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Studying at St George’s Medical School

Overview

St George’s Medical School is based at St George’s Hospital, one of the largest teaching hospitals in the UK. The University is uniquely specialised in healthcare sciences, with only biomedical and healthcare degrees on offer. This gives students a unique opportunity to study in a multidisciplinary clinical setting together with students across the full range of healthcare professions, building appreciation of what it means to work as part of a team. St George’s provide hands-on learning starting with practical classes in pathology labs, anatomy and dissection rooms, alongside GP and community visits. Early patient contact is a key part of the course, with clinical placements beginning in your very first year.

Table of Contents

St George’s rely on UCAT scores to shortlist students for interview. Applicants with a strong UCAT score who also meet the minimum academic requirements are likely to be invited to interview.

Read our UCAT guide for more information on What is UCAT.

Key Points

  • UCAT
  • London
  • Integrated Course
  • Optional Intercalation

Insider’s Guide to St George’s Medical School from Josephina, St George’s Medical Student

What makes St George’s unique to other medical schools?

Firstly, St George’s was the first university to open a course for graduates to study medicine. A pioneer at the time, this enabled graduates of other courses ranging from English Literature to Biomedical Sciences to enter the medical profession on an expediated course of four years. The rich history is displayed across the university and still informs the nature of the course structure.

Secondly, St George’s remains one of the few older London hospitals embedded within its community. Tooting and parts of South London have developed around St George’s Trust for over 30 years and the hospital has evolved to always reflect the members of the distinct community. As part of the medicine course, students can take advantage of this and regularly have ‘Community Visits’ to get to know the range of patients.

Course Structure at St George’s Medical School

Year 1 at St George’s Medical School

Non-clinical teaching: Basic Clinical Sciences covered in two years of the undergraduate course merged into one intense year of study as a postgraduate. Course structure covers body systems, mechanisms of disease and classical topics like Pharmacology and Embryology intertwined in PBL-case learning weekly. This is paired with Ethics, Legal and Sociological learning as another half of the course interspersed throughout the non-clinical teaching.

Clinical skills including physical examinations and patient communication skills are taught in preparation for placement.

Year 2 at St George’s Medical School

Split between Placement and Non-clinical teaching year: The designed “Spiral” curriculum allows for principles taught in first year of study to be revisited and revised multiple times over during clinical teaching in the following years also. Students are assigned three different clinical placements around the St George’s Trust area in General Practice, Medicine and Surgery. Placements and non-clinical teaching blocks last 5 weeks each and students alternate between the two. This enables students to be exposed to clinical environments and applications of academic learning whilst also continuing to have university student experiences.

Clinical skills including physical examinations and patient communication skills are taught to maintain applied learning within placements.

Year 3 at St George’s Medical School

Full Clinical Placement year as a series of clinical attachment rotations, with highly specialist placements mandatory for all, including Neurology, Psychiatry, and Obstetrics. The most exciting for students is one 5-week Surgical Placement block dedicated to one surgical specialty per week of Ear nose and throat, ophthalmology, plastics, trauma and vascular. Emphasis is largely placed on developing the ability to holistically assess and handle patients with multiple illnesses.

Year 4 at St George’s Medical School

Full Clinical Placement year with 5-week elective opportunity and expand understanding of NHS/healthcare provision operations with a Public Health two-week module. Either a clinical or non-clinical elective attachment can be approved to explore your own career interests, meaning that students have pretty much free choice to learn anywhere. Many St George’s medics take the opportunity to organize an attachment abroad at other University hospitals. All these experiences build to support graduates to take the Situational Judgement test to enter the UK foundation program of practice.

Teaching Style at St George’s Medical School

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

PBL-based learning used as basis of course due to great advantages of small group learning. It offers the best dynamic process of active learning via individual research conducted alone from independent learning and learning by osmosis from other students’ contributions. Engaging in teamwork from the start of the course, it prepares St George’s students well for functioning in an MDT.

Paired with traditional in-person taught lectures by clinical professionals offers real practical experience to apply non-clinical academic learning to.

Does St George’s offer dissection?

Dissection Room sessions operate as Anatomy module teaching-supplements. Pre-COVID-19 these are available to Graduates once per week whilst on non-clinical teaching.

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

St George’s from this year now offers Graduate-Entry Medics the opportunity to do an intercalated MSc year at the hospital as well as other University choices.

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

St George’s provides many early opportunities for Graduate-Entry students to gain clinical experience. Although first year is a non-placement year, ‘Community Visits’ are held regularly to pair academic teaching with real-life relevant patient cases. These sessions allow students to practice their history taking skills, patient empathy and effective communication. 

Unlike most medical schools, St George’s places first year Graduate-Entry students on part-time GP placement bi-weekly to expose students to General Practice running and patients in the Tooting area. General Practioners guide students on how to adaptively communicate with patients and take guided histories. Evaluative feedback to students from medical professionals within the first year of teaching is invaluable to develop skills later.

Social Life at St George’s Medical School

What are the clubs and societies like?

