Which med schools are best?

[FindingMoMo]

I know there is no such thing as a best med school but which campus based University is best for a bright and sociable student, providing an excellent education in science, public health, practical medicine and creating doctors with excellent communication skills?

I've never heard of in-course transfers happening, but that doesn't mean they don't of course 😀.

In my experience some medical schools positively encourage applications from biomed grads as they are likely to have considerably more knowledge than the typical under-graduate. They aren't treated like graduates, though, it's more like a fresh start in a new subject, albeit one in which they have done some related studies. My experience may be skewed though, as I know a lot of biomed students!

@Namechangedforspooky funny you should mention the med student interviewer. DD has done a few days now and some of the applicants are so patronising to her (she looks about 12) and totally forget she is scoring them.
Apply strategically (if you just apply to where you'd like to go with no further thought you are unlikely to get interviewed). Don't bank on transferring from another degree (between 3-7 do it nationally every year) and don't aim for graduate medicine. It has 45 to 50 applicants per place and costs a lot of money. If you don't get in first time it is easier and cheaper to take a year out and try again.

They don’t ‘transfer’ for a graduate place - they apply for one. The fact it is ‘widely accepted secondary route’, ‘a large proportion do it for that reason’, or ‘half her cohort were hoping to get into medicine’ doesn’t actually mean it is a good route or that it is more effective than studying optometry, biology, or pharmacology as a first degree. What proportion of biomedical sciences graduates who apply get in compared to graduate applications from other biological science/health based disciplines? The fact you learn biomedical sciences is irrelevant, other than to show interest in the topic, as you will be taught the necessary components of this within a medical degree.

And if you don’t get into medicine, then is this the degree you actually want? Or would another degree, maybe in a completely different subject area, be a better choice?

Ok, read up a bit more about ‘transfers’ and it seems they are just ‘in house’ at a few unis but from a range of related degrees. Moving from the end of yr 1 of your related degree puts you back into the start of a medical degree. As you say only a very few places and how the transfer works vary - some skip you through to the interview stage of your UCAS application, some you need ‘widening applications’ points. But on the whole you would be unwise to rely on this as a means of entry to medicine if the alternative degree is not of interest in itself.

Yes, sorry, I meant 'transfer' in the sense of 'switch' paths rather than implying a student could simply choose to move across. You're absolutely right, of course, you have to apply and be accepted! The two people I know who did this successfully were both always determined to be doctors and I suspect that commitment came across in interview. One of them did sufficiently well in their biomed BSc that they were able to skip the first year of med school, which implies to me that biomed is considered of some relevance.

I don't know if it is a 'good' route or not, but I think it is a fairly common one… An interesting question you raise about whether more biomed students later get a place at med school compared to other similar under-graduate degrees. My point was merely that some students specifically opt for biomed as a sort of back route into medicine, whereas I'm not sure whether anyone chooses, say, chemistry or pharmacology with quite the same end in mind. Happy to be corrected, though.

They do, but is it a good thing to do? Interestingly pharmacology was also listed, at a couple of the few unis offering this, as a subject you could do this from.

@thing47 Newcastle undergraduate transfer to Medicine and Dentistry

I think it probably helps if students planning on becoming doctors with great communication skills actually do something to try to develop their communication skills before they apply.

No idea. I guess the two people I know personally who have successfully done this would answer 'yes', but 2 people constitute anecdote, not data.

I don't know what the overall figures look like because as I mentioned upthread DD2 never had medicine remotely on her radar – though interestingly a large number of people on her Masters course were already qualified doctors (it could be used by a doctor wanting to specialise in a particular field, I think).

Thanks for the link @opoponax. There is actually a poster on MN whose DD recently finished a biomed degree at Newcastle. I suspect she hasn't joined this thread because her DD, like mine, was interested in biomed as a degree in itself not as a route into medicine.

Yes, my goddaughter studied bio-med and is now doing a really interesting PhD in a specialist area. She never had any interest in studying medicine either - the idea of dealing with patients put her off.

Ha, yes what DD2 really loves is research, her Masters course was stunningly good and it's given her the taste for more studying.

I'd love to know what your goddaughter's PhD is in – feel free to PM me if you'd rather not say on a public forum. Did she do a Masters first, or go straight to a PhD?

@thing47 happy to PM you as it could be a bit outing for her.

@Namechangedforspooky i know slightly off topic, but what careers would you suggest for your dc, should they ever ask you for advice?

I'd have to agree with @Namechangedforspooky . DH and I are doctors. I can't think of a time when I was asked which med school I graduated from.
Do encourage your DC to do as much public facing working as possible, Care, volunteering, shop worker, anything where they have to develop communication skills. Gain mental resilience, learn coping mechanisms to de-stress.
Be prepared for long hours - not just at University and Junior level but throughout your career. Are they prepared to work 70 hour weeks for years? Look at the NHS salary scale. You do medicine for the love of the job, not financial reasons. There are many careers with better pay, less hours and less stress.
Our youngest DS is considering medicine. We are encouraging him to look into other careers like biomedicine, pharmacology and professions that can be done outside the NHS.

Nrtft, but the best med school is the one that gives DC an offer! (per relative, who is a doctor)

I name changed to post that my medical colleague got his kids in to observe him doing intake rounds on acute wards. They went on to be an engineer and a marine biologist.

As per username I’m a clinical psychologist and my profession has horribly competitive hurdles too. The first bit, getting a psychology degree, is pretty straightforward but the bottle necks at finding an assistant psychologist post and getting a place on the doctoral training are very tough.

The work is interesting and the hours are better than medicine (although some do on call). The work is demanding in the NHS though and generally involves working for at least some of the time with risky and traumatised people in a very stretched system.

If young people ask me I say only do it if you really want to and can cope with rejection 😕 I suggest other routes like Occupational Therapy, physiotherapy or some other great AHP roles like Orthoptics.

All will create doctors. No differrence in being able to practise.

So
The one she likes eg campus, town, atmosphere, distance from home, etc
Clinical from start or not?
Option for intercalation in eg public health can be done, is it all students or some? Does it matter?

Dc from state comp, did double science at gcse not triple, did bio, chem and geog at a level. volunteered with SEN kids group, got three offers for Med and choose a coastal town with clinical from day one . Is now intercalating in london .

If dc want to go for it they should they have 4 choices to list anyway

Guardian student uni guide is based on perceptions i believe
Also they or you can go onto student room aNd look at fora there

https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2022/sep/24/the-guardian-university-guide-2023-the-rankings?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

I've been a doctor for almost 20 years.

Never seen anyone using 'cantab' and I know and work with plenty of people who graduated from Cambridge (and Oxford).