Medicine

The practice of Medicine offers a breadth of experiences that is impossible to find in any other subject. Every day brings different patients with different needs. It’s a great choice for scientists who strive to understand and apply research findings to improve the lives of the patients in their care. It offers a meaningful career that is prestigious, secure and relatively well-paid. However, practising Medicine can be arduous, stressful, frustrating and bureaucratic and it’s not suited to everyone. You need to be sure that Medicine is the right choice for you. These pages will help you work that out, but there’s no better way to find out for sure than by gaining insight of medical practice by seeing it in action and talking to those who provide healthcare. Studying Medicine because that is what is expected of you is never a good idea: make sure that your motives for choosing to do so are well-reasoned.

Medicine has been studied at Oxford from as early as the 14th century, although a Clinical School was established as recently as 1936 by a benefaction from Lord Nuffield for postgraduate teaching and research. Clinical student training started during the Second World War when medical students were evacuated from London. Today, the Medicine course at Oxford provides a well-rounded intellectual training with particular emphasis on the basic science research that underpins medicine. We have retained a distinct three-year pre-clinical stage that includes studying towards a BA Honours degree in Medical Sciences, followed by a three-year clinical stage.

Although the Medical School at Oxford has expanded in recent times, it remains relatively small, allowing students and staff to get to know one another and benefit from a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

From becoming a GP to training as a brain surgeon, a vast array of speciality training pathways is available after obtaining a medical qualification, ranging from anaesthesia or emergency medicine through obstetrics or ophthalmology to paediatrics or psychiatry.

Of course, you need not remain confined to the surgery or the operating theatre: the lecture theatre or the laboratory could also beckon. Some of our graduates end up leading the education of the next generation of doctors or directing biomedical research. You don’t need to know right now what you want to do when you qualify: the Medical School organises careers sessions for final year clinical students and helps students learn about and apply for foundation house officer posts.

BM BCh graduates are entitled to provisional registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) with a licence to practise, subject to demonstrating to the GMC that their fitness to practise is not impaired.

Brad, who graduated in 2004, currently works as a Forensic Psychiatrist with Mentally Disordered Offenders at Broadmoor High Secure Psychiatric Hospital. Brad developed through tutorials at Oxford the strong academic knowledge base and confidence to challenge ‘received wisdom’. This has allowed him to diversify his clinical career to include roles in leadership and innovation in the NHS.

Students interested in this course might also like to consider Biomedical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Human Sciences or Chemistry.