Don’t place too much emphasis on academic achievements in your personal statement, as universities can access your grades through UCAS. You should, however, describe your intellectual curiosity and problem solving skills with relevant examples and briefly mention any standout awards (such as Duke of Edinburgh, subject prizes, scholarships) or a medically relevant acadmic work (EPQ or S6 project).

Your personal statement should open with an engaging statement about why you want to study Medicine, setting the tone for the subsequent paragraphs.

Medicine is a caring profession, so your personal statement should reflect on the importance of empathy in good patient care.

Whether you’ve observed a healthcare professional show empathy on work experience, or demonstrated empathy through volunteering with a vulnerable group, be sure to reflect on empathy in your personal statement.

Perhaps the most scrutinised quality of all, strong communication skills are crucial for medical practice. Doctors have difficult conversations every single day, with poor communication leading to anger and misunderstanding. Try to showcase an example of when you communicated effectively, and why this would make you a good doctor.

Doctors increasingly work in multi-disciplinary teams, so it is important that you demonstrate you can perform well as a team member and team leader. Be sure to reflect on examples in which you have shown leadership and followed instructions as a team member, linking this back to why this would make you a great doctor.