Is medical school hard?

[RaiderGirl94]

I mean hard to pass & hard to get in?

What did you need to get your place?

Basically I am 26 I would need to do A levels first, so it’s going to be a lot of work just to apply but I’m determined to earn a better life.

Thanks in advance x

Well, the simple answer is yes.

Students need to be predicted top grades to even apply, and then a lot still don't get offers to even begin the course.
The training is very full on. Both practical placements with ridiculously incredibly long hours, shift work, working through Christmas etc, not being able to get leave when you want it, is very draining. Constant exams. Being expected to go to whichever hospital they place you at - even when it can mean having to move to a new town for that placement, etc, add to the stress.

Did you not take A-levels at 16 - 18? Or are you needing to add to them with the 'right' subjects ?
Do you have a string of excellent GCSEs ?

Thank you for your reply. Basically I need to redo my GCSEs at least 3 of them & do a levels. I never took education seriously unfortunately. I am okay paying to redo GCSE & to do A levels. But it’s going to take me 2 years to do this with a fast track A levels.

I would take it one step at a time.

Firstly re take your GCSEs. If in a year you can achieve 5 at A** or 9 as they are now graded then you will be a bit clearer as to whether you have the aptitude to gain As at A level in chemistry, biology etc.

Then give the A levels a go.

It will be incredibly hard work for the next 10 years and then there is still further training in your specialism. I do think that people who have the ability to become a doctor would shine at school but only you know why that didn't happen the first time around.

There are plenty of other career paths you could train up to follow which might be a shorter route, less expensive to fund, easier and more lucrative at the end.

OP could you say a little more about why you’ve decided on a medical career as opposed to any other profession?

People can re-start their working life at pretty much any age - but, given the amount of effort required, I’m not sure I’d choose medicine just for its salary potential. Is it something you’ve always wanted to do?

There's some helpful advice here

www.bellerbys.com/guides/careers/how-to-become-hospital-doctor

I have two friends whose children have gone to med school. Both did extensive amounts of work experience which is vital. Also entrance to med school isn't just by A levels - you have to take the Bmat or UCAT as well before you apply. Different medical schools have different requirements so you'd need to check what each one asks for.

www.uniadmissions.co.uk/ukcat-vs-bmat-which-to-take/

www.themedicportal.com/application-guide/ukcat/

I say this with kindness OP, but all the youngsters I've known who have gone to medical school have all "walked through" their GCSEs at 16 - achieving 10+ As and A*s, then gone on to sweep the board with 4 A-levels too. Alongside this they have all completed other achievements (high grades in music / DofE Gold / sports / been prefects / etc etc as well as some relevant volunteering.

Even people with all of that, still don't 'walk in' to medical school placements.
I would be quite surprised if medical schools would look at applicants who struggled to get a good clutch of GCSEs and A-levels without a really exceptional case.

Yes I’ve always wanted to study medicine. Firstly I wanted to become a paramedic but the skills/qualifications you get are not usually transferable. I’m interested in Hematology & oncology. I feel as though I’ve left it too long though & I guess I’m not naturally smart

An interest in medicine is really laudable but to be blunt I think there are much much easier ways to make a better life for yourself than starting to pursue a career as a doctor from GCSE level at 26.

The skills of a paramedic would be incredibly transferrable - communication, problem solving, working in stressful situations, team work, ability to work and think independently etc.

Paramedic science itself is a 3(?) year degree which would require reasonable A-level grades. From there there'd be the potential for progression into more specialised paramedic roles too.

I guess I’m not naturally smart

Well, are you? Or not? What do you think? In the absence of the usual indicators it’s impossible for us to tell whether you’re a genius or a fantasist or somewhere in the middle.

What are you good at? Do you read a lot (not just fiction)? Can you soak up information really quickly? Do you have a great memory? Curiosity? Determination? I also want to ask if your friends, family, associates are always insisting that you should be doing something more intellectually demanding because you’re wasted in your current occupation - but that seems unfair.

To be truthful, you won’t know if you’re ... up to it until you have the results of GCSEs and A’ levels and have been accepted on to a degree. (And some of the cleverest people I’ve ever known have walked away from their prospective medical careers straight after their degrees.)

I don’t think you’ve left it too late to start, at all. And I obviously don’t know your background. The question is whether you know yourself well enough to discern if this is a dream, or a plan.

Yes it's hard. Dd1 is half way through a medical degree. She is basically a straight A type of student and she copes with learning but it's very hard work.

Redo your GCSEs then move on to some science based a levels and see how that goes then pick your degree after that.

