Studying at St Andrews Medical School

Overview

Students studying Medicine at St Andrews have the unique opportunity to graduate after three years of pre-clinical study at St Andrews with a BSc Honours degree in Medicine before moving on to one of the University’s partner medical schools across Scotland and England to complete their training as a doctor. This means you’ll get to experience studying at two universities!

Partner medical schools include:

• Aberdeen
• Dundee
• Edinburgh
• Glasgow
• Manchester
• Barts and the London

Applicants meeting the minimum academic requirements who also have demonstrated relevant work experience and positive reference are ranked on UCAT score for shortlisting.

Key Points

• UCAT
• Scotland
• Clinical Years at Partner Medical School
• Integrated Course

Insider’s Guide to St Andrews Medical School from Megan, St Andrews Medical Student

What makes St Andrews unique to other medical schools?

Everyone takes a huge sense of pride in the university and the town and it is an incredibly inclusive, friendly and supportive school. They offer traditional learning whilst still preparing you for clinical practice, including weekly clinical skills sessions and frequent placements from year 1. The lecturers are all specialists in their field and excellent at teaching. Anatomy teaching has a really good student to cadaver ratio and you normally have one teacher between 10/12 students unlike other medical schools. The University as a whole is really inclusive and offers lots of extracurricular activities whether its sports, singing or social societies. There are also lots of whole university events such as Opening Ball, Raisin and May Dip which almost everyone of all years participates in.

Course Structure at St Andrews Medical School

Year 1 at St Andrews Medical School

First semester focuses on basic sciences and a general overview of the whole body. You go through a case every few weeks in a tutorial which starts to bring together your learning and clinical skills. 

Second semester focuses on the musculoskeletal system covering everything from anatomy to physiology and pharmacology. 

Throughout the year you are introduced to medical ethics. 

A few GP placements throughout the year to start getting you used to clinical setting.

Year 2 at St Andrews Medical School

First semester is cardiorespiratory and second semester covers genitourinary, gastrointestinal and reproduction. Again, integrating dissection, pathophysiology and relevant clinical skills throughout the year. 

Small group tutorials to go over important skills such as ECG and X-ray interpretation.

More regular placement, once every 2 weeks from memory.

Year 3 at St Andrews Medical School

First Semester is neurology going through structure and function of the brain and central nervous system. Also looking at anatomy and clinical skills that are revelant. Lots of small group tutorials to go over what was covered in lectures to ensure understanding.

Second semester – writing a dissertation. You get really good support from both the medical school and your supervisor. Still have regular clinical skills teaching to prepare for OSCEs and partner medical schools.

Year 4 at St Andrews Medical School

Join 1^st clinical year at partner medical school (their 3^rd year)

Teaching Style at St Andrews Medical School

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

Traditional based learning but still offer plenty of clinical context and clinical cases. Learning is predominantly lecture based but is mixed with tutorials and guided studies (independent work). Clinical skills start from the first week and start with basic skills such as BLS and taking blood pressure before becoming linked to the system you are currently learning about. For example, when you start learning about the cardiovascular system you learn how to do a cardiovascular exam in clinical skills as well as dissecting the heart. Most lecturers will have cases throughout their lectures to offer clinical context and for all the systems a clinico-pathological conference is held where you go through a series of cases that bring together everything you have learnt in that module.

Does St Andrews offer dissection?

Yes, full body dissection as well as pro-sections. Normally groups of 4-6 per cadaver and one medical demonstrator per two groups who guide you through the dissection, so you’re not left to do it alone. There is recommended pre-reading so you are familiar with what to expect but someone is there to guide you through and answer any questions. It is great for becoming familiar with using instruments such as scalpels.

Does St Andrews offer a BSc? If so, how is the BSc year?

Yes, you do your BSc in the last semester. They offer loads of support and advice and run teaching sessions on relevant skills to the type of dissertation you are doing (Lab-based, data analysis, critical review). You have plenty of time to write your dissertation and a wide range of topics are offered. The supervisors are all researchers themselves and have lots of experience in writing papers and are very good at offering advice and support throughout.

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

As you go to a different medical school for clinical years you get a 50:50 split of pre-clinical to clinical. St Andrews give you an excellent base for learning at partner medical schools and really prepare you for the clinical environment, sometimes more than students already at the partner medical school. You get clinical exposure from first semester of first year in GP placements. St Andrews also have fantastic clinical skills labs and great teachers ranging from doctors applying for registrar posts through to senior consultants.

Social Life at St Andrews Medical School

What are the clubs and societies like? What is the social life like?

There is a huge variety of clubs and societies. Bute medical society is great as a fresher as they host lots of events to introduce you to the older years. St Andrews uniquely has academic families whereby you are adopted by academic parents (3^rd years if non-medics, 2^nd years if medics) and participate in Raisin weekend. The sports clubs in St Andrews are a great way to meet new people and vary in intensity depending on the team you are in, everyone is welcome and the teams are all very inclusive. There are also plenty of societies outside of medicine and sport that are advertised during freshers fayre.

FAQs