Question Answer Points

Question 1

what would you do if you were unsuccessful at getting into medicine this year

Answer 1

• didn’t apply for a 5th non-medical option as wanted to just reapply for medicine next year
• start by travel, perspective, privilege
• hospital volunteer abroad
• dedicate the month of august to the next application cycle, interview skills
• now 18, return to hospital
• continue work, savings, understand reality of 5yr student

Question 2

dissection club

Answer 2

• why i wanted to start
• advertising at activities fair and sixth form centre
• running out of lab coats and goggles
• saw girls pulling out the spine and chopping off the heads of rats
• interpersonal & communication skills
• presentation and research skills -> real photos annotated rather than digital diagrams
• responsibility of choosing what to dissect while taking into account costs

Question 3

catherines hospice

Answer 3

• group of us, some i was friends some never spoken to
• therefore learnt to work with strangers, how everyone communicates, who needs space created for them to speak
• utilising contacts - costco card for cheaper snacks
• movie night, disco, raffle, doughnut sale
• problem solving: low uptake on movie night tickets so how fixed -> adaptability
• learnt from mistakes so got feedback before we started planning disco -> my role going to forms
• presentation at the end -> thinking on feet when asked questions, profesisonalism

Question 4

academic mentor

Answer 4

• paired up based on subject
• chemistry = several ways to explain topic, understanding only meeting once a week is difficult, finding ways to teach something that i may have found came easier
• interesting to think about how different peoples brains work and how they learn
• girl approached for maths help
• joy to teach as i think our brains work in a similar way so explaining my thought process also worked for her
• when on study leave i gave her my snap, using video and voice recordings to work through Qs
• she got an 8
• which i dont claim any responsibility for as anyone who takes the initiative and has courage to find the right person to help was going to succeed -> something i have adopted in my own life
• would love to continue teaching as a doctor

Question 5

open water lifeguard

Answer 5

• multitasking of reception - most often on my own dealing with multiple tasks
• most challengin time of the cross over between sessions and how i prepared for that (coffee, payment)
• prioritisation of getting people checked in before cafe duties
• a lot of non-members so welcoming them and describing where facilities are -> knowing when to delegate to head lifeguard
• trustworthy = locking up and overseeing last sauna session, sweeping, setting alarms, ensuring no one left on premises, turning off switched of fire hazards
• made in chelsea filming -> standing up for rules & safety

Question 6

waitress

Answer 6

• no sections - constantly taking initiative = empty glasses, customers trying to make eye contact
• prioritisation - taking food to tables before clearing/taking orders
• organisation - many separate areas = private rooms, garden, games, decking, main and fireplace areas - thinking about reducing trips and forward thinking what the tables need
• short term memory (seeing something need to do when hands full)
• going beyond job spec -> picking up food from floor, tidying games area
• adaptability = different roles between different shifts: closing = wiping cutlery, filling sauces and candles,,, events nights = platters of food,,, summer months = more outside tables so more difficult to keep eye on their progress

Question 7

Pentathlon

Answer 7

• OCR change: loss of horse riding, where i started, upper body strength, seeing bigger picture and didnt want to quit, long time to be even competent (even now i am slightly better than average internationally = proud), even now being realistic its still not my favourite === resilience, grit, discipline, dedication
• organisation - missing school & catching up, independent learning & homework in the car
• independence - solo competition travel to foreign countries, supermarket trips for food, dealing with forgotten items
• ability to deal with failure

Question 8

Plank lady

Answer 8

• impressed by her courage - brave enough to be crossing at all let alone after such a scary fall
• respected her for allowing me to help = not too proud or embarrassed to say actually yes could you come stand here

Question 9

how do you cope with stress

Answer 9

• got used to dealing with stress competing at a high level since a young age & then having to catch up missed school on return often independently
• exercise, knowing my run routes so can truly switch off, (look forward to finding similar in this city), combined with my love of reading using audiobooks
• like baking too -> longer projects that take half a day and teach me some sort of technical skill, pretty scientific so it pleases that side of my brain, making all the different components and then seeing them all come together is my kind of activity
• great support network within my family, both parents and brothers are all uniquely beneficial to talk to = why this uni is perfectly located
• personally when i need a break i start to zone out and stare off into the distance so i have learnt that is my signal to go for a run

Question 10

why medicine

Question 11

tell me about your work experience

Answer 11

• Angelo at fetal medicine clinic = favourite doctor
• Very young man = unconditional trust in doctor
• Healthcare assistant = communication and teamwork
• Link to cornea through patience of working with the public (man who put his finger splint on wrong to kid with the eye scan)
• Both perseverance and adaptability - knowing when to try another route but not stopping at the first sign of a struggle