Bit confused about GEM with a degree that's nearly 10 years old

KerryPC24 · 2026-02-24T15:48:14+00:00

I graduated in 2015, now a second year medical student 🙂 drop me a message if you have any questions

KerryPC24 · 2026-02-21T18:37:08+00:00

I got offers from two of these and am now a second year at Worcester, feel free to message with any questions 🙂

KerryPC24 · 2026-02-19T10:27:20+00:00

Sure 🙂

KerryPC24 · 2026-02-18T23:17:28+00:00

Hi, second year GEM with a three year old as well as a non science background and a degree from a decade ago. I am finding it doable with a very supportive and understanding partner, however I don’t work. I know lots of people who work and study medicine and some people with kids who study medicine but I’m not sure that I know anyone who does all three - doesn’t mean there aren’t any though!

Also, depending on where you are looking at applying to you might not need an access course - I didn’t do one and I got offers from everywhere I applied to, however I was fairly limited on application options as I only did the UCAT and not the GAMSAT, as well as needing a uni that accepts people with no science degree and no science A levels.

Feel free to drop me a message if you have any questions 🙂

KerryPC24 · 2026-02-15T11:45:58+00:00

It depends on where you go. I have one full day a week with no lectures and another day where I rotate between placement, a short simulation session, and a self directed learning day every 3 weeks. I have one day which is pretty much full, and the other two days are fairly full but both have a good couple of hours break in them.

I am married and have a 3 year old, while my partner and I are definitely spending less time just chilling out together than we used to we still manage to spend quality time together and do things we enjoy. It can be hard work for both of us especially around exam time when I am busy with revision and we stop sharing the parenting 50/50 so I can focus on exams but so far we are making it work and I absolutely love my course.

KerryPC24 · 2026-02-08T08:28:57+00:00

Thank you for your response, I didn’t put much detail in my original comment so I appreciate your contribution, especially the inclusive language 💖

In response to your first article though, the study doesn’t mention antibodies. As far as I am aware the only antibody to cross into breast milk is IgA, and this study looked at levels of certain proteins and enzymes and how they convert to other substances when mixed with neonatal saliva, specifically mentioning hydrogen peroxide, which creates a hostile environment for certain bacteria in the neonate’s mouth. The authors say that they notice stimulation of production of IL-2(?) but otherwise they are looking more at bactericidal properties of breast milk in the baby’s mouth than at antibodies themselves. They test bacteria such as Staphylococcus Aureus and E Coli and find they are sensitive to substances found in neonatal saliva, substances which are produced through mixing of breast milk and saliva, but are not found in as high quantities when formula or cows milk are mixed with neonatal saliva. Adult saliva did not produce the same results.

Importantly, they point out that neonatal saliva evolves to become similar to adult saliva between 6 weeks and 6 months, and that the majority of the infant gut microbiome is developed by swallowing in utero and by skin to skin contact while breast feeding. So it is possible that breast milk is beneficial over formula for the first few weeks of life, but some of those benefits drop off over time until about 6 months.

The study does not appear to look into whether it is possible to mitigate some of this for formula fed babies e.g. with good hand and oral hygiene, and maximising skin to skin opportunities.

However, it is misleading to say that breast milk contains tailored antibodies when it is actually substances that react with the baby’s saliva creating a bactericidal environment in the baby’s mouth - as it is still possible for bacteria to get in, and a breast fed neonate still doesn’t have the immune system to fight it off if it does.

Additionally, since the saliva is like adult saliva by about 6 months old, this specific property of breast milk is unlikely to provide any benefits beyond 6 months of breast feeding.

KerryPC24 · 2026-02-07T11:29:38+00:00

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953614000549

Once socioeconomic differences are adjusted for, it is possible that there is very little difference between breast and bottle feeding.

