Medicine 2026 entry - part 1

[rockstuckhardplace]

Starting a new thread for parents of prospective medical students looking to start in 2026.

Zero UCAT prep but have just booked an end of Sept date....

Whilst it is a good idea to allocate time to revision, it would be best to book a test date before 19th September. By taking the test you declare you are fit to take it - there is no special consideration for illness etc; if you are ill you are expected to rebook. 19th September is the last date you can book a test (with the deadline to take it a few days later).

@Peanuts79how exciting/stressful. Your DD sounds like she has a lot of options with those subjects and grades/predictions, as long as she nails the UCAT.

My DD also got to watch surgery, and she held the removed body part! Didn’t phase her at all…!

Thank you, there weren't that many dates available with booking so late - but makes sense why lots after Sept 19th!

Wow -that's incredible! Can I ask how that was agreed? My DD is passionate about surgery and has applied for loads of wex but usually surgery is only for over 17s or over 18s. My DD is summer born so that really counts against her for wex :-( She didn't turn 16 until after her GCSEs! (She's a year behind your DD). Good luck with UCAT!

EDITED TO ADD: We are watching the new Netflix series 'Critical: Between Life and Death' together and she really wants to go into trauma surgery! One of the hospitals is St Georges where my DS's face had to be sewn up by the plastic surgeons there after he fell off a fence at school 7 years ago.

@Peanuts79there will be cancellations so keep cycling for dates. It is a bit risky to leave quite so late. Good GCSEs and Exeter worth looking at with 3 A star predictions. Happy to send spreadsheet if message me. It's a bit of a strategy game !

@mumsneedwine thank you so much, I have sent you a PM. Your name is right how I have felt for the last 19 hours!!

@Peanuts79 mum of a soon to be CT1. I was in your shoes in 2017 😂

Sadly, connections! A friend of the family is senior in our NHS trust and arranged the most amazing work experience week for her. She is 17 though.

And with all kindness this is why Unis don't need medicine work experience. They realise it's often only possible if have connections. Anything caring is good and do the BSMS MOOC to understand the NHS. Customer facing jobs are awesome too. You do not need to have medical stuff to get in 😊

My DD did a week of hospital wex recently. It was a course provided by the local trust for 'aspiring doctors' which they run annually. Participants had to apply to do it, have a minimum of GCSE and predicted A level grades and do a statement as to why they want to study medicine. They also had to be in y12 and go to a local school. Then places were allocated, the whole week was well designed with half days spent on various wards/depts like SCBU, ED, radiology, theatres and elderly/palliative wards. DD did get an afternoon in theatre which she loved too.

I would get in touch with your local hospital trusts to see if they run anything like this and do it well in advance, DD applied for this in March this year and it ran July. It was a great opportunity but she hasn't any other medical wex except this. Lots of other stuff volunteering/ part time job etc so hoping this will be enough.

It will be more than enough. Majority never look at PS and it's only useful to talk about at interviews. But as long as have some experience caring or customer facing it's all good. It's what you've learned not what you've done.

@mumsneedwinei agree. The work experience was far more valuable for DD personally than as an advantage for medical school admissions. Which is as it should be.

@inaeapologies if I missed it but ds has not been able to get into any hospital locally for work experience. Do you mind me asking how your daughter secured so much . He has done lots of volunteering just not in a medical setting. Has tried everywhere we can think of and knocked back every time.

@coffeegirl73
Have you tried alternatives?
Dementia care homes, GPs, physiotherapists, audiologists, ophthalmologists, even local dentists ( they will have x rays, pt confidentiality… care etc…)
Does school have work experience connections?

Day centres for elderly, food banks ?

Hi both yes he’s volunteering with SVP doing teas and coffees and sambos as well as the food bank and he’s working in a charity shop - Acorns. He’s disappointed he couldn’t find anything in a hospital or care home . We have tried everywhere we can think of: he’s done an online course for work experience too as well as online charity for elderly people living alone which is on zoom. Is that enough . He only decided to try for medicine a couple of months ago. School have been spectacularly bad. Disinterested and one teacher mentioned they had links with a local hospital but he has written and been down there and it’s a no go. Have tried care homes even with a recommendation from a friend who volunteers there as well as GPs. It’s been a brick wall really.

@coffeegirl73 sounds great experience. Do the BSMS MOOC and he'll have lots to use at interview.

DD is volunteering at a care home now. A lot of schools organise this type of experience for them but DD had to organise herself. She contacted them in April, had an interview, did the ID checks and it has taken until about 2 weeks ago to actually start the sessions. The care home staff (understandably) don't seem too interested in processing all the paperwork efficiently (DBS checks, reference checks) so DD had to be persistent which was good experience for her.