What about something like SALT instead of a straight medicine degree?

If you're not naturally smart it's probably not for you. You will need A* or at least A in your a levels. Normal combination is chemistry, biology and another subject, often maths. So hard subjects. Do you think you can do that especially if you are fast tracking a levels.

Have you thought about nursing? You could do an access course then nursing degree. Still hard but not as hard as medicine. Lots of opportunity to progress and specialise and get really involved with a good level of autonomy.

I would say OP, follow your dream. Motivation is a wonderful thing and if it’s what you really want, then go for it. Medical schools take mature students, as they see life experiences as very valuable. As well as studying, you need to get some work experience. I worked with a woman who was working as a health care assistant, whilst waiting to start medical school. There are also endless opposition to volunteer in the caring sector. I also worked with a nurse who went on to train as a doctor. Not all applicants are fresh from school with a string of A* and Duke of Edinburgh’s awards. Go for it, you’ll never forgive yourself if you don’t do it. Good luck.

Are you good at 3D memory and visualisation? Anatomy is probably the most "memory intensive" learning exercise.

Then pharmacology is more list base.

Then you need problem solving skills.

If you can memorise anatomy without taking forever the rest isn't insurmountable but if you struggle with that it's a massive time killer in an already busy degree.

No, it’s not hard. I’d say no harder than a nursing degree, but pass marks are higher (40% for nursing, 80% for medicine but with easier assessments)

Read “This is gong to hurt” it’s a very funny and explanatory memoir of a young medical student . All true and let’s you see what it’s really like.

easier assessment in medicine than nursing? are you serious Howmanysleepsnow

I’d say no harder than a nursing degree, but pass marks are higher (40% for nursing, 80% for medicine but with easier assessments)

m
How on earth have you reached this conclusion?

Op unless there was something specific going on that stopped you doing well in your GCSEs, I don’t think medicine would be right for you. It is very difficult academically. You could contact some admissions tutors and explain your situation. They’d be in a good position to advise you on whether you’re being realistic. The “follow your dreams, you can do anything” mantra isn’t always very helpful or kind.

It is very hard and very long, expensive training process and initially the pay is low and long working hours.
Being a doctor is more of a ’calling’. It’s emotionally hard too.
My sister did it from your age but she already had a university degree so had to go back take all the science and math she missed and do mcats to get in to med school which took a while as she was working too. It then took seven years.
I think there a lot of other professions, even within the medical field, which are not so arduous a process where you can still get a lot of satisfaction. But also many other careers too. I wonder if the first step might be to see some sort of independent careers coach or advisor? They may help you see what qualifications you need for different sectors, the likelihood of you obtaining them, and how to move forward. Good luck!

My local college does access courses for paramedics, midwifery and nursing. No GCSEs or a levels needed. It would be much quicker to enter nursing and then get a job in oncology and specialise surely? It's a very long drawn out pathway you are looking at.

@purpledaisies I studied both. Obviously just my experience, other people might feel differently and that’s ok.

It’s incredibly hard. Beyond hard.
You’ve misspelled haematology. Might be a typo or lack of attention to detail. That isn’t a good trait for a doctor.
Do your GCSEs. Get very good grades. Most want them in one sitting so you’ll need to be level 9s as a minimum including maths, English and sciences.
Then get at least three As at A level including two sciences.

You might want to try the UKCAT exam to see how you fare. It would be a good investment to understand where you benchmark against other candidates for medical school and against entrance criteria.

It’s way, way way harder than nursing both academically and in terms of workload and conditions on qualifying. You need to understand far more than you need to memorise. You need to apply anatomy and balance it with pathology, pharmacology, biochemistry, physiology.

Go for it, but go with your eyes open. It’s at least ten years study from where you are now. It’s limited choice of where you live and work on qualifying. It’s appalling working conditions and shifts. My daughter had 6As at A level and still found it hard. She wasn’t exceptional and wasn’t academically top of her year by a long chalk.

I would point out you’ve misspelled haematology. That’s not a particularly good start in terms of attention to detail.

I would also add that - from my experience - the medical school environment is intense and competitive. I started studying medicine and, although academically did fine, found the environment overwhelming. Perhaps I was too young to deal with it (I started at 17) but I just found that you put together a group of people who’ve previously been high achievers at school and it’s ultra competitive. It seemed unendingly pressured and I ultimately switched to a different biomedical degree (and then PhD).

Perhaps think about why you want to study medicine? There may be other options in the medical field that would have shorter and perhaps easier paths.

Just seen the irony of my sentence about attention to detail is repeated. Apologies. Pity you can’t edit posts.