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

341 Pages·2008·2.45 MB·English

by  H. W. Woodward

BMAT and UKCAT
Uncovered
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⬘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
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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
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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