Why Warwick Medical School?

Applying for medicine as a graduate can feel like an overwhelming process, especially without the guidance of your school or college. I wanted to talk a bit about why I chose Warwick and what sets it apart from other medical schools.

Graduate entry only

Warwick Medical School is one of only two medical schools in the UK that is exclusively for graduate students. This is a huge advantage as the course has been designed with the content evenly spread over 4 years, as opposed to other medical schools which often require integration of graduate students into the undergraduate programme. It is also the largest graduate entry medical school, with around 200 students per cohort, which means you are surrounded by students from a wide variety of backgrounds but who are all still graduates. I personally found this very appealing as I feel I am in a different stage of my life now compared to when I was in my undergraduate degree and feel I can form better connections with people in a similar position to myself. Another advantage of a graduate entry course is that there is much better funding available compared to doing undergraduate medicine as a second degree.

Local hospital placements

One thing that worried me about medical school was having to travel far to get to hospital placements. I had heard from friends of mine studying undergraduate medicine that they were often required to live in hospital accommodation just to attend hospital placement. Luckily, at Warwick, you will be based at one of three local hospital trusts, all within around 12 miles of Warwick Medical School.

Fair entry requirements

Due to the course being designed for graduates, there is no pre-requisite knowledge required and all degrees are accepted – you just need to get a minimum of a 2:1. This opens the opportunity up to go to medical school to many more people, not just those from science/healthcare backgrounds. The UCAT is Warwick’s choice of entrance exam which I think is a much fairer exam – it’s cheaper, more widely accessible and easier to study for than the GAMSAT. Warwick do not consider A-Level grades during the selection process which I think is great because, as graduate students, I don’t believe A-Level results are necessarily still going to be a good reflection of our capabilities.

Early patient contact

Another great thing about the course at Warwick is that patient contact is initiated early in the course. Sadly, this wasn’t the case for my cohort due to the Covid-19 restrictions in place at the time, but first years are given opportunities to talk to and examine patients right from first year through bedside teaching at hospitals and community placement. The course isn’t split into pre-clinical and clinical years, but the two styles of learning are mixed throughout the 4 years which I think makes for better learning, as you quickly get used to applying your “pre-clinical knowledge” to the patient in front of you. This early contact allows you to work on your communication skills right from the get-go which ultimately makes us better doctors.

Need I say more?

I am so pleased I chose to come to Warwick to study medicine and I hope this has helped to highlight some of the features of the course that sets it apart from other universities. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them – please drop me a message!