Medicine 2020 (part 2)

[Monkey2001]

This follows on from the first thread - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3380915-Medicine-2020

HMW9793, these days I can hardly remember anything that happened 5 days ago, never mind 5 years ago. Guess age is catching up with me. .

If indeed my suggestions had helped your DS getting into medical school then I'm most pleased and thank you for the update. I'm glad your DS loves Liverpool, a school which I've high regards for; like said earlier, a nephew went there and also an ex-partner's elder brother trained there as an anaesthetist - a highly specialised post.

As far as I'm concerned, the penultimate year at med school is most crucial - it's a transition stage when a student becomes a real doctor and some may argue it's also the hardest year. Get this year through and you're almost certainly there because the final year is mainly a revision of everything you've learnt in the past years which also involves loads of clinical work at hospitals. Glad that your son is "studying like mad" and I wish him every success.

I don't think 4th year students will be called up to help in the current Covid-19 crisis. For that matter, even final year medics are only allowed to do so much and no more. They certainly are not allowed to "practise" like a doctor because you need to be registered with the GMC to do that. Even after med school you'll only be given a "provisional licence to practise" in your F1 year (i.e. with limitations) followed with a full registration the following year. Before registration all they are allowed to do is like what nurses would do.

That’s very reassuring Peterenas as I can imagine a fair few medical students would be feeling quite apprehensive.

Thank you Peteneras, always so helpful & informative.

rumours from across the country of F1 being given full registration soon and final year students being given provisional registration, nothing confirmed yet. I've heard nothing about 4th year students being asked to do anything but their clinical teaching is going to be a problem. My child enjoys teaching and spends their own time doing more than is required of them but I suspect no-one will have time for months for any teaching other than how to manage someone on a ventilator.

If your children are over 18 please ask them to consider being blood donors. Even in lockdown blood is needed - and should be an acceptable reason to go out.

Fourth year post grads and final years would be able to help put as they do now. Clerking patients in, taking bloods and doing cannulas, writing charts, assisting on reviews of unwell patients ,assisting and documenting on ward rounds. everything a junior doctor does but supervised or senior reviewed. Except for actually prescribing - can write on the chart but a dr will check and sign.

Some things they do independently such as bloods etc

I can't take in 'good' news right now, how bad is that? It's my reaction to the cv19 crisis. Just pack all the info in a box & decide what I think about it later.

Anyway, DD got an offer from Imperial. So that's 4/4 which normally I could take great smug delight in. But right now it's just a factoid in the box. I hope you guys can find more positivity.

DD has donated blood for 1st time, finally. She's B+ which isn't so useful, though.

Time to roll out of bed & try to WFH.

DH gave blood on Monday. He has 'special' blood (O- ), as he tells us every time he donates. DD is giving blood next week. They are desperate for more young people to be donors as the donation centres are usually full of people aged 60+.

Olympicfan he does have 'special' blood in. I had to have a blood transfusion after my second delivery in the middle of the Californian desert and there was only half the amount of O neg available, which caused a bit of a blip. Plenty of O Pos but that was no use. I think neg can be given to pos, so it's very useful.

DH is O neg too. He claims he was refused in the past because of his weight - not sure he can use that excuse anymore (#middleagespread).
Certainly plans to draft in medical students to our Trust but for our DCs not yet at medical school I guess they would just have to join Boris's volunteers.

@Olympicfan Blood type O may be less at risk of coronavirus - just a preliminary study though www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-pandemic-blood-type-susceptible-infection-china-study-a9409331.html

DS has decided to firm Sheffield and insure Sunderland, withdrawing from Manchester as he is really unsure how resitters will be dealt with under this year's system. He's not enrolled for Biology so he feels he is unlikely to convince his biology department that he's A* worthy (luckily he did 2 biology internal exams this year so at least there is some data but scored A and B). I've been in touch with college who have advised that he submits the same biology work as other students. Hopefully there will be more news next week.

Ds has offer from Liverpool last night 5 pm !

Rejection from Aberdeen. So no offers for DD and much uncertainty about grades. She is going to take some time & think about where she wants to go from here. Congrats to all with offers, hope the school grades work out too.

emummy oh no, sorry to hear the news. With so much uncertainty, this is probably the last thing she (and you) needs now. Hang in there.

@emummy sorry to hear that, but if ever there was a good time to defer your university start it must be this year. Surely the med schools will be unable to get placements etc back on track this autumn so they will have to teach in different ways until life is restored to some kind of normality. I also feel sorry for current students - they are missing so much of their course.

I'm so sorry to hear that news emummy. I was keeping everything crossed for her. Hope she can keep her spirits up, so hard when she can't even see her friends to cheer her up. Sending her a hug xxx

Thank you both. She is finishing off course work this week, so I think we won’t have any big chats about the future till that’s out of the way.

Oh that’s really tough for her at this time when there’s really nothing to take her mind off it.
DS also rejected from Aberdeen. His interview was less than half an hour long due to tech issues at their end.

If your DD decides to wait till next year, she won’t need to justify taking a year off and will be an old pro at the BMAT/UKAT and interviews.
I know that doesn’t feel like very much now.

It's so annoying for everyone's dc to have to cope with these setbacks.
Ds hasn't done any work fir the jays 1.5 weeks, he needed the break after coursework but today heard from his school that they want them to do tests/ papers assessments to further evidence their predicteds. Time to work then again ...

Oh so sorry to hear @emummy that this year hasn't worked out for your DD. Nothing wrong with a gap year! Currently lots and lots of bank staff required within the NHS and care sector during the COVID crisis. Perhaps it's an opportunity for your DD to acquire some invaluable experience that'll help her shine at interview next year (or in clearing this summer). DS has applied to our Trust as a Healthcare Assistant. If she is interested she could try searching the COVID posts on NHS jobs.

Sorry to hear that @emummy. @ladsmum suggestion is a good one. I agree it is very hard for them to stay motivated at the moment @kingofkings but I suppose it's necessary with all this uncertainty.

We should all be packed and ready to head off lunch time tomorrow for a night in Stoke on Trent before the Keele offer holders day on Saturday. DD2 was really looking forward to seeing the Uni as she dreads DD1 going away. Damn - this was supposed to be the fun bit after all the stress.
I have watched my 2 DDs lose everything they were working towards and looking forward to over the last month and I know I should be grateful that we are all alive and healthy when so many are not but I'm having a sad day. Everything feels so unsure again. Sorry rant over.

Piggy it is a strange time. I think the thing is to treasure the family time and trust that your DDs' teachers, who hopefully know them well will manage to get them the right results. DS2 is delighted that English is now finished - teacher has submitted her grades and it is in the lap of senior management and boards.

It is obviously much tougher for A level students, but most teachers know what they are doing, and there are opportunities to appeal and to sit the exams in the autumn. Hopefully it will all work out and you can all have a sigh of relief when the grades come out at the end of July.