The Medic Portal

11/11/2025

REMINDER 🚨🚨🚨 We have a free webinar on November 13th on how to handle the hardest MMI stations. We'll:

- Watch a live role play of good and bad responses to interview questions
- See how examiners might use real actors in order to test your empathy skills
- What are the pillars of ethics and how might you be tested on them?

Link to register is here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zK9gAJMLRkiUqWJ3GfikJw

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09/11/2025

These are the universities who begin to interview as early as November. 👇

Some of these (like KCL) will sent out invitations on a rolling basis and interview until May, so don't stress if you haven't received an interview yet!

Are you interviewing at any of the schools here? Drop a comment down below, and we'll put them up next in our Comparing Interviews series. Otherwise, head to the link to discover an in-depth guide on interviewing at each of these universities: https://www.themedicportal.com/application-guide/medical-school-interview/

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07/11/2025

Gold star for empathy!

p.s 🚨🚨🚨 We have a free webinar on how to handle the hardest MMI stations. We'll:

- Watch a live role play of good and bad responses to interview questions
- See how examiners might use real actors in order to test your empathy skills
- What are the pillars of ethics and how might you be tested on them?

Link to register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zK9gAJMLRkiUqWJ3GfikJw

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05/11/2025

Drug calculations are a common feature of Med School interviews. Calculation stations appear in MMIs, while some schools, like Keele University, require candidates to complete a maths test as part of the admissions process.

Many medical schools consider simple math calculations essential to your future studies and the profession as a whole, highlighting the potential dangers of incorrect math applications.

We have a full guide, for free, on how to do them right. Head to the link: https://www.themedicportal.com/blog/how-to-do-drug-calculations/

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02/11/2025

Do you know who Jim the Horse is? Do you know about the Tetanus Scandal? Could you explain the term 'bed blocking'?

If you had to say 'no' to any of those questions, you should probably check out this webinar. 🐴

It's crucial to stay up to date on NHS hot topics for your Medicine interviews. These go hand in hand with the pillars of medical ethics.

Register for this free webinar at the link (https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dzdr4n6iSfutg7sMXk6LrA) and join us to learn:

-What are the big developments in the NHS in 2025?
-How might interviewers test your knowledge?
-What are the pillars of ethics and how might you be tested on them?

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31/10/2025

tag yourself

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28/10/2025

👨‍⚕️ Resident doctors in England will strike again next month – the 13th time since 2023.

Doctors will strike from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.

The BMA’s decision to call the strike comes after the breakdown of talks with the health secretary over the past week.

Discussions focused on two issues: the BMA’s pursuit of a 29% pay rise for resident doctors and the difficulty some early-career medics have in entering their chosen branch of medical training.

The chair of the BMA has said: 'The health secretary’s 11th-hour letter to us today makes vague promises for some degree of change to jobs and training for two years hence, showing little understanding of the crisis here and now, or a real commitment to fix it.'

What do you think of the strikes? Leave a comment.

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26/10/2025

🧑‍⚕️Going into interview season, we're going to be doing side-by-side comparisons of the different interview processes at different med schools.⁠
⁠
👉 This week we're looking at the University of Buckingham and the University of Cambridge.⁠

👉 Invitations for both universities are sent out in November. Buckingham sends theirs out on a rolling basis, although Cambridge does not.

👉 Interviews for Cambridge take place in December. Interviews for Buckingham take place between February and May.

👉 Buckingham uses an MMI selection day. If successful, candidates are invited to the final stage, an Objective Structured Selection Examination (OSSE) in which they must complete a series of tasks. At Cambridge, candidates undertake a panel interview.

👉 Buckingham shortlists applicants based on academic achievements (UCAT required) and then uses a computer-based exam to test suitability for being a doctor. Cambridge takes the following into consideration to shortlist for interview: academic record, reference, Personal Statement, UCAT, contextual data.

👉 Buckingham will interview you on:

– Medical news and awareness
– Ethics
– Practical scenarios and problem-solving
– Role play
– Negotiation
– Teaching
– Mathematics in Medicine

👉 Cambridge will interview you on:

– Knowledge of the scientific basis of Medicine
– Recent developments in Medicine
– Honesty, care and competence
– Physical, psychological and social aspects of healthcare
– Ethical, legal and community issues in Medicine
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We have a full table comparing interview processes on our website.⁠
Where do you want to see next? Comment below. 👇⁠
⁠
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24/10/2025

👉 NHS figures show number of mothers sustaining third- or fourth-degree perineal tear has increased by 16% since 2020. But why is this?

👉 Pregnant women in England are at growing risk of suffering a serious injury while giving birth, NHS figures reveal.

The number of mothers sustaining a third- or fourth-degree perineal tear while delivering their baby has risen from 25 in 1,000 in June 2020 to 29 in 1,000 in June this year – a 16% increase.

Such injuries can have a “life-changing” impact on women’s physical and mental health, cause post-traumatic stress disorder and leave them afraid to have another child.

Childbirth experts linked the rise in the most serious forms of tear to poor NHS care, understaffing in NHS maternity units and mothers getting older and larger.

👉 Women are also being put in danger because hospitals do not always properly establish the risk of suffering a tear using an assessment method recommended by obstetricians, midwives and MPs.

Poor identification and treatment of third- and fourth-degree tears are among the mistakes that NHS staff make that help explain why errors in maternity care cost the service more than £1bn a year.

👉 We'll continue to deliver medical news for you to broaden your awareness and bring to interview, so watch this page.

Source: The Guardian

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22/10/2025

Interview season is beginning! 💡

The Medicine interview season can start as early as November and usually runs to March. The timeframe between receiving your invite and having your interview can be quite short, so it’s best to prepare in advance – instead of leaving prep until you’ve actually received an invite.

After you’ve submitted your UCAS application for Medicine, some candidates might be invited to interview as early as November. These are the universities who will begin sending out interviews from November.

Don’t worry if you don’t get an invite yet though, because lots of invites will be sent in the new year. Remember that different universities work to different timescales and some won’t start running interviews until after the Christmas period.

Head to this link for a more in-depth timeline on the interview process as conducted by each medicine school: https://www.themedicportal.com/application-guide/medical-school-interview/

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19/10/2025

If you have an interview for med school, you need to know about the GMC’s ‘Good Medical Practice’ guide.

Good medical practice sets out the principles, values, and standards of professional behaviour expected of all medical professionals by the General Medical Council.

It is a crucial piece on medical ethics to read before your interview.

Go to the link to read more: https://www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/the-professional-standards/good-medical-practice

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Good medical practice is a framework of professional standards to guide you when you’re caring for patients and working with colleagues.

17/10/2025

🌟 It's officially that time of the year: medicine school interview season is beginning! 🌟

Join our exclusive webinar for aspiring medics and learn how to stand out in your MMI and panel interviews — with expert advice from tutors who know exactly what admissions teams are looking for. 🎓💬

You’ll discover how to:
✅ Tackle common MMI and panel interview questions with confidence
✅ Showcase your motivation, empathy, and communication skills effectively
✅ Avoid the common pitfalls that hold candidates back on interview day

This session is packed with practical strategies, real-life examples, and insider insights to help you perform your best when it matters most.

🚀 Don’t leave your success to chance — book your place now and get one step closer to your dream UK medical school offer. Attendance is free, head to the link here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_allBtzAqQ8qmVQNyaoX49Q

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