If you’ve always wanted to be a doctor and you live in inner London, but you’re not sure you’ll get the grades, check this scheme called Access to Medicine. Mia Morris of our Agony team has got all the details for you. It could be just what you need... Access to Medicine Programme First year Celebration- Marked by the Damiola Taylor Trust The Access to Medicine Project run by the Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ School of Medicine has recently celebrated its first year of operations. The project consists of a wide-ranging programme of events for local schools and a six-year extended degree course. It has been designed to help and encourage bright and talented young people from less advantaged backgrounds living in five inner London boroughs (Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and the City of Westminster) to study at medical school. It is hoped to expand the project’s work to other Excellence in Cities boroughs in London over the next few months. This year the Damiola Taylor Trust gave a generous contribution to the project, which included funds for prizes for those students who had performed exceptionally well during the first year of the extended medical degree. Richard Taylor, Damilola’s father, said "Gloria and I set up the Damilola Taylor Trust to provide a lasting memory to our son and to help others achieve the ambitions he himself hoped to achieve. One of our three key aims is to encourage and support disadvantaged youths, particularly with financial or bursary support for other young people like Damilola, who want to study medicine. That is why the Trust chose to support the Access to Medicine Project at King’s College London. There are some groups of children who aren’t allowed to fulfil their ambition and who may not have the opportunity, which allows them to go for their dreams. We hope that we can help them fulfil their ambitions. That is what the Trust is all about." Dr Pamela Garlick, Course Director of the Access to Medicine Programme at King’s, said: "The College is very proud of the nine students currently on the Access to Medicine Programme. Their achievements are definitely something to celebrate. We are also honoured that our students should be the first to receive awards from the Damilola Taylor Trust and must thank the Trust for their generosity. The initiative came from a desire to create better links with the local communities around King’s and to raise the aspirations of the pupils in local schools. We believe doctors should come from all sectors of society, not just the most privileged." Students at Dunraven School investigate sicklecell anaemia Access to Medicine activities in action at work and in practice An innovative aspect of this course is that it allows students to study at a slower pace and with greater support during the first three years of their studies. Students are recruited on the basis of their potential and suitability for medical training rather than simply their actual performance at GCSE and A level. This alternative route of entry to medicine entails equally rigorous assessment procedures, devised by the renowned Department of Education & Professional Studies at King's College London, that test student’s potential for coping with a medical course. One of the current Access to Medicine student said, "I was worried at the start that I might not have been able to cope, but the course is very well organised and the tutors encourage you to contact them if you have any problems. Any doubts I had at the start vanished halfway through the first semester." The programme is supported by a range of outreach activities run in conjunction with local schools and community organizations, which is funded by the Pool of London Partnership, an organization dedicated to improving the physical, social and economic environment in North Southwark. Students from Morpeth School take a hospital visit to check out the equipment This outreach work includes a successful peer mentoring programme, experiential learning activities designed to support and enhance the school science curriculum and a range of career taster days. Given the length of programme a lot of work goes into preparing students for the demands and length of study. But the message from the Project is clear – they can offer a lot to help prepare local young people for a career in medicine, but the people who stand the best chance of success are those with a high degree of commitment, self motivation and good time management skills. Patrick Vernon is Director of the Brent Health Action Zone and is also involved with the Chief Medical Officer as he is a working party member of Race in Medicine . He is possibly the most highly placed black manager for the NHS, and also sits on the Black Londoners forum Committee which looks at policies of the Greater London .Authority. Here’s what he thinks of the Access to Medicine Programme: "The Access to Medicine program is a powerful and innovative program which should be available to young people from disadvantaged communities. A borough like Brent which has the highest concentration of Caribbean descendents would be proud to have a similar initiative set up, as it would go someway to redress the balance." So if you are living and studying at a state school or further education college in Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets or the City of Westminster, are committed in a career in medicine but do not feel that you will achieve high enough grades to get you into conventional medical degrees, this could be the course for you. We will aim to bring you further updates on this scheme during Science Year. Further details of the Access to Medicine Project and information on how to apply for the extended medical degree can be found at: www.kcl.ac.uk/accesstomedicine Go Back