UK job position and IETLS success for medical English student
Bournemouth, 16 October 2007 - Kingsmore is delighted to inform that one of its students has successfully managed to secure a job position as a medical doctor in the United Kingdom.
Dr. Mathias Nagy from Austria has studied medical English at Kingsmore International for four weeks.
During this period he has prepared for the IELTS exam and applied for jobs in the NHS. As a result we interviewed him regarding his experiences.
This interview will enable you to gain more insight in what it is like to study medical English in England with Kingsmore and also covers information about the IELTS test and about the experiences of Dr. Nagy in regards to his application process.
Q) Hi Mathias, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Where are you from and what did you do back home?
A) I am from Vienna, the vibrant capital of Austria.
It is an absolutely gorgeous city and I had the pleasure to study medicine here and in Graz.
I graduated a couple of mouths ago and decided to go abroad to gain some international experience.
First I went to Switzerland and worked for some months in a small hospital in a department of orthopaedic surgery.
Then I went to South Africa, Cape Town and was able to gain some experience in a local hospital.
Q) What was the reason to come to England?
A) There are plenty.
First of all English learning.
I strongly believe that England and Kingsmore in particular are the perfect place to brush up my rusty language knowledge.
As far as I am concerned, English is of major importance in our times.
It is absolutely necessary for me to have a good command of the English language because I would like to work as a medical doctor in the UK and after a few years I would like to go to Australia and the USA.
Another important reason is the medical training, I have the impression that I could have a very good postgraduate training in the UK.
Q) Has this been your first visit or have you travelled here before?
A) It has been my fist visit to Bournemouth but in high school I spent 2 weeks in London and I was delighted by this fascinating city.
I promised myself to come back.
Bournemouth is an exciting city too, I am really glad that I had the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks here.
It has everything, beautiful beaches, many shops, busy bars and restaurants, a vibrant nightlife and many tourists.
It seems to me that Bournemouth is much better for language tourists than London because it is not so overcrowded and is a little bit more quiet.
My only regret is that I did not spend more time with other students during the social program which Kingsmore offers for free.
Q) What do you like and dislike about this country?
A) I tend do feel that England has a polite, sometimes over polite culture which is really relaxing.
It is quite a difference to Austria and other German speaking countries because we are sometimes too direct.
I firmly believe that the inhabitants are really helpful and friendly.
I also enjoyed the English humour.
Oh, what I do not like about England: not surprisingly the weather.
I also had some problems to get used to the English kitchen, although I am lucky because Vivienne from my host family in Bournemouth is an excellent chef.
Q) As you know, there are quite a few language schools in Bournemouth.
What made you choose
Kingsmore International?
A) This is a good question.
By and large I found about 25 language schools on the Internet in Bournemouth but Kingsmore was my first choice.
I would like to point out the major importance of small classes.
I am really happy that Kingsmore offers classes with a maximum of 6 students and
specialised language courses like medical or legal English.
I have been with only 2 other students in a class.
Other school also offer medical English but they have 10-15 students per class and charge the same price.
I can only to imagine studying with 15 other people in the same course, I think I would only be able say 1-2 sentences per lesson.
I learned Italian in Rome and French in Nice too and would like to emphasize that it is really essential to learn in small classes.
Another important point is that
Kingsmore is run highly professionally and I am glad that Kingmore offers a free Internet connection and I am able to use my own laptop.
I would like to mention that I wanted to live with an English family (homestay) because I firmly believe that this is a very good way to improve my English.
My host family was situated in the north of Bournemouth and I got a really warm welcome.
Vivienne treated me as a member of her own family and I would like to thank her for her hospitality.
We had many stimulating conversations so I got "free" language lessons. Kingsmore organizes free social activities and this is also remarkable because I was able to find a lot of local and international friends.
Oh, another important point is that Kingsmore has a nice mix of international students from Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Poland...
I think that it is essential having not many students from one country.
Compared to other schools, Kingsmore has really reasonable prices.
Q) Tell us a little bit about the course you have done with Kingsmore.
In which ways did it help you?
A) I booked my Medical English course directly with Kingsmore and got a really nice welcome.
Initially, I booked 4 weeks of medical English combined with general English.
I was really surprised by the professional teachers and enjoyed the medical English classes because they have a good structure and Steven teaches exactly what I need for my job as a medical doctor in the UK.
It contains a lot of conversation, reading, listening and enough information about English culture and the English health system.
One of the highlights was my visit at a GP-Surgery organised by Kingsmore.
I was able to shadow a GP seeing patients and I was really happy to practice my English in real situations.
There is no shadow of doubt that my English improved a lot.
After these 4 weeks I decided to apply for jobs in the UK and received plenty of assistance from the directors of Kingsmore.
