University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine Interview

Teaching Overview

The University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine uses lectures, classes and tutorials, coursework and independent learning to deliver its systems-based modules. You’ll begin to gain clinical experience within the first weeks of your course and undertake the following clinical attachments throughout:

• Phase 1 (Year 1 & 2): You'll learn medical history-taking and examination skills in primary care and hospital settings.
• Phase 2 (Year 3): You’ll undertake twenty-four weeks of clinical placements focusing on primary care and long-term conditions, medicine and elderly care, and surgery and orthopaedics.
• Phase 3 (Year 4 – Y5 finals): Twenty-four weeks of clinical placements, which will include medicine, surgery and primary care in Year 5.
• Phase 4 (Y5 after finals): You’ll undertake a two-week ‘assistantship module’ in medicine and surgery, shadowing a Foundation doctor.

You can find more information about the course structure and content here.

Teaching Hospitals / Clinical Partnerships

During the programme, you’ll study “at one of the UK's leading teaching hospitals – Southampton General Hospital”. In addition to this, you may also undertake clinical placements in partner trusts, including:

• Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust
• Winchester & Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust
• University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

Extracurricular / Additional Opportunities

Throughout the programme you’ll have a wide range of choice, in the form of student selected components, as well as a final year elective placement, allowing you to explore areas of interest. You will also have the option to study anywhere in the UK, or abroad, for your elective placement.

In addition to this, Southampton Faculty of Medicine also offers the option of an intercalated degree, which allows you to take one year out of your medical course to study for an additional qualification. You’ll have the choice to study a master’s degree in medical science at Southampton or a BSc at another university.

Selling Points

The University of Southampton offers a six-year ‘Widening Participation’ BMBS programme. This aims to widen access, with an alternative route into studying medicine, and is available to those who meet the set widening participation criteria and entry criteria. You can find out more information about the programme here.

Southampton also offers an accelerated four-year programme, if you already have achieved  a honours degree in any discipline, generally with a minimum 2:1 grade. You can find out more about Southampton’s Medicine BM4 Graduate Entry (BMBS) programme here.

Interview Information

Southampton Faculty of Medicine include an interview and group task within their ‘selection days’. Your personal statement will be used as part of the selection day process, which will assess you against non-academic criteria, including:

• Your personal characteristics, for example your motivation and resilience
• Your ability to reflect on your relevant life experiences
• Your communication skills
• Your ability to interact with others
• Your understanding of the “values of the NHS constitution”

If you are invited to interview, you’ll receive more information from the university about the selection process, two weeks prior to your interview. You’ll find more information about the selection day here.

For 2023 entry, interviews will take place in person between January and March 2023. You can find a full list of interview dates on Southampton’s website here.