The Widening Participation and Outreach Team at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) have introduced a successful series of online talks aimed at aspiring medics.

With the COVID-19 lockdown measures in place, the team have been unable to make their usual visits to schools, so have been running the series online using Zoom since May. These summer months is usually a key preparatory time in schools, particularly for Year 12 students, looking to start their studies in 2021.

Talks include a guide on getting into medicine, a typical journey in the NHS and tips on personal statements, with additional sessions also being held for parents/guardians.

The demand from aspiring medics (and their parents/carers) has been overwhelming, with the first talks reaching capacity within 24 hours. Additional dates were added to increase the provision and again, capacity was shortly hit.

Darren Beaney, Head of Admissions, Recruitment and Widening Participation at BSMS, said: “We have been really pleased with the interest shown in our series of talks. Although we would much prefer to be going into schools and meeting aspiring medical students, it’s satisfying for us as a team to know there’s still such a high interest in from those considering a career in medicine.” 

The majority of participants tuning in are UK-based, but they have also reached as far as Belgium, Sardinia and Australia.

Feedback from attendees includes: "It was incredibly useful" and "I liked how there were discussion tasks where you were taken to a different room as it made the talk more interactive and more enjoyable to watch."

Darren and the team at BSMS have also seen a huge uptake in their virtual work experience platform, which continues to attract new sign ups with 11.5K users currently enrolled.