The University of Sunderland School of Medicine adopts an integrated, spiral curriculum, using a range of teaching methods to support learning, including:
During the course, you’ll gain clinical experience through GP, hospital and third section community placements (Phase 1 – Year 1 & 2); an “immersion in clinical placements” from Year 3 onwards; and, “very extensive student assistantships to prepare you for practice as a Foundation Year 1 doctor” in your final year.
You can find more information about the course structure here.
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Sunderland School of Medicine offers an intercalated degree, which allows you to take a year away from your MBChB course to study for an additional qualification. You’ll have the option to undertake an intercalated Bsc degree (after Year 2) or an intercalated MSc degree (after Year 4), either at Sunderland or a different university. You can find out more under the ‘course structure’ section.
The curriculum has a “significant general practice focus”; if you have a particular interest in general practice this may be a valuable discussion point for you at your interview, especially if you’re asked why you are interested in studying at Sunderland.
Sunderland School of Medicine uses the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format for its interview. This will include a ‘series of short interview stations’ ranging from ‘1:1 traditional interview through to a role-play’.
The interview will assess a variety of skills and personal attributes, including your motivation for studying medicine, your understanding of the challenges you’ll face and your awareness of ethical issues.
In addition to the MMI, you’ll also be required to complete and pass a 40-minute online numeracy test which assesses your ability to perform clinically relevant calculations.
Most medical schools require you to pass an admissions exam before you’ll be invited for interview.
Admissions exam for Sunderland: University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT)
The UCAT assesses your characteristics, attitudes and professional behaviours against those required for medical school. The exam is divided into 5 sections: Abstract Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning, Situational Judgement (SJT) and Verbal Reasoning.
Sunderland Med School select applicants for interview based on their UCAT scores. To be eligible, applicants must score within top 8 deciles of the cohort and situational judgement test (SJT) must be within bands 1-3.
To help you to successfully prepare for all sections, the free Medibuddy UCAT question bank carefully selects questions based on your strengths and weaknesses within the syllabus, to ensure that you’re focusing on areas which will have the biggest impact on your UCAT score.
You can also clearly see in the question bank dashboard the areas you have “mastered” and those which you need to focus more time on.
It’s crucial that you prepare well for all areas to ensure that you get the best UCAT score possible and secure your interview place!
For more information and guidance, see our complete guide to the UCAT and our UCAT preparation tips.
