The University of Edinburgh - Medicine

• Duration of the degree is 6 years
• 18 years old on 1 November

Subjects required: Chemistry and 1 additional science or math

• A Levels: AAA
  • Biology/Human Biology, Mathematics/Further Mathematics or Physics
• International Baccalaureate (IB): 38 points with 666 at HL,

• SL AA or AI Mathematics: 6

• SL English: 6

• SL Biology: 6

English Language Proficiency

• IELTS Academic: All band 7.5, no IELTS One Skill Retake
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 110 with at least 25 in each component.

• GCSE/IGCSE English at C or 4
• IB SL English: 5
• IB MYP English Language and Literature at 5

• 1650 is cut off
• applicants who score a Band 4 in the Situational Judgement Test (SJT) Band 4 will be rejected.
• SJT score will be added to determine who will be shortlisted.

UCAT data for Scottish students

• Applicants’ average UCAT: 2715 (way higher than top 10%)
• Average UCAT for admits: 2821 (way higher than top 10%)
• Most UCAT SJT band scored 2

UCAT data for EU and Irish students

• Applicants’ average UCAT: 2802 (way higher than top 10%)
• Average UCAT for admits: 3042 (way higher than top 10%)
• Most UCAT SJT band scored 2

UCAT data for International students

• Applicants’ average UCAT: 2710 (way higher than top 10%)
• Average UCAT for admits: 3056 (way higher than top 10%)
• Most UCAT SJT band scored 1

b. GCSE

• 8 subjects will be scored

• Academic score (achieved and predicted): 25%
• UCAT score (by decile): 17.5%
• Situational judgement test (SJT) banding 7.5%
• Assessment Day scores 50%
• Candidates will be ranked per his or her fee status, thus, applicants with bachelor degree will not get ranked separately.

a. Where is it going to take place?

The clinical placement will take place in Edinburgh’s teaching hospitals, in community GP practices, and in hospitals across south and central Scotland. Some are listed as below:

• Royal Infirmary Edinburgh (RIE)
• Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, Edinburgh
• St John's Hospital, Livingston
• Western General Hospital (WGH), Edinburgh

b. What are the clinical placement sites like?

• Royal Infirmary Edinburgh (RIE) located on the edge of Edinburgh is a busy tertiary hospital and home to Edinburgh's Emergency Department. It is a major centre for research and includes a Major Trauma Centre.
• Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, Edinburgh is a paediatric hospital providing the acute, general and specialist care to the children of Lothian and South East Scotland.
• St John's Hospital, Livingston is a district general hospital in Livingston and home to the ENT and Plastics services with a reputation for excellence in maternity services - around 2,500 babies are born at the hospital every year. It is also home to the Short Stay Elective Surgical Centre, treating around 3,000 patients a year from across Lothian for day surgery.
• Western General Hospital (WGH), Edinburgh is home to Medical, Surgical and Oncology specialties in Edinburgh and serves as a regional centre for cancer. WGH is also home to the Regional Infectious Diseases Unit, and the award-winning, nurse-led Minor Injuries Clinic.

c. How is clinical placement going to be for undergraduate students?

The clinical placement will take place from Year 4 to Year 6 with its own focus for each year:

Year 4: all aspects of clinical medicine and healthcare

Year 5: explore a number of speciality areas, including specialty areas, obstetrics and gynaecology, child life and health, and psychiatry

Year 6: assist a trainee doctor and carry out some of the duties of a Foundation Year 1 doctor under supervision + develop practical skills and knowledge of general and acute medicine, emergency medicine, surgery, anaesthetics and intensive care

d. What is the course structure?

The six-year curriculum comprises the following:

• Year 1-2 (Early Years):
  • focus on biomedical and clinical sciences such as anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology and micro-biology
  • learn practical clinical skills such as resuscitation and interviewing patients, developing the clinical reasoning and decision-making skills

• Year 3 (Honours Year):
  • a full-time research-based study leading to the Bachelor of Medical Sciences Honours degree

• Year 4-6 (Clinical Years):
  • clinical placements with all aspects of clinical healthcare and a number of specialty areas

e. Does the course require the students to do the research work?

The students will conduct an academic year of full-time research-based study in Year 3 in order to receive a Bachelor of Medical Sciences Honours degree. However, it’s possible for the graduate students to bypass the research year within the 6 year programme.

f. What is the teaching style in The University of Edinburgh medical school?

The following teaching methods are adopted in the course:

• Lectures
• Tutorials
• Laboratory and Project Work
• Clinical Placements
• Computer-assisted Learning
• Workshops

g. Can the students study for an intercalated degree at The University of Edinburgh?

All undergraduate medicine students at Edinburgh Medical School will undertake a Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMedSci ) in Year 3. There are 25 different programmes on offer, including biochemistry, neuroscience, pharmacology, psychology, sports science medicine, zoology and many more.

The interview will be an assessment half-day and take the form of multiple mini-interviews.

