Course Offered:

• BA Medical Sciences leading to BM BCh Medicine

Current Fellows and Lecturers

Dr Stephen Goss (Tutorial Fellow)
Dr Andrew Farmery (Tutorial Fellow)
Dr Michael Bannon (Professorial Fellow)
Dr Susan Burge (college Clinical Lecturer)
Professor Nicholas Athanasou (Professorial Fellow)
Professor Stephen Bell (Professorial Fellow)

Admissions
Wadham admits five or six students per year to the pre-clinical course. These students must do a three-year degree course, the BA in Medical Sciences, before proceeding to their clinical studies. This three-year course includes a pre-clinical qualification (First BM). A further three years are then required to complete the full medical qualification (BM BCh).

For medicine, the University has specific entrance requirements; please consult the Medical School website for a full list of accepted qualifications. There is a common entrance procedure used by all colleges. This involves a written aptitude test, 'BMAT', which is also used by Cambridge and some London Medical Schools; details of the test, including a sample test, are available at www.bmat.org.uk. In view of the emphasis of our teaching on science, we look for candidates with an excellent record in the sciences. For instance, pre-A-Level candidates should be expecting three A grades at A-Level, one of which must be in Chemistry, and at least one other in Physics, Mathematics or Biology. Post A-Level applicants with at least three As (or the equivalent) are also welcome. Deferred entry is not infrequently granted to able students with plans to spend a gap year profitably. However, candidates for deferred entry should be prepared to indicate by the time of interview whether they wish also to be considered for immediate entry.

Pre-clinical Medicine and Medical Sciences
For the first half of the course, emphasis is placed on regular tutorials from Fellows who are able to teach broadly across the course: Dr Goss, a cell biologist, does most of his teaching in Biochemistry and Genetics and Dr Farmery, a consultant anaesthetist and respiratory physiologist, teaches Physiology and Pharmacology. Tutorials are also given by our College Lecturers in Anatomy, Pathology and neurophysiology.

Clinical Medicine
The majority of our pre-clinical students stay in Oxford to do their clinical course (some having intercalated a research degree - an MSc or a DPhil - between their undergraduate course and going on to the hospital). It should be noted, however, that entry to the Oxford Clinical School is by open competition. Some of our students choose to move elsewhere: this is routine and generally straightforward to arrange. As these students move on, Wadham welcomes new clinical students to Oxford. The Clinical School advises successful applicants on the procedure for applying to join a college. However, enquiries direct to Wadham are welcome at any time and should be addressed to our Senior Tutor, or to Dr Goss. Information on the clinical course is available from the Medical Sciences Office, University of Oxford, The John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford, OX3 9DU.

Wadham provides a base for clinical students away from the hospital, and this offers a valuable opportunity to get to know graduates in other disciplines and to become involved in the life of the MCR. Our Clinical Fellow, Dr Michael Bannon, is Oxford's Director of Post-Graduate Medical Education (the 'Post-Graduate Dean'). He acts as personal advisor to our clinical students, and is particularly well placed to offer help and guidance for the development of their clinical careers. Wadham also has a clinical lecturer, Dr Susan Burge, a consultant dermatologist and Associate Director of Clinical Studies, who ensures that clinical students have a full range of academic and personal support. She is assisted by two junior hospital doctors (College Clinical Teaching Associates), who provide regular bedside teaching, as well as two consultant surgeons. The College has two further fellows in Medicine: Professor Bell (Professor of Microbiology) and Professor Athanasou (Professor of Musculoskeletal Pathology). All Wadham medical students and Fellow meet for discussion at termly speaker meeting of the Wadham Medical Society, which are followed by dinner.

The College has funds available to help alleviate the particular financial pressures felt by clinical students, for example we provide grants to support our clinical students' elective periods.

Further Information
For more information on the course and applying please see the Undergraduate Prospectus.

Student Profile

Manaka Paranathala, 2nd Year

Medicine is a challenging subject, at any university.  The thought of reading it at Oxford seemed, at first, daunting, but turned out to be one of the best choices I’ve ever made.  I thought I’d be out of my depth and struggle with the fast pace and demanding work, but instead I found that, though the work is harder than A Level, the course is designed to ease you in, and tutors and lecturers are very helpful and understanding.  The unique tutorial system helps, in that topics are covered in-depth in very small groups and this means weaker areas can be targeted.   There are a few each week, linked to what is covered in lectures; they require reading and sometimes an essay to be written beforehand, but are designed to stretch you, and see how you think.  The interview on applying is much like this, intended to see how you tackle a problem, to which there often isn’t a right or wrong answer.  I’ve found the course very interesting, stimulating and extremely enjoyable. The work is challenging but it is an extremely rewarding and fascinating subject, especially at Oxford where there is a lot of research going on.  The lecturers are at the forefront of their fields which means topics are covered in depth, by people who are obviously passionate about their subject, and have often made many of the discoveries that are taught!  There are lectures and practicals during the week, but much of the afternoon is free, allowing plenty of time for tutorial work and extracurricular activities, of which there are many at both university and college level.

On meeting the friendly and down-to-earth students at the Wadham open day, I knew it was the college for me.  The college is also near enough to the centre of town for everything to be within walking distance (and is especially close to the science area!) but is set back enough not to get as many tourists. The buildings are a mixture of old and new, from the majestic front quad, to the modern staircases at the back of the college. The tutors in medicine at Wadham are very friendly, understanding and approachable, and have taken us out for dinner many times!  We have a thriving Medical Society of which I am a preclinical rep. We have termly speakers and dinners and it is a great way to meet medics in other years. I’m really glad I chose to study Medicine at Wadham and would definitely recommend it to anyone considering applying to Oxford.