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

Op look at Access to Medicine courses which may be a better route for you.

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

I would point out that this is a discussion forum not requiring the same attention to detail as work, and only arseholes feel the need to write the sort of comment that you have here.

MyRaGaiaStarFishPieA I’m not sure if you’re saying the access courses are significantly easier than GCSEs and A’ levels? Surely that can’t be the case?

It’s not the title of the exams that is at issue here but whether the OP is capable of progressing to the level of a medical career.

Besides the required academic achievements, it's also worth considering the general lifestyle. You're 26 - are you working and living independently? When I was at uni (admittedly vet med rather than human although they're similar in terms of demand and I lived/mixed with a lot of medics) it was a 40 hour a week taught program (so in lectures/practicals) for 40 hours a week during term time, then we were expected to do around an extra 20 hours a week (assignments, reading prep, revision etc.) in our own time. I'm not sure about medics but certainly vet students are expected to do placements and voluntary work during holidays. This leaves very little time for grown up life - working to pay rent and bills etc. so this would be something else that you'd need to consider - do you have someone who is willing to support you financially?

There are lots of opportunities in medicine that aren't doctor, OP - for example Haemotologist. That's not to say you shouldn't aim for being a doctor if that's what you truly want, but if you'd want to explore options more widely, have a look at Health Careers.

Please don’t be hard on yourself OP. I know 2 people who are doctors neither of whom showed any kind of early academic excellence.

One decided to she wanted to be a doctor after sitting and achieving mediocre O-grades. She is now a Consultant Radiologist. The other trained as a nurse and worked as a nurse for 10 years then studied medicine. She is a GP.

There are alternative routes in to medicine, see what the BMA say here www.bma.org.uk/advice/career/studying-medicine/becoming-a-doctor/graduate-and-foundation-students

So maybe explore a different route. I think you need to ignore people on this thread who say if you’re smart enough to become a doctor it would have been apparent by now. That’s rubbish. Lots of people do not have the right atmosphere at home when they’re at school to reach their potential.

Just something else to think about OP, considering applying for optometry instead/as well. The grades are more As than A*s, is a three year degree program as opposed to the seven years of medicine and you still get to work in hospitals etc.

Haematology and oncology tend to be particularly research-orientated branches of medicine - I’m a doctor and really enjoyed haem/onc when I was an SHO but knew I wasn’t academic enough (and I managed to get onto a training post for the speciality I wanted to do through a national application process with only 7 spaces available in the country so I’m not crap!).
I definitely found medical school harder than GCSEs and A levels, and postgrad exams harder again, and all going well and if you work full time throughout you’re looking at 14 years at a minimum til you’re a consultant - that 14 years will consist of training rotations where you will have to move jobs (and potentially move house) every 6 months.
I absolutely love my job and wouldn’t want to do anything else, but it’s been bloody hard work and very disruptive to my life to get to where I am now

Lots of people do not have the right atmosphere at home when they’re at school to reach their potential.

This is absolutely true - and countless people have gone on to stellar achievement after spending their teens running from war, or abuse, or weighed down with caring responsibilities or extreme poverty. And others have just been (comparatively) slow starters, not knowing what they wanted until they reached a level of maturity.

If the OP is both capable and determined she won’t be put off by anything said on this thread!

All the naysayers saying you aren’t smart enough what a load of rubbish. My doctor friends stated that once you are on the course the actual level of the work was C grade hard but very doable if you put the time/effort in. The job and course are gruelling but and hard but just because you have to work hard to get in shouldn’t put you off. What may put you off is the idea of being a doctor vs the reality less reward from helping people and more paperwork, ie GPs seeing patients 35-50 a day with only 10 minutes for each which. You can be isolated if not working in a hospital/friendly practice. So I’d say try and get work experience before you definitely decide. Being thrown in the deep end as a junior not pleasant and can be overwhelming. Good luck!

I would point out you’ve misspelled haematology. That’s not a particularly good start in terms of attention to detail.
What a shitty and unnecessary comment (and repeating it twice shows your lack of attention to detail, I'm assuming you aren't a doctor?)
OP I'm a doctor myself and knowing my colleagues, many did not do exceptionally well at school, some even make spelling mistakes - shock horror!
To become a doctor, you need intelligence and a good memory, but most of all you need a lot of stamina to get through the gruelling shifts. Hospital work is very, very demanding - not just emotionally, also physically. Young doctors are permanently exhausted in my experience. By the time you will be working in hospital you will be in your thirties - will you be able to cope with the long shifts, the competitive atmosphere, the fact that when you start out, you're at the bottom of the pile and sometimes treated like muck?
Do you want to have kids? When are you planning to have them?

I love my job, but it's hard. If you want an interesting career with good earning potential and you haven't always felt being a doctor is your calling, I'd look into something else. If you really, really want to do it, then spelling mistakes and lack of application at school won't stop you. A bad memory, average intelligence and unwillingness to work a lot will.

This isn't something I'd do

At least 2 years to do GCSEs and A-Levels but more likely 3 or even four.
Then 5 years for a degree, which is very intense and you may decide you don't want to do it after all

You'll struggle to work simultaneously so you may be dependent on your maintenance loan.

What's wrong with your current job?

