Medicine 2022 - The final furlong

[Monkey2001]

Support thread for aspiring medics.

We want all our DCs to succeed, whatever their school type. We share knowledge to help them to achieve their goals, celebrate success and support if things don't go well.

Offers are in for some, others on waiting lists, others doing their A levels and planning a gap year.

Best of luck everyone for great results on 18th August, we will be here to celebrate, commiserate, advise and generally support you for the last stage of the 2022 journey. 🍀

Previous thread - www.mumsnet.com/talk/higher_education/4464984-Medicine-2022-Decision-time

2023 applicant thread - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4459778-Medicine-2023-Entry

😊😊 my fingers are firmly crossed for mini @Monkey2001.

Thanks, but goodness you are on the ball! I set this thread up because the last one is nearly finished, was not expecting to see any action yet!

@Monkey2001 😂 supposed to be marking.

Checking in. Shall we do a roll call?

DD has firmed Oxford and insured with Leeds. She's IB so will get her results within a month 😮

Another mumsnet expert finding the thread early! Great idea for people to give a status update.

DS still on Newcastle waiting list, but think he is quite low on the list so preparing for a gap year. He has found a great job to apply for - September to March 3 days/week in local hospital, so working on that alongside A levels.

Place marking to see how things pan out. No offers ….but still interested to see how everyone else gets on. Wishing them all the best of luck.

Thanks @Monkey2001for the new thread. I am still interested in how all the other kids are doing and keeping fingers crossed for all those on the waiting lists ,DD focusing on her A levels now and will reapply in October.

Gap year here, congrats to all of those with offers. Hanging around here for the wealth of knowledge that will undoubtedly help for next cycle.

You're very kind @Monkey2001 but I'm an amateur at this lark! Good news about the possible hospital job for your DS.

DD says she thinks there will be a reading list released after results. Is that an Oxford thing or do other medical schools do that as well?

It really is a marathon not a sprint, for you all as well as DC! DD just coming to end of 3rd year at Liverpool so if anyone has firmed there, feel free to ask any questions. She is having a great time but boy, the workload has ramped up. @HoneyMobster she certainly didn’t have a reading list before starting, but then it’s very different course to Oxford. Good luck to you all and your DC!

Thanks for starting this new thread! DD on waiting list for HYMS, also applying for HCA jobs in event of gap year (looking highly likely now....)

My dd is doing medicine at Oxford. She didn't have a reading list before starting nor did her friends at several other colleges but these things do vary by college so couldn't say for sure for your dd.

DD is off to Exeter and can't wait to start there in September. The fact that Exeter med students can get free passes to Boardmasters in return for being first aiders is the icing on the cake....

Meanwhile best of luck to all the A level students over the next 3 weeks.... There will be a lot anxious kids out there right now ahead of Maths this afternoon! DD is doing Maths (Edexcel), Chemistry (Edexcel), Physics (AQA) and Biology (OCR) A levels.

My medical school definitely doesn't provide reading lists. In fact, if students ask we explicitly tell them not to buy any books until they have started the course and can work out whether they actually need them. Most of what they need to learn is covered in books that are available free online through the university library, and it is often better for them to watch some videos on the web before they start trying to understand detailed explanations in textbooks.

Some subjects - especially anatomy - will have web or other electronic resources that are highly recommended, and some universities will have produced their own. For some subjects - most notably physiology - different books suit different students' learning styles and it doesn't make sense to buy a book you're going to struggle to understand if there's another one that suits you much better. When I ask students which textbook they use for physiology, those who use textbooks at all usually say Guyton & Hall. Personally, I find this book completely unreadable but many other people find it the best available.

If a student waiting to start a medicine course asks me for recommended reading, I will always tell them to read stuff like the NHS Constitution, the GMC's Duties of a Doctor and Good Medical Practice, as well as the specific guidance for medical students. Also, students who have never studied psychology or sociology are likely to find it very useful to read some introductory stuff on these subjects, as medical students are often taken by surprise at how much behavioural & social science they have to learn (even though it should be obvious you need to learn these to be a doctor). And anyone who deliberately avoided maths-heavy A-Levels should be brushing up their calculation skills. The numeracy standard of many medical students is shocking.

Invaluable advice @NoNotHimTheOtherOne . Thank you.

Update from my post this morning. A very excitable DD has jut called from school to say HYMS have made an offer. I am hugely relieved for her - I think this will really give her the impetus she needs for her exams. Hang in there everyone still on a reserve list

Congratulations @olafolaf that is great news and a real boost in the middle of exams!

@olafolaf - brilliant news. So pleased!

Ooh, how exciting @olafolaf ! Hope there is time in the A level schedule for some celebrations!

@Scoobyblue - thanks for the Oxford info. It may be college specific or it's possible she's picked up a general message intended for everyone at her college (quite a big one).

Congratulations @olafolaf. Exciting times for her .

So happy to hear your DD's great news @olafolaf!

Thank you to everyone. I have been an idle lurker and poor contributor to this thread, but just want to say how grateful I am for everyone's generosity of spirit and willingness to share information.
There's still a long road ahead and no certainty but I am going to try and share any learning in the hope it might help another applicant. But tonight - fizzy pop and trifle!

Congratulations @olafolaf 's dd! Celebrations amidst the for her today

Ds2 didn't have a reading list from Sheffield and has only ever wanted his own copies of 2 seminal textbooks - Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine and Vander's Human Physiology. All other books are available from the uni libraries or passed down by previous years. In fact his most used learning resource has been previous year's notes alongside subscription to medicine revision websites (e.g.passmedicine.com ) Yes folks, medicine exam revision is uncannily similar to UCAT, SJT and all.

That did say celebrations amidst the revision when I posted