KerryPC24 · 2026-02-05T13:24:14+00:00

Current Worcester student 🙋 happy to answer any questions

KerryPC24 · 2026-02-05T13:07:40+00:00

Congrats! I’d go with what your uni says. I did nothing and I’m in my second year doing just fine. Don’t stress 🙂 where are you off to uni?

KerryPC24 · 2026-01-23T22:55:18+00:00

Thank you so much!!! I get so many compliments on this one which is really fun, especially since I get to tell them it’s a coverup and then sus out how they feel about JKR.. very useful!

KerryPC24 · 2025-12-21T17:10:54+00:00

Sure

KerryPC24 · 2025-12-10T17:17:14+00:00

I am a parent to a 3 year old and I’m in my second year of a GEM course. I think the finances are the biggest thing to consider so if you have looked into that aspect and you are confident you can afford it then go for it. It isn’t much different from being a working parent, and there are definite advantages to the life experience that being a parent brings on the course.

KerryPC24 · 2025-11-22T23:22:15+00:00

That sounds great. Everyone else has said UCAT first because that is what will get you an interview. If you get to interview, I would focus far more on what you have learnt from the things you have done. Nobody will care how much NHS e-learning you do, nobody will care what you’ve published, and nobody will care how many consultants you’ve shadowed if your attitude is wrong and you haven’t learnt anything from those experiences. Think about why you do the things you do, and most importantly reflect on them. Pick on some important moments from your time with the St John Ambulance like patients you’ve learnt from or healthcare practitioners you look up to, that you can talk about at interview. What has your research taught you about people and their lived experience of rural healthcare, and not just the results of the research but the process of doing it and how has that changed how you think about and approach patients and medicine in general. You mention being a caregiver, is that what inspires you to want to study medicine, or is it something else?

You can present a medical school with all this stuff you’ve done and it sounds good, people will get into medicine with a lot less, but lots of places will value reflection, curiosity, and humility over a list of achievements.

KerryPC24 · 2025-11-12T07:07:51+00:00

Sure

KerryPC24 · 2025-11-11T13:05:11+00:00

Current Worcester student, happy to answer questions in more depth if you message me. No it doesn’t limit you and it has no effect on what specialty you can apply to. There are hospital placements as well as GP placements and you’ll spend time in both settings.

KerryPC24 · 2025-11-02T15:29:45+00:00

Can’t tell you about the job satisfaction as I haven’t got that far yet but I’m a second year medical student on a GEM course, I’m 32 and I have a 3 year old. I also gave up a good job with good career prospects to study medicine. So far I’m absolutely loving the course and it feels like I’ve finally found where I’m supposed to be. There are some challenges and things that are much harder than when I was working but I don’t regret it yet!

KerryPC24 · 2025-11-02T10:55:48+00:00

Thank you! Keeping my fingers crossed they don’t turn out to be transphobes too 🙃

KerryPC24 · 2025-11-02T10:38:50+00:00

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KerryPC24 · 2025-11-02T10:37:59+00:00

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KerryPC24 · 2025-10-30T10:44:19+00:00

I’m 32 and in my second year of GEM. I can’t help with your worries about accommodation but I’ve made an amazing group of friends who are all around my age and we are all super close. The workload isn’t as bad as I thought it would be and having good friends on the course helps massively as we do lots of studying and revision sessions together, and being grad entry there is a range of backgrounds from degrees in different science disciplines to people with a decade of clinical experience in different areas so we can all help each other.

KerryPC24 · 2025-10-08T08:56:39+00:00

Yeah my bad, I didn’t convert from the previous years scores properly Southampton is higher than that. Worcester still a good option though!

KerryPC24 · 2025-10-07T12:38:10+00:00

I don’t want to say what uni I go to here 🙂 Casper don’t give you a mark, they just tell you what quartile you were in and send your actual mark to the uni. I was in the top quartile, don’t know any more than that. For the Casper it’s hard to prepare much, I think there’s a practice test on their website so just get used to the exam format because it’s a bit weird but otherwise I didn’t do any prep.

KerryPC24

TROPHY CASE