Second-year Medical student, Anthony Wright, aka Dr Keele Good, returned to Carmel last week. As a former student, Anthony was happy to help this year’s budding Medics prepare for their university interviews, so we grabbed the chance to catch up with him!

Where and what are you currently studying?
I’m studying Medicine at Keele University in Staffordshire.

What’s it like living at Keele?
I lived on campus for my first year, but this year I decided to share a house with friends in Newcastle-under-Lyme and I much prefer it. Keele is a small village so there are more things to do in Newcastle and more local shops like Asda and Aldi.

Are your housemates also studying Medicine?
No, two of them do Maths, one does Criminology and one does Computer Science. It’s nice to go home and have a bit of an escape from Medicine. I can sit and watch The Chase with them, instead of talking about our medical lectures!

Do you get involved in any extra-curricular activities alongside your studies?
I do actually. On a Wednesday night we do Medic Football which is great fun. I’m also on Cube Radio on a Wednesday afternoon; my DJ name is Dr Keele Good, which I think is quite funny! I’m also President of Keele Folk and Acoustic Club; I play guitar and it’s a great way to chill out.

Do you hope to specialise in a particular area of Medicine?
The degree is five years long so I am not totally sure yet as it’s too early to say but I am quite interested in Mental Health or possibly becoming a GP.

Have you got any advice for students who are thinking of applying for Medicine?
How long have you got? (laughs) Work Experience is vital and I’d advise you to get as much as you can as soon as you can. Try and get placements in different areas of Medicine, even if you just get a couple of weeks, because it’s great to compare the different sectors in your Personal Statement when applying to Uni.

You’re back at Carmel today for our Med/Dent/Vet ‘Multi Mini Interview’ event! This helps to prepare students for their university interviews. How do you feel it helped you?
It helped me massively as that style of interview is something I had never been through before. It was a nice way to introduce us all to the new format and all the different interviewers provided us with lots of useful feedback. Having a practice run like this is the best way to prepare for your university interviews.

What support did you receive from Carmel as part of the High Achievers’ Programme?
Eve, one of the High Achievers’ Coordinators, was fantastic and she helped me massively. She arranged for guest speakers to come in who helped you get perspective on the different medical specialities. I had one-to-one mock interviews with Eve, which helped me with the role play stations at interview, as I had no idea how to approach that before. She also suggested improvements to my Personal Statement which really helped. I don’t know if I would be sat here today talking about being a Medical student if it wasn’t for Eve’s support.

Click here for more info about Carmel’s High Achievers’ Programme