BMAT and UKCAT Uncovered: A Guide to Medical School Entrance Exams

331 Pages·2013·5.66 MB·English

by  T. O. Osinowo

BMAT and UKCAT
Uncovered
BMAT and UKCAT Uncovered: A Guide to Medical School Entrance Exams T. O. Osinowo,
R. A. Weerakkody and H. W. Woodward © 2008 by T. O. Osinowo, R. A. Weerakkody, H. W. Woodward.
ISBN: 978-1-4051-6918-9
Dedication
To our parents
for life, love and learning
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank:
Our teachers for inspiring us; Karen Sayal and our students for their
valuable feedback; Russ Daff for his illustrations;
Ian Stannard and Paul Maddren at Christs Hospital for support and
encouragement; Mary Banks and her team at Wiley-Blackwell.
BMAT and
UKCAT
Uncovered
A guide to medical school
entrance exams
BY
T. O. Osinowo
R. A. Weerakkody
H. W. Woodward
A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
This edition fi rst published 2008, © 2008 by T. O. Osinowo, R. A. Weerakkody, H. W. Woodward
BMJ Books is an imprint of BMJ Publishing Group Limited, used under licence by Blackwell
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Osinowo, T. O.
BMAT and UKCAT uncovered : a guide to medical school entrance exams / by T. O. Osinowo,
R. A. Weerakkody, H. W. Woodward
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 978-1-4051-6918-9
1. UK Clinical Aptitude Test—Study guides. 2. BioMedical Admissions Test—Study guides.
I. Weerakkody, R. A. II. Woodward, H. W. (Harry W.) III. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Schools, Medical—Great Britain—Examination Questions. 2. Education,
Medical—Great Britain—Examination Questions. 3. School Admission Criteria—Great Britain—
Examination Questions. W 18.2 O82b 2008]
R838.5.O85 2008
610.71(cid:1)141—dc22 2008023444
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Set in Meridien 9.5/12 by Charon Tec Ltd., A Macmillan Company.
Printed in Singapore by Markono
1 2008
Contents
Foreword, vii
Preface, ix
Chapter 1 Quantitative Analysis for the BMAT and the UKCAT, 1
Chapter 2 Critical Analysis for the BMAT and the UKCAT, 59
Chapter 3 Scientifi c Knowledge and Application for the BMAT, 99
Chapter 4 The Writing Task for the BMAT, 147
Chapter 5 Abstract Reasoning for the UKCAT, 169
Chapter 6 Decision Analysis for the UKCAT, 183
Chapter 7 BMAT Practice Papers, 189
Chapter 8 UKCAT Practice Papers, 251
Chapter 9 Solutions, 313
Index, 325
v
Foreword
Selecting students for a medical school education is, perhaps understand-
ably, very diffi cult. Medicine is a multi-faceted challenging activity requiring
considerable intellectual and practical competencies as well as interpersonal
skills. UK medical schools are conscious of the fact that to cope with the
demands of their medical courses and subsequently become effective doc-
tors, prospective students need to be of high intelligence and come equipped
with nimble problem-solving minds. There has been a perception amongst
those selecting prospective medical students that even the ability to get top
grades in A level examinations is not a suffi cient discriminator with which
to choose students of suffi cient intellectual ability to interview (when their
interpersonal skills can be judged). Hence the development over the last
10 years of the BMAT and UKCAT exams by medical schools in the United
Kingdom and others such as the GAMSAT in Australia.
These exams are designed to test prospective medical students’ intellectual
ability, quickness of thinking and reasoning ability in a manner that is rel-
evant to their future work as doctors and their ability to cope with a lengthy
and often demanding medical course. Proper preparation for these exams is
essential, not because an unsuitable candidate can thus pass the test but to
ensure that a student who is capable does not fall at this fi rst hurdle because
he or she did not know what to expect. This book cannot replace all the
hard work at school that is required to get good GCSE grades and A levels
but should be invaluable in going the further mile that is required for medi-
cal school entry. Who better to guide prospective students in this than the
authors of this book, only recently faced with both the tests and the sub-
sequent rigours (and joys) of the medical course in Cambridge?
I can commend this book to all those who are facing medical school
entrance exams and need the excellent guidance and thorough preparation
which the three authors provide. This should enable a prospective student of
suffi cient cognitive ability to pass this hurdle and thence pursue what many
in it consider the most satisfying career possible, that is the combination of
scientifi c knowledge with practical and interpersonal skills to solve the prob-
lems of disease and illness.
Dr Chris Allen MA MD FRCP
Consultant Neurologist & previous Clinical Dean (1996–2003)
University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine
vii
Preface
When applying to medical school, we were startled to hear that we had to
take a new test which was different to anything we had taken before. This
test, a pilot version of the BMAT, was different because the questions tested
how you actually thought and applied knowledge rather than the knowl-
edge itself. It was quite unfamiliar, up until then we had been in the habit of
having a syllabus and past questions for every exam we sat. Unfortunately,
apart from a few sample questions on the offi cial website, there wasn’t much
we could do to prepare for this new test. Needless to say, we were scared
because we felt unprepared for a test in which we wanted to do our best.
Since then, medical school entrance exams like the BMAT and UKCAT
have been rolled out to cover most medical schools, some vet schools and
some biomedical courses across the country. The same fear of the unknown
which we felt so clearly is apparent in students today, because even now
it is very diffi cult to prepare: after diligently scouring the internet students
fi nds themselves at a loss as to what will come up and how to go about
answering the questions. However, it is obvious that after initially familiaris-
ing themselves with the format of the questions and developing a systematic
approach they fi nd they feel more comfortable and do much better.
It is therefore one of the aims of this book to unravel the basics of these
exams, and to show you how it is possible to approach them effectively with
only basic knowledge.
The other more obvious objective is to prepare you for the exams, not by
