The Awards Programme
“I truly believe that without the existence of the organisation, I would not be a medical student. Medic Mentor is an organisation which has one focus, its students.”
Adam Borland, 3rd Year Medical Student at the University of St Andrews
How it works at a glance...
For each level of Award (Bronze, Silver or Gold), there are essential criteria that must be fulfilled in order to attain that level of the award. The awards criteria match the often vaguely outlined ‘non-academic requirements’ that medical school admissions expect medical applicants to complete.
Medic Mentor provides a selection of Approved Activities to assist your completion of the Awards criteria. Although approved Activities are a gold standard of quality in terms of maximising the student’s learning outcomes and skills development, it is not an exhaustive list and you can use opportunities outside of the Approved Activity recommendations.
You can join the Awards Programme anywhere up to the 1st September when you start year 13 or in S6. It is both cumulative and retrospective. This means that any activities that you have completed from year 10 or S3 onwards can be used (provided that you can supply evidence in the form of a certificate, reference, photo or video of the activity). It also means that you can start at any level but we recommend that year 10/S3 start at Bronze, year 11/S4 start at Silver and year 12 or S5 go straight in at Gold. As you complete the criteria for Gold, you will automatically acquire your Bronze and Silver Awards too, because the criteria are cumulative.
You can take a look at the Awards Criteria for each level by downloading the PDF here:
MEDICINE: Awards Prog Mark Scheme 2021-2022
DENTISTRY: DM Awards Prog Mark Scheme
VETERINARY: VM Awards Prog Mark Scheme
What are the benefits of the Awards Programme?
In summary, every medical school applicant should be enrolled onto the Medical Awards Programme because:
1. It clarifies the ‘essential non-academic entry requirements’ set by medical schools.
2. It gives you access to Mentors for 2 hours every Friday from 3-5pm via Zoom. That is over 100 hours of mentoring by doctors in a year!
3. It makes the process more fun and enjoyable.
4. It encourages you to keep track of all of your evidence, to make it easier to submit to medical schools when they ask for it.
5. It Gives you a national medical award to put on your CV, recognising your incredible extra and para-curricular achievements.
6. It Gives you a chance to be considered for the only national medical scholarship programme that secondary school students can apply for.
7. A chance to become an official member of the Medic Mentor Family!
Time Frame
There is no set time in which to complete the award and it depends on how proactive the student is. Some students will find that they have already completed some criteria and are able to finish an award quickly. Others may be at the beginning and choose to pace themselves and take their time. Ultimately, the Awards Programme has been designed to work alongside your school work and covers activities that you should (and will) be doing anyway for your application to medical school.
What happens after you register?
Step 1. The Medic Mentor Admin team will send you an introductory email welcoming you to the programe. You must complete a parental consent and safeguarding form in order to participate in the programme.
Step 2. Complete your Awards E-learning Programme.
Step 3. You can then start submitting your evidence for each criteria using an online form
Step 4. If you have any additional questions, then join us on a Friday between 3-5pm and ask them directly to the Chief Mentors on Zoom.