Page 3 | Medicine - 2024 Entry

LaMereDuChat · 2022-12-24T13:48:18+00:00

Just thought I'd start a thread for anyone else who feels like me... Dd has just announced that she'd really like to apply for medicine. It seems pretty much impossible to get into and I'm dreading the process as the odds are stacked against her - private schooled, grades a bit iffy as she's chosen a language as an A-Level and it's hard, though she loves it. Anyone want to join the pity party 😬?

Notagardener · 29/12/2022 12:57

Oh my counting isn't very accurate....13 foreign graduates and 19 Dr in total

Wishesa · 29/12/2022 16:46

What a sad read!

mumsneedwine · 29/12/2022 21:09

Ignore everyone being grumpy ! Our kids want to be Drs, and this is a good thing. Something to be proud of. My DD, even knowing how bad things are, still wants to be a doctor.

Notagardener · 29/12/2022 22:26

Well it's nice to see any DC with a passion. Dc1 did a humanity course for which he always had a interest in. As long as they know what it entails.

Wishesa · 29/12/2022 22:42

@mumsneedwine
It's really not a case of being grumpy!
It's realistic views of the career. It would be silly to dismiss first hand opinions.
Why do you think the Jnr Drs are balloting to strike next month.

mumsneedwine · 30/12/2022 10:22

@Wishesa I just felt we were all being so doom and gloom to a bunch of parents whose kids are still 16/17 with a dream. And it's a good dream that can lead to a great career. The NHS is a huge stinking mess at the moment but let's hope it will change for the better one day. And yes, I know why junior doctors are balloting, I know how hard they work and how awfully they are treated. Because my DD tells me. But being a doctor does not just mean working for the NHS as it's a global career.

Wishesa · 30/12/2022 14:57

@mumsneedwine you are right, apologies. It was unfair of me.
I know my son would have been grateful to see a realistic view of the career 7 years ago, that's just personal so I am sorry.

mumsneedwine · 30/12/2022 16:15

@Wishesa please don't apologise. We know how bad it is and there is no harm in prospective medics knowing this too. Just felt we were being a bit negative when this thread is about applying ! We don't want to put everyone off or it will never get better 😊😊

Ihavethisthingwithcolour · 30/12/2022 18:38

And surely it’s a calling as much as anything.

our dcs have to discover the pitfalls themselves but before all that I know my ds would love the challenge of the degree… who knows where it’ll lead. There’s also huge growth in AI with medicine.

2Rebecca · 30/12/2022 20:16

It is not a calling or a vocation. You are confusing being a doctor with being a nun or a priest. It's a job people good at science and exams go in to. The "vocation" nonsense is just used to try and drive down pay and excuse poor working conditions. When I was a junior the staff canteen (and it was a staff canteen, other people were expected to make their own food arrangements, some junior docs have been booed by relatives in hospital canteens recently, how dare they take a break) was open as usual xmas and New Year. I read the catering arrangements for the DGH over the road from our practice and over the New Year weekend the canteen is only open from 8am-1pm. No evening meal available.
Doctors want jobs not "vocations"

Wishesa · 30/12/2022 20:28

@2Rebecca
Hear, hear.

MidLifeCrisis007 · 30/12/2022 20:51

The negativity on this thread really irks me.... as do the med schools who deny access to students who score highly in the UCAT/BMAT because they don't tick their boxes.

The NHS need students who can not just treat patients but also solve problems that others can't see a solution to. The NHS is on its knees - and needs to be revived in the same way that patients do.... and the bright young things that can do that need our support. Let's encourage, not deter them.

Wishesa · 30/12/2022 21:01

Those bright young things need support and decent pay in order that be problem solvers.

opoponax · 30/12/2022 21:55

This reply has been withdrawn

This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

mumsneedwine · 30/12/2022 22:34

Think this thread needs to be about helping people apply. How to do it strategically and what is actually needed, rather than false news. The realities can come later.
Let's keep it positive from now on. Happy new year and happy applying.