One of her first chats was with a resident who used to be a chemistry teacher and had some very good international teaching stories for DD. She is looking forward to going back to see her soon.

I think getting these opportunities is tough but a good start on the learning resilience behaviours they will need to demonstrate later!

How are everyones UCAT preparations going? DD is doing daily study but is finding motivation hard with another 4 weeks plus remaining. She is having a day off today. I'm just tip toeing around trying to be quietly positive 😂.

we are on holiday at the lakes! He’s brought his laptop and we had a whole day zoom session on Sunday, so I stayed in with him whilst the rest went out.

re volunteering, we managed to get 3 days at our local big hospital. We found out about it through an acquaintance but still went through official channels and application forms with 6th form teacher having to write a statement etc. I know his friends have done other sessions but through their family contacts. He also volunteers in a hospice - has done that for a year now and at a charity shop - done that for 3 years now. He also does leadership roles at his school and in our church. So hopefully that’s sufficient to show some sort of potential!

They really don't care too much about work experience (except a v few). Being able to talk about the NHS and the role of a doctor is important and being able to talk about how you've managed a difficult situation/shown resilience etc. Nice to have but not necessary.

They really don't care too much about work experience (except a v few). Being able to talk about the NHS and the role of a doctor is important and being able to talk about how you've managed a difficult situation/shown resilience etc. Nice to have but not necessary.

I was doing some mock interviews at a local school a few weeks ago (not prospective medics: just kids wanting to get a feel for what being interviewed is like). There was a very, very clear difference between the young people with part-time jobs or responsible roles in external organisations (cadets, scouts & guides, etc.) and those without. It's the same in medicine interviews.

"Experience" (usually actually passive observation) in medical settings really makes very little difference; the general experience of having to engage with people, be somewhere at specific times, do what you're told, act on your own initiative to some extent and take responsibility for what you do (or don't do) makes a massive difference. Yes, you need to find out something about what a doctor's role is, but this can be achieved just as well - and probably better - through virtual work-experience packages as it can through shadowing. Having experience of engaging with people (apart from your family & friends) in any kind of setting where people are relying on you really does make you stand out. I've never interviewed a strong candidate whose only experience was A-Level studies and hospital shadowing. I'm suspicious of anyone who has never either had to work to earn money or chosen to work in a voluntary capacity with a community organisation, charity, etc., unless they have significant caring responsibilities within their family that prevent them or participate at quite a high level in competitive sport, drama, music or similar. It's very hard to see any evidence of commitment from them.

Some of my dd's interviewers were really interested in hearing about her part time job in a cafe (teamwork, dealing with difficult people etc) and in the work (paid & voluntary) that she had done with young children. They didn't really ask much at all about any of the shadowing that she had done.

I do think the shadowing was very useful, but more in terms of helping dd to understand what she was getting into, seeing some of the challenges, understanding how multidisciplinary teams work etc.

Exactly. Customer facing jobs are invaluable in gaining those softer skills. The lunch shift at McDonalds shows resilience, patience, time management, customer service etc. Unis are well aware that not everyone has any contacts in the NHS.
It's what you've learned. Not what you've done. Knowing what you're getting into is important (especially at the moment). Not sure if should share this but it's something they should be aware of at interview I'm afraid.

https://www.bmj.com/content/390/bmj.r1592

Absolutely this! The whole point of work experience is NOT to tick a box on the application but to assess whether it is the career for you. Three of DC friends did work experience in medicine, dentistry and vet medicine respectively and decided as a direct result of the work experience that those careers were not for them. My other DC couldn’t do work experience before application due to covid so did it a couple of months before starting the course - well beyond the point it would have been helpful for application (it confirmed that was what they wanted to do).

In terms of application process though, universities aren’t impressed with a list of work experience whether in the PS or interview - the important thing is your reflections on that experience.

Another one here who has struggled to find medical work experience. DD has done the virtual work experience which she has enjoyed, and she's done voluntary work with Parkrun as part of her DoE and is now doing voluntary work in a charity shop. She also is a lifeguard so is first-aid trained and is customer facing so hopefully that's all good enough for the interview.

We're currently in UCAT hell but 3 of her friends are also doing it so she has people to revise with/commiserate with. She's finding SJ straightforward but VR is not improving, still got a few weeks though.

Was talking to some doctor friends and one said he knew no-one who jad got theough the UCAT without tutoring, his kids are at a private school so don't know if it's that he only knows parents who throw money at their kids education or if it's a necessary @mumsneedwine ? I've been fighting DDs requests to pay Medic Mentor and Dr Siva a small fortune but now I'm questioning myself.