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The School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition

FAQs

FAQs

General

Academic Requirements

Non-Academic Requirements

Interview

Deferred Entry

Previous Years Admission Data

 

General

When should students hear the results of an application?

  • Interviews take place from around September to October each year. You will receive confirmation from the Admissions department when we receive your application, but you may not hear from us again until you are invited to interview, or a decision has been made about your application. You may contact the Admissions department to check the status of your application.

Do all Schools have the same admissions policy?

  • No, many are very similar but academic requirements, interview policy and undergraduate curricula may vary. Students should research the entry requirements and admissions procedure at each individual institution and plan their school studies and application accordingly.

What funding is available for the course?

Will I be able to work whilst I am studying?

  • As you will see from the Student Profiles this course is two years long and very intensive. There is a lot of material to cover in a short time so students may find it difficult to undertake part-time work.

Will I be able to practise as a PA in the USA once I have qualified?

    • As it stands, this qualification does not allow students to practise as a Physician Assistant in the USA.

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Academic Requirements

What if my degree isn't a health related medical science?

  • We recommend that potential applicants send a copy of their degree transcript to medadm@abdn.ac.uk for clarification on their degree suitability. Please send as much information as possible including module titles and content.

Can I still apply if I don’t have Chemistry at Higher or A-Level?

  • If you do not meet the standard entry requirements for the Physician Associate course we recommend that you contact the Medical Admissions department for advice

If I have experience in healthcare can I apply without an honours degree?

  • If you do not meet the standard entry requirements for the Physician Assistant course we recommend that you contact the Medical Admissions department for advice.

I have a 2.2 Honours degree but wish to study as a Physician Associate. If I undertake an MSc will this improve my chances of acceptance?

  • Due to the large number of graduate applicants with 2.1 Honours degrees or better, an additional qualification such as an MSc is unlikely to improve the chances of acceptance. We recommend that you contact the Medical Admissions department for advice (medadm@abdn.ac.uk).

What happens if I fail to meet a conditional offer made?

  • If you are in any doubt about meeting the conditions of your offer please contact Medical Admissions.

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Non-Academic Requirements

Can I submit additional information to support my application?

  • We are happy to receive such paperwork, but advise that documents should be sent to Medical Admissions at the time that the application form is submitted. Only then can we guarantee that this information will be linked to the application in time to be sent to Selectors when the forms are scored.

Should I list all my prepaid employment, or just relevant work-experience?

  • Relevant experience is very useful, but there are often problems in obtaining this. What we are looking for is an understanding of what a career as a Physician Associate entails, and that your perceptions aren’t just based on what you have seen on TV! In addition, you should list all your paid employment, expanding on what you’ve learnt from it in your personal statement.

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Interview

Do you interview applicants?

  • We apply an Objective Scoring System to the application, to produce a score that, in combination with an academic score, shortlists for interview. Each year we plan to interview about 40 applicants. This is an opportunity for us to meet you and assess non-academic attributes that are difficult to assess on paper, such as communication skills. It is also a chance for you to demonstrate why you want to be a Physician Associate, ask questions and visit the medical school.

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Deferred Entry

Can I apply for deferred entry?

  • If you are considering deferring your application, we recommend that you contact the Admissions department in advance.

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Admissions Data for 2016 Entry

Domicile

Applicants (%)

Interviews (%)

Offers (%)

Entrants (%)

Home/EU

51 (78%)

35 (90%)

25 (70%)

16 (84%)

Overseas

14 (22%)

4 (10%)

3 (30%)

3 (16%)

Total

65 (100%)

39 (100%)

28 (100%)

19 (100%)
Gender

Applicants (%)

Interviews (%)

Offers (%)

Entrants (%)

Male

19 (29%)

10 (26%)

10 (43%)

3 (16%)

Female

46 (71%)

29 (74%)

13 (57%)

16 (41%)

Total

65 (100%)

39 (100%)

28 (100%)

19 (100%)