2Rebecca · 30/12/2022 22:44

The Pollyannafication of medicine is part of the reason so many junior docs at the moment are getting disillusioned and want to leave.
Teenagers wanting to do medicine need to understand the reality of the job, not just the application process, otherwise it's like getting married and focussing on the wedding ceremony not the many years of being married.
You wouldn't advise women getting married to just think about the pretty dress.
I don't want junior doctors to leave medicine but if we are to retain doctors students have to understand the actual job and we have to try and improve the job.

sleepyfelines · 30/12/2022 22:47

mumsneedwine · 30/12/2022 22:34

Think this thread needs to be about helping people apply. How to do it strategically and what is actually needed, rather than false news. The realities can come later.
Let's keep it positive from now on. Happy new year and happy applying.

I wish I'd known the realties when I applied.

We shouldn't be encouraging teenagers to sign up for a huge amount of debt and a huge amount of work, without knowing what the job is like.

sleepyfelines · 30/12/2022 22:48

2Rebecca · 30/12/2022 22:44

The Pollyannafication of medicine is part of the reason so many junior docs at the moment are getting disillusioned and want to leave.
Teenagers wanting to do medicine need to understand the reality of the job, not just the application process, otherwise it's like getting married and focussing on the wedding ceremony not the many years of being married.
You wouldn't advise women getting married to just think about the pretty dress.
I don't want junior doctors to leave medicine but if we are to retain doctors students have to understand the actual job and we have to try and improve the job.

Well said!

Ihavethisthingwithcolour · 31/12/2022 08:18

@2Rebecca the 2 very dear friends I have who are gps didn’t just go into it because they “were good at science and good at exams”. They did it because they wanted to make a difference. I wouldn’t say science was even their best subject at school.
One had watched a close relative suffer with various illnesses and die when they were very young and the other suffered from various illnesses themselves as a teen. These events sparked their interest.

As @mumsneedwine says this is a thread for those with dcs applying for entry 24’.

mumsneedwine · 31/12/2022 14:14

I think any prospective medical student would have to be v deaf and v unaware of the news to not know that the NHS is struggling. Anyone having tried being a patient recently can see that it's not working - 40 hour wait at our local A&E last week. At open days the Unis are v clear and honest about the issues, and the medical students are honest about the problems this causes with their training.
I take a little offence at saying medicine has been pollyanna-Ed. My students live pretty tough lives and aspire to do good in a career that can give them a better life. One of my students intends to return to Syria to help his country, another has recently gone into community medicine working with people on the streets (because that's where he used to live). Not all medical students come from wealthy homes. I think a lot of my students could teach us all about the harsh realities of life and they don't have any illusions that medicine is hard. But then their lives have always been hard.

Notagardener · 31/12/2022 16:35

There are all sorts of people applying to med school.
My best friend only did it as it was expected of him (also taking his school results into account ).
Got very stressed out when working as a GP, much more than when a junior doctor. Due to health issues reduced to working 2 days a week. Well liked in his GP practice and a good Dr.

Due to earning a decent salary as a Dr, now enjoying good work -life balance . Has no regrets being a Dr

Notagardener · 31/12/2022 16:38

But definitely let them talk to "real" doctors. I followed Mums advise and looked at our local hospital 's website where they were advertising work experiences

opoponax · 31/12/2022 16:57

I don't believe you need work shadowing for a successful med school application. The volunteering/paid job is far more important to doing well in the interviews. However, I felt with my own two DC that it was such an important part of the jigsaw for them to see what it was really like in a hospital environment rather than just reading about it being difficult or seeing news stories. Doctors at different levels told them about the challenges and stresses etc. and advised them to consider carefully whether it was the right path.

There are lots of shadowing programmes that can be accessed by DC irrespective of school type and without any connections.

mumsneedwine · 31/12/2022 18:10

Shadowing is great for learning about the job and how hospitals work. But it's not available in all areas and so isn't vital.

Going to Uni open days is a great way to talk to current students and how their training is going, especially the clinical years. And there are usually some lecturers hanging around too, who will usually be practising doctors.
But read the news, work at a care home or become a HCA and it's easy to see how tough the NHS is. Let's hope that someone comes along to solve it. Maybe one of the class of 2024 😊

PritiPatelsMaker · 31/12/2022 18:40

Going to Uni open days is a great way to talk to current students and how their training is going, especially the clinical years. And there are usually some lecturers hanging around too, who will usually be practising doctors.

That's a great piece of advice. DS didn't get to many Open Days, mainly because of Lock Down but we visited Sheffield after he'd applied and he got so much out of it.