Another path to greatness - part III

[chopc]

Here is the new thread

It always amazes me that however many people say being a Dr is so awful, it is the highest paid grad profession (as a whole - not individuals) after 5 years (IFS) and there is absolutely no shortage of applicants. So something must be good about it!

Interesting to read about others perceptions.
With the pandemic, being a medic it did make me realise you have job security, in contrast what my dc want to do.

@notagardener

Job security but possibly now a higher life insurance risk category as a result of the pandemic. I think in excess of 30 doctors' deaths have been attributed to Covid-19.

Lower than many other jobs. Obvioulsy not great though.

Job security and pension should be highly valued. So many young people will never have either. Doctors always have a job. They have desirable attibutes and can work abroad. Many people with very decent pensions, earlyish retirement, transparent pay, and job security never realise how much that is worth. It is worth a lot. They might see higher salaries elsewhere but some of those jobs are precarious. The self employed pay for their own pension contributions. Millions of people have no pension at all, no job and now no GPs.

oh, yes, and the fact that more than half at work got Covid not surprised

Hostess - as I stated above there were approximately 4700. reapplicants whixh was about 1600 more than normal.

Medicine is training intensive so needs staff to teach while also doing their jobs. Students are limited on wards to ensure they get enough experience as well as not annoy the patients (I imagine !). DD spent today shadowing on call doctor, Tomorrow has consultant training and then on ward for 2 days learning skills.
It's not easy to just keep upping the number of medical students without diluting their learning. Hence the new medical schools which use different hospitals.
Loads and loads of doctors died or got sick due to COVID. The rest are exhausted. It might have great job security but the mental strain seems heavy, so need to really want to do it. Training is hard work - full time days on ward followed by lectures to catch up on and work to do with exams to pass. Exams then every year for over 10 years. Can be moved all over huge deaneries at whim in first few years.
But if you want to do it then it seems worth it. Not sure anyone would go into it for the money.
And my DD agrees that you should have to work for NHS for 10 years. That's even with her £81,000 (not including interest) debt

@PresentingPercy I recently had to get someone to enhance our wifi - he charged £75+ VAT per hour. A GP locum earns around £85 per hours. If the wifi guy makes a mistake, I lose wifi. If the GP makes a mistake - could potentially be a matter of life and death. You still think the pay for GPs is OK in comparison?

The NHS salary of a hospital consultant ranges from £120k to £140. This is at the top of the career. Not all fields of medicine commands lucrative private practice. If you think this is a good wage for the responsibility the job carries ....... well .... I can tell you no doctor I know would agree with you.

DH would say that there are more important issues to his job as a GP partner than the salary. He is burnt out after this last 12 months and wasn’t great before that. I’m hoping that once we have moved and he has started his new job, he will love the job again.
He does feel bad that once he leaves the surgery will close as there is no one to take it over and the locums are all from overseas and have other roles (outside the U.K.) to go to.

My doctor sibling (consultant plus private work) earns quite a bit and always worked full time (as indeed have I always worked full time was a lawyer for over 30 years). Anyway the bottom line is that there are lot of sixth formers keen to read medicine now and always have been. We don't seem to be putting them off yet not that we want to.

Absolutely @mumsneedwine - only reason someone should go into medicine is because they totally love the prospect of studying medicine

I agree @chopc and that was something that took me some time to understand with my own DS, with neither DH nor myself being medics. I remember accompanying him to careers fairs and trying to get him to at least consider other careers but all he did was make a beeline to the NHS stand and stay there. The financial side of it is of no interest whatsoever to him.

Hello all, I'm sorry I haven't been around for a while. I will try and catch up with the chat. I hope everyone is doing ok.

We have news! I can't remember if I posted this or not but we decided to do a trip to Exeter a few weeks ago so dd could have a look. She was underwhelmed to say the least which left her with no offers that she was happy with. Exeter just didn't feel right and she didn't want to settle.

After looking at UCAS Extra and phoning Bristol, it appeared they had places available for History. So dd decided to take the plunge, ditch her offers and apply via Extra. It was a huge gamble and she hovered over the 'decline all offers' button!

Anyway they kept her waiting nearly 2 weeks but tonight she received an offer! She literally jumped in the air. Such a relief! I'm so happy she has had some good news at last and I do think Bristol will suit her very well - she loves the look of the course, it's a great city with lots going on, perfect distance away from home and she also likes the fact you can study for a term abroad (rather than a year making it a 4 year course).

A very happy girl tonight

@bendmeoverbackwards
That’s great news. She made a brave call and I am delighted it has worked .

That's great news @bendmeoverbackwards.... must have been a tense two weeks waiting to hear!

So she'll be at Bristol reading history with @SeasonFinale's DS!

Yes @MidLifeCrisis007 it’ll be funny if they end up being friends!

It was weird that Bristol had spare places available what with History being so popular. Dd kept checking and re-checking UCAS, you can filter by places available. Admissions person from Bristol did confirm there were places but couldn’t say how many or what DD’s chances were. On paper it seemed very likely they would offer her a place as her predicted grades exceed their standard offer but after all the surprises this year, I didn’t want to see it as a done deal.

Oh I agree that I don't know any one choosing medicine for the money. Not all for the"helping people" either, could be for the scientific interest, wide variety of fields to chose from, prestige,,
but no, not the money

Good to hear some more good news for your dc . Mine is still waiting

@bendmeoverbackwards 😊 DD first year at Bristol. Loves the city, loves her halls and Uni have been great during COVID. Huge congratulations 🥂

Thank you @mumsneedwine dd is looking at accommodation now, she likes the look of Clifton Hill House

Think we went there and all the Clifton halls seemed nice. Mine at OH, friend at Courtrooms and another was at Riverside. Not sure you can go too far wrong with any halls. DD loves being in centre and walking to everything. 5 minutes to Spoons

Woo Hoo @bendmeoverbackwards.

Brilliant news @bendmeoverbackwards , congratulations to your DD!

@notagardener

Good to hear some more good news for your dc . Mine is still waiting

Sorry to hear *@notagardener* what subject? I hope you get some news soon.

Congratulations @bendmeoverbackwards DD!