Medicine 2026 part 4

[mumsneedwine]

Hi. Me again.

Hi gang! Good to hear your news…

We still have while to go, Lancaster doesn’t kick off till the weekend of the 26th. I’m feeling very strange about it, can’t believe my firstborn will be leaving home! I have another daughter (Sixth Form) who’s a bit of a wild ‘un, she’ll continue to keep us on our toes I’m sure. 😅

Lancaster is a bit of a trek for us - 4.5 hours by train. We’ll drive her up and probably stay a night - and maybe pop into the Lake District while we’re there!

What a journey it’s been so far. Excited to see them start their lives as medics!

Hi everyone! It's good to see all the prep that goes into this. I'm in denial; I can't believe DD is leaving next Saturday. The shopping is almost done, although she wants to buy some trousers and some comfy shoes for hospital placements. She already has a couple of items from her work experience weeks. Any ideas for shoes?

How much time do your YPs spend in a clinical setting in year 1? DD says at Sheffield it's 10 half-days in GP practices and a 2-week clinical teaching block, but is that pretty much it? I was under the impression that there would be more teaching occurring in hospitals? And do they always wear scrubs in clinical settings?

Also, another question... DD's tablet is old, and we plan to buy her a new one, but both her dad and I are a bit tight on money at the moment, so we said we'd buy it on Black Friday. How necessary is a tablet for med school and shall we try to buy it now? She has a good laptop and a monitor that she will have in her room.

My DC just has a phone and laptop, no tablet, and has managed fine.

In Scotland uniforms are colour-coded across the whole NHS. Med students have black scrubs which I am not convinced is the best colour choice… (though DC hasn’t needed them yet as very little clinical contact).

Don't buy scrubs. They'll get them in the hospital (& leave them there too). Every hospital has colour coded scrubs for med students (& all A&Es for everyone) so you're not asked to do something you can't.

Shoes ? Seems to be Sketchers or comfy trainers. Not sure they really care, but DD recommends wipeable as they will get covered in bodily fluids 🤢

Everywhere has colour coding, I meant it was the same across the whole of Scotland whereas ai think different hospitals have different colours in England?

Apple tends to offer a student discount around this time of year.

DD y3 has managed just fine without one where as DS in y5 swears by his.

Apple do discounts for anyone in education all year round. Just need an education email !

@inae my DD is 3rd medic at Sheffield and just got her scrubs in July!
For GP she needs smart clothes - mine wore black trousers and blouse / jumper and her old Docs for shoes.
From memory they do GP every other week in 1st and 2nd year.
To wear with scrubs she’s got Hokka trainers which are very comfy.
She had an iPad and laptop - in lectures she mainly used the iPad.
Happy to answer any more questions!
She’s currently on placement in Scunthorpe however excited for her 3rd freshers and is planning to travel back a few nights to take part in the fun!

Thanks everyone!

@Randomactofkindness do you mind asking your DD what notes taking app are students using? is there a note-taking app recommended (or provided) by Sheffield?

My daughter had been told to get special Lancaster- affiliated scrubs ready for the start of term - plus Doc Martens-type black shoes. Weird as there are no clinical placements till year 2 but they practise skills in them…

I will ask! She’s back in Sheffield tonight for the pub quiz hoping to win a £75 bar tab (they have won many times and in freshers last year won a 40in TV!!) so it maybe tomorrow!!!

I used to teach med studs in Sheffield in their GP blocks. I haven't done so since before COVID so some things will have changed - however, regarding clothing in GP, I used to tell them to dress like a GP. So jackets, ties etc not necessary; smart trousers/dresses/skirts plus casual shirt/blouse or smart T shirt (not a band or heavily logo'ed one). Shoes - trainers will be fine as long as they're clean.

(I became very clear about my instructions when one girl turned up in a tiny minidress with shoestring straps and white knee high socks. She was an overseas student and we had to have a little chat about cultural norms and expectations!)

So she says she doesn’t really take notes in lectures she makes flashcards using Anki

They often download the lecture slides in advance and annotate them. But most lectures are recorded so can watch back (on double speed !)

