Extended Medical Degree Programme

School of Medicine

2012

ent

ry

How are students selected for the EMDP?

King’s College London School of Medicine uses a number of different methods to ensure that the best students are selected for the Extended Medical Degree Programme.

All applicants applying to start the course in 2012 and beyond must sit the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) before submitting their UCAS application. This test helps ensure that the best candidates are interviewed. UKCAT registration opened on 1 May 2011 and normally costs £75 to take. For further details about the UKCAT and to register for the test, visit www.ukcat.ac.uk

After submitting your UCAS application, you may be called for interview. This will take the form of a Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) on either 12, 13 or 14 March 2012. The MMI will consist of a number of short five minute interviews by members of staff.

In order to decide whether to offer a candidate a place on the Extended Medical Degree Programme, we will consider all aspects of the admissions process.

All applications to the Extended Medical Degree Programme must be made through UCAS. The UCAS course code is A101, short course name MBBS6. The deadline for applications for September 2012 entry is 15 October 2011. In order to be considered for the EMDP you MUST apply to A101.

Applicants to the Extended Medical Degree Programme should use the other four course choices on their UCAS form for any subject they wish, without prejudice to their application to King’s. If applicants also wish to be considered for the conventional five-year medical degree at King’s (A100) in the same year as their application to the EMDP they need to apply for it separately.

•The Extended Medical Degree Programme (EMDP) is for students who have the attitude and the academic potential for a career in medicine, but who may not have the projected or actual results in their GCSE, AS and A2 exams to enable them to secure a place on a conventional medical degree course.

•By the end of the six years of the EMDP, students on the course will have covered exactly the same topics, at the same level of detail, as the conventional medical students on the standardfive-yearprogramme.

•The Outreach for Medicine team run a series of activities thatapplicantsmayfinduseful–pleaseseethebackofthisbrochure for further details.

What is studied on the EMDP?

By the end of the six-year EMDP, students will have covered exactly the same topics, at the same level of detail, as the conventional medical students on the standard five year programme. They will have sat the same examinations and been required to achieve the same pass marks.

So what is different about the six-year programme? The difference lies in the pace at which the subjects are covered (and examined) in the first three years. In their first year (1A), EMDP students cover about 55 per cent of the conventional first year course; in their second year (1B) they cover the remaining 45 per cent of the first year and about 20 per cent of the conventional second year course. In their third year (2), the remaining 80 per cent of the conventional second year is covered.

The extra ‘space’ that is created in the timetable during the first three years enables EMDP students to have additional time for study – part of this is self-directed and part is timetabled. The timetabled extra sessions cover medically related aspects of chemistry, numeracy, presentation skills and academic writing, together with the more difficult concepts in the medical course itself.

Extended Medical Degree Programme

Year 1A conventional medical degree topics:

plus EMDP-specific material:

Year 1B conventional medical degree topics:

plus EMDP-specific material:

Year 2 conventional medical degree topics:

In their final three years, EMDP students experience the clinical parts of the course in exactly the same way as the conventional students. There will be no extra EMDP-specific study time in the timetable and no extra academic support during this period. The medical qualification obtained by EMDP students at the end of their course will be identical to that obtained by students on the five-year course.

• first semester: biochemistry, cell biology, pharmacology and histology

• anatomy and physiology of the kidneys, liver and gut

• first semester: immunology; anatomy and physiology relating to the heart and lungs

• second semester: the heart and lungs are covered via seven clinical scenarios

• chemistry• numeracy

• 23 clinical scenarios, as covered in the conventional degree programme

• second semester: the liver, kidney and gut are covered via six clinical scenarios

• one student selected component (SSC) is completed at the end of the year

• medical sociology, psychology and medical ethics

• one year 2 SSC• clinical skills are covered in GP and

hospital visits and inter-professional education (IPE)

• one EMDP-specific SSC • subject-based tutorials

• ‘writing & discourse’• subject-based tutorials

Who is the EMDP for?

The Extended Medical Degree Programme (EMDP) is for students who have the attitude and the academic potential for a career in medicine, but who may not have the projected or actual results in their GCSE, AS and A2 exams to enable them to secure a place on a conventional medical degree.

The minimum entrance requirement for the EMDP is normally 3 A2 levels achieved over a one or two year period. These must include Chemistry and one other science or mathematical subject. The offers made currently vary from AAA-BBC and are based on the average A-level results of the school or college attended as reported by the Department for Education.

Candidates with an Access to Medicine qualification will be considered if it can be demonstrated that the science components are equivalent to those required above. Candidates for the EMDP are strongly preferred to have grade B or above in at least English Language, Maths and Science at GCSE level.

The Extended Medical Degree Programme is open to anyone currently studying at a non-selective state school or further education college in one of the following areas:• Kent• London• Medway

Additional requirements: to be eligible, candidates must have attended only non-selective state schools since the age of 11. Candidates who have started or completed a degree are not eligible for the EMDP.

Getting ready for a career in medicine

There is no simple checklist of activities that will guarantee you a place at medical school. There are, however, a fewthings you should really try and do:

• Arrange work experience at a hospital or GP surgery and/or voluntary work in a hospital. If this is not possible to arrange, volunteer to help out in an old people’s home or a day centre for people with disabilities instead.

• Get involved in activities that demonstrate that you can work effectively in a team. This could be on the sports field, in a band or orchestra, a faith group or a local community action project. It could also take the form of part-time employment.

• Find out what life at medical school is like and what it

means to be a doctor today. You could do this by talking to your GP or by taking part in outreach activities.

• Investigate areas of medicine and science that interest you beyond the core science curriculum you are studying by getting involved in extra-curricular activities.

Being involved in activities, such as those detailed above, will greatly enhance your medical school application and interview. The Outreach for Medicine team run a series of activities that you may also find useful. These include: The Worshipful Company of Barbers’ Science and Medicine in Action lecture series; group mentoring workshops with current undergraduate medical students and MED-VIEW (an intensive 3-day medical conference).

For general enquiries about Outreach for Medicine or to request a booking form for any of their events, contact Dr Jane Valentine: Phone: 020 7848 6972/6968Email: outreachformedicine@kcl.ac.uk

For specific enquiries about admissions and your application, contact the student admissions office:Phone: 020 7848 6501/6502Email: ug-healthadmissions@kcl.ac.uk

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