Dd12 wants to be a doctor

[BrightRead]

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.

If she still wants to be a paediatrician when she's a bit older can I suggest that she looks at volunteering/working at a play scheme for children with disabilities in the school holidays or after school clubs. This is group of children whom she is likely to encounter frequently as a Paed and they rarely follow text books. Any insight and experience she can gain in that aspect would be very useful to her I'm sure.

I am only repeating what we were told at the subject talks at several medical schools in 2017. They stressed that they wanted experience of volunteering or working in a medical/caring setting more than anything else as an extra curricular.

Although I agree that the more strings to the bow a prospective student has shows that the student is capable of a heavy workload. So, from the point of view of having the requisite academic qualifications and a high grade in a musical instrument and work/volunteering experince and D of E, this shows that the student can juggle a lot of commitments.

For UCAS applications in general (not just medicine) I did find that universities often gave out different information from schools about what they wanted in a student, and that in many cases they don't even read personal statements (not true in the case of medicine).

Most Medical Schools are very wary of having entry requirements that unintentionally exclude good candidates so you don't actually have to spend every second of your day doing work experience or extra curricular activities. One of my kids got three offers and one rejection despite not having done masses of extra curricular stuff. He had done a long term work experience. and a bit of work shadowing but nothing amazing. His extra curricular activities were almost nothing. He was a busy teen but not into clubs and societies. He didn't play an instrument and he wasn't captain of anything.

It's really sad if kids think they have to do things just so it looks good on their UCAS when chances are it doesn't actually make any difference.
I think work experience is very valuable though not just for the application but also to make sure your kid know that they actually want to be a Doctor. It's a tough process. My son is as laid back as you can be but found some of his shifts as a junior doctor to be absolutely brutal. It's not a career for the faint hearted.

RazorEdge all v good points.
If dc want to do extra curricular fine but if want to apply to be doctor then relevant volunteering will count more. And help them decide why they are applying.

Dd found the book helpful
Medical School Interviews (2nd Edition). Over 150 Questions Analysed. Includes Multiple-Mini-Interviews (MMI) - A Practical Guide to Help You Get That Place at Medical School.

My friend worked as a cleaner in a hospital as she couldn't afford to volunteer - she is one of the most grounded people I know. She's a consultant now but bloody hell the things she went through and still does - I wouldn't want any of my kids to be a doctor unless they really, really wanted to do it and I certainly would have a good go at putting them off first.

Paediatric nurse is a much better job!

Less stressful and better work life balance!

My son too but he is 15,all I did was made sure he looked fully into it and understood the commitment and time and hard work it takes

I'm so glad I started this thread and grateful for all the posts, dd and I have learned so much, thank you Dd is keen on looking into SJA.

GazeboParty You friend who is a consultant sounds amazing.

Dd found the book helpful Medical School Interviews
Great recommendation, thank you.

If she still wants to be a paediatrician when she's a bit older can I suggest that she looks at volunteering/working at a play scheme for children with disabilities in the school holidays or after school clubs. This is group of children whom she is likely to encounter frequently as a Paed and they rarely follow text books.

That's excellent advice.

@RazorEdge we would love to read your personal statement if you are sure, would it be possible to PM it .

No one has said musical exams open doors or that DofE does either.

What I’ve said is: if you enjoy doing extra things, do them if it makes you tick. It’s never a bad thing to get pleasure from playing an instrument or enjoying sport or even enjoying art and photography! If anything it makes you the person you are and that’s a good thing for being a doctor. No one had to be all study with a view to being a doctor. You cannot abandon being musical if it means a lot to you. Likewise it doesn’t matter if you are not. The value of DofE is the introduction to useful volunteering. I cannot see anything wrong with that.

No one has said musical exams open doors or that DofE does either.

Schools often sell the idea that having D of E on your personal statement makes the student stand out.

My sister is a doctor and we both did st johns ambulance - badgers then cadets - a lot of people I work with went to them too - I am an AHP. We volunteered at concerts/gigs etc when we were 16 as part of at Johns ambulance through the cadets. My sister also volunteered at the hospital as part of her duke of Edinburgh (I know it was a long process of being vetted etc) our neighbour was a doctor and used to give her the BMJ from a young age too!

"I got d of e " won't but what you learned or gained might

During d of E I volunteered in care home and decided to continue a further three years. And it showed me that.....

During d of e challenge " I learned perseverance and team working after I had to encourage and lead our group through mud and heavy rain with a makeshift splint after one of us sprained their aNkle during an eight hour trek "

Exactly Embracelife. Posters need to understand how to write a PS. It’s not a list. It’s what you have been able to learn and how you can apply that to your chosen course. DofE is a vehicle for that. Schools are poor advice givers for many potential students. They need to emphasise the learning/volunteering and say less about the qualification. Many university admissions officers don’t read the PS. Obviously that’s not universal but to say it makes you stand out when so many have it, is clearly ridiculous.

www.medschools.ac.uk/studying-medicine/applications/entry-requirements?type=standard-entry-medicine

We were involved with Scouts when they admitted girls, Daughter joined, did Dof E and helped with others as she got older. Worth considering, I suggest.
Also the Maths, an important part of health practice is being able to understand statistics. She needs to learn to pick apart the popularly quoted figures in news reports and form her own opinions and argue them.

DD is now very keen to join SJA. I hope we can make that happen.

What sort of specific experiences do cadets gain e.g. what activities are involved in gaining the various badges?

I looked at the SJA website but couldn't find much info there.

It sounds like young people gain really useful life skills as cadets.

They also go with volunteers to events and this is obviously valuable experience. They can also help to train younger cadets. I would think you could contact your local branch and find out exactly what young people can do.