Help! How do I start?

[hopefuldoc33]

Hello everyone
I have been reading the forums for a while and find it all very interesting. I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking about medicine as a "second career". I realise we're all in the same boat, but I just wondered if anyone could maybe give me some advice.
I am 33, almost 34. I got As at GCSE and A-level (including human biology) and a first-class degree in languages. Have been pretty frustrated with the career options open to me as a linguist in terms of fulfilment and salary and would like to do something more meaningful. I have always been fascinated by medicine and health, but for some reason, never really considered it as a career path open to me until now!!
Obviously I would love to get onto a graduate programme, but I'm not sure how to proceed from here. I work full-time in a smallish town and nearby there's a city where I could commute and do A-level chemistry over two years. Or should I concentrate on just cramming for the GAMSAT instead? I am worried that if I do that and don't get an A-level, I am closing off my options and pinning all my hopes on getting in on a grad programme. I would also need to get some work experience and volunteer etc, so I don't have masses of free time to play with.
What does anyone think my best option would be???
Many thanks and good luck to everyone!!

[foxyamy]

Hey - first things first, what you need to do depends entirely on where you want to go. Check out this site, which has details on all of the medical courses, both GEP and standard 5-year : Medschoolsonline - A Guide to Getting into Medical School in the UK.

You already have enough academically to get onto courses at unis which will take graduates from any discipline at Newcastle and Kings. If you do well on the UKCAT you could apply to those universities and stand a chance of getting in next year.

However, you are limited as there are only a few who look at non-science graduates without the GAMSAT. Taking this would open up other unis such as St. Georges, Swansea, Nottingham and Keele.

If you decided to do A level Chem instead this would open up Cambridge and Southampton only.
So technically, you would open up your options more by doing the GAMSAT. As you don't have a science background though, doing A level chemistry would give you a much better shot at the GAMSAT. So if you could afford it, you would probably benefit from doing both A level chem AND the GAMSAT.

But like I said, you could actually apply to both Newcastle and Kings already as long as you got around 700 on the UKCAT.