Dd12 wants to be a doctor

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She has convinced herself that she wants to study medicine and become a pediatrician. She is very academic and hard working and is attending a good secondary school. She loves science and maths but is high achieving in most subjects.

Is there anything that we can do to support her with her dream? I am fully aware that she might change her mind but at the same time I'd like to support her and give her the best possible chance.

I hope this is not to ridiculous a post.

*too

Mine has wanted to be a doctor since 11. What we've done is support her with tutoring to ensure her confidence and ability in maths and sciences are as good as they can be.

Getting into medical school is much more than just the academic side (although this bit is very important too!).
Things like work experience (volunteering in a nursing home etc.) and having a 'rounded' CV make a big difference. Does she have extra curricular interests (play an instrument, dance, sports etc)? If not, at 12 she's young enough to find a new hobby.
Encourage her to get involved with the school council, Duke of Edinburgh Award (from age 14 I think), debating club, anything like that.
Maybe have a look at admissions requirements for a range of medical schools to get an idea of what they look for.

Thank you mbosnz for not laughing at this, I feel pretentious just writing it for some reason. Also good luck to your daughter, I'm sure the extra tuition will help foster confidence.

I am wondering how we can engage in her in interesting science stuff.

She loves to read and I can enable her with this by taking her to the library or getting books for her kindle. I have an art background and have taken her to galleries since she was little, we talk about art etc. but I have no clue how to support her with science.

If you can afford it consider a subscription to a science magazine. New Scientist is good for a broad overview of interesting things. You can look at a bit of the articles on line to see if you think it would be accessible.

To add I am a doctor and that is the same age I was when I started to think seriously about it. Good advice upthread about getting work experience etc. My parents always gently challenged me about the difficulties of being a doctor - dealing with death, night shifts etc. Don’t be afraid to talk about these things as she gets older while still being supportive. It’s important to be realistic.

Cadets in St John's Ambulance is a good start as an extra curricular activity.

www.sja.org.uk/get-involved/young-people/

Picking the right range of GCSEs and A levels is important. Maths and science obviously important but be careful about subjects like art that are very time heavy and won't contribute much to an application.

On the Higher Education pages on MN there are Medic threads for each route. I suspect if you ask on one of those there will be a number of people willing to help her in the right direction too.

My DS (almost 20) was the same, currently in med school (well, not exactly physically but you know what I mean!).

He got involved with literally everything to bump up his uni application - became president of the student council, read New Scientist (subscription from age of 13), volunteered at the local hospital for two years (from age 16), did NCS, got work experience shadowing a GP (rare as hen's teeth, he was flipping lucky!), volunteered in a care home, volunteered in Kenya, bumbled off to Denmark on a whim, went to an international school council thing in Rome, travelled round Scotland, you name it, he did it. He's currently working with vulnerable adults in a care home when not studying. I often wonder where he came from...think he must have been switched at birth, but then I had a home birth so....??!!

When he started science in Y7, his science teacher told the whole class that no one there could expect to be a doctor or a vet so forget that. I soon had a word with that teacher and the HOY for knocking back ambition instead of supporting it!

Support your daughter as much as you would with any other ambition. Get extra tutoring if need be (I did for DS's A level chemistry), encourage her to leap into anything and take every opportunity presented to her. Actually, as parents, we should all be doing that anyway!

Whatever she ends up doing, she'll know she has an amazing and supportive mum, OP!

Start looking at the entry requirements for university which will help with choosing GCSE options and later A levels.

Oh and tell her school! Quite often there are courses and residential's held in universities related to medicine that her school can get her on. My DS went to loads once the school pulled their finger out! You just have to be a bit pushy!

St Johns Ambulance and New Scientist have both already been suggested so I'm just seconding them!

To add I am a doctor and that is the same age I was when I started to think seriously about it. Good advice upthread about getting work experience etc. My parents always gently challenged me about the difficulties of being a doctor - dealing with death, night shifts etc. Don’t be afraid to talk about these things as she gets older while still being supportive. It’s important to be realistic

Thanks for posting that - we do talk about it regularly! She read 'This is Going to Hurt', which was useful, and the sequel.

My little weirdo, read 'Crime and Punishment' at the age of 11, and decided that she wanted to become a psychiatrist. You gotta wonder. . .

With the extra-curriculars, as much as anything, it helps them not burn out, because they're so intense about study.

Definitely with the volunteering.

Depending on where you are, look at whether there are any local events you can tap into. If you are near Cambridge for example, the Cambridge science festival is huge and includes events around the medical school.

2 of my sisters are doctors, 1 gp 1 psych,Encourage her to concentrate on the sciences and maths. Encourage her to get involved in things such as Mencap, Scope, or other things with a caring capacity. Look at TV programmes such Hospital, even kids operation ouch can be quite good.

Take her to visit the Wellcome Collection in London when it reopens. It also has a Young People programme for ages 14+.
wellcomecollection.org/pages/Wuw2MSIAACtd3Ssg

A subscription sounds like a good idea as is checking out entry requirements of Medical schools.

Dd plays has flute lessons at school and is in the school orchestra.

She is super caring and I (biased as I am) think she would make a very empathetic and competent doctor.

We can look at volunteering when she is a little older. Is it mainly nursing homes or are there other settings we could also look at?

Also you may find that BBCiplayer still has the young medics in practice programmes. They are woth a watch.

Volunteering.
Activity groups for kids,with special needs.
Old people.
Etc etc anything with caring role.
Or she could befriend elderly people look at help the aged locally.

www.sciencefocus.com/

I always think it's amazing that doctors seem to make these decisions young. Every doctor I have met on a personal level said they knew at 11/12 that that is what they wanted to be ❤️

If she’s not seen it the Cheltenham science festival has just been on and each day’s broadcast is still on YouTube. The first show of each day is a family show.

Junior Dr here.
Aside from academics I would get her to watch the more realistic TV shows- the BBC junior doctors series, BBC Hospital etc-to show her the reality of what it is to work in the NHS.

I'd also work strongly on resilience- hobbies, healthy lifestyle, juggling responsibilities, learning how to cook and look after herself (on little-no sleep for the true Dr experience!). And ask how she feels about not being able to do the same things as your friends in their 20s (can never guarantee being able to attend friends weddings, holidays, family events) and potentially having to move areas every year for many years of training.

I wish my parents had not allowed me to focus so much on academics and instead helped me to create a healthy work-life balance.

Maybe I'm a bit cynical but I've just done Friday, Saturday, Sunday 13 hour days on call covering emergencies and routine jobs (have to juggle and get it all done, whilst maintaining an air of calm and confidence) covering most of the wards in a large DGH and any cardiac arrests. Had worked all week last week except Thursday and back for the week tomorrow.

Thank you so much for all the helpful ideas!