Open day questions: medicine, dentistry and nursing students
Looking for ideas of what to ask at open days? Use these questions if you’re thinking of taking a course in medical studies, like medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacology or physiotherapy...
About the course
- Is this course lecture based or is it problem-based learning?
- Does this course have a subject or systems based emphasis?
- Are my lecturers also practitioners?
- Talk me through what each year of the course entails...
- When / do I get to specialise?
Admissions
- Will I have to take the BMAT or UCAT to get on to this course? What prep should I do beforehand for this?
- Will I also be expected to attend an interview? What will you be looking for me to demonsrate during this?
Equipment and facilities
- Where can I find the reading list for this course? What books are necessary for me to buy?
- How much time will I spend in lectures? In the library?
- How much time will I be spending in labs?
- How modern or state-of-the-art are the university's facilities? Do you specialise in a particular area?
Placements and work experience
- How much of the course is clinical practice?
- How many placements will I have? Do I organise my own placements or does the university arrange those?
- Is there an opportunity to do an intercalated degree?
- Which hospitals or medical centres do you partner with?
- Am I expected to travel far to placements?
Exams and projects
- How the course is assessed – clinical assessment, exams, coursework?
- What is the weighting for each part / year of the course?
- Do I need to complete a dissertation or research-based project?
Graduate prospects
- Is it more important to get the best grade, or have a range of work experiences when I apply for this course?
- If happens if I don’t meet my conditional offer this year? Can I re-take and reapply next year?
- What types of job / areas of medicine are open to me when I finish?
