Lead the pack in dog-eat-dog selection
Sarah Shore and Claire Spolton Dean discuss the benefits of a broader medical education.
Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) was designed to nationalise and increase the efficacy of postgraduate training via the implementation of the Foundation Programme in 2005 and a revised Specialist Training programme in 2007. Consequently from 2007 there have been two competitive entry points, both to the Foundation Programme and for Specialist Training posts. Additionally, the Department of Health’s stated policy since 1997 has been to increase the number of undergraduate medical school places to sustain the future demands of the NHS. Since the Tooke Report has highlighted a number of concerns regarding MMC, medical students must remain competitive in this unstable period of educational reform.
What can undergraduates do to remain competitive?
The General Medical Council’s pivotal document, Tomorrow’s Doctors, states that ‘factual information must be kept to the essential minimum that students need at this stage of medical education. Learning opportunities must help students explore knowledge, and evaluate and integrate (bring together) evidence critically. The curriculum must motivate students and help them develop the skills for self-directed learning’. (1) These skills are of paramount importance to successful clinical practice, providing invaluable skills that will be applicable throughout not only the remainder of your undergraduate medical course but also your professional career. Whilst the GMC recognises the limitations of the undergraduate medical courses in encouraging autonomous study and the ability to critically appraise information, an intercalated degree programme develops these skills. Moreover, a prospective longitudinal study by McManus and colleagues[iv] found that students that pursue an intercalated degree often find that their approach to independent study is enhanced.
What do I need to consider?
It can be a difficult and daunting process to decide if intercalating is the best choice for you and to find the most suitable course. As with any decision, there are many factors to consider. These differ with personal circumstances and with the wide variety of courses available nationally (summarised in Box 1).
| Box 1: What may influence the decision to intercalate |
| Personal considerations:
Finances Social factors Pastoral care Most appropriate time to intercalate Rejoining medicine with the year below |
| Course considerations:
Course subject Course institution Course structure Course assessment Course pre-requisites Deadlines for applications procedures |
| Research:
Laboratory project or literature-based project Publication opportunities Research reputation of department and supervisor(s’) credentials |
For many UK medical schools, intercalated programmes comprise a mandatory component of the undergraduate curriculum. Even where such courses are not obligatory, some schools provide comprehensive information on the programmes available. Others, however, do not, and students without this impetus to intercalate or the appropriate support to research relevant information may therefore be at a disadvantage, and indeed many students have found sourcing information to aid their decision time-consuming and frustrating. These perceived obstacles may discourage many prospective students from intercalating despite the ease with which they may be overcome. This phenomenon may also impact upon dental and veterinary students.
Where is this information available?
As a result of our own experiences in making this important decision and the difficulties that we have encountered, we have been involved with the development of a project that brings together details of every intercalated course that is available nationally, both at BSc and MSc (or equivalent) level. This web-based resource has been designed to facilitate the decision to intercalate, and help you find a course that is most suitable for you quickly and effectively. This website does not require registration or subscription and is available here.
Reflections on intercalating
In our experience, early research was a significant help in making the best decision regarding intercalating and we found that finding information on funding and scholarships was fundamental in making our choice. Initially this information was difficult to find, but prolonged investigation yielded a number of organisations that provided generous funding to intercalating medical students, which have been detailed on the aforementioned website along with information on the points listed in Box 1.
Although it was more difficult to overcome these hurdles than we had anticipated, now considerably easier since this project has been launched, our experiences from intercalation have only been positive. Although we undertook different degree courses, the transferable skills that we have acquired in the past year are already apparent. We feel confident that when we recommence our medical studies the knowledge that we have gleaned will complement our clinical practice and ease the transition into postgraduate medical education.
Sarah Shore, third year HYMS medical student, BSc (Hons) in Medical Sciences shore.sarah@gmail.com
Claire Spolton Dean, third year HYMS medical student, BSc (Hons) in Medical Sciences
(1) McManus, IC, Richards P, Winder BC (1999) Intercalated degrees, learning styles, and career preferences: prospective longitudinal study of UK medical students. British Medical Journal, 319: 542-546