They helped me concerning my registration and CV, they told me where and how to apply for NHS-jobs and what to say during an interview.
For some applications I needed a language certificate; called IELTS.
This was the reason why I decided to book some additional private lessons at Kingsmore.
In the next 3 weeks I had an intensive preparation for IELTS and some assistance regarding the application, so I was sanguine to get good result.
At the end of August I took this exam and got the result two weeks later.
I was really surprised that I achieved an overall band score of 8.0.
In reading I got a 9.0, which is the highest achievable score.
Q) What would you say are the best things about studying English in a language school in England?
A) It really depends on the language school.
You can find hundreds of schools and thousands of courses.
I would like to emphasize the great significance of small classes.
I have the impression that learning English in England is a wonderful opportunity for Europeans to brush up their English.
I firmly believe that not only the school is important.
It is essential to be immersed into this language.
By saying this I mean that every student should listen, read and most important speak as much as possible.
People in UK are really friendly and it is not really a problem to practice English outside of the classroom.
As far as I am concerned it was very important for my English that I spent a couple of weeks with an English family.
This unique combination of a quality language school, the opportunity of being immersed into English and a friendly international culture is available only 2 hours from Vienna.
I learned English for 4 years in Austria, I was really bad and I hated it.
I only learned vocabulary and grammar but I could not practice this.
My English was really rusty a couple of months ago.
I strongly feel that only in an English speaking country is it possible to learn this important language.
I would like to recommend everybody wishing to study in England to ask the language school about the qualification of the teachers, size of the classes (should never be more than 6), nationality mix of the students and free social activities.
Q) During your stay at Kingsmore, you have prepared and applied for job interviews.
What can you tell us about this process and is it very different from how you used to do this in your own country?
A) This was quite a challenge because the English health system is really different from the Austrian.
First I needed to be registered with the GMC, then I needed a language certificate for some applications.
Fortunately I had a lot of assistance from Kingsmore.
A vital point was the personalised preparation for my IELTS exam.
I thank Kingmore very much that I was able to achieve an overall band score of 8.0.
I was really happy when Steven told me the result. Thank you for your help.
Oh, the application procedure: I have the impression that to put it mildly, it is a bit strange.
First I had to fill in different forms, in average 10-15 pages and I had to answer questions like "What are
your major academic and non academic achievements?" or "What do you think about teamwork".
Then I had to wait 3-4 weeks and some hospitals called me and told me that I had been selected for an interview.
The major problem was that they only gave me a 2 day notice and I had to travel far distances.
I would like to underline that I got plenty of help from Kingsmore, for example what to say during an interview, how to get there or structuring my CV and for this help they did not charge anything.
Getting a medical job in England is quite competitive at the moment and I did not really think that I would get a job here.
I think without the help from Steven and Sebastian from Kingsmore I would now work in Austria.
Thank you again.
Q) Your efforts have paid off and you have successfully secured a job in this country.
Congratulations!
We are delighted to hear this.
Where are you going to work, for how long and what will you be doing?
A) I am really happy too.
At the moment I am in Barrow-In-Furness, Cumbria.
This nice city is located in the Lake District, a fantastic part of England.
I got a contract for two years in the Foundation Program and work as a medical doctor in different departments.
I really happy that this post is a regular training post and I stated to work there two weeks ago.
I find this hospital with about 450 beds
and my job absolutely remarkable because my colleagues are really helpful.
Teamwork is very important here and I was able to gain a lot of experience.
Q) You have also taken the IELTS exam.
What was the reason you wanted to take this exam and how did you prepare?
Also, what can you tell us about the examination process and what was the outcome of your test?
A) I took this exam at the end of August because I needed a proof of my English for some applications.
I decided to take the IELTS in the UK because it is a bit cheaper than in Austria and here are a lot more test centres available.
I took the IELTS in Exeter and had a mentionable worthy preparation at Kingsmore International.
I booked some private lessons and Steven taught me interesting techniques and expressions for all parts of the IELTS.
After these lessons I was quite sanguine that I would get acceptable results.
This exam contains of 4 parts: reading (one hour), listening (30 minutes), writing (one hour) and speaking (15 minutes).
After two weeks I got my results back and I was really glad because I achieved a higher overall band score than I expected.
I only needed a 7.5 for my applications and I achieved an 8.0. For my reading I got a 9.0 (maximum).
It is not beyond the realms of possibility that this enabled me to gain more confidence in my English.
Q) Fantastic!
Mathias, we are very happy for you and we are glad we could play a part in your adventure and help you.
Please do not be a stranger, the doors are always open for you.
A) I would like to express my deep gratitude towards Kingmore Language School.
Thank you very much for the personalised language training and for the great support.
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