Medicine 2018 Part 4

[booface]

Welcome to the new thread! Can't believe we are on the 4th already

Oh and manual blood pressure thingy. It has a name but DD not here to ask.

Not sure she'll need anything more than she has so far Somerset. Think they provide them with lab coats, def for dissection anyway. Uni will give them a recommended list of books for revising from,I think I would wait til she gets there to get those. Dd bought a blood pressure thing (sphygmomanometer I think???) but not essential, could pool with others to buy one if need be as she only used it for practical exam practice .

Mine uses her blood pressure thing on placements and at GP so might depend on course. And for practising on us all for her OSCE ! Ouch is all I'll say 😳

I brought books for DS second hand on eBay and Amazon but he says he doesn’t use them much as they have online stuff that is much more useful as books go out of date so quickly!

This is it! Car packed. DD off tomorrow. Fresher again. Can hardly believe it. Hope everyone had a great summer.

Go mini Somerset. I hope she has an amazing time - she so deserves it. Mine going back Thursday. Will be v quiet.

Hope she has a great time Somerset! Dd back on Friday, v excited about moving into house. We are doing Notts uni open day today for ds (not medicine!) so taking opportunity to take a load of stuff down today to make things easier next week. Summer has flown by!

Yes DD also moving into house with friends - including another who is transferring to Medicine.

That mantra, it's not over until it's over is so true - don't give up if Aug didn't go your way, or you didn't get a Med offer before results but got the grades - I know of both who one year in are now starting Med.

Your DD is a testament to that resilience they go on about Somerset. She's going to find year 1 easy I'd imagine, having already done a lot of the science stuff. Time to enjoy her success.
DD currently meal planning her first week. Quite amusing to watch as there are some complicated dishes planned. I think this will turn into ready meals soon enough.

Meal planning is fantastic. Wish I could be that organised let alone DD!
Left her there today. Meet the "Parents" tonight. Resilient indeed. Hope it inspires others who just miss out.

Good luck to your DD Somerset - I told her story to a student of mine who missed out on vet school - persistence and hard work definitely pay off. DS went back last Saturday - pictures of his house purchases all week - £1 cushions yesterday! He’s got his training to be a medic parent this week 😊.

Not sure why, but for some reason I stopped receiving notifications for this thread - thought you’d all gone a bit quiet! 😳
Lovely to hear how people are getting along. My DS is just starting third year and loving the course content (the brain). He is now sharing with all boys and says it’s a really great dynamic - lots of late night Fifa...!!
Just wanted to wish your DD all the best for her first year as a medic Somerset - that extra year to mature will likely be a bonus 😊. Was thinking how you could offer your services as an agony aunt for the mums of would-be medics! 🤪

DD2 just sent UCAS form so round 2 here we come. Vet med this time. No UCAT but lots and lots of work experience and extra forms to fill in. Makes writing a PS seem simple. DD1 'packed' (or chucked random stuff into bags). Good luck to everyone for another year

@mumsneedwine good luck with round 2! Don’t envy you the stress again. DS is showing freshers into accommodation today - told me it was going to be hard work as it was a long day (not sure he’s a clue what’s to come) 🤪

OMG, that's our old thread! It brought back all the memories of the wonderful support we received through each other here. It's so nice to hear how our kids have evolved, those who've tried again and succeeded, those who moved on to something else and have no regrets, and reading that some of you are now heading for it all over again with their youngest.

DD has gone back and it is so odd to hear her talking about her 'children'. It feels only yesterday she was telling me about her 'mum' and 'dad' and how lovely and helpful they were and now it's her turn. I hope she gives as as much support she received herself. One more year at Manchester, and next year, she will be full-time in hospital in Preston.

This year has gone so much quicker than the previous one!!

DD went back last week and has been busy preparing stuff with the societies she's involved with and doing stuff with international students. Lectures start tomorrow as does Freshers week, so I'm hoping she remembers she's there to study! Great that she's so involved with uni life though!

Dd loving being in her house and excited to meet her child tomorrow. Think studying again will be a shock to the system after the summer off but I'm sure she'll get back into it soon enough. So lovely this thread is carrying on, can't believe a year ago they were all just starting out!

Dd started this year and we need to sort out holidays for next year. It is very difficult to organise between my work and my DH. We would need months in advance to sort it out.
With our family circumstances we will be able to take only one holiday as family this year. When do the medics have exams ?
Is it better to avoid Easter ?
We could potentially go December but don't want to go anywhere long haul as DHs dad is not well... There is no half terms in university so proving to be difficult!

Hi Professor. Exams seem to differ between each Uni. Mine had Formatives (exams that didn't seem to count last year) each term and a few OSCEs. But main exams were in May/June. She was home mid June until mid Sept. Retakes were in August I believe. Be best for DD to check with her Uni to be sure. Mine seemed to have lots of time at Xmas last year but think there's a January exam this year.

Professor, my dd is at same uni as mumsneedwine, think you could get away with Easter depending on exam dates. Think dd was at home for five weeks over Easter (this included a study week once uni had started) , we went away for one week and she also had a part time job for three of the weeks. I think because they had formatives all year they keep up to date on the revision. It was just the anatomy that was a matter of cramming so I guess it depends how your dc works.

Thanks mumsneedwine and specialted.
Have decided to wait and see what happens in the next few months as we may have to undertake unplanned trips back to where my in laws are..

Second week in for DD & instead of going on placement she's in a trial group being trained to be an HCA. Means a full on week but lots of experience & then the ability to work as a bank assistant for the next few years. She's loved the practical aspect of it all. Seems like a brilliant idea to me, a win for everyone - trained keen HCAs for the trust, money & experience for the students as well as a better understanding & appreciation of the roles of everyone in wards & surgeries.

Mine worked as an HCA this summer. Not only earned good money (shifts were 13 hours) but she learned skills that I think will make her a better doctor. She was doing all personal care for elderly and very sick people. She loved it. Think it should be compulsory for all doctors to be honest. It's the real coal face of caring.

That idea of working as an HCA makes a lot of sense. I always say to my DS, be very very respectful of the HCAs and nurses, they are the ones that will really help you in the early days.

My DS is coming back from Edinburgh on Thursday to pick up his car and drive all the way back from Kent to Edinburgh in one day, much against my better judgement. But he is really keen to have his car up there now that they are doing GP placements outside the city. I am a bit soft and don't like the idea of him cycling all over in the wind and rain and dark evenings up there!

Booface, I totally understand the anxiety about cycling around wet and windy Scotland, especially as we’re heading for winter! My DS also opted to drive his car up to St A’s from East Yorkshire in September. Although he wanted it up there for trips to Aldi!! The med school arrange taxis and buses to get them to placements, which suits our very frugal DS!! He says he has only spent £10 on petrol since getting there - he even did some kind of mathematical equation/calculation about the most economical speed at which to drive up there! Can’t remember what speed he worked it out as, but it was slow - fine by me!! 😉