Melanie Grundy

 

I'm a mature student currently in the third year of Medicine at Newcastle. I previously worked as a freelance costume designer/dressmaker but had never been completely happy with my work and had had a niggling aspiration towards something medical since leaving Art College. I originally applied to Biomedical Sciences here with the intention of studying Medicine as a post-graduate once I had completed my degree. Although I have a previous design degree, I only graduated with a third class and felt that I needed to do more than just an Access to Medicine course to prove myself academically capable.

When I came for the Biomedical Sciences open day we were told about a limited number of places available for high achieving students to transfer to first year MBBS after completing one year of any of the Biomedical Science degrees. With my long term aim in mind, I set my heart on achieving this. The transfer involves an internal application process, during which candidates are selected for interview on the basis of a personal statement and clearing a 70% threshold in all exam subjects.  Previous academic achievement is not taken into account; however candidates are required to demonstrate an interest in Medicine through voluntary or paid work experience in a caring field.

My year of Biomedical Science gave me an invaluable background during the first two pre-clinical years of my Medical degree. Subjects covered include Cell biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Microbiology, Immunology, Pharmacology, and Physiology all of which had direct relevance to the basic medical sciences covered in years 1 & 2 of MBBS. This year also gave me the opportunity to develop study skills appropriate to a science discipline, since I had studied nothing but arts subjects since taking GCSE Biology and Chemistry 14 years previously! I therefore had time to adapt to the change in subject area without the pressure of the sheer volume of information you have to take in as a medical student! The quality of teaching was excellent and I had plenty of support for my plans to transfer, both from my personal tutor and from other staff in the department.

I would recommend this as a route into Medicine for those from a non-science background who feel they would benefit from a thorough grounding in medical sciences prior to commencing MBBS. However, it would be worthwhile to bear in mind that the number of places available for transferees is small and you should consider whether you would be happy to complete the full degree if your application to transfer is unsuccessful. The benefit, should this be the case, is that a BSc will look very favourable on your CV for future job applications and with the increasing number of medical students, something which makes you stand out from the crowd is well worth having!