King's College London

Overview

King’s College London is home to the GKT School of Medical Education, formed in 1998 with the merging of the originally independent Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ schools of medicine. Teaching at these medical schools dates all the way back to 1173, with a great deal of history associated with studying of King’s with notable alumni including Joseph Lister and John Keats. The curriculum at King’s was been recently redesigned and takes an integrated approach, blending the basic medical sciences with clinical practice from early on.

Both UCAT and GCSEs are considered when scoring applicants for interview shortlisting. Therefore applicants with strong GCSE or secondary school performance as well as a competitive UCAT score are ideal candidates for King’s College.

Key Points

• London
• UCAT
• Integrated Course
• Optional Intercalation

Insider’s Guide to King’s Medical School London from Raghav K, King’s Medical Student

What makes King’s unique to other medical schools?

Well, if you’re someone who enjoys human anatomy quite a bit, King’s can offer you some wonderful learning tools that are really unique! King’s is one of the few universities to offer full body dissections. It is also home to the Gordon Museum, which is the largest medical museum in the UK. Medical students can take a look at over 3000 specimens housed here. King’s also has many varied topics to do your iBSc in – you can even do an iBSc in regenerative medicine! Finally, being in London means that you’ll be in a varied and diverse environment- you’ll really enjoy making friends from all over the world!

Course Structure at King’s Medical School

Year 1 at King’s Medical School

Year 1 is primarily theory based, covering a variety of modules related to cell biology, human anatomy, genetics, pharmacology and clinical skills. While visits to the clinic or hospital do not take place in first year, there are several clinical skills sessions which allow students learn skills such as taking a manual blood pressure. Simulated interactions with actors are also common to begin learning communication skills. Year 1 has a series of formative exams followed by an end of year summative exam.

Year 2 at King’s Medical School

Year 2 is a mix of theory and clinic. All lectures for the entire week are delivered on Mondays with the rest of time spent in clinical environments. There are two clinic days in a week – one in a GP practice and one in the hospital where you will rotate through various wards. Students are also put into a GP group composed of 7-8 students.

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Year 3 at King’s Medical School

Year 3 is the first clinical year. Students will have to choose a student selected component module within which they can do a project. SSC topics are varied and can even be non-medicine related. You can choose to do an intercalated BSc after this year.

Year 4 at King’s Medical School

Year 4 is another clinical year. Some modules concentrate on a study of population and global health. Students will also have to do a quality improvement and evidence-based practice project in years 4 or 5.

Year 5 at King’s Medical School

As you guessed, another clinical year! Once again, you are rotated through general practice, medicine and surgery. You can also do a Student Selected elective in any part of the world that interests you. This gives students exposure to different healthcare systems found around the globe. There are courses which assist in transitioning from being a medical student to being a foundation doctor.

Teaching Style at King’s Medical School

What is the general teaching style at King’s? E.g. is it PBL/Traditional? etc.

King’s has a fairly traditional teaching style with a mix of full cohort lectures, tutorials, seminars, lab sessions and clinical skills sessions. First year concentrates on the foundations of medicine. Second year becomes much more clinical and furthers your understanding of medical sciences, albeit with a greater pharmacology element. Years three, four and five are almost entirely clinical. Small tutor groups are created in first year and are composed of roughly 16-18 students.

Does King’s offer dissection?

Yes! Dissections are a regular part of your timetable in first year and are done with your tutor group.

Does King’s offer a BSc? If so, how is the BSc year?

King’s offers an intercalated BSc as a separate course to medicine. You can do this after your third year. The best thing about King’s is that it gives you access to many world leading institutions- you can choose to do your iBSc in a variety of topics! You’ll also be able to interact with doctors and researchers who are leaders in their field and possibly even get published in the end!

What is the pre-clinical / clinical split like? Do you get early clinical exposure?

The course is divided into the first year being completely preclinical, second year a mix between theory and clinic and years three, four and five being primarily clinical. Now I understand that this might make first year sound a bit boring, but not to worry! Simulated patient interactions and clinical skills sessions take place quite often. This allows you to obtain those necessary skills required for interacting with patients.

Social Life at King’s Medical School

What are the clubs and societies like?

You’ll never run out of societies to join at King’s! Typically, every Wednesday in the week is left relatively free for attending club sessions. Societies here organize really exciting events you can attend. You could learn how to apply a plaster or learn how to suture! You could join an orchestra or learn how to fence! The number of activities that take place and endless.

What is the social life like?

King’s also has a very vibrant social life. Freshers’ week is filled with amazing activities for everyone. Guy’s campus has its own Guy’s Bar as well! By virtue of being in central London, King’s students will have a great social life. Everything is really easy to reach and you’re never too busy to not get the time to socialize.

FAQs