depth of interest qs

Question 1

talk us through your personal statement / three key points:

Answer 1

key points = grandfather w small cell lung cancer
- work experience in general surgery and witnessed benign gastric tumour removal
- read article by nlm of challenging issues in paediatric oncology
- stem smart programme 2 years and dedication + jenny zhang semi artificial photosynthesis used create clean energy
- tutor gcse chem students
- public speaking qualification
- literacy leader
- individual needs mentor

Question 2

do you read any publications relevant to your interest in medicine? tell us abt interesting article read recently

Answer 2

• oxford one cancer
• ucl one about CAR T cells in cancer treatment
• challenges in paediatric oncology
• listen to bmj podcasts
• stay updates w new developments in med by reading rsm newsletter

Question 3

have you heard about any public health campaigns recently? what is ur opinion on role of public health campaigns in med?

Answer 3

eg. act fast - symptoms of stroke - acronym face arms speech and time + childhood obesity = 1 in 7 children age between 2 and 15 were obese

Question 4

have you thought about what you would like to specialise in ?

Answer 4

express reserach or book read and also link to work experience, and show awareness of specialties that are out there (nhs virtual day showing diff opportunities in healthcare)
show you aware that your opinion could change and youre excited to be exposed to all aspects of med + have many years to make decision

Question 5

have you read any interesting research lately?

Answer 5

CART T Cell research by UCL and UCH - into gene mutations and effect on cancer treatment, body can then learn to attack the foreign cancer cells and reduces the need for radiation - makes easier and increases rate of treatment

oxford research abt blood tests being used to pick up on earlier detection of cancers, so can be diagnosed and treated earlier, before severe symptoms start to develop, decreasing cancer’s mortality rate

Question 6

what have you learnt abt med from doctors spoken to?

Answer 6

• in work experience and also as relative of patient (grandfather w cancer) and understanding of how rewarding it can be, but also what like on day to day life and challenges they face, how they overcome them (mdt team and communication + teamwork etc..)
• show you understand vast responsibility and how that can be balanced out by rewards of being able to treat and rehabilitate patients, but also important that the stress can be managed, having support system
• address idea there is still so much more for me to learn and there are some aspects only really learnt by experience

Question 7

what do you think is the most exciting recent development in medicine?

Answer 7

cancer + link to AI development- focus on link to ai and link between ai + reduction in waiting times for gp appts
- nhs - backed study shows 73% reduction in gp waiting times using ai triage system (smart triage) which made the care system producing an equitable, safe care approach based on clinical need rather than first come first served basis
- reduced need for repeat appts as well, as they received correct care on their first visit
- ai can also help w diagnosis and making it easier to do so, as they can analyse datasets and scans in seconds, which helps w lack of radiologists in uk as reading scans is a very slow and time consuming process = frees time up for other help etc…
- institute of cancer research in london = protype ai test which can predict drug combos for cancer treatment in 24-48 hours, using large scale data samples from tumours to predict patient response to drugs more accurately than current methods

Question 8

what do you think the most important development in medicine has been ?

Answer 8

-several ways to answer + diff perspectives
- introduction of technology in medicine, not just of x rays and cts, but basic computers
- vaccines, edward jenner, w the smallpox virus and cowpox, but was able to stop amt preventable deaths such as smallpox, cholera, tb, rabies etc…

Question 9

have you taken on any extracurricular projects that demonstrate your interest in medicine?

Answer 9

• bio society
• leadership opportunity
• enforce content and biology and wider reading aspect of medicine
• literacy leaders and individual needs mentor = more communication skills and focuses more on soft skills that are needed from doctors practically and help shape doctors

Question 10

how important is evidence based practice in medicine?

Answer 10

ebm = combines high quality research w personal clinical exp and patient preferences
NICE guidelines = evidence based recommendations for health and care in england and wales = promote good health and promote improvement of quality of care and services = evidence from clinicians exp and experts and carers and public

Question 11

how have you demonstrated your commitment to medicine?

Answer 11

stem smart programme focused on biology and chemistry and being able to link to practical aspects - jenny han photosynthesis lecture and showed commitmment, doing for 2 years - shows commitment and interest in medicine sustained over long period of time