To think I can apply for post grad med school with a 2.2 in languages from 15 years ago?

I don't know, but my late 80s/early 90s experience mirrors yours. I believe its probably not so much that things have changed as that the poster you are replying to has decided to act the arsehole for reasons best known to them.

Surely it was like that for him when he started, though.

I am older (graduated in 1990s), but when I was doing undergraduate studies at an RG uni, in my year approx 2 people got firsts, then the rest were split evenly between 2:1 and 2:2. So pretty much 50 per cent of the year got 2:2. Have things changed so much now?

I agree. Even if you get onto the course (which is highly unlikely with the wrong A Levels, no work experience and a 2:2 languages degree), you will have to work extremely long hours, likely relocate for your placements, end up in HUGE debt and all for a junior doctor job that pays little, has very little flexibility and extremely long hours. You will never see your kids.

You’d have to do science a levels first. A friend of mine decided to becomA a doctor aged 30 with an English lit degree. She had to get science a levels before she could do the medicine degree. Her first degree was a First from Oxford though. She spent more than 15 years grafting away through the A levels, degree, and junior years of training and now at 48 works like a dog for not much money in a busy London hospital.

(And the medical degree would be undergraduate)

You may be post grad but medical s hook plus access course would take 7 years. Plus 2 years foundation.

May I ask what puts you off about nursing? The reason l ask is that my brother is one and now holds a VERY senior role. People often see "nurse" and automatically think of a ward nurse. It really isn't like that

No you will not be accepted. You at least need science A Levels.

How old are your DC? No way would I study medicine with small children; the hours are terrible.

What will you live on while you’re studying?

i believe it says on the website they accept people with a 2:2 if they have a masters. Maybe it could be possible to do a masters first, dip your toes back I to education to see how you feel ?
when I was in med school one of my fellow students was a grandad by the end of it (admittedly only early 40s but he was very proud of his new grandson), so if you want it and are aware of the realities there is no reason why you cant consider it

I doubt you would get in. Nursing may be more attainable. Both would be very hard work with lots of placements. Being a junior doctor is notoriously difficult and you would be expected to work when and where you were told.

I came here to say I would recommend finding out more about what Operating Department Practitioners (ODP) do. Although I see @Greybeardy got in first with the sound and sensible advice I have come to expect whenever I see your username!

I think an ODP role could be right up your street OP- lots of variety possible, shorter training programme, still long hours but you could possibly work eg in day surgery units without weekend/ night commitments. I couldn’t work without my amazing ODP colleagues.

When I was younger, there was a series called Doctors to be on BBC following students through med school application to becoming doctors. (early 90s I think). One lady (Fey) was a mother of 4 at age 26 and a single parent.

Times have no doubt changed but may be an interesting watch for you if you could find it somewhere. There will be more modern programmes but it may give you some insight as I’m sure a lot of the challenges remain the same.

Fey is now an A&E consultant. A book to accompany the series is on Amazon. Was a very good series. I wanted to be a doctor but ended up in big pharma (better hours and earning power and overall easier life!!).

As I said.
Theres advice on the MedStudentPortal

A 2:1 is the accepted minimum for nearly all courses
But there are ways as suggested on the Portal. So for example if you’ve worked in healthcare, if you have a Masters or PhD, if you do a foundation course first ( OP wasn’t asking about that though).

The chances of getting in with lower than a 2:1 without any of the extras is small not least due to the large numbers transferring with the minimum anyway and the limited numbers available due to cost.

This is not true.
Some GEM courses will take entrants with a 2.2 in any subject.

How about volunteering at your local hospital or hospice ?

Or

Getting a part time job at your local hospital

Just messaged DD. She can't reply. She is at work. Of course. OP is this really compatible with your family life.

In DDs last F2 rotation only 8 out of 16 training posts in the Deanery were filled. so they were short a significant number of Registrars. Consultants were routinely on call one night in four.

