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Open day questions: medicine, dentistry and nursing students

Looking for ideas of what to ask at open days? Use these questions if you’re thinking of taking a course in medical studies, like medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacology or physiotherapy...

About the course

  • Is this course lecture based or is it problem-based learning?
  • Does this course have a subject or systems based emphasis?
  • Are my lecturers also practitioners?
  • Talk me through what each year of the course entails...
  • When / do I get to specialise?

Admissions

  • Will I have to take the BMAT or UCAT to get on to this course? What prep should I do beforehand for this?
  • Will I also be expected to attend an interview? What will you be looking for me to demonsrate during this?

Equipment and facilities

  • Where can I find the reading list for this course? What books are necessary for me to buy?
  • How much time will I spend in lectures? In the library?
  • How much time will I be spending in labs?
  • How modern or state-of-the-art are the university's facilities? Do you specialise in a particular area?

Placements and work experience

  • How much of the course is clinical practice?
  • How many placements will I have? Do I organise my own placements or does the university arrange those?
  • Is there an opportunity to do an intercalated degree?
  • Which hospitals or medical centres do you partner with?
  • Am I expected to travel far to placements?

Exams and projects

  • How the course is assessed – clinical assessment, exams, coursework?
  • What is the weighting for each part / year of the course?
  • Do I need to complete a dissertation or research-based project?

Graduate prospects

  • Is it more important to get the best grade, or have a range of work experiences when I apply for this course?
  • If happens if I don’t meet my conditional offer this year? Can I re-take and reapply next year?
  • What types of job / areas of medicine are open to me when I finish?
     

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