A new “pathway” model has been developed in the UK that provides a fast-tracked Bachelor of Science course designed to facilitate entry into medical schools internationally.
The Medipathways programme offers students a condensed two-year degree in biomedical sciences accredited by the University of Buckingham that is accepted by all medical and dental schools in the UK.
Students who failed entry into medical school after completing their A-levels (secondary exams) can apply to the degree programme, which provides course modules targeted toward medical and dental theory as well as UKCAT/BMAT exam preparation.
“If the student doesn’t get accepted after the third attempt they probably shouldn’t be at medical school in the first place”
Students can choose to use the first year to gain a pre-med certificate and try to apply to schools in the UK again or abroad.
After completing the two-year course, if students don’t gain graduate entry to a four-year medical or dental institution in the UK, they are offered direct progression into four-year medical schools abroad on condition of meeting minimum entry requirements.
“If the student doesn’t get accepted after the third attempt they probably shouldn’t be at medical school in the first place,” CEO Kal Makwana told The PIE News.
Launched in 2012, Medipathways currently hosts some 50 students, around 10 of whom are from Europe.
After receiving “overwhelming interest” from international students, Makwana said the school will apply this year for HTS licensing to accept non-EU students.
” A UKVI license would mean our student numbers would be in at least three figures within the first 12 months, 150 students would not be an unrealistic target,” he said.
“But we also want to make sure numbers aren’t the primary focus but instead the quality of courses that we’re providing.”
Makwana is also owner of London-based agency M&D which is the college’s primary recruiter.
The uniqueness of the programme and demand from students outside the UK, makes Makwana confident the business can succeed overseas. Expanding operations to the US is the next step, he said.
“There is greater demand for our courses in the US than in the UK we feel because medicine is always taught on a post-graduate level in the US,” he commented.
“We’ve been approached by equity firms as well as some US universities who have an instant interest in what we do because institutions like us don’t actually exist anywhere to our knowledge.”
The school currently has partnerships with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Poznan University of Medical Sciences and School of Medicine in Katowice in Poland and Ross University School of Medicine in the Caribbean.
The college also provides students with automatic membership to the Royal Society of Medicine in London.
