Mentoring at the UKMedTips summer school
The UKMedTips summer school is a free for all widening participation initiative designed to help students in Years 11 to 13 aspiring to study medicine. Taking its first cohort in 2021 in which we helped over 50 students, the volunteer-led summer school provides students with 1-2-1 mocks for the multiple mini interviews, personal statement feedback, entrance exam preparation and access to a multitude of live workshops on an array of related topics such as medical ethics, routes into medicine, strategic application and many more.
I would love to work with individuals who are passionate about widening participation and would like to channel their passion into action. Mentoring with the summer school can do exactly this as well as provide you with experience working as a tutor and holding presentations. It is a flexible role in the sense that you can commit to as much or as little as you like.
Please see the google forms, linked under the 'sign up to be a mentor' button to see further details about the role.
My Story
Why I created UKMedTips
When I realised in late year 12 that I wanted to commit to applying to medicine, I started a journey which led to me finding some gaps in support for WP students. I went to a school that didn't have many students from WP backgrounds and while this didn't have much effect within the schools walls before this , I came to notice the barriers in support the closer I got to accessing university. Between preparatory courses on the application costing hundreds of pounds, glamourous work experience opportunities and not knowing anyone in the field I was hoping to enter besides my own GP, my confidence in the attainability of medicine shook a bit.
I applied to medicine twice, finding out about WAMS, organisations dedicated to supporting WP students, contextual offers and more in the second year, the whole time thinking 'I wish I had someone to tell me this'
Medical admissions were not designed with people from WP backgrounds in mind, and while universities are making changes, sometimes these do not reach the people who would benefit most. I believe organisations that work directly with applicants, schools and supporting adults, help to bridge the support gap for WP students.
FAQ
Get Informed
How much of my time do I have to commit?
As much or as little as you are willing to offer, everything helps!
For example a mentor could;
Agree to provide personal statement feedback for one student, which I may take them between 30 mins to 1.5 hours to do.
Agree to provide an online 1-to-1 mmi mock session with feedback, for which preparatory materials are provided and the session lasting between 50-70 mins
Agree to host an online workshop, lasting between 40-90 mins, with an estimated 1-2 hours spent preparing for this
Will you provide certificates for my portfolio?
I will provide certificates for all mentors on request, and I will ask for details for these after the final day of the summer school.
Do I need to have previous experience in mentoring to apply for this role?
Not at all! Experience is a great plus, but please don't let inexperience stop you from applying to be a mentor, we all have to start somewhere!
The baseline requirement for all mentors volunteering with the summer school is to be keenly interested in mentoring and working in widening participation. All necessary introductory materials will be provided by me and I will always make myself accessible to answer questions and support fellow mentors.
Do I need to be a medical student in order to be a mentor?
For the most part yes, and I will require students to contact me atleast once via their university emails, confirming that they are medical students.
Last year I was lucky to have 2 veterinary medicine students and 1 dentistry student also helping with the summer school, so spaces were made for some aspiring vets and dentists. If you are a vet or dentistry student, please do apply (call it the UKMedTipsPlus summer school!)
"I really enjoyed my time as a mentor with UKMedTips in 2021, as I got to work alongside a super friendly and motivated team to provide high-quality mentoring and priceless advice to an amazing group of aspiring medics. I especially enjoyed having the opportunity to work 1-to-1 with students when providing personal statement feedback. All in all, it was a great, and really rewarding experience!"