As a smaller university, St George’s is a well-formed close-knit environment for students. This is not just between medical students but also other allied healthcare courses such as paramedics and biomedical scientists. As a specific healthcare university, all of St George’s students uniquely share similar learning bases and aspirations of working within the NHS or research, which is not the case at larger universities with a wider range of course offerings. This encourages stronger relationships to form between students of different years and reduces feelings of ‘competition’ or being ‘outside,’ as everyone is encouraged to take part. There’s a big range of different sports teams, the largest being Athletics and Tennis. All sport societies have both competitive and social aspects to allow any level of participation. Despite the small university size, there is a lot of non-sport offering in terms of social clubs and hobbies like Drama, English Literature and History as well as specialized societies for future careers like Pediatric doctors and Neurologists.

What is the social life like?

Due to the Student Union also being based within St George’s hospital, students can relax together on site after academic learning or placement. Even University staff have fun in the same environment, occasionally you can share a drink or chat with your lecturers and clinical teachers. As a Graduate, this allows students to break down barriers with teachers to encourage more shared-level learning and professional relationship development as equals.

FAQs

→What are the entry requirements for St George’s Medical School?

The entry requirements for St George’s Medical School vary depending on the programme. Generally, applicants must have excellent grades in science subjects such as Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, as well as strong communication and interpersonal skills. Relevant work experience and volunteering in healthcare settings are also desirable.

→What is the St George’s Medical School interview process like?

The St George’s Medical School interview process is designed to assess a candidate’s academic and personal suitability for the programme. The interview process typically includes multiple mini-interviews (MMIs) that assess a range of skills such as problem-solving, communication, empathy, and ethical reasoning.

→What should I expect during the St George’s Medical School interview process?

During the St George’s Medical School interview process, candidates can expect to participate in multiple mini-interviews (MMIs). The MMIs will typically consist of several stations, with each station featuring a different scenario or question to assess a specific skill or attribute. Candidates may be asked to interact with a patient or actor, interpret medical data, or discuss ethical issues.

→What are the career prospects for graduates of St George’s Medical School?

Graduates of St George’s Medical School are highly sought after by employers in the medical profession. Many graduates go on to work as doctors, medical researchers, or healthcare professionals. Some graduates also pursue careers in academia or the pharmaceutical industry.

→Is it hard to get into St George medical school?

St George’s, University of London is a well-regarded medical school and the admissions process is highly competitive. The exact difficulty of getting into St George’s medical school can vary from year to year depending on the number and quality of applicants. However, according to the university, they receive many applications each year and the number of places available is limited, so it is important for applicants to have a strong academic record, demonstrate relevant work experience and have excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Applicants must also perform well in the interview process, which assesses their suitability for the medical profession. Overall, getting into St George’s medical school is challenging, but with the right qualifications and skills, it is possible.

About the university

Key Information
Email [email protected]
Phone number 020 8672 9944
Course Information
Teaching style Integrated
The first two years provide you with a thorough understanding of clinical science, with clinical work introduced from the beginning of year 1 through short community placements. Year 3 shifts from lecture-based work and adopts a more problem based learning approach, as well as your first hospital placements.
Course length 5 years
Courses offered 2 courses offered:
A100 Standard Entry Medicine - 5 years
A101 Graduate Entry Medicine - 4 years
Graduate entry Yes
Foundation or access No
University Life
Local area Tooting, South London
St George’s is based in the thriving, multicultural hub of Tooting in south-west London. This offers you the best of both worlds – it is small enough to maintain a friendly, local neighbourhood atmosphere, but it is close enough to all the attractions of central London. You will have all the advantages of living in one of the most exciting cities in the world without all the cost!
Social life The campus is home to a spacious bar which hosts regular club and band nights, quizzes and sports and film screenings. We also have a games room, a music room, a café, a dance studio and several counselling and welfare rooms. There are plenty of sports teams run by students for students, the teams and groups strive to provide the best possible choice of social and sporting activities. As part of the University of London, you are also free to use University of London Union facilities and services, take part in ULU events and join its clubs and societies, most of which are based in and around the city centre.
Interview
Interview style MMI
7 stations of 5 minutes
Interview dates Nov-December
Admissions Tests
UCAT UCAT Required with SJT
UCAT score is used to shortlist for interview and to rank the post-interview waiting list.
A minimum of 500 for each section is required.
GAMSAT N/A
Academic Requirements
GCSE GCSEs
Minimum of 5 GCSEs including Maths, English Language and Sciences at Grade 6.
A-level AAA
To be eligible for this programme, all qualifications (except GCSEs) should have been awarded within the past five years. A levels: AAA including Chemistry and Biology
Scottish Advanced/Highers AAA
Scottish Nationals: English Language and Maths National 5 at Grade B.
IB 36 points
We only accept the Full Award Diploma. Overall 36 with 18 points at Higher Level including 66 in Biology and Chemistry. At Standard Level, a minimum score of 5 in Maths and English if GCSEs have not been taken.
Bachelor's Degree (Gradutes Only) 2:1 Honours degree
Minimum 2:1 Honours degree in any subject OR a postgraduate degree (any discipline) at a pass or above if your first degree is a 2.2 Honours. There is no requirement for this to have been awarded in the last five years.
Statistics
Number of applicants per interview 2
Number of applicants per place 8
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