• Motivation for Medicine

1. Why do you want to study Medicine?
2. Why Edinburg?
3. What are the advantages and challenges of being a doctor?
4. Which experiences led you to pursue a medical career?
5. What qualities make a good doctor?
6. Why is a multidisciplinary team (MDT) important in patient care?
7. What does confidentiality mean in a medical context?
8. What do you know about the course at Edinburgh?
9. How will you contribute to the University of Edinburgh community?
10. What is your understanding of a career in medicine?
11. Why do you want to study Medicine and not nursing?
12. How would you cope if your patient outcomes were not as successful as you hoped?
13. As a doctor, who can you escalate a problem to?
14. What personal values do you think are most essential for a doctor, and how do you demonstrate these in your daily life?

• Personal Quality & Experiences

1. Which personal qualities make you suited to medicine?
2. How has work experience shaped your decision to pursue medicine?
3. Can you describe a challenging situation from your experience and your approach to solving it?
4. What is your greatest achievement?
5. Give us an example of a time when you demonstrated resilience.
6. Take us through your personal statement.
7. How do you deal with stress?
8. Tell us about a time when you have had to deal with risk.
9. Tell us about a time when you have dealt with a difficult problem.
10. What is a critical appraisal and why is it important in medicine?
11. Tell us about something you’ve read or watched recently that changed your perspective on healthcare.
12. What is the difference between empathy and sympathy?
13. What strategies do you use to stay motivated and organized during challenging periods?

• Ethical Scenarios

1. How would you respond if a parent refuses a vaccine for their child?
2. When, if ever, is it acceptable to breach confidentiality?
3. If you catch someone stealing, what would you do?
4. A patient asks for antibiotics for a viral illness. How would you respond?
5. You suspect a colleague is coming to work while intoxicated — what would you do?
6. What are the four pillars of medical ethics? Apply them to a case of assisted dying.
7. How do doctors balance patient autonomy with beneficence?
8. Should organ donation be opt-out or opt-in?
9. Discuss an ethical dilemma you have faced personally.
10. A patient posts a negative review about you online — how should a doctor respond?
11. What would you do if you made a clinical error?

• Teamwork & Communication

1. Do you work better as a team member or a leader?
2. What unique skills do you bring to a team?
3. Give us an example of a time when you demonstrated teamwork.
4. Is the role of a doctor simply to act as a clinician?
5. Give us a time when you solved a problem between two individuals.
6. Give us an example of a time when you have demonstrated empathy.
7. What is the importance of teamwork within medicine?
8. Break bad news: the patient’s scan shows an inoperable tumour.
9. Explain to a non-medical friend why their GP won’t prescribe antibiotics for a cold.
10. A patient’s relative is angry because of a long waiting time — how do you respond?
11. You’re a junior doctor: a nurse challenges your management plan in front of a patient — what do you do?
12. You are shadowing a consultant who makes a rude comment about a patient. How do you react?
13. Describe how you would prioritise tasks during a busy shift when several patients need help simultaneously.
14. Teach the interviewer a simple everyday task (e.g., making a cup of tea) clearly and concisely.
15. How would you explain informed consent to a 13-year-old?
16. A patient refuses a life-saving blood transfusion due to religious beliefs — how would you approach the discussion?
17. Describe a time when you had to deliver a difficult message or give constructive feedback.
18. How would you support a peer who was struggling on the course?

• NHS Awareness & Current Issues

1. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the NHS in 2024, and how would you propose addressing one of these challenges?
2. What role do you think technology, such as AI, can play in improving patient care within the NHS?
3. What are your thoughts on the NHS workforce shortage, and what strategies could be implemented to address this issue?
4. How do you think the NHS can improve patient outcomes in underserved communities?
5. What do you believe is the importance of preventive medicine in the NHS, and how should it be prioritized alongside treatment-based care?
6. What lessons can the NHS learn from recent healthcare crises to better prepare for future challenges?

• Maintaining Trust

1. Tell us about a time when you made a mistake.
2. How important is trust within a team?
3. As a leader, how can you ensure that you trust others and that they trust you?
4. What does patient confidentiality mean? When might you break it?
5. Why should patients trust you?

• Group Task (Teamwork & Leadership)

1. Design a campaign to improve vaccination uptake among young adults.
2. Your team has £10,000 to spend on improving student wellbeing at a university. How would you allocate it?
3. Devise a plan to reduce A&E waiting times.
4. A rural clinic has only one doctor and limited transport. How can the NHS ensure equal access?
5. You’re planning a health-promotion event in a low-income area — outline your priorities and approach.
6. A local hospital is closing its maternity ward — discuss the implications and possible solutions.
7. How would you improve awareness about antibiotic resistance in your community?
8. Decide which of five hypothetical patients should receive the last ICU bed (resource allocation task).
9. Discuss how to encourage more young people to consider careers in healthcare.