Claire Johnson, Brighton and Sussex Medical School
This month we’re meeting Claire Johnson, Widening Participation and Outreach Manager at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS).
Tell us about your role
I have been at BSMS for five and a half years and am responsible for all widening participation, outreach and recruitment. I manage three people, and we’ve just recruited for a new post who will be starting at the end of April. Two of the team focus on outreach and widening participation activities which includes our widening participation programme, BrightMed, virtual work experience, visits out to schools delivering talks, activities, and attending FE and HE fairs. We also organise monthly on campus meet and greets, open days and our undergraduate interviews.
How does BSMS work with local schools and colleges
We deliver a range of talks from how to apply to medicine, interview prep, to preparing for the UCAT test. We also run a session called ‘journey through the NHS’ which follows a patients journey highlighting the healthcare professions they will encounter from receptionists to clinicians. For student specifically interested in medicine we run tailored activities such as workshops on blood pressure, blood testing or imaging (x rays and MRI’s).
We have a hub school programme for local schools which is where schools link together and students interested in applying for medicine go to one school for our sessions. This works best because there may only be four of five students per school interested in medicine and this allows us to work with more students which helps to initiate conversations. We have about 5 or 6 hub schools at the moment but we are always looking at expanding this. If a school wants to get involved, they can find more details on the website here.
Tell us about BrightMed
BrightMed is a programme for students in years 9 -12. The programme delivers sessions on Saturdays in the medical teaching building at the University of Sussex. BrightMed gives an insight into different areas of medicine through small group activities, lectures and guest speakers, demonstrating the breadth and variation within medicine. All of the sessions are supported by current medical students who provide an insight into their experiences. In year 12 students have sessions around admissions and mock interviews and finish with a four day, three night residential summer school.
Students that come through BrightMed successfully and meet the entry requirements will get a reduced offer at BSMS and through our partnerships with other medical schools around the country (UKWPMED) they will also get a reduced offer at those medical schools. The details can be found here. Successful completion of BrightMed includes 75% attendance, delivering a presentation on the NHS in year 11, a group project in year 12 which is presented at the summer school to the Head of Admissions and a member of the academic team, undertaking our virtual work experience and a reflective piece of work. All the details of the programme can be found here.
What is different about applying to medicine than other types of degrees?
Firstly, it’s really important to talk to learners about their GCSE and Post 16 courses. We talk to a lot of students in FE who may be doing the wrong subjects. It’s really important to give good CEIAG in year 11 if you have any learners that may be interested in studying medicine
For students applying, there are a few more hoops to jump through! Students apply through UCAS but can only apply to four medical school and the fifth option can be used for another course. All applicants for medicine need to sit an admissions test called UCAT and the results from the test help the candidates know which medical school they can apply to and are used in the selection process by medical schools. The test needs to be taken in the summer before application and can only be taken once in a cycle. There are lots of free online resources on the UCAT website for learners. There is a cost to take the test, however, you can apply for a bursary from UCAT. There is information on the bursary here.
We always advise students to try and participate in work experience but understand that clinical work experience is hard to get and often difficult without relevant contacts. BSMS has a virtual work experience programme focusing on six different areas of medicine. This is a free, online course that can be completed by anyone. Find out more here. We’re looking for good communication skills so let your students know that anything public facing and working in a team, with members of the public, is really important and demonstrates the skills we’re looking for. If students are part of a sports team, see if they could coach younger years to learn how to adapt their communication skills.
Tell us about the interview process at BSMS
We had over 1500 applicants for entry in September 20205 with us interviewing around 750 candidates. Candidates had the choice of whether they wanted to interview either online or in person. We will look to make offers to about 350 candidates and look to place 197 home candidates. We use multiple mini interviews which is similar to old fashioned speed dating. Each candidate has five, 10 minute interviews with them rotating round different interviewers. Each station will have a different theme, and they are marked out of 20 points. At the end of the interview the scores are added together to produce a final score out of 100. Our interviewers are a mix of academics, clinicians in partner hospitals and professional service staff who have student facing roles.
What is your contextual admissions for learners
As we discussed earlier, students that come through BrightMed successfully will get a reduced offer. We also look at various background information for applicants from under represented and widening participation backgrounds and provide adjusted offers. Care Leavers get a guaranteed interview if they meet the academic requirements. Our entry requirements and details on our adjusted offers are here.
What support is there at BSMS for learners with additional needs
We offer support in a variety of different ways depending upon individual need. This support is the same as any university but alongside this we also have a specialist student advice team supporting our medical students. Due to the unique nature of a medicine degree, medical students can experience things that can be upsetting and traumatic as part of their placement and we provide additional support. More details about the different support that we offer can be found on our website here.
Students with disabilities are encouraged to apply to medicine courses but it is important to check with the GMC advice to ensure that they would meet the competencies that are required by them.
You can view the GMC guidelines here.
How can learners find out more about being a Doctor and if it may be the career for them
There are a variety of different fields in medicine that once qualified students can specialise in, the best website to have a look at is the NHS carers website as well as looking at different roles that doctors can have it also explores the allied health professions e.g. nursing, radiographer, dietitian etc. For specific advice about becoming a doctor the Medical Schools Council website has a lot of advice on applying to medicine, interviews, personal statements and work experience.
We run an online monthly lecture series where current academics, clinicians and researchers talk about their area of medicine to showcase the range of opportunities there are in medicine. These happen on the first Wednesday of every month online via Zoom at 6.30pm. They can be booked through our events page here. To get a flavour of what the talks are like have a look at our YouTube channel where you can find all the previous talks.
We also are run some termly online admissions talks that cover applying for medicine and student life which give a more personal insight into what it is like studying at BSMS. Details of these talks can be found on the event pages of our website here.
Finally, how can schools and colleges find out about your programmes and events to advertise to their learners?
The best way is to have a look at our website. However we are aware that it can be difficult to find what you are looking for on them so we are always happy to answer any emails outreach@bsms.ac.uk.
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