post How to Get Medical Work Experience in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

3. First draft

Allow your very first draft to be messy, imperfect and (feel) downright rubbish. Even professional writers write rubbish first drafts so don’t worry about it. The important thing is to get the first draft DONE.

UCAS gives you a maximum of 4,000 characters including spaces or 47 lines. When you first write your PS, it’ll likely shoot way over this. But don’t fret. You’ll remedy this in steps 4-6.

You also want to make sure you’re writing your PS in the right style…

Writing style tips:

• Write in the first person (“I”).
• Clear, straightforward language.
• Avoid colloquial language.
• Concise phrasing; avoid super long sentences.
• Use active wording e.g. “I organised”, “I completed”.
• Give specific examples with some detail and say how they have impacted you e.g. instead of “I organised work experience at my local hospital and it was very insightful because I learnt that doctors must be patient and kind” say something more like “I organised work experience at my local hospital and sat in on the consultations of an ophthalmologist. I observed the doctor was patient and warm with all their patients despite the time pressures they were under and this impressed upon me the empathy and patience required to be a doctor.”

At this point you may want to go grab a cup of tea, watch a movie or just sleep on it. Well done on getting this far!

Now, to turn your rubbishy first draft into a golden personal statement the next 4 steps will be absolutely key.

4. Edit

“The writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.” ― Dr. Seuss

The ultimate goal with editing is to create a personal statement that is both concise and flows well when being read. Read back through your personal statement and rephrase sentences, delete sections that are unnecessary, add in bits you feel could add more to your statement and double check spelling and grammar (ensure it’s set to British English if you’re a UK applicant!)

Something I always do when editing any piece of writing is to READ IT OUT LOUD. I find I can miss subtle mistakes if I don’t do this plus it’s great for checking the flow of your writing.

Some say it’s helpful to print your statement before proofreading it also.

Remember, don’t just list what you’ve done. It’s crucial that you give specific examples, provide some detail and describe what you have learnt from your experiences & achievements.

5. Get feedback

Some websites encourage you to ask your friends and family to give you feedback on your personal statement. I don’t believe this is unhelpful. But I do believe it’s more helpful to ask those who have experience writing, or helping people to write, successful Medicine personal statements – there isn’t always an overlap.

If your old school has a track record of getting their pupils into Medicine, you could ask them for feedback. Some schools will be willing to help you even if you left quite a while ago!

You could also ask a member of staff at the university you are currently at or recently left who has experience helping students get into Medicine.

Perhaps you have some friends who are medical students or doctors – ask them too.

I asked a medical student who I had met coincidentally in my career before studying Medicine. Also, a member of university staff where I was doing my MSc at the time; they were super keen to get more students into Medicine from their department. This member of staff then put me in touch with a graduate who had recently got into Medicine from the same uni. This grad medical student kindly became my third pair of eyes!

Some of you may feel like there’s no one you can ask for quality feedback. Thankfully, there are people out there who are happy to critique your personal statement for FREE. Read my blog post Master List of FREE Medicine Personal Statement Reviewers.

6. Re-edit

This stage isn’t easy and may involve a lot of head scratching. You may go through several further drafts and that’s okay. You could even start all over again and write a whole new PS.

Either way, your goal is to refine your personal statement and produce its final form.

Consider the feedback given to you by the people you asked to review your PS. If you got feedback from multiple people, prioritise the feedback from those who have success writing, or helping people to write, successful Medicine personal statements.

You don’t have to create the best personal statement that ever existed. But to help ensure success, give it a good go!

Check out my Ultimate Medicine Personal Statement Checklist (free download) to help you ensure you’ve done all you can to make your PS excellent.

7. Finalise (check formatting, spelling & grammar)

Is your PS 4,000 characters or 47 lines or less?

Does your PS make sense and flow well for a reader despite the inevitable deletions and multiple rephrasings you’ve done during editing?

Have you done steps 1-6 of this blog post?

You may be ready to submit!

Time to run a final spelling and grammar check using Microsoft Word or equivalent. The UCAS form doesn’t allow you to do this so make sure to do it before copying it into UCAS.