Tribpot
That website is inaccurate.
A haematologist is a consultant physician who has not only done MRCP, but has then completed MRCPath.
They have extensive lab/ research and patient care experience. Usually have responsibility for teaching and overseeing laboratory, wards, clinics. Often called into theatre and ITU in emergency situations.

There are lots of opportunities in medicine that aren't doctor, OP - for example Haemotologist.

Do you mean phlebotomist?

Haematologists have a medical degree (ie are doctors) and then have to take further MRCP and FRCPath exams. The latter while they are working and are pretty jolly hard.

Nursing degrees are not as hard as medical degrees as was previously suggested, either in knowledge needed or time required to attain one.

endofthelinefinally

X-posted re haematologists. Sorry!

My doctor friends stated that once you are on the course the actual level of the work was C grade hard but very doable if you put the time/effort in.

This is what my doctor friend said. He said you need high grades to get in simply because for some reason so many people want to be doctors so it's very competitive. But the actual degree is not difficult.

I’m a doctor and didn’t find medical school particularly hard, but then I found GCSEs and A levels a complete walk in the park. When you’ve graduated med school that’s when the real hard work starts, working shifts and studying for postgraduate exams which in my opinion are about twice as hard as medical school exams in every specialty. When I was studying we had several mature students and post graduate students and most managed absolutely fine, but I agree with everyone with regards to doing some science based a levels and see how you do, take it from there, if you’re walking out of a levels with top grades having found it manageable then it’s definitely an option!

My daughter had 6As at A level and still found it hard
She should have done three or four and come out with A*s

I’m a doctor. I’m also a medical school lecturer.

I’d say the hardest part of medical school is actually getting a place. It really is a highly distilled sample of super academic, high achieving people who get a place. Not just that, but most medical schools aren’t just looking for any old grade A student. They’re also looking for rounded, empathic people who a clear motivation to be doctors. Competition for places is tremendous, and a lot of excellent candidates don’t get a place.

In my view, getting through medical school is easier. You need to have a certain type of brain that can hold a lot of information at once, and visualise complex systems. You also need to be able to hold complex concepts, taking into account everything from the molecular to the sociological. BUT you’ve got 5 years at uni to get to grips with it all. I’d say the pace of work is very manageable.

The real challenge comes after you graduate. Being a doctor (particularly a junior doctor) is a gruelling experience. The worst years of my life were my first 2 years as a doctor.

I hope this hasn’t put you off.

It sounds like you’ve a long way to go before applying. I hope it goes well and that you get the grades. If you haven’t already, think through exactly why you want this. Helping people doesn’t mean you HAVE to be a doctor. There are plenty of other roles in healthcare. Granted, doctors get paid better. But compared to other professions like business or law, most doctors earn above average pay but do not become particularly wealthy. So finance shouldn’t be a big motivator either. Basically, you need to know your “why”. Because becoming a doctor really is “taking the oath of most resistance”.

Good luck!

Definately agree with everyone who say to go for it if it's really what you want - aim for the stars etc etc. My BIL is a medic involved in recruitment and says he prefers mature students with life experience every time. I listened to a woman called Jo Barton on radio four last year and she was inspirational and proves it can be done!! (I can't work out how to attach a link but if you google jo barton metro you get her story. Good Luck!

Is very easy to get in. But actually doing it is difficult. It’s very time consuming and quite draining. Then it gets even harder once you’ve passed. It also pays very poorly in Britain so I would look for different options if you are looking for a better life. Things like law or banking are also hard (less so while you are studying) but pay a decent amount.

@QuaterMiss I left school with no qualifications despite being very academic ( poor parenting, poor choices). I was predicted A's for all my GCSEs but didn't sit my exams. At 22 I signed up to do a 6week uni based fast track access course. It was easy, I sailed through it. So did 98% of the people on the course and we all started a degree 4 weeks later. I started an english degree and ended up with a MA and am hoping to do a PhD in the future. No way would I be starting at GCSEs and then A levels etc. I did actually try to get a maths GCSE a year or two ago for teacher training but the misinformation and dumbed down condescending material meant I didn't get past the 3rd week. Have since done a first year open uni science module and sailed through it. Starting at the bottom is madness when an access course for nursing/midwifery/paramedic science can shave 2-3 years off your timeline

Hi OP, I think it’s awesome you want to go to med school. Some med schools have special pathways for mature students so it’s worth looking into. Lots of smart kids don’t get on with school but do get on with uni!

Also I know nurses who have retrained as lawyers, lawyers who have retrained as physios etc people are always developing and changing goals and dreams.

And for what it is worth, my pharmacist friends envied the med students easier lifestyle during uni study and many nurses know just as much as doctors and both professions are the ones expected to pick up doctors prescribing mistakes etc

Contact your local uni and look at alternative routes into medicine. What I mean is that some universities offer a foundation year for people who don't have top A Level grades, depending on how well you do in that year allows you to progress to medicine if you are achieving top grades but on to other medical courses if you are not Dr material but you clinicalphysiologist, nurse, clinical scientist etc.

Then there are universities that allow you to transfer between courses, I know some who did the first year of a biomedical BSc but then transferred to medicine.

I think you should look at an Access course rather than GCSE and A Levels.

Sorry should have said Google jo barton doctor !!