Medicine 2018 Part 4

[booface]

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

Hi muddlethro, yes it was saying 1 degree already for Edinburgh last night and I bet it was just as cold in St Andrews! Is your son heading over to E'burgh for his clinical years? I think they might do that?

Your DS was clever to drive at the most economical speed... but I think if mine did that a 9 hour drive might become unfeasibly long!! But as you safe, safe and slow is always good :)

Hey Booface. Yes, some of the students do go on to Edinburgh - one of his really good friends is going there next year, but she chose the Scottish route, as she really wanted to do her clinical years in Edinburgh. The fact that she regularly ‘hits’ firsts in exams helped secure her place there too. My DS chose the English route with the intention of going on to Manchester and has been allocated Manchester Royal Infirmary for his clinical years. A number of his friends have been allocated hospitals in, or around Manchester, which is great. He loves St Andrews but I think moving on with friends will ease the transition.
I did a quick distance check from Kent to Edinburgh and it’s over 400 miles...!! 😳 That would make for a very long drive, as you say, “unfeasibly long”,if your DS pootled along at around 50mph...! 🤪

Ladies. Have you seen this?

schoolsweek.co.uk/aqa-to-pay-out-1-1m-for-serious-breaches-on-exam-re-marks/

Specifically relevant for DD is this bit..
"£50k fine for ‘not fit for purpose’ French marking scheme
Separately, AQA has also today been handed a £50,000 penalty because its marking scheme for A-level French exam in 2018 was “not fit for purpose”.
The paper included a question where students were asked to fill in the blanks in a passage, with a list of words that each had a corresponding letter.
One in ten pupils actually put the word in the relevant space, instead of the letter, but the mark scheme didn’t allow pupils to get marks for this.
Ofqual said the French mark scheme did not take into account all evidence or allow for the level of attainment demonstrated by some pupils to be reflected in their marks.
This affected “a small number” of pupil’s university choices, but AQA did liaise with UCAS and universities to ensure no one missed out on a place as a result.
It also said AQA missed opportunities to identify the problem and did not manage the incident appropriately at first."

Received this from a "friend" yesterday & it's re-ignites my fury with AQA. DD took AQA A Level French in 2018 and shockingly she massively missed her A & everyone was stunned! Well turns out it prob wasn't her. A remark of one paper found 15 marks. Now wish I'd had them all remarked. I was so furious after the remark but this is unbelievable. I believe their incompetence caused her to miss her medicine place Sept 2018. She was shattered. I was shattered.
By her own hard work, determination & strength of character she's turned that around this year & but it had huge mental & physical cost (she ended up ill & in hospital at the end of the summer).
Nobody liaised on her behalf. No apology. No explanation.
Wish I could have 15mins in a room with them.
Wish I'd had all the papers remarked.
Apologies for the rant but this seems to be being kept very quiet. DDs old Head of Sixth Forms claims she didn't know when I forwarded it today.

Somerset, I'm sorry that this news has made you re-live that horribly stressful time. It is awful that exam boards can get away with this kind of thing and mess up university places.

I am so glad that your DD has been so persistent and on the medicine course now. I hope she is enjoying her first weeks!

What did we miss ??

Someone was advertising a raffle to win work experience with one of a group of London firms. Looked highly dubious.

Thank you. Bit of a waste advertising to us lot as our kids are all in 2nd year. Broke, busy and having far too much fun 😁

Thought I'd check in. DD completed Term 1 and qualified as an HCA. She is really enjoying it but does comment on how much "writing up" she has to do in the afternoons and weekends. She is really happy to have done the transfer, with a friend from last year too which helps. Her teaching group sounds diverse and she even commented that she is glad she had the 1st year on BioMed as she things she'd be overwhelmed last term if everything was new, including the City, Student Life etc. Seems very very few of them are 18 straight from school. She's met her Cadaver and done some dissection without fainting so think things are looking good!

Happy New Year to you all.

How is it going@mumsneedwine?

