My Winding Path To Medical School

Hi! My name is Katy and I’m in my third year of medical school at the University of Manchester, situated in Preston. I am a dual citizen of Canada and the UK, but I grew up in Vancouver! I started medical school in the UK after completing a biology degree at the University of British Columbia.

After I graduated from my first degree, I knew I wanted some time off before applying to medical school. I used this time to get work experience and write the various exams I needed to do. I also used my time to have fun and travel while I had the free time! I began working as a clinical research coordinator at a hospital in Vancouver. I had previously volunteered here for four years and it had given me valuable experience by allowing a lot of patient contact. I worked directly with patients enrolling them in various research studies, and I worked alongside the doctors and nurses who cared for them. This helped greatly with writing my personal statement, as I understood the necessary attributes one must have to be successful in medicine. It was also helpful to work with so many doctors and nurses, as they were able to give me pointers and read my personal statement before I applied. I chose to focus my personal statement on what attributes and skills I had seen in the doctors I worked with, and what I had done that exemplified these skills and attributes.

I also used my time off after my first degree to study for and write the UKCAT. I began studying four months before the date I picked for my exam. Each Friday, I spent the day practicing for the examination. I purchased “Get into Medical School - 1250 UKCAT Practice Questions” by Oliver Picard. I spent my time doing practice questions from this book, as well as reading up on strategies for each section. After I finished the practice questions for each section of the book, I began to do practice examinations. I wrote every practice examination in a way as similar to the actual test situation as possible. I also found a few more practice examinations online. Overall, I felt very prepared for the UKCAT! I wrote the examination in a test centre near where I lived. I ended up scoring very highly and did well in each of the categories, so I felt as though I had used my time well and studied in a way that worked well for me!

I applied to Manchester, Cardiff, Liverpool and Bart’s. However, I only wanted to attend Manchester, as I liked the set-up of the program and the location. I chose the other universities because I had spent time in each of the cities, and most of them offered a graduate entry program, so I thought I would try to apply, although I did not mind joining undergraduate medicine. Manchester was my favourite choice specifically because they used problem-based learning and full body dissection. I thought these suited my learning style well. I also spent a lot of time in Manchester growing up, as that was where my mum was born. I received an interview from Manchester and flew over in February to sit an MMI. I stayed with family, while I was there, and only came to England for a few days. I prepared for my interview by purchasing “Medical School Interviews (2nd Edition). Over 150 Questions Analysed. Includes Multiple-Mini-Interviews (MMI) - A Practical Guide to Help You Get That Place at Medical School.” By Oliver Picard. This book included a lot of questions that may be asked in MMI interviews. I read the book and wrote notes on what I would include in my own answer for each question. Once I had finished my own notes, I went over them a few times before the interview. This helped me greatly, as I knew what information about myself I wanted to include in the interview, and how I could bring up these points for different types of questions. Overall, I felt well-prepared for my interview and I thought it went well. I got accepted to Manchester and immediately accepted my place!

All in all, I’m very happy with the path I took to get into medical school! I felt as though my undergraduate degree and work experience prepared me well for the academics and lifestyle of a medical student. My advice for those applying to medicine is not to stress about having perfect grades or joining extracurriculars that you think will look good on your application. Find activities that you enjoy and stick with them, and you’ll learn skills that will be applicable to your future career. Medicine requires people with all kinds of skills from all kinds of backgrounds! There is no perfect application, so find something that makes you stand out! Good luck and thank you for reading my entry!

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out! My Instagram is @Katy95kat and my email is katy.caverly@student.manchester.ac.uk