Medicine at University of Chester Medical School (GEM) & Interview Questions 2025

Overview of Chester Medical School

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Graduate Entry Only

Chester Medical School, a part of the University of Chester, offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in biomedical and life sciences, as well as medical practice. The school is set to launch its four-year Graduate Entry Medicine (GEM) course from September 2024, providing a unique opportunity for students with a previous degree in any discipline to pursue a medical degree.

The GEM program at Chester Medical School is designed to accommodate students from diverse backgrounds, not just those with a scientific or healthcare-related degree. Currently open only to international students, the school plans to extend this opportunity to home students soon. The first cohort will commence in 2024, and the program is undergoing the General Medical Council's (GMC) quality assurance process to ensure high educational standards.

The GEM course will be delivered mainly at the Chester campus with facilities at Exton Park, Wheeler Building, and Bache Hall. Students will be partnered with several NHS sites for practical exposure. The course comprises 160 teaching weeks, with approximately 100 weeks dedicated to clinical placements across Cheshire, Shropshire, and North Wales.

Year One focuses on university-based teaching, with learning organized into five blocks of five weeks each. The curriculum utilizes Case-Based Learning (CBL) as the central teaching method, supplemented by lectures, seminars, and clinical skills sessions. Students will have early patient contact and will be exposed to various clinical settings, including state-of-the-art simulation suites, hospitals, general practices, and community placements.

Assessment includes formative assessments at the end of each teaching block and summative assessments at the end of years 1, 2, and 4. Upon successful completion, students will be awarded a Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Chester, enabling them to work as Foundation Year 1 doctors in the UK or equivalent posts overseas.

Chester Medical School is committed to delivering a high-quality medical education, with Warwick Medical School as its contingency school to ensure students' progression and completion.

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Chester Medicine Course Structure

The Chester Medical School's Graduate Entry Medicine (GEM) course is a four-year program with a focus on Case-Based Learning (CBL). The course structure is as follows:

Year 1:

University-based teaching on Chester campus
Organized into five blocks of five weeks each, covering various medical topics
Patient contact and clinical skills training from the first term

Year 2:

Divided into three main blocks: Advanced Cases 1, Core Clinical Education, and Student Selected Component (SSC)
Transition to a greater amount of teaching in the clinical environment
Core Clinical Education includes time spent in various medical specialties
SSC allows students to explore a particular topic in greater depth

Year 3:

Majority of teaching based in the community, general practice, and NHS hospitals
Divided into three main blocks: Student Selected Component, Advanced Cases 2, and Specialist Clinical Placements
Specialist Clinical Placements cover eight specialties, with six placements in Year 3 and the remaining two in Year 4

Year 4:

Divided into four blocks: Specialist Clinical Placements, Elective, Advanced Clinical Cases, and Assistantship
Elective allows students to undertake a medical project in a setting of their choice, often outside the UK
Advanced Clinical Cases helps consolidate knowledge and practice skills in a practical clinical context
Assistantship prepares students for work as a Foundation Year 1 doctor, integrating them within a clinical team

Teaching methods include small group seminars, clinical skills and simulation sessions, and larger lecture theaters. There are 160 teaching weeks over the four years, with around 100 weeks in clinical placements across Cheshire, Shropshire, and North Wales. Students are assessed through formative assessments at the end of each teaching block and summative assessments at the end of years 1, 2, and 4.

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Chester Medical School Entry Requirements - Medicine

GCSE

We do not look at school-leaving qualifications as part of admissions criteria.

A Levels

We do not look at school-leaving qualifications as part of admissions criteria.

Scottish Higher

We do not look at school-leaving qualifications as part of admissions criteria.

Scottish Advanced

We do not look at school-leaving qualifications as part of admissions criteria.

Degree (Graduates)

BSc 2.1 or above. 2.2 degree accepted with Masters or Doctorate.

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Admission Tests for Chester Medical School

UCAT

Yes

How Does Chester Medical School Look At The UCAT?

Chester UCAT Cut Off 2024 for 2025 Entry

UCAT is one of the entry criteria for graduate entry and you must meet the minimum threshold mark, there is no current information as to what this is.

