A levels AAAb which must include two from Biology, Chemistry or Physics. A fourth subject must be studied at AS level. If Biology or Chemistry is not studied at A level, this must be studied at AS level. General Studies is excluded.
Scottish Highers AAA required at Advanced Highers which must include two from Biology, Chemistry or Physics. If Chemistry or Biology are not studied at Advanced Higher level, then they must be studied at Higher level.
International Baccalaureate 36 points overall including 6 at a Higher level from Biology, Chemistry or Physics, plus 6 at Higher level in another subject. Biology and Chemistry must form part of the IB Diploma.
Applications are screened to ensure they meet the minimum academic requirements. The UKCAT score is used along with the academic information on the application, to select candidates for interview. Applicants are required to meet a minimum standard in each of the four subtests, plus meet an overall target score which is set and reviewed each year.
The interview at Peninsula is structured and formal, to ensure every student is asked the same questions and goes through the same process. Peninsula looks for evidence of very specific personal attributes during the interview, which include:
On the day of the interview, candidates are asked to complete a questionnaire which will probe their commitment and motivation to study medicine, such as:
Candidates are then given three ethical scenarios to consider, one of which is selected as the basis for the interview. A short time is allowed to make notes on this before going in to the interview. Other commonly asked questions at Peninsula include:
The interviewers will not have seen candidate’s personal statements.
No offers are made by Peninsula without interview.
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Peninsula medical school is a collaboration between the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth and is based across these campuses, with each year group split roughly 100 each at Exeter and Plymouth for the first two years. Clinical placements will be in the hospital-based campus sites at Truro, Exeter, Plymouth, Barnstaple, Torbay and in community and hospital settings throughout Devon and Cornwall.
The 2009 National Student Survey of higher education establishments ranked Peninsula medical school as joint first for overall student satisfaction among UK medical schools. Peninsula, Oxford, Edinburgh and Brighton & Sussex medical schools all achieved a satisfaction score of 95%.
The location of Peninsula medical school in the South West makes this a very desirable place to study. Located near some of the best beaches in the country, water sport enthusiasts will be well catered for. Plus, the facilities across all campuses are modern and state of the art.
The first two years at Peninsula medical school lay the scientific foundations of the course. They are broken up into a number of case units covering major bodily systems through all stages of the human life cycle, with Year 1 concentrating on basic anatomy and physiology and Year 2 on disease. Students will also be taught basic clinical and communication skills in the Clinical Skills Resource Centre where they learn to take a history, carry out examinations and conduct interviews with patients and their families in a simulated environment. Students will spend one morning a fortnight on a community placement in a GP surgery or outpatient clinic, etc.
In Years 1 & 2 students undertake 5 SSCs of 2-3 weeks each from a wide range of 200 options available, some of which may include an international placement. Some of the options available include:
Students are expected to produce a review article, which may go on to be published.
In Years 3 & 4 the course is divided into six ‘Pathways of Care’:
Each pathway is taught through hospital, GP and community placements in Exeter, Plymouth and Truro and students will rotate through them all.
In Year 3, students will take 4 SSCs, one of which focuses on working in a multidisciplinary team and the other on management in the NHS. In Year 4 there are a further 4 SSCs which focus on developing the skills required to become a competent teacher and the skills needed for life-long learning.
Year 5 is divided into five clinical blocks:
The emphasis in the final year is on the practical implementation of what students have learnt in the preceding years on clinical attachments in Plymouth, Exeter, Barnstaple, Torbay and Truro.
Peninsula doesn’t have traditional standard anatomy teaching and this is integrated with the rest of the programme rather than taught individually. There is no dissection and students learn anatomy through radiology (interpreting medical imaging such as Xrays and CT scans) and models (through ‘living’ anatomy by students identifying and drawing anatomical landmarks on eachother and volunteer models).
The Applied Medical Knowledge (AMK) Progress test is a key feature of Peninsula’s approach to assessment which is very different to most medical schools. This is a multiple choice question paper which is taken 4 times a year and students will receive their grade and percentage score as well as the mean percentage of each test, so they can plot their progress again the mean cohort progress. All students, from Years 1 to 5, will sit the same AMK paper, so they are expected to show progress as they progress through the course. Naturally, pass marks in the first two years are quite low and possibly even a negative % as they are negatively marked.
There is an Integrated Structured Clinical Exam (ISCE) at the end of year 2, where students are assessed on their history taking and physical examination skills. There is a structured clinical exam at the end of Year 4.
All medical students will be allocated an academic tutor who oversees academic progress and personal & professional development. Tutors change each year.
Independent study is a key focus at Peninsula. In Years 1 and 2, teaching is centred around activity-based small group learning. Students will work through a series of clinical cases each last around 2 week, in groups of 8-10. Groups will meet 3 times during the fortnight and brainstorm the case, reporting back individual findings derived through independent research. Each year group at Exeter and Plymouth are regularly brought together using telematic links for plenary large group teaching sessions which focus on specific subjects relevant to the case being studied.
In Years 3 and 4, teaching is delivered in hospital, GP and community placements with one day a week devoted to plenaries, seminars, workshops and small group sessions.
In Year 5 students will continue to learn independently and through a portfolio of ‘indicative presentations’, which encourage them to expand and deepen the knowledge and skills already acquired.
Students take an 8-week elective in Year 5 in any subject of interest which is related to medicine. There are a few restrictions which students should adhere to, but generally many students take this opportunity to experience a healthcare environment in an overseas setting.
Students can opt to study an intercalated degree between Years 4 and 5 and this is available for a maximum of 15% of the highest performing students. Approximately the top quartile will receive an automatic offer, while the second quartile will compete for places.
The intercalated degrees are hosted by the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth with students joining the final year on an existing degree course to BA or BSc level (some Masters programmes also available) from and a wide range of options are available including:
The information on this page is correct as of August 2010
