What is the right amount of ‘stuff’ you need to have done for your medicine application? How much work experience is enough? What if you can’t get work experience?

These are completely understandable concerns to have regarding the application process. Because it can feel like everyone has perfect, amazing work experience and loads of experience. But I’m here to break some myths for you and tell you what you ACTUALLY need.

For medicine, there is not a minimum requirement for how much work experience is needed. In reality, work experience is not even a requirement. I know that sounds insane but hear me out.

What IS a REQUIREMENT is having insight into medicine. This means you know the role of a doctor, how they work with others and the experience of getting there (life as a medical student). You need to have an understanding into the profession. And getting insight can be done in MANY different ways. Not just work experience.

You can improve your understanding into the medical profession through a variety of ways including

• Speaking to medical students and doctors
• Watching documentaries and shows
• Listening to podcasts
• Online work experience
• Reading medical books or journals of doctors

I am by no means saying you should not get work experience. As an applying student, I engaged in work experience and it was a great opportunity to gain insight. And it is something I think is very valuable.

But it is not a requirement. You don’t need to have an insane volume of work experience days. Its the insight and understanding of the career that medical schools are testing. So don’t let your work experience stress you out.

If you have the opportunity to take part or enrol in work experience, I would encourage you to. But remember that you don’t need loads and you can get insight into the career through loads of different ways!

Be honest with yourself. How much of your revision is just… consuming?

Watching. Highlighting. Rewriting notes. Organising flashcards.

It feels productive. It looks productive. But its just tricking yourself. And this won’t get you A*s.

There are three types of revision you need to be doing. But most most students only ever do one.

1. Input - reading, watching, reviewing notes
2. Processing - blurting, teaching it out loud, summarising from memory
3. Output - timed exam questions, mark schemes, harsh self-marking

Medicine applicants who meet their offers spend most of their time in output and least amount of time in input. Why? Because A-levels don’t test what you recognise but what you can recall and apply. You get marks for precision under time limits.

Here’s how to fix your study approach immediately:

• After every 30 minutes of input, do 15 minutes of blurting.
• Every study session must end with exam questions.
• Once a week, sit a timed section properly - these could be questions by topic or full exam papers
• Mark brutally and identify patterns in mistakes

This approach will feel uncomfortable at first, because you realise how much content you don’t know. And that can feel scary. But your goal in revision shouldn’t be to make yourself feel smart. Its to train your brain for the exam.

And that’s where your growth happens. And growth now prevents panic in June.

If you want support to stay consistent, reduce stress, and maximise your chances of meeting your medicine offer, email me at loveleenj241@gmail.com. Spaces are limited to keep sessions small, focused, and tailored to you. Let’s revise to win marks.

As someone who received 4/4 offers and was in the first batch of offer holders at both King’s College London and the University of Birmingham, I’ve poured everything I know into creating the best possible interview resources, so you can achieve your dream of studying medicine. If you want to get your medicine offers, check out my interview resources on my website!

Additionally, you can check out my website for resources such as the A* AQA A-level psychology notes and my notes templated designed in an active recall format.

📸Here are the links to each of my social media pages, so make sure you follow! In all, I detail the advice and tips you need to help make your application to medicine so much easier! If you ever need any help, feel free to reach out to me at loveleenj241@gmail.com