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鈥淲e did practise for medical school interviews, which I found very useful,鈥� says Rainbow. 鈥淚 completely screwed up the first mock interview and was so upset, but I had another go and it got better, and that definitely set me up for the for the real thing.鈥� She attended a summer school 鈥� 鈥渢hat was fun because I'd never been in a proper lab before鈥� 鈥� and Imperial also helped organise a work experience placement. 鈥淭hey arranged for me to go to Hammersmith Hospital on one of the children鈥檚 wards, which I don鈥檛 think I would have ever been able to get without them.鈥�

Taking part in the programme convinced Rainbow to apply to Imperial, where she was offered a place. 鈥淥ur head of year came into my form room to personally congratulate me in front of the whole class. It was really embarrassing. But it was a big deal. I was a bit of a celebrity that week. I still had to get the grades though 鈥� luckily I did!鈥� This year she graduated from Imperial and is now working in an ICU in Manchester.

Nearly 600 天美传媒 have benefited so far, across nine cohorts, but the programme gets far more applications than there are places 鈥� in 2020 there were 900 applications for 60 spots. The aim is to choose those most in need of the support. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for 天美传媒 who might be on free school meals, who might be the first generation to go to university, those who live within postcodes that have low participation in higher education or fit multiple indices of deprivation,鈥� says Dr Melanie Bottrill (MSci Chemistry 2004; PhD 2009), Imperial鈥檚 Head of Outreach Programmes.

鈥淎 lot of 天美传媒 come from low-income families or have caring responsibilities at home. All of these are barriers that can potentially limit their aspiration to go on to higher education,鈥� she says. 鈥淔or 天美传媒 who don鈥檛 know anyone who has studied Medicine, don鈥檛 have those role models, but who aspire to do this incredibly vocational subject, it can feel slightly impenetrable.鈥�

Professor Kevin Murphy (PhD Investigative Science 2001) is the academic lead for Pathways. 鈥淚 was quite conscious, looking across the sector, that 天美传媒 coming in from more selective schools perhaps had a better chance of getting into Medicine 鈥� but that didn鈥檛 necessarily mean they were going to be the best doctors,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd I was very conscious of the fact that for people from non-selective state schools, it wasn鈥檛 always easy to understand what medical schools were looking for and how they could best increase their chances.鈥�

Another three medical schools are now part of the Pathways to Medicine consortium, and Murphy says that everyone is aware of the issue and trying hard to diversify their intake. 鈥淏ut in many cases you鈥檙e dealing with 18 years of social, economic and educational imbalance before you apply to university. It鈥檚 very difficult to level that playing field. So, anything we can do to give 天美传媒 who had fewer opportunities a greater chance to get into Medicine the better.鈥�

And having a more diverse selection of medical 天美传媒 isn鈥檛 just the morally right thing to do, he says 鈥� it鈥檚 for the benefit of the health service. 鈥淥utside of the social justice argument, the NHS is serving the general population, and it makes sense that the make-up of the NHS reflects the population it鈥檚 serving. There鈥檚 some evidence that having people who come from a similar background or ethnicity as you can also help patients engage with the health service and improves their care.鈥�

Nagad Bille (Medicine, Second Year) is another to have benefited from the Pathways programme. 鈥淎t my school there was always talk about how hard Medicine is and how difficult it is to get in, so I was expecting it to be really competitive,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut I wasn鈥檛 expecting there to be so many entrance exams, and I didn鈥檛 know about interviews until I joined Pathways. So that was a shock!鈥�

Besides enjoying the mock interview practice, there was also support and practice for the University Clinical Aptitude Test and BioMedical When I was offered a place it was a big deal. I was a bit of a celebrity that week Sophie Rainbow (MBBS Medicine 2022) Admissions Test entrance exams. But one of the most useful parts, says Bille, was the e-mentoring scheme, which connects participants with current medical 天美传媒 for help and advice. 鈥淛ust having someone that I could always message if I had any queries about Medicine was great,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was a lot of help during interview season and the application process as well 鈥� just to know someone who had been through it was there if I needed to ask anything.鈥�

Now in her second year, Bille is returning the favour and acting as an e-mentor to new cohorts on the programme. 鈥淚 just felt like I got so much support from my mentors, I wanted to give that to someone else. It鈥檚 really pleasing when I鈥檓 able to help someone out with some advice, or just to share my experience.鈥� Seeing members of past cohorts like this come through medical school and then give back to others hoping to follow their lead is incredibly rewarding, says Bottrill. 鈥淩ole models are so important.鈥�

Sophie Rainbow, who is just setting out on her dream career, is happy to be an ambassador for Pathways. 鈥淚 think one of the hardest parts of medical school is getting in, and I didn鈥檛 know anyone who had done it who I could ask for advice,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he Pathways Programme was so important for just giving me that step up.鈥