Alrighty. Copy and paste it into the UCAS form. I personally found I had to make further edits to make it work in UCAS. Maybe you’ll be luckier. Either way, once you’re satisfied, submit it to UCAS and you’re done!

Further reading you may find helpful:

• Personal Statements ebook by We Are Medics
• Write the Perfect Personal Statement published by ISC Medical

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Voila! Sign up to my mailing list to get more tips in your email inbox.

Have some feedback on this article? Did I make an error? Please contact me via the contact page or leave a comment below.

You might also be interested in my article 6 Books to Read Before Your Medical School Interview.

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The post 7 Steps to a Successful Personal Statement for Graduate Entry Medicine appeared first on Graduate Medicine Success.

I received invites to interview at St George’s, University of London, Swansea University Medical School and University of Nottingham Medical School.

Check out my blog post 7 Steps to a Successful Personal Statement for Graduate Entry Medicine for further guidance and my Ultimate Medicine Personal Statement Checklist (free download).

One last thing: DO NOT COPY ANY PART OF MY OR ANYONE ELSE’S PERSONAL STATEMENT. Nowadays, clever software will identify any similarities and you will be caught out. Also, it’s just not ethical and the best way to make your personal statement stand out is to make it unique to you anyway!

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From a young age I have had a passion and aptitude for medical science. I acquired a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences and I am now completing a Master’s in biomedical engineering. Subsequent to volunteering in multiple healthcare environments and shadowing multiple doctors I am now certain that medicine as a career is the correct choice for me.

I highly value the privilege of being able to support someone in their time of need. Over the past several years I have arranged four medical work experience programmes: shadowing radiologists, a general practitioner and two medical teams for elite rugby players. When I had the opportunity to sit in on the consultations of a general practitioner I observed that despite the time pressure he was under he was patient and genuinely warm towards all his patients. This touched me and impressed upon me the more empathetic aspects of being a doctor. Having a career to which empathy is central greatly appeals to me. Since June 2015 I have volunteered at a support helpline and I have further grasped that having even several minutes to talk to a non-judgemental and impartial listener can make a huge difference to someone’s well-being. I recently volunteered weekly at a hospital facilitating fun activities for patients on wards. Through building relationships with patients I have seen first-hand how lonely and restless patients can become and how chatting with someone familiar can improve their day.  To be able to build positive relationships with others daily also draws me to the medical profession.

I am compelled to pursue a vocation in which lifelong learning of medical science and use of scientific methods are key. For example, in the third year of my Bachelor’s degree I wrote a dissertation that explored the possible mechanisms that influence musculoskeletal performance as a result of a genetic polymorphism. Despite the amount of data I analysed it was not possible to deduce the exact biomechanisms at work as a result of this single genetic element. It showed me how much there is still to learn about the human body. I am now studying biomedical engineering for a Master’s in order to learn more about the body as well as the engineering of cutting-edge medical technology.

Through reading books in my spare time I have developed a keen interest in medical ethics. For instance, I found The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot a very thought-provoking book in its treatment of the ethics of medical research and the duties doctors have towards their patients. The upsetting experience of Henrietta Lacks’ family as they tried to understand what happened to her cells following her death echoed to me the importance of clear and honest communication with patients. The latter is an art I am excited to develop further as a physician.

As a doctor I realise that it will be essential to be an excellent leader and team player.  Whilst studying my bachelor’s degree I was elected captain of the women’s rugby club and was awarded Captain of the Year and Sports Personality of the Year by my students’ union for outstanding organisation and leadership. I learnt that teamwork is paramount for maximal success, for example working collaboratively within the rugby club’s committee to achieve a national team of the year award. I found undertaking my degree, being captain of a sports team and volunteering in other roles all in my second year challenging at times however I have gained huge confidence in my ability to cope under stress and to balance my academic and extracurricular duties.

While the life of a doctor will be a challenging one, I feel I have what it takes to be a successful doctor. I have an enthusiasm for science as well as other peoples’ well-being. My work experience with doctors has shown me the realities of such a career. I am a hard worker with an open and enquiring mind and medicine is the most stimulating career I could hope for as well as being one for which I feel ideally suited.

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The post Successful Graduate Entry Medicine Personal Statement Example (St George’s, Swansea, Nottingham) appeared first on Graduate Medicine Success.