Imperial champions new outreach programme to boost equality in Medicine

Imperial has launched a pioneering outreach programme to guide school students along a 3 year journey to medical school, it was announced last week.

Pathways to Medicine will be delivered in partnership with the Sutton Trust, an organisation which works to improve social mobility through education and combat educational inequality. The programme aims to improve opportunities for state-school students from low and middle-income homes by providing them with subject-specific support and guidance as they take their first steps towards a medical career.

Pathways to medicine will consist of a programme of initiatives that run throughout Year 11 and Sixth Form to help students make strong and informed applications to study medicine at university. Activities will include informative talks by admissions tutors and medical students, e-mentoring with current Imperial medics, a summer-school at the College and personal statement advice. All students on Pathways to Medicine will also be guaranteed access to work experience in a healthcare setting.

Begining with a cohort of 60 students, the programme aims to reach 180 young people over the next three years

Professor Jenny Higham, Vice Dean for Education and Institutional Affairs in the Faculty of Medicine, said: “We want to attract students with the talent, qualifications and potential to thrive on our competitive, exciting courses. Recruiting the best and brightest students from all backgrounds is essential to the future of medicine and healthcare.”

“We are proud to be pioneering Pathways to Medicine as part of our ongoing commitment to removing barriers and ensuring a level playing field for all applicants. This scheme will provide individual support, guidance and access to work experience to help students from non-traditional backgrounds to demonstrate and fulfil their potential.”

Dr Kevin Murphy, Admissions Tutor for Widening Participation in the Faculty of Medicine, is leading the project at the College alongside Annalisa Alexander, Head of Outreach at Imperial. Dr Murphy said: “It is important that doctors represent the society that they are serving. To ensure diversity in the healthcare workforce, we need to recruit medical students from the widest talent pool possible."

“The Faculty of Medicine at Imperial already has a strong commitment to widening participation and encourages applications from talented students of all backgrounds. We’re delighted to be building on this track record with Pathways to Medicine.”

Pathways to Medicine was launched with a hands-on event at Imperial on Thursday 3 July, where this year’s cohort of school pupils and their parents were invited to listen to a series of introductory talks from the College’s Faculty of Medicine and the Sutton Trust, as well as try their hand at interactive medical experiments.

Speaking at the launch, Year 11 student Liberty McCarthy from St Gregory’s Roman Catholic School said:“Pathways to Medicine is a really great scheme because we all know that getting into medicine is tough and the programme will help maximise our chances."

“What is really appealing though is that we learn other skills like writing personal statements, interview techniques and communication skills on top of all the practical science activities.”

Diana Newman and Shivam Patel, members of student society Vision, will be involved in the programme

Pathways to Medicine will be supported by Vision – an Imperial student-run society led by 4th year medical student Diana Newman, which aims to widen participation in medicine. As well as providing ongoing mentoring support to the Pathways to Medicine cohort, Vision will be organising conferences that will give the students an idea of what life as a medical student is like and provide advice on putting together their applications.

Shivam Patel, a third year medical student at Imperial and member of Vision said:“Coming from a state school in North London, I have first-hand experiences of the challenges that can be faced when applying to study medicine. A key example of this is the difficulty in securing relevant medical work experience – something which is crucial in putting together a strong application. Pathways to Medicine provides students with access to such opportunities."

James Turner, Director of Programmes at the Sutton Trust said: "‎Medicine can be a popular career aspiration for bright low and middle income pupils - but it is also hugely competitive. Pathways to Medicine aims to level the playing field by providing a comprehensive programme of support to talented non-privileged students -- helping to ensure the brightest and best gain coveted medical school places."