Testimonies
Below are some examples of what the Medical Society has been up to and how people feel they have benefited from the support and guidance offered.
Mock Mini Multiple Interviews by Ami
Ami came into our school with the St George’s team and generously conducted a mock MMI interview that most of the medical society was going to have in a couple of months from then. We practised questions that were commonly asked by medical universities. By allowing us to ask the questions to our peers on one of the cycles, it further developed our understanding on approaching the questions as we were able to observe how our peers solved the question and pick up on other ways in which we could approach the questions. Once everyone had answered all the questions and we received our feedback from each ‘station’, we sat down with Ami and went through every question asked in great detail. Ami gave us tips on how we could approach each style of question and if applicable structures that we should follow for these particular styles.The GGS Medical Society have been very fortunate to have made links with St Georges Medical School. One of their educational advisers has regularly been coming into school to meet with the society and to run a series of talks, workshops and mock interviews.Jovan Sodhi & Kanwar Sandhu Mock Mini Multiple Interviews by Ami
Hospital volunteering experiences
I volunteered at Kings College Hospital for 7 months at a post operation ward. Every week I would come in and help out with dinners, give out tea, try to have chats with the majority of the patients and help patients with anything I could, such as bring blankets or some books.As it was a busy hospital, volunteers didn’t get much support on the daily , so I had to slowly figure out what worked with patients and what didn't. At first it was hard, as I had never been in an environment like that before. I was mainly with nurses and healthcare assistants, however i soon realised nurses we so overwhelmed and busy, they couldn't give me much guidance.However, early on I noted the main reasons why volunteers are wanted and needed. It is a known fact that the NHS is saturated, the same way at the beginning i could barely borrow a couple minutes off a nurse for some guidance, patients rarely got any attention from them, that wasn't about their medical condition. And the same with doctors.This leads to patients suffering mentally as well as physically. And my role was to ease that emotional pain. Being able to make someone happy who is in that situation, not only was rewarding but inspirational, as i found it so meaningful that it motivated me so much to work harder, as i had found something so purposeful which i now was very driven to pursue. It also gave me an opportunity to see another side of healthcare, a more emotional, human side of it, even members of staff need the support from their colleagues, because it isn't easy to see people who are hopeless, but even as a volunteer, it was always compensated by returning some of that hope back.Hospital volunteering experiences
Silvia De Andres Quvedo
Ellenor Hospice
A number of students in the medical Society have undertaken work experience or volunteering opportunities with the Ellenor Hospice.Ellenor offer a one week summer course and also a structured six month placement.A representative from Ellenor visited the Medical Society to explain the role of the hospice and opportunities available. Application process for both opportunities was also explained.Students who secured placements with the Ellenor Hospice benefited enormously from their experiences.The in-patient unit where I spent a majority of my time volunteering gave me a wide array of experiences that I can reflect back on today, one of the more recent ones being a patient who I comforted in his final moments before he passed away. I have also been working with the children’s team at Ellenor, who organise days out and activities for the terminally ill children. Working with the terminal children was challenging at first, as coming to terms with such young people having to face life limiting diseases was very upsetting. Despite this, I found the joy the children get from activities and play to be very satisfying, and has broadened my communication skills to a range of different age groups.Ravi Patel Ellenor Hospice
Interview Experiences - What you can expect
MMIs (multiple mini interviews) are used by most medical schools over panel interviews because they allow the school to ask a range of different questions in different stations with different interviewers at each station. This allows the applicant to be judged by a range of people consisting of medical school lecturers, students and even patients or other members of the public. It is thought that this then helps to eliminate bias as each interviewer interviews the applicant independently of each other so each interviewer can only score the applicant based on their performance in that specific station. Interview Experiences - What you can expect
My experience of MMI interviews was generally good, I interviewed at St George’s (MMI), Southampton (Panel/Discussion), Leicester (MMI) and UEA (MMI). The ability to leave the past station behind when you move onto the next gave me more confidence in my ability to secure an offer as every time I thought I said something questionable, the next interview knew nothing of it and I could leave it behind me in the next station. I found the interviewers at UEA and Leicester to be very relaxed as if the MMI stations were a chance to have a chat rather than grill me on specifics whereas the interviewers at St George’s were a lot more hostile, some not even taking the time to look at me while I greeted them. Despite this, during the interview you have to look past the interviewer and concentrate on the question at hand.Panel interviews are the traditional interview format in which you would sit in front of two or more interviewers and a range of questions are then asked by the panel. The questions asked aim to explore your personal interest and motivation to study medicine, the interview will typically range between ten to twenty minutes (my interview at UCL nearly lasted half an hour!). A panel may consist of: lecturers, doctors, other healthcare professionals or lay members of the public, this variety allows for the interviewers to have a more diverse view of the interviewee, and their suitability as a potential doctor. Despite the recent shift towards Mini Multiple Interviews (MMIs), there are still a few universities that hold the traditional interview format, I had panel interviews at UCL and Imperial College London. I, personally, found that both interviews were conversational and I felt that they generally improved as I relaxed into them. I found that the panel interviewing me at Imperial were hostile, with their aim of seeing how I could cope under pressure just like how a doctor would have to cope in a similar way as a regular part of their practice. By contrast, the panel interviewing me at UCL were much friendlier with a direct conversation about my motivation as well as some thought-provoking discussions to gain an insight into my logical ability and knowledge of the NHS.
Maithri & Dan
Allied Health Professions – Paramedic:
Allied Health Professions – Paramedic:
"The Medical Society is not only for aspiring doctors, but can provide a better insight into the roles and qualities important for someone with an interest in a career in the healthcare sector; It provides information about current work experience, additional reading, which may be important for interviews, as well as providing the opportunity to discuss current advances and news in medicine.Joining the Medical Society can be the perfect opportunity for those who are unsure of the role they wish to undertake in the future, whether this would be nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, midwifery or other medical associate professions as it is a chance to learn more about the field. As a future paramedic, I initially joined with the intention of pursuing medicine, however, I saw that there are many other roles other than being a doctor. The medical society was beneficial to me as it provided information about the next steps which I need to take in order to prepare myself for my MMI interviews. Having individuals who are currently in university studying medicine or who are already doctors coming in to speak to members of the medical society was extremely helpful as it allowed us to hear about their genuine experiences and struggles as well as providing a more realistic account of what working for the NHS is really like. Furthermore, being part of society was a very positive experience as I was constantly surrounded by like-minded individuals."
Ieva Balciunate