To ask the amount of effort needed to get into the medical profession

[JustRoseDreamer]

Yr 11 dd wants to but is not sure if it is worth it. She is also not sure what exactly she needs to do to get in.

It's ALOT of work, so you've really got to want to do it. The exams(which cost £000s) and you have to pay for, are throughout your career.
It's also very rewarding. It would be easier if people could blame the government for the current lack of GPs and not the medical professionals.
Also people need to learn to be better patients. People go to A and E and leave without telling receptionist, this means that an A and E Dr has probably wasted 30 minutes, on reading up on the notes and blood tests of someone who is no longer there. A west of time and the queue gets longer.

I'd suggest she researches it. If she lacks the motivation to do that, she probably isn't going to make it as a doctor.

In my experience (as a nurse, not a doctor) the trainee years are a hard, hard slog, much less well paid than people imagine. There is lots of competition for senior posts, and huge shortages in some areas.

But many people find it rewarding, and the pay is good at the top end.

Medic mentor do a good free getting into Medicine conference. Educated us hugely. Applying is a very big deal. Threads on here exist too which might help. It’s an exhausting journey op!

Once in med school would it be easy to get a job? How well does it pay? And also how long the working hours would be?

bump

The Student Room website has a good 'all things Medicine forum'. She could start by reading that.

Does your child actually have an interest in medicine?

Surely she could find out all these things easily for herself online?

Yes, very well, and very long.

It's hard work and it's a lot of pressure. Do not underestimate it.

My friend did medicine and is now a consultant. I could not have done what she did - working long hours, often at night/weekends, then going home to study and repeat it again. It was so intense. It's also socially intense and there were a lot of things she was expected to attend.

She is extremely well paid now and has a decent work life balance - but it's definitely not for everyone.

If your daughter is thinking it might not be 'worth it' because it's too much effort, honestly, she probably does not have the right drive and temperament for medicine.

Get over to Student Room and the Med forum.
DS is in year 13 and has had two med school interviews and rejections this year. It's tough.

She will need 3 A or even A* a levels and they are fussy on subjects, Some look at GCSE grades too. There's an entrance exams too which you need to score well on just to apply.

Add in work experience and volunteering. She will have a busy year 12. They apply September of year 13.

Med school is minimum 5 years so 5 years of fees and student loans and rent costs. They advise no part time job due pressure of course. Are you wealthy to support?

It's so competitive.

Starting pay is about £28k and hours are ridiculous. Check out why they are striking.

They need.WANT this and have so much resilience.

Good luck.

Does your DD actually want to get into the medical profession? Of course it’s hard work, long hours and a lot of effort but if she’s not passionate about it save the time and effort

As others have said if your 16 year old daughter cba to research this herself she's probably not suited to medicine.

These are all the wrong questions. She wants a well paid job not to be in the medical profession.

DD needs to do her research, fast. She should have already decided on her A levels in appropriate subjects, usually including Chemistry. As others have said, the Student Room is a good place to start.

Is it you thinking it might not be worth it or her?If she is determined ,smart, hardworking enough support her.She needs to research it herself though and get advice from careers at school.If it's her thinking of the pay rather than having the drive to study medicine get her to read 'This is going to hurt'.That'll put her off.

A lot of what you’re asking your daughter can find out research by herself which suggests she probably doesn’t have to me motivation to be a doctor.

Im very academic and briefly considered it but quickly realised it wasn’t for me as you have to be truly passionate about it which I was not.

My friend who did medicine also did a lot of work experience from year 10 onwards as she knew it was important to get into medicine school.

getting into medical school is the easy bit. Getting through medical school takes a bit of effort. Getting through a career in medicine is the hard bit. It sounds like if she's really thinking about it she needs to do some proper research, explore work experience options, talk to careers advisors etc. If she's not sure 'it's worth it' it probably won't be for her (or her potential patients).

In my country getting into medical school is definitely tough. Medical school is easier in comparison. But, honestly, if I could have my time over, I'd have discouraged my son from becoming a doctor. It's not a great life and large parts of medicine are not that well paid.

This. I have a lot of medic/psychiatrist friends. I had the grades, have the drive (what I did end up doing involved three post grad degrees), but I quickly realised I simply didn’t want to be a doctor badly enough.

Define “worth it”…
Is she mainly concerned about the pay? If so, it’s not the route for her. Yes, pay potential is great but medicine is a vocation, a calling, if you like. Being solely motivated by money is not the right reason to get into 10+ years of training and insane schedules.
Also agree with others, if your daughter is not able to do independent research into routes to medicine at her age, she is probably the wrong candidate for the med school.

My feeling from your post is this is not the right option for her. Medicine is a vocation. Does she have the mental strength to

• hold the hand of a dying patient and then tell their relatives their loved one has passed
• work 14 hour days, go home study and sleep then start all over again, no social life
• not take it personally when a distresses patient screams and shouts at her and have patience to calm them down
• make life saving decisions and stay calm and logical under pressure

And the ability to get A's in maths chemistry and physics?

It's not wrong to want a well paid job - it was definitely part of my motivation to do medicine, having seen my parents struggle for money I wanted something where I would always be in employment and the money was good.

Having said that, it isn't enough as a motivation.

It is a very long, very hard training and the money is not as good as it was 20 years ago. The working hours are crap and you have very little say in where you live, work or have time off in the junior stages. There are other jobs a bright kid can do that get a lot more money at younger ages.

It's telling that my old highly selective school used to produce a lot of medical students every year and now hardly any. The kids have realised there are better options.

By year 11 it is important to organise relevant work or voluntary experience(care homes, community support groups, with therapists etc) . Some hospitals offer a week's worth for local students but at ours you register in January and applications close within a day or two as high demand.

It is fairly easy yo get a job once you graduate but not necessarily where you want. You have to be prepared to move for the jobs.
https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/pay-doctors pay scales here.