Insight to Healthcare

This programme is aimed at Year 12 students in Greater London who are interested in studying one of the following healthcare courses in the future:

• Medicine
• Paramedic Science
• Physiotherapy

By being involved in the programme you will attend five core events. During these sessions you will gain valuable insight into your chosen subject pathway, including developing the skills needed for a future in healthcare and understanding the key components required to submit a strong application. You will also have the coveted opportunity to meet a healthcare professional, gaining a greater knowledge of the career and having your questions answered.

The Insight to Healthcare programme will consist of five core sessions. 

The structure of the programme will be as follows:

• Programme Launch – The introduction session will take place on Saturday 29 March from 09:30am to 2:30pm. During this event you will be introduced to the programme, getting to meet some of our current students and other participants. You will also get to find out more about teaching at a university level. This session will take place on campus at St George's, University of London.
• Clinical skills - In this session you will get the chance to visit our clinical skills labs to practice some key clinical skills healthcare professionals need, such as taking a patient's blood pressure or basic life support. This session will take place onsite at St George's, University of London on Saturday 10 May from 9:30am to 2:30pm.
• Meet the Professional – During this virtual session you will meet a healthcare professional in your chosen field. In small groups, you will find out more about their role, the skills required for the pathway and how these are applied to provide excellent patient care. You will be required to attend one session from the following dates in June: 10 (Medicine only), 11, 12, 17 and 18. This session will take place online from 5:00pm to 7:00pm on one of the outlined dates. We will request your availability when you apply for the programme and will endeavour to give you your first choice where possible.
• Work Experience - All students will be invited to attend a work experience opportunity in the form of either shadowing or an onsite skills day, depending on your strand.
  • For students on the medicine strand, you will have 1 to 2 days of in-person work experience between either 4 - 8 August, and/or 11 - 13 August. This will take place either in one of our partner GP practices in South London or onsite at St George's Hospital*. Prior to your work experience, you will be required to attend an online work experience preparation session on Tuesday 29 July, 5:00pm - 6:00pm.
  • For students on the paramedic science or physiotherapy strands, you will have a one-day onsite skills session whereby you'll visit the teaching facilities onsite and work through a variety of activities in our teaching spaces onsite at St George's. Your skills day will take place on either 23 July for paramedics students, or 24 July for physiotherapy students.
• Reflection Session – We will finish the session with a celebration of your achievements, where you will have the opportunity to reflect on the programme. In addition, we will explore the application process, with an emphasis on preparing for interviews and how to use reflective practice to speak about your experiences and suitability. You will also end the session with a tour of the campus. This session will take place in-person at St Georges, University of London, on Saturday 13 September between 9:30am to 2:30pm.

Throughout the programme, you’ll be working directly with current healthcare students, gaining insight into areas of the application process and finding out more about student life and what its like to study at university.

*Please note, work experience placements for students on the medicine strand will be contingent on placement supervisor availability. As such, whilst we will strive to provide all students with at least one day of shadowing, please be aware this cannot be guaranteed. You are not able to chose your placement location or speciality.

If you are a student on the Medicine strand, you will be required to work through the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Observe GP work experience platform before your 'Meet the Professional' session. This will help you come to the session equipped to fully participate and consider any questions you might wish to ask the GP.

For participants on the Paramedic Science or Physiotherapy strands, we may also ask you to review additional resources to help you prepare for the programme and your 'Meet the Professional' session.

You will also need to ensure that you can commit to attend all the sessions in the programme. In addition, you will be expected to come prepared for each session and participate fully.

• Programme Launch – Saturday 29 March, 09:30 to 2:30pm, in-person at St George's, University of London.
• Clinical Skills - Saturday 10 May, 9:30am to 2:30pm, in-person at St George's, University of London.
• Meet the Professional – One session on either 10 (Medicine only), 11, 12, 17 or 18 June, 5pm to 7pm, online.
• Work Experience -
  • For medics this will take place on two dates across the week commencing 4 and 11 August. Medics will also have a work experience preparation session online on Tuesday 29 July, 05:00pm to 06:00pm to support you to feel prepared for your shadowing opportunity.
  • For students on the physiotherapy and paramedics strands, you will have a one day skills session will take place on either the 23 July (paramedic science) or 24 July (physiotherapy).
• Reflection Session – Saturday 13 September, 09:30am to 2:30pm, in person at St George's, University of London.

 

To be eligible to apply, students need to meet the minimum eligibility criteria:

• Currently in Year 12
• Currently attending a non-selective college/sixth form in Greater London
• Interested in studying one of either medicine, paramedic science or physiotherapy at university
• Be academically on track to study your chosen subject in future (Please check our course entry requirements before applying)
• Be committed to attending all sessions required for the programme. Please note, this will include visiting us onsite for several of the sessions at our campus in Tooting
• Have a device with internet access, a microphone and a webcam to join virtual sessions
• Submit a short 300 word maximum personal statement explaining why you'd like to be involved in the programme. This is contained in the application form

Please note, we have a limited number of places on the programme. As such, where we have more applicants than participants on the programme, we will select participants based on how closely their application meets our contextual admissions policy. This criteria includes:

• Care Experienced Students (Care Leavers)
• Students with Care Responsibilities (Carers)
• Refugees and Asylum Seekers
• Estranged Students
• Go to a school with an average A level grade of C- or below - You can check if your school is eligible either on our website, or using the following link hosted there.
• Go to a school with low progression to Higher Education - You can check if your school is eligible either on our website, or using the following link hosted there.
• Live in an area where very few people go on to Higher Education – You can check your postcode here.
• Live in an area with higher levels of deprivation – You can check your postcode here.
• In receipt of free school meals – This includes if you have been, or are currently in receipt of free school meals.

Further details of all the above criteria, including why they are used, can be found on the contextual admissions section of our website.

Students will be prioritised based on how closely they meet the eligibility criteria for the programme and shortlisted accordingly should we have a high number of applications. We will also review and confirm all information supplied where needed. If you’re unsure about whether you meet any of the criteria for the programme, you can contact the team on wp@sgul.ac.uk.

Applications for Insight to Healthcare 2025 are now live. 

You can apply for the programme here: https://bit.ly/ApplyINTHC2025

The deadline to apply for the programme is: Sunday 16 February 2025

We welcome all applicants who meet the minimum eligibility criteria to apply.

We will review all applications we receive and contact teacher references as needed to verify information on your application form. You will be contacted by early March to be made aware of the outcome of your application.

If you have any questions, you can contact Alice Long (Widening Participation Manager) via wp@sgul.a.uk.