Medicine 2019 - Part 2

[Monkey2001]

Oops, looks like none of noticed the old thread was full!

@HostessTrolley @Hoodiemum @4catsham @mamamedic @medicmom @mimiasovitch @Nightowlpossibly @ProfessorLayton1 @Tinkobell @Weaverspin @Itsthekissing @Sluj @Mumneedswine @Movingmountains

Apologies to any regulars I have missed

Thanks all and yes the very best of luck to your exam tackling DC.
DD really liked Exeter yesterday - if she is away we are looking at an extra 8k a year but it would be a really great experience for her. She had her heart set on St. Georges which is a 5 minutes journey from us so the two extremes there.
Anyway - we are a bit away from decisions so for now may I wish all your DC every bit of luck and tenacity and success over the next few weeks and months.

@Piggy...you must be v near us, SW London. Funnily enough after open days, my two DC's now cannot wait to escape from London, and I'm starting to feel the same way. I think time wasted on long delayed soulless commutes has a lot to do with it. Having said that, at DD's school probably 50/50 stay / leave London.

Good luck to all who are supporting their dc (or just plain staying out of the way!) as exams get going again this week x

How are stress levels out there? OCR B Chem seems to have been oddly easy for DS and all his friends, but Edexcel Maths paper 1 was quite a toughie - horrible time pressure.

Dd has had first papers in chemistry, maths and bio this week. Feels that all went ok, she said the maths paper was harder than she expected but finished it in the time and feels quite positive. Most at her school (state grammar) who do maths but not FM felt the exam was really tough, maybe the grade boundaries might be lower...

Things are a lot more relaxed at home now she’s actually started. Six more to go.,,,

Imperial accommodation email came today too, so she’s quite excited about that.

I was pondering looking at something like stethoscopes for a results day gift, Littman ones come in a wide range of funky colours which might help it to not go missing. Has anyone got any thoughts/advice on this?

I'd wait fir stethoscope as mine got a discount voucher when got to Uni which paid for the engraving. And the colour choice is very personal !

Yes *@Tinkobell * we are probably very close - not the same postcode as St. G's but a bordering one.
Glad exams are going reasonably well for everyone. DD has started her online UCAT prep alongside studying for her mocks and seems to be in her zone. Kings open day this Saturday then another three, some of which she is training alone to keep costs down, and then July and August of work experience x2 and dreaded UCAT exam and Gold DofE expedition and we are round to Yr 13!
Was anyone slightly freaked by the fact that you do the UCAT, get the results on the spot and then know if you have a good, reasonable or no chance?
Good luck all.

@Piggy...I'm not sure people freak out so much as use the UKCAT score as part of their determination of where best to apply....you will see looking at entry requirements the relative weighting that each uni places on that score. Also handy to have it if BMAT is something your DC not sure about.

Re: St George's, I don't like to say anything negative about anywhere as we all know any hospital has ups and downs, but would recommend that your DC tries to secure some lengthy work experience or shadowing over there; to gauge if it's a teaching hospital she'd enjoy being at for 5 years. They have their challenges over there and some issues are not quickly fixed.

Stress levels high here! DD found the AQA chemistry paper 1 difficult. Not totally unexpected it's the subject she has struggled with the most. Not feeling confident about it.

Biology today, much happier and more confident. 4 more to go. Intense revision happening! Can't wait until it's all over!

@hostess - go for it, you're bolder than me though, I'd be nervous of jinxing it all! Funnily enough our vet today used a Litmann on DDog, i recognise the logo!

Biology and Chemistry went ok here, though she found the maths paper awful. Reassuringly, it seems to have been found awful across the board, with memes popping up all over Twitter about it, so no loss of positivity yet. One more week!

Dd2 has her final gcse tomorrow, and
Is preparing hard by being out at the cinema. Slightly more relaxed vibes there!

Interesting @Tinkobell * - She is off for week in plastics there this August so will be interesting - she has been a part of The Young Doctors Programme since she was 9/10 there and attended all possible sessions and she feels it is right for her. To be honest though I am sure there is an element of it is somewhere that she really knows well - an open book - as opposed to the others which are just brochures and planned visits. We will see how she feels about Kings after Saturday, then she is also looking at Norwich, Newcastle, Southampton and has already seen and liked Exeter but felt Imperial would be too competitive for her.
Also interesting about the UCAT - she is not doing BMAT - if UCAT score isn't great I am pleased to know there are still Unis that might still be possible. Her GCSEs are good, I think. Not 10 9's but 8 8's/9's so I think she would struggle with those grades at Cardiff as they are only counting 9's as A so as not to disadvantage Welsh students. Any advice gratefully received and please do pm anything reference St. G that you might not want to put on the thread. We love the hospital itself as it seems to always be saving the life of our immediate, extended family and friends. Thanks for the support.

Piggy I saw on the Student Room that Cardiff are treating 8/9 as A*s for 2020 intake. You might like to double check if she was interested in Cardiff.

Ooh - bloody goal posts have moved since we looked(when they only had 2019 requirements) Bloody hell - can't keep up!! Thank you @Monkey2001

Piggy, this information came from somebody who went to a Cardiff open day. I think he had something like 6x9 and 4x7, so he was disappointed to hear that 8s were being treated as 9s instead of 7s next year. If your DD is interested in Cardiff, I suggest she e-mails to ask as the website is not very transparent on it and states the 2019 policy at the moment as a university policy, but has no info on the 2020 policy.

Good plan Monkey - sorry to hijack your thread lovely people and thank you for all the advice. It was much easier in my day and my country.

I wouldnt get a stethoscope yet - medical schools sometimes provide them and others arrange a discount. Get anything too flash and they may be expected to do more with it.

And they come in a huge variety of colours. Very important to get that right !

HostessTrolley maybe a white coat would be a safer bet, you need advice from the veterans on here!

They don't wear white coats anymore. Drs wear own clothes with sleeves to elbows. I

white coats are still worn for lab work in at least some medical schools - but not afterwards. They (and the skeleton that might be another choice of gift :) ) are often loaned/hired.

You could get them this, it will be useful www.amazon.co.uk/Human-Anatomy-Colouring-Book-Margaret/dp/0486241386?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

DD did not need a stethoscope immediately so it became a Christmas present from Grandparents. Brightly coloured to help prevent it getting lost. She went for an "out there" colour.

She had placements from her second week onwards and a three week placement over the summer vacation so it was important to have a complete work wardrobe. They are quite strict on dress. They did not need to be expensive but jeans and other casual clothing would not do, and shirts/blouses need to stop at the elbow. Uniqlo became DDs go-to shop for washable trousers and blouses. It is worth remembering that hospitals are warm.

alreadytaken - love that anatomy colouring book!

Another gift suggestion is getting a mug made - useful for uni too!

Anybody else got DCs knocked back by exams? OCR B Chem paper 2 was awful and there seems to be a general consensus among students that Edexcel papers have been unreasonable. DS found 2nd better than 1st, but both still significantly more difficult than any of the practice papers the Board issued which were supposed to give them a reasonable feel for what they should expect. Hoping for fall in grade boundaries.