Your timetable

[twinterychildh]

Hi
I was wondering if you could tell me what your studying timetable is like.
How many hours of a lectures a week?
How much clinical practice do you get?
How many holidays do you get a year?

Thanks

[Winchester]

Hey.

I'm a graduate entry student, so maybe this is useless to you, but:

Around 16 - 20 hours of lectures/practicals
4 hours clinical stuff/week (plus all the shadowing you want on top)
Two weeks Christmas and Easter, five weeks for summer

Doesn't sound all that much, but when you add in all the work on top it can get fairly heavy.

[Dr Noodle]

Peninsula first year- av. 15 hours contact time a week

-3 one hr long plenaries every second week and 4 one hour plenaries every second week
-2 three hr long life science sessions every second week
-1 two hr community placement every second week
-2 two hour clinical skills sessions every second week
-1 two hour workshop every second week
-1 two hour PBL session every second week and 2 two hour PBL sessions every second week
-1 two hour jigsaw session every second week
-1 two hour evidence based practice session every second week

...we have a two week timetable ie clinical skills one week, life sciences the second, 1 PBL session one week, 2 the next, 3 plenaries one week, 4 the next etc...

We have a lot of SDL (self directed learning) to do outside of the contact time.

[twinterychildh]

Thank you for your replies.
That gives me a brief into the course as to what I would be letting myself in for if I was to try and get into Med school.I like the fact that it is very varied.

Winchester...
I am considering the graduate course,would you mind sharing your background with me?
I just have a dilemma with my options.
I am currently studying towards a diploma in Operating Dept Practice.
I don't know whether to go for the Access to Med or to top my diiploma to a degree and then go for the grad course.

[Winchester]

I finished a degree in neuroscience this year, took the UKCAT and GAMSAT, did a bit of volunteering at a hospital and applied.

I'd go for getting your degree then applying for grad medicine. Its more competitive but well worth it in terms of it being cheaper (you get your fees paid for 3 of the 4 years), and shorter, obviously. If you have a science background you shouldn't need to do the access course, and if you did I'd imagine it'd drag pretty badly. And experience as an ODP should be looked on favorably.

Don't take my word for it though, give the uni's you're thinking of applying to a ring and see what they say. If you've got any more questions just give us a shout

[twinterychildh]

Thanks for your reply.
What is UKCAT and GAMSAT?

The thing is I don't have a scientific background.I don't have A-levels,worked for a bit and now studying the diploma and work as a HCA on the bank.
My concern is how long it would take me to top my diploma up to a degree so I think maybe I should just go for the access course as that seems more like the direct route.Choices choice choices eh?

Which uni do you go to?
How many times did you apply?

[Doc Skin]

I would top up the degree if I were you because it is better to have a higher level qualification. This would mean you could apply to some GEP courses that are only interested in your degree class, for example Notts, Leicester, St Georges, Kings College & Newcastle.

Not all unis accept the access courses so if you were going to go down that route you could consider A levels instead. Then you have more choices of what unis you can apply to.

There’s also pre-med, you do 1 foundation year of basic science at the uni and if you get the grades you are guaranteed a place on their 5 year course. Although, I think these courses are competitive too and they all seem to have different entry requirements, so you may only find one which matches your profile.

[twinterychildh]

Oh Gosh Doc Skin.Thanks for the insight and your suggestion.I really appreciate it.I'm quite overwhelmed with the amount of options I have.I just want to apply as soon as possible with the best possible chance.
How do you know all this information?

Since realising the possibility of being able to apply and even get into medical school I have found this forum to be really useful.Although I have got mixed responses about which route.However,at the end of the day it is down to me.
I have spoken to my friends and they totally support me in doing it and they think access too.

I guess my next step is to call the universities and ask for their advice and also the colleges who do the access.

What is your back ground Doc Skin?

[giella]

The course at COWA is accepted by 18 medical schools. You can see which ones on the following page:
Access to Medicine - Further Information

[Doc Skin]

Hi again twinterychildh

I know all the info as I have been there myself, I have applied for Sept 2009 still waiting on replies though...

The course geilla mentioned looks good, you should probably ask them how many applicants they have per place so you know how competitive it is to get in. Also check that the medical schools you are interested in accept it.

You could contact med schools you are interested in and ask them if they have a preference for applicants with A levels or access to med.

The good thing about A levels is all unis accept them. Conversely, the good thing about Access to med is the subjects are presumely more geared towards the med course than basic science a levels, for example if you do A level biology you would be learning about stuff like plant biology and the environment, perhaps something that would interest you but not knowledge that would help you through the med course. Also most colleges offer 2 year A level courses and the access is only 1 year.

You also have to think about what will happen if you do the degree and apply for 4 GEP courses but don't get in. They are more competitive than the 5 year courses and it may not be a good idea to keep applying to the same 5 or so unis that will except you without A levels. So you might find yourself in a situation where you have to do the A levels or access anyway. That would be my intention if I didn't get in this year.

My background is - I have a computing degree, working as a HCA, and have applied for 3 GEP and 1 premed.