Hello gang… so we’ve dropped DS off. Slightly surreal. Haven’t really cried other than when another mum (and her DH and younger child) were leaving the halls and we locked eyes and she started to cry. I joined her and gave her a hug (with her permission…).

packing was interesting. DS did his clothes yesterday (literally the day before we left). I had already accumulated things like mattress topper, air purifier, some kitchen things, extension cords etc and other household things like hand wash, shower gel, toothpaste etc. so when he started to wonder about his face wash, I just produced it. So if your children are like mine, I’d suggest just getting on with your own list of what you think they need and I live in hope that he was secretly relieved and pleased.

tonight will be interesting…will be waiting for him to check in and give us a brief FaceTime hopefully. The seniors have all taken them out I guess to show them the local locale. 😅

@MyGreyBiscuit you are unlikely to get a FaceTime tonight if the older years have taken them out 😂. Expect one about 2pm when he wakes up !

Agree with this.

On the upside you are going to notice a big drop in the amount of washing you have to do each week.

My DS has been away a week and I am shocked by how little washing there has been and how the fridge/cupboards still have food.
DS has had freshers flu so hasn’t been out much the last couple of days but I am sure there will be plenty of time for that.

@MyGreyBiscuit aww dropping off came around so quickly! You did well not to cry much. I am not a cryer but DD is, which always sets me off, so there will be lots of tears (happy and sad) when she goes. DD has done quite a bit of buying things but I have had to have the sensible 'mum' list behind hers to ensure she doesn't forget the boring stuff 😂. She is definitely more interested in her outfits and what clothes to take.

@Sachetaandb I can't wait for my laundry to reduce, there is only 3 of us but my goodness the amount of loads I do is ridiculous. I feel most of it is down to DD as I wear a uniform to work so don't generate too much!

We are having a family get together today as my niece is also leaving soon for uni so gives my parents a chance to say goodbye to both of them. DD is itching to go especially as she is seeing everyone else's moving in posts now.

Although at times this past year has dragged whilst waiting for the next bit of the puzzle, it has also gone quickly and I can't believe we are all here with our YP starting medical school ❤.

Hello!!
Happy to report that he did ring me yesterday (right on the dot of midnight which was difficult for me as I’m usually conked by 10! So pleased that he had some fun, meeting the seniors, going to some chicken place like a Nando’s, and then to the students union. I hope he remembers to take his vitamins as he’s on medication so wouldn’t want all this freshers stuff to take over his start of term.

@bluefineliner we definitely didn’t have an ‘outfit’ issue!!! LOL!! All his clothes fitted into a suitcase. I’m assuming as he’s really in the thick of things in London, that there’s lots of places he can just pick up more pants/socks with little effort.

@Sachetaandb yes! The washing is on now, but I did say to DH that maybe we can now do a wash every other day with only the 3 of us. We shall see…

I've just been catching up with the last few posts - love hearing all the news, packing lists (parents in the background to ensure all sorted) and excitement.

You will all be able to share tips and advice, when hopefully it is our turn next year. UCAT rebooked for 22nd so getting close now and then time to make strategic choices - surprisingly few places take achieved A levels into account.

So proud of all the YP about to forge their own paths - I remember, a few years back, hearing someone say that it is not empty nesting, rather as parents, this time, is bird launching! Which I think is so lovely, good luck to all those birds to be launched this week and to those already there

Thanks all for the tips re: note-taking. @mumsneedwine your DS sounds lovely, calling back home. I expect to chase DD especially during freshers 😀

@Peanuts79 best of luck with UCAT! DDs school friend has hers booked on the same day.

I believe Exeter and Newcastle take into account achieved A-levels in pre-interview scoring. DDs friend is considering both (subject to UCAT of course).

@inaenot sure I have a DS 🤪. Think was another poster. My 2 left Uni now but I'll never forget the 3am bum calling from McDonalds. Took hours for my heart rate to stabilise while they had no clue they'd called 😡

sorry I meant to tag @MyGreyBiscuit 😀