Fresh new 'mum of a medicine applicant' thread.

[Mindgone]

I thought I would start a new one, as the last one went a bit 'off topic'! How's everyone getting on? Am so excited, and a bit nervous, as DS has two interviews coming up! How is everyone else's DCs preparing? Also, any tips from anyone who's been there?

Yes as it was all mcq s they are fast to mark

Oh fgs. Dd has just found an email sent last week claiming she hadn't handed in something vital & if they didn't have it by last Thursday she will fail her placement. She is absolutely certain she did hand it in but office won't open till Monday now.

I'm not sure who to be cross with.

Oh no that's tricky. They seem to have really random requirements about placement

I think this was a form to prove she had completed all her placements. I will be extremely annoyed if they fail her while they sort it out. Not a lot of time if they announce results on Tuesday.

DS passed! am so pleased. Decorate hope it worked out for your DD

Yes dd passed too Carrie. And the issue with placement paperwork was already sorted by the time she phoned the office on Monday. Phew!

Decorhate and Carriemac, Congratulations to your DCs!
DS gets his results tomorrow, getting nervous for him!

He passed! With a distinction in his dissertation! so happy and very relieved for him!

Fantastic news Mindgone! Well done to him. It's lovely that they can relax & enjoy the summer now

Yes well done mindgones DS and all of them and looking forward to a great third year for them all

Thank you

Can I shuffle in and eavesdrop for a bit?
DS1(16) is dead set on med school. He's just finished his GCSEs and we have medical friends and family who are happy to help but this thread has been a real eye opener.
Have been lurking but would like to be able to find you again more easily.

Hi Sleight. There are other threads with probably more recent information (our dcs are just finished their second year) but please do feel free to ask any questions.

I don't know if others feel the same but my dd feels that the actual course is quite manageable having been through the stressful application process & A Levels!

Anyone with DCs doing A levels? Please to report the DTs are into their chosen courses so empty nest becons...

That's great news Carrie. I have a couple of more years before the next one goes off. But will be starting Open Day visits next month. Have you got plans to do anything in particular to take your mind off the empty nest?

Finish my phd and redecorate!

That will certainly keep you busy!

Decorhate and Carriemac, are you still around? I can’t believe we’re approaching the end of fourth year!

Hi Mindgone

I’m still here! Dd took a year out this year to intercalate (because a degree in medicine is not long enough obviously!) so will be going into 4th year in September.

Even so, it seems rather scary that they will be let loose on patients very soon!

How did you find the finances worked for your ds once they went onto the NHS bursary? Overall dd will have less next year I think. Which seems unfair when it is harder & harder for them to get holiday work.

For everyone supporting a medicine applicant, please tell them about the free UK Aspiring Healthcare Professionals Conference 2019 by Generation Medics. It will be on the 27th June 2019 at the Millennium Point in Birmingham, and will be extremely beneficial to any state school students interested in a career in healthcare.

It's set to be the UK's largest free health and care careers conference and will consist of a large zoned interactive exhibition area, talks and activities all designed to bring careers in Healthcare and STEM to life. Students will be able to take part in fun interactive activities including taking blood, using real hospital scanning equipment and learning life-saving skills!

Young people can come with their school or as individuals accompanied by a parent/guardian.

Here is the link to the event: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/uk-aspiring-healthcare-professionals-conference-2019-by-generation-medics-tickets-62645975800. We really hope to see some of you there!

Hi Decorhate, great to hear from you! DS didn’t fancy intercalating, even though we thought it would be good for him. I’m not sure about the finances, he’s applied for the nhs funding and bursary himself. As far as I know, the bursary is just £1k, so won’t go too far, but a nice addition to help out. Is your DD still enjoying it? What did she study for the last year? DS is still loving it, but lots of hard work!

I can’t say what dd did as she was the only one in her year who did that option so might be too revealing! She enjoyed having a year where she had time to do all those things that students with less contact hours get to do. But did not enjoy doing her dissertation!

Re the Bursary- from what we’ve seen it doesn't quite make up the reduction in the student loan so overall she will have less. No doubt we will be subbing her even more...

Most students find they are worse off on the NHS bursary, especially the last year. Their non medic friends are also graduating and have money to spend, it's hard to still be a poor student.

NHS bursary want original documents again and work on a more recent financial year so you supply two lots of data. They are a bit more efficient than student finance though.

Time to start thinking of possible electives and if they want to apply for the highly competitive Academic Foundation programme.

Alreadytaken, what’s the Academic Foundation programme?

www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/content/academic-training

If they might want to go down that route they probably know about it already but they really need to get some papers published and try to present at conferences. The Situational Judgement Test is less important and they know before the rest where they will be living. It does have an impact on pay though as the academic section is unbanded.