Note: It is only available for graduates for 2024 entry

Meeting the minimum threshold mark in either UCAT, GAMSAT or MCAT. The total score required to secure a place at an MBChB Selection Centre varies year on year and is dependent upon the performance of all applicants. The acceptable threshold score includes a verbal reasoning score at or above the mean for the cohort in the year of application. Please see below for guidance on our entry thresholds.

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👉🏼 Latest UCAT Cut Off Scores Per Medical School (Updated for 2025 Entry)

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BMAT

GAMSAT

👉🏼 Graduate Entry Medicine Guide 2025

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Course Information

Graduate Entry

Yes - exclusively for graduate entrants only

Intercalation

Applications : Place

Application Statistics (Home)

Application Statistics (International)

Applications : Interview

International Student Tuition Fee

The international student fee per year is £44000

👉🏼 UK Medical School tuition fees for International Students (2025)

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Work Experience Requirements for Chester Medical School

Cardiff Medical School require you to have completed at least 70 hours of work experience relevant to medicine. By 'relevant', we mean roles which give you an insight into the work of the NHS or other healthcare system, the role of a doctor or other health professional, and the perspective of patients or carers.

For the 2024-2025 admissions cycle (2025 entry) Cardiff Medical School accept work experience gained over the last 3 years (from 15th October 2021 to 15 October 2024).

If you are training or working as a health professional with direct patient/service user contact, we require evidence of your training or work plus an online/virtual 'work experience' course such as this free one from Brighton & Sussex Medical School: https://bsmsoutreach.thinkific.com/courses/VWE
If you are not training or working as a health professional, with direct patient/service user contact you must demonstrate at least two relevant work experiences.

• One work experience must be in a role with direct hands-on care of people/patients with healthcare needs (paid or voluntary).

• The other role(s) can be shadowing a health professional in the course of their work or completion of an online/virtual ‘work experience’ course such as this free course provided by Brighton & Sussex Medical School

(an online course can only count for a maximum of 10 hours towards the total 70 hours minimum work experience.)

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How does Chester look at the personal statement for medicine?

No information given.

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Does This Medical School Have A Gateway or Foundation Year?

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Description

Criteria

Interview Questions

InterviewQuestions

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Chester Medical School Interview Questions 2025

Key Details

- Chester Medical School's interview is the MMI (Multiple Mini Interview) format

6 stations
lasts approximately 1.5hrs
The detail of the stations will change each year, but all are designed to assess against GMC guidance on ‘Good Medical Practice’. You will be observed and scored at each station by two trained assessors. Assessors come from a range of backgrounds and include medical professionals, academics, current students and lay people with an interest in medical education. On completion of the MMI process, each candidate's score profile is carefully reviewed to determine which candidates will be made an offer.

Interview Dates

Usually take place from December - February each year

Key Aspects

Chester has not provided any information on their MMI topics - here are some that we would prepare just in case:

Motivation to study medicine

Why medicine?
Why Chester?
What did you learn from your work experience?
What do you know about the Chester Medicine course? How is it taught?
What is the remote rural practice offered by Chester medical school?
What is the difference between medicine in cities and in rural areas in Chester?
Why do you think you will be well suited to this course?
Why medicine and not dentistry or nursing?
Tell us about your volunteering
What are your hobbies?
What are the negatives of a career in medicine?
What are the careers of your family?
Are you the 1st of your siblings to go to University?
How are you going to finance medical school?
What first made you realise you wanted to be a doctor?
What would you do if you didn’t get into medical school this year?
Give us an example of a time when you have cared for others.

Personal Insight

Why should patients trust you?
What are your best qualities?
How do you manage stress?
Give us an example of a time when you demonstrated resilience.
Give us an example of a time when you demonstrated teamwork.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
How would your friends describe you?
Tell us about an article that you have recently read.
Should doctors always tell the truth?

NHS & Local Area

What changes would you make to the NHS if you could?
How would you manage a public health campaign?
How would you improve the local A&E department?
What are the NHS values and why are they important?
What is it like to be a doctor?
How do you deal with overpopulation?
What do you know about the local area here in Chester?
What are the biggest issues surrounding non-communicable diseases on a local, national and international level?
What are the main challenges that face the NHS?
How has COVID changed the way the NHS operates?
What do you think are going to be the long-term consequences of COVID on the NHS?
How does the healthcare system differ here compared to other areas in the UK?