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NAVIGATION
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Disclaimer: You DO NOT need to do as much as I have to get into Medicine. I was fortunate enough to have so many of these opportunities advertised to me from school, friends, and word-of-mouth. A lot of these opportunities are free, and I’ve added more info **on the **Y9-Y13 Opportunities page
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| Activity | Description |
|---|---|
| Books read: | |
| ❑ When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi | |
| ❑ This is going to hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay | |
| ❑ Being Mortal by Atul Gawande | |
| ❑ Medical Ethics: A very short introduction | |
| ❑ Do no Harm: Stories of life, death and brain surgery by Henry Marsh | They helped me get a broader insight into medicine and surgery. My advice is to choose books that genuinely interest you rather than reading them simply because ‘they’re good for Medicine’. |
| **Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (MOOC)** by Taipei Medical University (FutureLearn) | A great introduction to the opportunities and challenges of AI in healthcare. |
| **The Genomics Era: The Future of Genetics in Medicine (MOOC)** by St George’s University London (FutureLearn) | Explores genomics beyond the A Level specification and introduces its clinical applications. |
| **HE+ Medicine Resources** by the University of Cambridge | One of the best free resources for stretching your scientific thinking through challenging questions and discussion prompts. |
| ⭐️ Highly recommend for Oxbridge applicants! ⭐️ | |
| Bioethics: The Law, Medicine and Ethics of Reproductive Technologies and Genetics (MOOC) by Harvard University (edx course) | Explores the intersection between medicine, ethics and law. |
| (BMA) Independent Research Project: From Tradition to Translation - To what extent can Ayurvedic Herbal Extracts inhibit Escherichia Coli biofilms? | |
| (BMA) Winter Reading Challenge | I completed essays exploring the effectiveness of treatments for addiction and identifying the most important principle of medical ethics. |
| Cambridge Higher Aspirations Scheme (CHAS) offered by Gonville and Caius College | A widening participation programme offering supervisions with a clinical medical student across a range of a medical topics. |
| British Biology Olympiad - Gold Award | An excellent opportunity to challenge yourself beyond the A Level curriculum. You must first be registered by your school - but, if you’re interested in prepping for this, feel free to get in touch! |
| Immerse Essay competition (Medicine Category) | My essay explored the ethics of gene-editing technologies like CRISPR. |
| STEM SMART Programme | A widening participation programme providing mentoring, tutorials, and challenging question sets throughout the year. |
| Minds Underground Essay Competition 2025 | The essay question was “Can AI replace human doctors in the next 50 years?” |
| Activity | Description |
|---|---|
| UCL Target Medicine Mentoring Scheme | |
| (shoutout to my mentor, Anna! 😊) | An amazing widening participation programme which paired me with a medical student mentor. It provided great guidance throughout the application process. |
| Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) Virtual Work Experience | An excellent starting point to get an insight into what a career in healthcare entails. |
| University of Southampton (USA) Virtual Work Experience | Another useful virtual programme which introduces students to a range of clinical scenarios. |
| GP Surgery Work Experience (in person) | Shadowing nurses and healthcare assistants in a primary care setting. |
| Kings College Hospital Mealtime & Patient Engagement Volunteer | Long-term volunteering helps facilitate patient interaction skills and allows you to demonstrate the core values and attributes needed in healthcare. |
| Carnatic Vocal and Veena | Music has been an important part of my life outside of academics and has provided a healthy balance alongside studying. |