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Dr Stewart Sage MA Sc.D
College Lecturer in Physiology and Director of Studies in Part IA Medicine. Fellow and Tutor of Selwyn College. University Reader in Physiology.
Dr Martin Hughes BSc PhD MB BChir
Fellow and Tutor, Magdalene College
College Lecturer in Pharmacology
Director of Pre-Clinical Studies, Part IB and Part II
Dr Rowan Burnstein MBBS FRCA PhD
Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Director of Neurocritical Care, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust Fellow and College Lecturer, Magdalene College Director of Clinical Studies.
In addition to the Directors of Studies, the following senior members of the University are involved in teaching Medicine at Magdalene.
Dr Cecilia Brassett MB BChir MChir FRCS
Fellow and College Lecturer in Medical Sciences, University Clinical Anatomist
Professor Neil Rushton MA MD FRCS
Fellow of Magdalene College. Director of the Orthopaedic Research Unit. University of Cambridge.
Clinical sessions are provided by Addenbrooke's Hospital and GP Tutors and regular supervisions are provided by members of the Departments of Pathology, Psychology, and Public Health
Currently we average 10-12 students in each of the pre-clinical years, and 3-5 in the clinical years.
We usually offer 12 places per year, for which there are 50 applicants.
In the first year (Part IA) students attend courses in: Functional Architecture of the Body; Homeostasis, Cell Biology and Histology, and Molecules in Molecular Science - containing core material previously taught as Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry. There is also a course covering Medical Sociology. This course is examined at the end of the Lent Term, and is a Second MB (for an explanation of this see below) requirement, but does not contribute to the level of attainment in Tripos (i.e. the Class of Degree you achieve). Clinical experience starts in the first term with Preparing for Patients, when students are allocated patients to see either in their own homes or in an attached GP's surgery, under the tutelage of an experienced Clinical Teacher. In the second year (Part IB) students study courses in: Biology of Disease; Neurobiology with Human Behaviour; Human Endocrinology and Reproduction, and Mechanisms of Drug Actions. There will be additional lecture courses on Special Options (for example on Infectious Disease), two of which you will be required to attend. These Special Option courses will affect Tripos results, but will not be a Second MB requirement. Clinical teaching (Preparing for Patients) continues. In the third year (Part II)students can choose from a wide variety of courses. There are a number of Specialist Part II subjects drawn from Natural Sciences, or Medical or Biomedical specialities. You can, if you wish, read something from another Tripos - such as Art or Anthropology.
Students receive instruction in a number of ways. Lectures and practical classes are arranged by the appropriate University Departments. You should be aware that in order to gain exemption from the requirements of the government that you sit the Second MB exams of the Royal Colleges (see below) you have to demonstrate that you have attended a course of instruction. This means that you have to attend the practical classes - registers of attendance are kept and times are recorded. This is a Legal requirement.
The College provides teaching in the form of Supervision. Supervisions, arranged by the Director of Studies in Pre-Clinical medicine, consist of small group tutorials (2 to five students per supervisor)in each subject, lasting about an hour, each week. Supervisors are experts in the subject, often members of the College, and often University Teaching Officers. The purpose of supervision is to help with any difficulties you may have with the course, and to expand on the information you've been given. Supervisors also set written work which you will be expected to prepare. The supervision system is unique to Oxford and Cambridge - and is highly valued by teachers and taught alike.
General contact time is about 20 hours per week. Students typically spend 15 hours in private preparation.
In order to be registered as a Medical Practitioner candidates must satisfy the requirements laid down by the General Medical Council via the various Royal Colleges as in the form of examinations for the Second M.B. The Tripos Examination will contain an element which will determine Second MB qualification. Students who fail to achieve exemption will be required to sit the Second M.B exams which take place towards the end of September. Students who fail to pass the 2nd M.B. at the second attempt will not be allowed to proceed to the next year.
We welcome people with a broad range of knowledge to medicine, because medicine is a broad church. Potential medical students will, however, be aware that there is a considerable amount of science in medicine (bearing in mind that the course is designated the Medical Science Tripos), and that we must require students to have appropriate qualifications. The minimum requirements for entry into Magdalene to study Medicine are A2 in Mathematics, and two A2s from Biology, Chemistry and Physics. It is highly desirable for a third science to be taken at AS Level or higher. The Pre-Medical Requirement also stipulates that Chemistry must be studied to at least AS level (or approved equivalent). For applicants studying the IB, we require either Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology at Higher Level, or Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics at Higher Level (though in this case we would advise some reading of suitable Biology texts).
The typical offer is A*AA in three science and maths subjects. Equivalent levels of achievement in other National exams are acceptable.
For applicants offering IB a typical offer would normally be: 39-42 points (including Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay) with 7,7,6 or 7,7,7 at Higher Level.
We offer places to applicants of all nationalities, and from all types of educational background. Around 50% of our Medical Students are female.
There are 2 interviews - conducted (usually) by the Directors of Studies in Medicine and College Fellows specialising in Medicine. The interviews last about 20 minutes, and should be regarded more as a discussion around various topics rather than as an interrogation. It's our aim to make the interview as friendly as possible. It's difficult to learn much about people who are frightened, so we try not frighten them.
All applicants for medicine at Cambridge (and Oxford and several of the London Medical schools) are asked to sit an entrance exam, which was initiated in October 2000. The aim of this is not to place an extra hurdle in the applicants' path, but to try and acquire another objective way of assessing potential students so that all colleges and tutors are working from the same baseline. We're trying to make the process as fair as possible. Details are available - and specimen questions - on the University's web site.
Subject to satisfactory UMS scores, we would normally require grades A, A in Sections I and II of the BMAT, though A, B, or B, A, especially where the B is high, will be considered.
We are happy to consider students who wish to take a gap year. It's important to make it clear when you apply.
We are happy to consider applications from older students who are engaged in, or have recently completed, a course of academic study such as A levels.
The College Library is open 24 hrs a day. There is a substantial Medical Section which contains copies of all the recommended texts for the University courses, and most departments have their own well-stocked specialist libraries which are at you disposal. The College Librarian is always willing to consider purchasing any additional texts students think desirable (with the support of their Director of Studies). Additonally there are large central libraries such as the University Library, the Clinical School Library and the Scientific Periodicals Library.
We have a family of skeletons - in fact, half skeletons - which are loaned to first year students in order to help them master the intricacies of Anatomy, which we think is pretty important if you're going to be a member of the Medical Profession. It is the responsibility of the student to care for their skeleton, and to return them intact at the end of the year.
All students are provided with an e-mail address - essential as a means of communication in a city where students are taught in many different sites. (It only works, of course, if you read your mail) Students are provided with access to on-line facilities. For those who are not yet computer literate (though you should be) there are courses available.
Personal contact with senior members occurs informally through supervisions, and supervisors are generally available to answer queries. The Director of Studies is available for consultation on academic matters, usually deals with matters of a non-academic nature such as social, financial or psychological problems. The ethos of the College is, however, that should someone need assistance it's provided - so if you need it, dont hesitate to ask for it.
July 2011
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©2012 Magdalene College, Cambridge, CB3 0AG
Registered Charity Number 1137542