St Andrews Medical School – undergraduate entry

Factfile at a glance

Entry requirements

A levels
AAA to include Chemistry and at least one from Biology, Physics and Maths. Re-sit candidates only considered in exceptional circumstances.

Scottish Highers
AAA at Advanced Highers including Chemistry and one from Biology, Physics or Maths. AAAAA at Highers with Chemistry and Biology at grade A.

International Baccalaureate
37 points including, at Higher level, three passes at grade 7, 6, 6, including Chemistry and at least one other of Biology, Maths and Physics and at Standard level three passes at grade 6 including Maths and Biology.

The application process

Applications for St Andrews medical school are screen to ensure they meet the minimum entry requirements. Admissions tutors will be looking for evidence of the following criteria in applicants’ personal statements:

• Personal qualities such as empathy, communication skills, leadership skills and teamworking
• A good understanding and insight into a career in medicine and what is involved, perhaps having attended medical careers conferences, talking to doctors or medical students
• Work experience in a caring or healthcare environment, such as shadowing a doctor or working with ill, disabled or disadvantaged people or youth groups
• Commitment to academic study, staying power, perseverance and intellectual potential
• Non academic achievements such as positions of responsibility in schools, clubs or community activities, organisational abilities, personal interests and hobbies, cultural and sporting activities and achievements and social involvement.

The UKCAT score is used in two ways:

• A cut off for the overall UKCAT score is set and applicants obtaining a score below that will not be considered for interview. The cut off score is decided once all applications have been received and will be based on the national average which, in the past, has been in the range of 2,400-2,500. It’s unlikely that applicants for 2011 with a score below 2,457 will be considered for interview.
• The UKCAT score is used as part of the applicant’s overall ranking following interview. The UKCAT score is worth 15% of an overall admissions score, which is generated by a points system whereby applicant scores are ranked and divided into bandings with points allocated per banding.

Interviews take place between November and March. Interviews for International applicants can be done by telephone, video conferencing or SKYPE. The interview is formal though friendly and will last about 20 minutes. The interview panel consists of two (sometimes three) interviewers with at least one being a practising clinician. Up to 8 applicants may be interviewed at the same time in the room, but by different panels. The interviewers will, in particular, be assessing the following areas:

• Ability to communicate – to be able to express ideas clearly and coherently and follow a reasoned argument. Candidates are given an article on a medically related topic to read just before the interview and the interview panel will ask questions about the article to assess comprehension and the ability to summarise as well as communication skills.
• Knowledge of the St Andrews course – candidates should have a good understanding of the way in which the course is delivered and an opinion on its appeal to them, together with its advantages and limitations.
• Work experience – what knowledge and insight has been gained from work experience in a medical or caring environment.

After the interview, applicants are ranked on the basis of all four areas of assessment, which each being given a different weighting:

• Academic performance (50%)
• Personal statement and reference (10%)
• UKCAT score (15%)
• Interview score (25%)

Offers are then made from the top of the ranking in relation to the number of places available. Offers are made from mid to late March.

Why St Andrews?

A new £45m state of the art School of Medicine and the Sciences has been opened and St Andrews is one of the first medical schools to integrate research facilities with other sciences and disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology and psychology, offering a new dimension to medical research and the training of doctors.

Students at St Andrews are in the unique position to be able to graduate after three years with a BSc Honours degree in Medical Science, before moving on to a partner medical school to complete their training and graduate with an MBChB.

Course overview

St Andrews does not have any hospital teaching facilities attached to it and is therefore unable to offer students any periods of clinical attachment. The first 3 years of the programme at St Andrews is pre-clinical and upon completion, students will be awarded an Honours degree in Medicine. They will then continue their training for the 3 years in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh or Manchester medical schools and graduate with an MBChB.

Year 1

The first year at St Andrews is spent studying the ‘Foundations of Medicine 1 & 2’. Central to the curriculum is a series of patient workshops which illustrate the importance of the medical science topics students are studying at the same time.

• Foundations of Medicine 1 – an introduction to medicine examining the basic molecular and cellular processes, metabolism, genetics, the structure and functions of the body systems, medical ethics and communication skills
• Foundations of Medicine 2 – understanding of the function of the musculoskeletal system, anatomy and the principles of disease mechanisms and therapy. The anatomy of the upper and lower limbs are studied by dissection.

Students will spend time in local GP practices to observe teamworking and communication skills.

Year 2

This year focuses on the normal and abnormal structure and function of each of the body systems, building on learning from the Foundations of Medicine modules in Year 1.

Topics covered in Year 2:

• Cardiovascular
• Respiratory
• Renal
• Gastrointestinal
• Reproductive systems
• The anatomy of the thorax and abdomen, pelvis and perineum by dissection

Students will have a series of community attachments in primary care settings.

Year 3

This year focuses on complex physiological systems. Students will also undertake a SSC and an Applied Medicine module which consolidates all their learning and focuses on case studies to help prepare students for the clinical elements of the medical programmes they will be moving on to in the following year. In the Applied Medicine module, students will have the opportunity to advance their clinical and patient examination techniques and practise certain procedures including: venepuncture, intravenous cannulation, bladder catheterisation, rectal digital examination, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, measurement of blood pressure and lumbar puncture.

Topics covered in Year 3:

• Central nervous system
• Endocrine system
• The anatomy of the head and neck by dissection

Students will spend time in hospital attachments in Year 3.

In Year 3, students will undertake a SSC in an area of particular interest which will involve either a scientific research project or a library project which are assessed by dissertation and oral presentation.

Anatomy

Anatomy is taught from the 2nd Semester of Year 1 by cadaveric dissection in small groups. Students will have the opportunity to apply what they have learnt during lectures into hands-on dissection experience under the supervision of anatomists and medical demonstrators. Students will attend two hours of anatomy lectures each week and a two hour session in the dissection room.

Exams

There are mid-Semester and end of Semester assessments which both count towards student’s final grades. These consist of short written answers, MCQs and EMQs. There is also a practical OSPE exam at the end of each Semester which assesses clinical and laboratory skills and includes anatomical spot tests. The OSPE doesn’t count towards the student’s final grade but must be passed to allow progression to subsequent years.

Teaching

The medical programme at St Andrews taught using lectures, small group tutorials, lab-based practicals, computer based resources and attachments in both GP and hospital settings.

The pros & cons of studying medicine at St Andrews

The information on this page is correct as of August 2010