DD was helping a Year 13 at her old school with UCAS entry. So far 2 rejections for her and no interviews yet. I SO SO felt for her and her mother when we bumped into them just before Christmas, but they are heartened by my DDs story too.

Lovely to hear from you Somerset, so glad dd is enjoying the course. It is tough and but as you say she has the benefit of a year of uni experience already. Dd is having a great time in year two, probably also because she's settled in her friendship group and loves being in a house opposed to halls. She has an optional module exam next week which apparently counts for 2.5% of her bmedsci. She has loved the whole dissection thing and so far her favourite topic is gastro. So lovely to still have this thread!

Hi. So so glad things have worked out well
Somerset. Having the extra year of biochem must be very useful.
DD been helping at interviews last week and before Xmas - they pay them so not totally unselfish. She said some of the candidates have been so nervous. She too has a module thing next week and then its back to lectures (& more importantly clubs start again 😂). Brain dissection this term I believe - they went to cadaver funeral and learned how a crematorium worked.
DD2 now has 2 vet med offers and should hear from the other 2 this month.

Good luck to everyone for the new term.

Great news on the vet med offers mumsneedwine! Have to say history and Spanish application for ds much more straightforward than medicine or vet!!

It's been another tough application cycle !!! No UCAT but loads of work experience and horrible forms for each Uni which took her hours. She's been so lucky to get 3 interviews and a straight offer from Bristol. Big sis has been so supportive as not many people appreciate how emotionally tough it all is.

Where is her first choice?

She's not saying 😂. Think she's a bit surprised to even have a choice and doesn't want to think about it until she knows what she has. Nottingham would be handy though 😊😊

Glad your DD is settling into medicine @SomersetS. Waved DS back to Sheffield yesterday - hate it when they’ve gone. DS1 went back to Spain where he is teaching English last week. He was mugged on Friday night - thankfully he seems ok - just so difficult when they are so far away. They stole his wallet and phone so have had to replace that. Just thankful he’s not hurt. I really miss having them safe under my wing 😢

Sorry to hear that your DS has been mugged, that's awful. I do hope he is able to brush it off.

I also feel it when they go back! DS drove back to E'boro on Sun. Can't believe they are thinking towards their third years now! DS has an intercalated year so he has put in his options and is waiting to hear. Very much hoping for a better group and flat next year, this year's was a bit of a disaster to say the least.. so fingers crossed for that!

Oh gosh - a mugging! 😱. So sorry to hear that, movingmountains.... ☹️.
Am glad to hear your DS didn’t get hurt though.

I do hope your DS manages to find the right people to share with next year Booface - it can be so hard when they end up living with the wrong people!

Congratulations to your DD on getting 3 interviews and an offer from Bristol, mumsneed....! 😊

My DS is going back at the end of Jan for his final semester. And he will be relocating to Manchester for his clinical years, which he says he’s really looking forward to.

Wishing everyone all the best for the new year... 🤗

Hi could any of you more experienced med mums advise what footwear my DD needs to go onto a clinical placement in O&G including clinics, wards and theatre? She said maybe they needed to be wipeable? And need to be comfortable as for all day wear. Thanks so much.

@Baytreemum just saw this. My DS wears DM shoes for clinical placements - so I would think any flat leather shoes should be fine. Hope she enjoys it 😊

DD wears m&s patent loafers . Think for theatre they'd have to wear theatre clogs which they would probs borrow from the hospital. Not sure if first year would involve that unless they were v lucky!! Or second year tbh. But I may be wrong.

Thanks @Movingmountains and @specialted - ssc done now! She “found” a pair of leather ankle boots (!) which we had to “find” the cash to pay for! and then borrowed clogs for theatre. She didn’t manage to see any babies being born but inserted her first canula (?) and commented about how long it took to get 1cm dilation - quite an eye opening experience I think!

Wow baytree that sounds like a good placement! Remind me where your Dd is?

Hi Specialted - it was a self-organised student selected component at Barts - they have 2 x2 weeks in the first year. There’s a whole list of topics they can apply for, or they can organise their own - not easy to do but great if it all works out. Does your DC have these?