Health Foundation Year for Medicine - Keele University

School of Medicine

Health Foundation Year for Medicine

The Health Foundation Year at Keele was established to provide an alternative entry route into the 5-year medical degree programme for students who have the right level of qualifications but are without the chemistry or biology subjects at A-level that entry to the 5-year medicine course requires.  The course is also open to students with other level 3 qualifications and to graduates with non-science degrees.

The first Health Foundation Year students joined us in October 2006.  A good blend of students join the course each year, with varying backgrounds, nationalities, and reasons for wanting to study medicine:  some have come with nursing backgrounds, some with non-science degrees, others with humanities A-levels.

Students follow academic modules closely related to the principal medicine course which they will join once they have completed the year successfully.  The year also offers training in generic transferable skills including communication skills, counselling skills, IT and numeracy.  


Visit the university's Foundation Office webpages.

Student Quotes

“I remember trying to plan out an answer as to why I want to be a doctor in preparation for my interview. I struggled to put it into words then and I still do. I saw doctors in action during my training as a nurse, so I didn’t have any false ideas about the demands put upon them! I’ve always been a people person and wanted to make a difference, but more than that, there is something within me that wants to be doctor more than anything and I can’t really explain what it is, it’s just there. Throughout my nurse training I looked into the various options that would enable me to pursue a career in Medicine, even though I hadn’t studied Chemistry at school. Eventually, during the last few weeks of my nursing degree, I found out that I could apply for a place on the Health Foundation Year, which providing I passed, would automatically give me a place on the Medicine course. The Foundation Year gave me the scientific (Chemistry) basis I needed to progress onto the principle course, it also had optional modules such as Active Anatomy which are beneficial when going on to study Medicine. Although the Medicine course is not always easy, I love it! There is a lot of work and a great deal to learn, and yes sometimes it is exhausting, but I wouldn’t have it any other way – studying to be a doctor is an exciting, challenging and rewarding path to take and most of all, it’s my dream come true.”

 


Rachael Jolley
Rachael Jolley Video

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“As far as I can remember I always wanted to become a doctor. I finished secondary school in Poland (bio-chemistry class) with very good grades and applied for medicine, but to my great disappointment, I didn’t secure a place. I came to join family in the UK and my dad persuaded me to apply for local universities. I went to Keele to find out some information about applying. From the beginning I felt attracted to this place by the very friendly and helpful people I met. The Health Foundation Year was a perfect opportunity for me. It gave me a chance to fill the gap between my educational background and the A-level requirements for a medical degree. The Foundation Year went amazingly quickly. I think the programme prepared me well for Medicine and was also enjoyable. We did a lot of interesting practical sessions and all material was well covered during lectures. We also had the chance to acquire some useful communication skills such as public speaking and writing of scientific reports. Moreover, we were introduced to work with Simulated Patients, who play a significant role in the Keele medical curriculum. I met other students interested in health related professions and made new friends. The Foundation Year was a very important experience for me. I think it made my progress to medicine quite smooth because I gained relevant knowledge and felt more confident about myself. I would recommend the Foundation Year to everyone, who really wants to study Medicine but doesn’t have the right educational background to do it. Keele was a perfect choice for me- new facilities, great atmosphere, friendly and always-willing-to -help people make Keele an extraordinary place. I would certainly apply again!”

Barbara Studzinska

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"Having done a Geography degree with non-science A-levels, my background is not typical of a traditional medical student. I had chosen to work in a hospital during my gap year, even though I hadn't even planned to study anything health related! It was seeing very ill patients recover and the feeling of helplessness when others deteriorated that inspired me to apply for Medicine. The Health Foundation Year gave me the opportunity to study Medicine from a totally non-science background and I fully enjoyed the course. We were well looked after, it was a friendly environment and staff were always approachable. Our tutors from the Foundation Year office and the Medical School were brilliant! I enjoyed being taught alongside other health professionals and undertaking some practical skills I know aren't taught at A-level. As the course progresses it becomes more and more intense, and it is now more important than ever that I put lots of work in!"

Yan-Ling Wong

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“I left school after completing sixth form with four A-levels in Maths, German, Business Studies and Geography and moved to Warwick University to complete a 4-year BA in German and Business Studies. However, I soon decided to leave University and get a full time job. At first I really enjoyed my job, but quickly I realised that it was simply a means to an end while I decided to which career I could really commit. In the meantime, I began a distance learning course with the Open University which was an introduction to science. This really sparked my interest in biology, and together with the inspiration of my mum, a practice nurse, and that of my own doctors, I decided I would like to pursue a career in medicine. I didn't have the right A-levels - specifically I needed an A-level in Chemistry. Luckily, I discovered the Health Foundation Year on the Keele University website which meant that I could complete an extra year before commencing my degree and as long as I met the criteria to progress, I would begin to study Medicine the following year. The Foundation Year gave me the chance to refresh my knowledge of Maths and to learn the equivalent of an A level in Chemistry. Furthermore, the Foundation Year offered us the chance to choose to study 'Active Anatomy,' a module which really gave us a good grounding in anatomy and proved its worth in the first year of Medicine. The Medicine course is going really well and everything that we learnt in the Health Foundation Year is proving very useful. In fact, many of my friends wish they had done the foundation year rather than A-levels!”

Victoria Twigg

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“Initially on choosing my A-levels I had wanted to pursue career in Sports Science and chose appropriate A-levels to help gain a place at university for a Sports Science degree course. Half way through my A-levels circumstances changed and I changed my mind about what I wanted to do in the future. I had started a care assistant job and begun volunteering and this showed me I had a passion for helping people and I decided I wanted to become a doctor. Knowing I hadn’t done the right A-levels I researched alterative methods of entry into medicine. I found the Foundation Year at Keele and the new course design and the opportunity for a year of chemistry and university experience appealed to me more than the access to medicine courses available. During the year I enjoyed the wide range of subjects including Chemistry and Biology, whilst also gaining valuable experience of the more personal modules including communication skills, where we had the chance to experience simulated patients in an interview setting. This helped me immensely on the first year of my degree when I was out on placements".

Laura Lambert

Laura Lambert

Laura playing netball and working on the resuss dummy