Open day questions: medicine, dentistry and nursing students

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 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?

Next:

• Top ways to prepare for entry tests
• Search for medicine and dentistry courses