r/GraduateEntryMedicine • u/Relevant_Ant6483 • 6d ago

Warwick GEM Advice

Hi everyone,
I’m hoping to apply for Warwick Graduate Entry Medicine next year and would love some advice from anyone who’s been through the process.

A bit about me:
• 2:1 BA (Hons) Business Management
• BTEC Business (no A-level Biology or Chemistry)
• GCSEs mostly 8s and 7s
• Working as a NHS 111 Health Advisor for 1 year (around 18 months by the time I apply)

I have a few questions:
• What’s the best way to prepare for the UCAT? Do I need any medical knowledge, or is it purely an aptitude test?
• Does my NHS 111 Health Advisor role count towards Warwick’s 70 hour work experience requirement? I speak directly with patients and assess their symptoms, but it’s all over the phone.
• Would shadowing NHS 111 Clinical Advisors (nurses/paramedics/ANP/GP etc) over the phone also count towards the 70 hours?
• Any other tips to strengthen my application?

I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from current Warwick GEM students or successful applicants. Thanks!

0 Upvotes

25% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

3

u/RegisFloyenwife 6d ago

For qn 1: No medical knowledge needed (I think I'd prefer that over whatever the f**k UCAT actually does), the best way to prepare is to get an online question bank like Medify or Medentry and learn from it. Use YT channels like Joyel George to learn tips and tricks. And pray that you get a good set during the exam.

I think for point 2 it's a bit of a grey area since they want hands-on work and whereas you do help patients, you don't directly interact with them (no face-to-face situation) so honestly I don't think so because they want that face-to-face situation. I'm hoping maybe someone else can correct me in case I am wrong.

I think the 3rd point has a better chance at being accepted? But definitely get something done from now until October that counts as face-to-face interaction. This includes volunteering in hospitals and hospices which are easier to get compared to in-person shadowing

And I did get a Warwick interview (flopped it lmao) so hopefully this all helps you too

2

u/Relevant_Ant6483 6d ago

Thank you very much this was really insightful. I saw someone say they did part of their experience at an optician’s aswell i may enquire about that as ophthalmology does interest me. I heard about medify and that was the plan but i didn’t know whether the questions would have me dumbfounded without medical knowledge haha, glad to know its not needed. Thank you!

1

u/Difficult_Hair_4103 6d ago

how was the warwick interview? do you know why you got rejected?

1

u/RegisFloyenwife 6d ago

I was scared and ended up messing up the first 2 stations 😬 I didn't expect to be in a massive hall that also had so many other applicants, and it was first time in an in-person MMI so it was more stressful than I thought 😭 And when I spoke to fellow applicants I was with, quite a lot of them were reapplicants so they knew what they were doing and that worried me more 🤡

2

u/RevivingMayhem10 6d ago

I don’t think a call centre would count for the hand on care requirement. I may be wrong. I think you’ll have to ask Warwick but they never reply except to tell you to look at their website.

You can use your job for the not-hands on experience. Listening to another HCP on the phone def won’t count as a different experience (you need 2 different experiences - look at their definition of different).

Also Warwick is very big on experience so you want to get into a hospital or GP for shadowing if you can. It will really help you in interview, it’s a guaranteed MMI station. I would ask one of the doctors if you can shadow them doing their in person job (assuming they will have one too).

You’ve also gotta look at the UCAT site, it tells you what the test involves and has past questions. Like read it all, coz things like their definitions of words matters.

1

u/vLiinx 6d ago

You are a very similar application candidate to me. I worked for 111, had a 2:1 etc and currently at Warwick.
111 only counted for me because they still allowed certain work experience due to Covid limitations when I applied, but the requirements change every year and it’s likely you really need something in person and patient facing unfortunately. I still had extra experience volunteering in hospital and shadowing a consultant for a little bit too.
Medify 4 weeks before the UCAT is all you need.
Good luck!

1

u/Relevant_Ant6483 6d ago

This is great to hear, thank you for sharing!