It was a speciality with 8 years training so those with training numbers were reluctant to commit to an unpopular, hard to recruit, region. Instead they will hang on till something "better" comes along, or else will transfer out midway through, leaving the remaining pathway vacant. Specialist numbers were so low that it was a two year wait for an urgent referral, despite prompt treatment making a huge difference, and eight years for a non urgent one. DD wound up with a couple of lovely personal letters from her consultants saying she would make a great clinician and encouraging her to stick with it. The rules do not allow them to hire her, so instead one of the consultants is approaching hospitals/doctors in Australia that they know, and suggesting they give her a job. The hope is that one day things will be more sensible and she can go back.

They are, however, allowed to hire Physicians Associates. Better pay, regular hours, more training time, less responsibility. This is what OP should do.

Though DD had very much wanted to build her career in that part of the country, the sticking plaster that was dedicated staff, is not longer working. She is starting to see advantage in experiencing medicine somewhere that is not in crisis. In her current rotation 50% of F2s are MIA. Stress, essentially, though not helped by the lack of recognition and career prospects. She recently saw a patient who has been waiting eight years for surgery on a huge disabling hernia. She can't offer him anything other than sympathy. It is not why she signed up to a medical career.

Look at Physician Associate careers. The Government recently announced they are expanding the number of training places. Even if you have to do a first, sciencey, degree it will be quicker. (Things like geography or sports science will do fo0r some places, though you might as well do something relevant.) Or other HCP careers.

Many years ago medicine was romantic. Junior doctors were worked to the bone but they were paid well, did really cool things, there was real camaraderie and no barriers to career progression.

It’s not like that anymore. I really can’t stress that enough. Being a junior doctor is a hoop jumping slog where you often feel like little more than a column on a spreadsheet. There are barriers at every stage of progression, which are getting worse year on year.

I would not consider medicine now as a career as an 18 year old, let alone as a graduate I’m presuming is well into their 30s if not their 40s.

Stepping back from your initial question of whether you can apply with your current qualifications, I strongly encourage you to consider why you would like to be a doctor. Because it's obviously not just about studying medicine, it's about the career itself. Postgraduate medical training is incredibly tough: juggling long shifts, constantly moving posts, the emotional drain of the job, perhaps not knowing where you'll be living or what your rota will be until a few weeks or perhaps days before a job starts. And at the same time as this, doing postgrad exams and polishing your CV to be competitive for the next stage of training applications. It's really not for the faint of heart.

If you were to apply (and with a good enough score in GAMSAT, there may just be places that would consider you with a 2:2 in a non-science degree, but I don't know where), this is something that you will be asked about, along with why you think you will make a good doctor. You would be expected to have explored the career in some way, not only through relevant work experience, and have considered what you have learned from it about medicine, but also ideally have spoken to doctors about the realities of life in medicine.

I went to medical school as a graduate nearly 20 years ago now, when I was 33, with a loosely science based degree. I'm now a consultant, and I am involved in medical school admissions and teaching for a graduate entry med school course, which only takes students who have a 2:1 or above. Some of our students have humanities degrees, and not all are straight from their undergrad degrees. The above is what would be expected from them, plus a stellar performance at interview.

Although I love my job, I don't think I'd do it again if I was applying now. Unemployed doctors post-Foundation training isn't something I thought I'd ever see, it's very competitive to get into specialty training programmes and locum jobs (how many of my peers spent their post-Foundation years if they didn't go straight into training) are hard to come by. The NHS is also in a terrible state.

I would get some work as an HCA to see if you like working in the NHS and with patients. I also guarantee you won’t know what nursing actually is.

2:1 is required at graduate entry in a related subject.
There are lists of acceptable degrees of which yours isn’t one OP

Then there are Alevel requirements as well eg biology, chemistry type subjects.

If you have or get a Masters, a pass is all you need you may have a better chance but some sort of science at A levels will give you the leg up you’ll need.

Look at MedStudentLink for things you can do to increase your chances but generally a 2:1 in a related subject is the minimum for this highly sort after career path

Realistically, no. Not yet. You would need access course, re do science a levels ect.

being a med student/ junior doctor I think really is a young persons game. We are talking very long shifts, nights, on your feet the whole time. Have you watched the first series of greys anatomy?

perhaps spending some time with a career coach to really pin down what it is you are looking for in a career?