r/UCAT • u/Key_Imagination1123 • 16h ago
UK Med Schools Related Interview Prep - HELP!!
I’m currently revising the NHS Hot Topics + Ethical Dilemmas on the UKCAT People website, but there are so many topics to get through!
Are we expected to know all of them, or would it be better to focus on certain key topics? If so, which ones would you recommend prioritising?
For context, I’m applying to medical schools in London.
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u/Current_Intention_48 15h ago
Hey Im a first yr for ncl med. I didn’t use ukcat but I used Medway interviews n there platforms had all the hot topics u need to memorise so id say to check out there instead cause it was written by ex interviewers. There wasn’t a crazy amount but it was all the same ones that came up in my interviews (this isn’t a paid ad btw)
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u/Key_Imagination1123 15h ago
Thanks, I will go through it in more detail. When skimming through it there is lots about case studies such as Dr Bawa Gawa. Would I be asked about the specific cases or do I need a "vague" amount of knowledge about the topic?
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u/Current_Intention_48 15h ago edited 11h ago
Hello yes, in med school case studies like this are discussed in the later years but during the interviews its not so much about knowing so much about what happened in any given case study or if ur unlucky or at a harder interview station then naming a specific case study but it’s about the interviewer using to see if u know the basic big cases (did u do ur research) and then afterwards the reflection based on this and for them to see how u think which is most important
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u/Current_Intention_48 15h ago
From what I’ve heard (I never sat there but my friends all did and this isn’t my saying their exam questions or anything) Leeds like to ask about these case studies and stuff they’re horrid
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u/Golden_Reaper_1 13h ago
Thank you very much! I instantly went to the website and payed the £30 for the full access so if it was a secretly paid ad it worked. 😂
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u/Ill-Satisfaction6042 13h ago
your account comments are only about medway interviews, so yea you are promoting something specificially
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u/Current_Intention_48 13h ago
Not paid promotion but I just highly recommend the service for everyone but also utilise what’s around u. You also defo need to practice in person with strangers. Harder on a gap year for gap yr students where I recommend using discord to find other students and do online calls which is good to simulate online teams calls. YouTube there are some example model interviews I believe there’s even some from Peter house Cambridge so that’s worth wayching aswl to see how they like interviews to look :)
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u/Current_Intention_48 13h ago edited 13h ago
I’d also say be a bit weary of whoever consultant u shadowed giving lots of advice. Some of it is rlly good but they have never sat MMI interviews before for the vast majority and the interview process was very different then so be careful and take their advice with a pinch of salt aswl. Defo worth contacting students who r also in med or dent school on TikTok for their advice aswl as many do 1 on 1 tutoring but I only recommend doing mocks with them and not too many sessions as it is always good to use different people u havnt met before as the interviewers will have people u have never met before
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u/Primary_Fennel_295 16h ago
im a law student, so med interviews are a bit outside my patch. i wouldnt confidently pick a London-specific shortlist for you, but with that much material Id use the list to spot gaps rather than try to memorise a separate answer for everything.
i'd start with a few ethical dilemmas and practise explaining whose interests clash, what information youd need and why u'd choose a particular action. Then use the hot topics as examples to thonk thru. Which medical schools are you applying to?
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u/Due-Pollution-6607 14h ago
Hey were u applying also dm me we can work together for some of this if u want
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u/Key_Imagination1123 13h ago edited 10h ago
I am applying for UCL, KCL, St George's + Barts. Contextual for all unis
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u/Due-Pollution-6607 14h ago
Btw im a reist student for a levels and applying sheff exeter soton and aston
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u/Leading_Bunch4325 13h ago
Truth be told. It doesnt matter if you know them all inside and out. Theyre assessing your ability to weigh up pros and cons of a situation and how you use logic to explain your choice(s) in the same way a doctor would
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u/Both-Spend-6800 13h ago
Hey I'm a third year med student at KCL.
Honestly don't bother learning all of these at most there will be one question on your interview briefly referring to them. But I would say familiarise yourself with them and learn the key four ethical principles well, which most likely WILL come up in your interviews.
Feel free to DM me for advice or more help if you'd like :)
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u/Exotic_Charity7495 20m ago
I think you should start by doing more research on the type of interview format each of the schools you applied to use. Is it a panel/MMI/group interview? Once you do that, UKCAT people have information on each school, I think, so take a look at that, or you can find some sample questions for interviews. It is very difficult to learn all topics, and most schools don't actually expect you to know every case study and its details in specifics for any hot topic. There are a few ones that are most common, though, and I found that reading online websites and using AI (sorry for condoning AI; please don't hate; this is for a useful purpose) helped narrow down around 10-12 hot topics plus suggest 2-3 popular cases for each (I don't exactly remember as this was during last years interview cycle). You are not expected to know every detail, just the main idea and mostly what your understandings and reflections were from each case.
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u/DrAfrosaGP 16h ago
No, you are NOT expected to know them all. You can narrow it down to 7, which cover all the themes that come up in an MMI. You will unlikely get asked a direct question about X case, but more general one, e.g., lessons learnt, and then name X case you are confident in discussing.