teaching tricks or gimmicks but by actually attempting to make you a better
thinker. As a result although this book is written with the average applicant
to the top medical schools in mind, it is suitable for any student of Thinking
Skills.
But this book cannot be relied on as the only thing you need to help
you with these tests. It is meant to serve as a kick-start or springboard to
set you on a journey of exercising your thinking faculties. This has several
implications:
1 You should read the whole book cover-to-cover several times over,
regardless of which exam you intend to sit. You are advised to do this
because many of the more subtle points are easily missed on fi rst
approach.
2 Because this book is about Thinking Skills, conventional rote-learning
approaches will not work: to get the best, you have to think. It is created
to be more of a workbook than a textbook, with questions and sugges-
ix
tions to pique your interest and stimulate thought. Many questions in the
book remain unanswered: the reason for this is to stimulate discussion
and debate, using the book with your friends and teachers.
3 This also means that you will need and should want to go beyond this
book, searching for other resources, and expanding the quality of the prac-
tice you acquire. So the earlier you read and digest this book, the better.
You may fi nd visiting our website www.cambridgethinking.com helpful.
What is the BMAT?
The BMAT (Biomedical Admissions Test) is a 2-hour exam composed of
three sections introduced by several medical schools, including Cambridge,
Oxford, Imperial College, University College London and the Royal Veteri-
nary College, which tests:
● Section 1 (60 minutes): Problem solving and data handling, critical think-
ing and comprehension.
● Section 2 (30 minutes): Scientifi c knowledge (the core syllabuses of GCSE
science and maths) with a focus on its application, rather than factual
recall.
● Section 3 (30 minutes): Written communication in response to a stimulus
question.
What is the UKCAT?
The UKCAT (United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test) is a 2-hour exam intro-
duced by the majority of the other medical schools in the United Kingdom.
It is administered in test centres around the country and is computer based.
The sections of the UKCAT are:
● Verbal Reasoning (22 minutes): Comprehension and inference.
● Quantitative Reasoning (22 minutes): Calculations and data handling.
● Abstract Reasoning (16 minutes): Spatial problem solving.
● Decision Analysis (30 minutes): Decoding and encoding messages.
● Non-Cognitive Analysis (30 minutes): Psychometric test in a question-
naire style.
These serve as a summary, and you are encouraged to look at the offi cial
websites for both these tests for the latest up to date information.
How to use the book
The layout of the book has been chosen to allow ease of use. There are four
main sections:
1 The core two chapters cover numeracy and verbal skills required by every
candidate.
Quantitative analysis for the BMAT and the UKCAT xi
2 The BMAT-specifi c chapters cover Sections 2 and 3 of the BMAT.
3 The UKCAT-specifi c chapters cover Abstract Reasoning and Decision
Analysis for the UKCAT.
4 The Question Papers for the BMAT and UKCAT.
Candidates who wish to prepare exclusively for either the BMAT alone or
the UKCAT alone need only read the core two chapters plus the sections rel-
evant to their exam, but we believe you will gain even more by reading the
whole book irrespective of which exam you are sitting.
Finally, although this book is primarily aimed at prospective medical and
veterinary school applicants, the Thinking Skills required for the BMAT and
UKCAT are increasingly becoming a requirement in many other tests (e.g.
the LNAT for prospective lawyers, the TSA for prospective computer scien-
tists and even tests by graduate recruiters for large corporate employers) as
well as life in general. This book may therefore have a wider forum.
Enjoy!
T. O. Osinowo
R. A. Weerakkody
H.W. Woodward
www.cambridgethinking.com
CHAPTER 1
Quantitative analysis for the
BMAT and the UKCAT
Part A: First glance
Problem solving is an essential and common skill. In everyday life, it is a
process that makes us stop and think because it is a skill that usually involves
deriving new knowledge or information from what we already know or
have. In the context of the BMAT and UKCAT we are provided with novel
problems and scenarios (usually involving quantitative data) where prior
knowledge alone is insuffi cient. It is the analysis required to be able to derive
a solution from the quantitative data that this chapter aims to cover.
There are various steps involved in solving problems of this kind. Firstly
you must pick out the relevant information from all the information you
have been provided, then you must think and decide how to go about using
this data to achieve the solution; fi nally you then go ahead and manipu-
late the data, drawing on basic understanding and experience of how the world
works, leading to your solution.
→ →
Data Extract relevant data Determine optimum strategy for achieving
→ →
solution Manipulate data appropriately (apply basic skills/functions)
Solution.
Different types of problems give emphasis to different parts of this proc-
ess. Some problems will require you to decide on the most relevant data
in a situation and not much else while others will test the whole range of
sub-skills.
Part of this process of problem solving is usually done automatically and is
arguably best left that way. What you can do to improve speed and accuracy
is consider the tools commonly used in solving problems; the kind of infor-
mation you will be given and the basic skills and functions you have availa-
ble in order to manipulate the available data. In this vein, this chapter looks
at the various functions that underpin problem solving. These functions are
the basic abilities everyone is presumed to have in order to be able to solve
problems. Some are very basic indeed and are covered very early in formal
education but it is exactly this fact – that they are basic – that seems to be the
undoing of many candidates. Getting a fi rm grasp of these skills/processes
BMAT and UKCAT Uncovered: A Guide to Medical School Entrance Exams T. O. Osinowo,
R. A. Weerakkody and H. W. Woodward © 2008 by T. O. Osinowo, R. A. Weerakkody, H. W. Woodward. 1
ISBN: 978-1-4051-6918-9