Son struggling in first med

[heidi696]

so my son got a place in medicine and he was so thrilled as he’s worked so so hard to get in. But it’s week2 of lectures and he’s on the phone crying every night because he doesn’t understand anything. He didn’t do biology a level but the uni doesn’t require it. At the open day the lecturer we spoke to promised there would be classes for people
who hadn’t done biology. But he’s been to see her and she’s faffing around and talking about setting up a study group for those who haven’t done it before. He’s in bits and questioning his choice. He never cried in the last 2 years of doing a level but as I say he’s on the phone to me all the time. He says there’s so much content he can’t cope. Anyone else have experience of this

Oh no the wee pal! That’s unfair that they said there would be a different way about it. I was 17 when I first went to uni doing chemistry and biology (for marine biology in the end). They promised I could do the easier version of the chemistry course but then convinced my young malleable self to do the harder version. I understood nothing, tried to swap classes but was told to stick with it and ended up dropping out (and not telling my parents. It’s great he told you, so you can help him!) thankfully Scotland has free higher education. Presumably you’re paying so that makes him being misled and the tutors scattiness even worse.

so for your son, I’d help him have courage to speak to the tutors again, more forcefully. It’s not fair and he’s been mis sold a product if they said support/tuition would be there and it’s not. Obvs approach it with pleasantness but firmness. Tutors aren’t the problem but universities. Best of luck to your boy!

This was my DD 5 years ago – she’s now graduated and loving her first F1 placement. She did struggle with a lack of biology and found year 1 very hard, had to re-sit the end of year 1 exam but passed that and then it got easier. Her tutor suggested she read some A level biology revision books which helped but it was just hard work that got her through. Good luck!

There will be others going through exactly the same. Can he reach out to his peers and together either approach the tutor to arrange this extra study or do some group study to cover the missing things.

He shouldn't have to do this but might be worth seeing if he can get anyone to tutor him - either a peer on his course who did do biology who might want to study with him or maybe someone doing biology (try a graduate student)? The aim would be to avoid getting further behind while waiting for university to pull its finger out.

I know people in this situation years back and its probably a case of not panicking and ensuring that he looks through the lectures and makes a note of what he doesn't understand. A lot of it will be nomenclature, acronyms..

Is there a basic biology manual for medical students that he can get. ?

I'm going to think laterally for a moment here.

Going off to uni is a huge step. Leaving home and meeting/living with a bunch of strangers can be very destabilising. Trying to organise your life can seem overwhelming - he's got to sort out food, budgeting, new friendships, new social interests, the likely presence in his vicinity of alcohol and drugs (not saying he's involved but they'll be around), homesickness, all sorts of things. ( Do any med schools still have some fairly gruesome initiation rites for newbies? They did in my day and I shudder now at the memory).

And on top of that he's struggling with a course that he really wanted to do (I presume - or has he had second thoughts and couldn't bring himself to admit that?)

It may be that his upset is not linked only to what he feels is gaps in his knowledge. That is solvable. If the uni didn't require biol A level, there will be lots of his classmates in the same situation and perhaps he needs to seek solace in that and maybe look at any study groups etc. He must be v intelligent to have got in, so he will be able to cope with the work on an intellectual level.

But never mind the biology - is he eating decent food and sleeping enough? Avoiding hangovers? Finding downtime to relax with new friends? Is it ONLY the coursework or is there more to this?

My daughter (now yr 4) was very overhwhelmed at first, not specifically by the biology as she'd done that but by the volume of work and how much she was expected to learn. I can remember her being very anxious. (She did also mention that they covered the whole advanced higher biology course in 2 lectures and how her friends from England had covered slightly different areas in A level.) 3 years down the line she is much more in her stride, though still gets very stressed at exam time. I very much hope your son makes the decision that's right for him.

Can he identify other students who haven't done biology? Even just chatting to others in the same boat will make him feel better, while they wait for the uni to sort something out.

Your ds will find out that even the students who HAVE studied biology have all covered different syllabuses (including all the international students who have studied under totally different school systems) so the uni will cover material bringing everyone to the same level. They assume no prior knowledge BUT they do assume med students are capable of undirected self study in the areas they need to brush up on.

I agree with the pp that this probably isn't about biology alone. This is about general fresher overwhelm (and very understandable). When your ds gets to know the other students he'll find out that some of them are panicking too probably about different things and they'll all realise somewhere along the line that they're actually coping and having fun too.

She did also mention that they covered the whole advanced higher biology course in 2 lectures

That would be an exaggeration - there is no way medics would be taught about field work, plant identification, evolution etc.

It will have been months since these students had studied and many of them will have found school work relatively easy and have sat at the top of the class. The adjustment to being in a group where you may be very much middling is a big one - it is a psychological challenge as well as an academic one - as is adjusting back to learning after the break. Plus uni is a step up from school and you do need to do extra independent study. Also medicine is a very heavy subject in terms of workload and if you are surrounded by humanities students with low contact hours the contrast may be difficult even though you know medicine is a heavier subject. So it might feel like you a ‘failing’ because you need to do so much more work than your flatmates who are managing their courses much more easily with more social time.

Hi, OP -

Academic here. I agree with PP that firstly, DS is not alone and secondly, multiple factors are at work. I am sure not having A Level Biology is a big one. However it is also easier to talk about that with you than it is to talk about feeling overwhelmed by all the more amorphous changes DS is experiencing.

Crucially, it does sound like insufficient support has been provided for those lacking A Level Biology. I agree that this is wrong.

Does DS have a personal Tutor or Academic Adviser? If he says ‘No’ ask him to double check, because it’s a piece of data that slips by many during Induction overwhelm. I suggest he ask this person, or a Student Support Admin person, for tips on how to find a good Biology tutor and what material to cover. Probably an advanced Biology or Medical student, UG or PG. Then he could advertise on a student network for a small number of study buddies to share the cost (which will be less than the cost of a professional tutor).

I suggest that eg a group of four then advertise, offering, say, £50/hr for a 90 min session with the tutor to prepare (substantially) on their own time. They are dealing with a student so they need to be explicit about the duties ( they should provide all learning materials weeks ahead of time, for example, and weekly assignments and mocks should be prepared ahead. Of course it is fine to use online materials if they are good)

Would a Medical student be more likely to be well organised and able to relate? I don’t know.

Then the students need to honour their part of the agreement to a high standard, including work between meetings. They can easily catch up if they have a structured programme of work, but not in just 90 minutes per week!

As long as they are giving the tutor no cause for complaint, they can comfortably hold him or her to a good standard also. I don’t think it is racist to suggest that someone who took A Level Biology sounds the best bet from what you have described. With very good communication skills, of course - they should really look for this when interviewing.

Hopefully a side effect will be a pal or two, or at least a couple of friendly faces.

I am in STEM but I have seen this kind of thing work with personal tutees many times. Often students will start a tutoring group from within a year group of my tutees.

Very best wishes to DS.

Very much agree with this, he has a LOT going on at the moment. First time living away, doesn't really know anybody, loads of new experiences and responsibilities and it's probably all just a bit too much.

I'd probably just be as supportive and encouraging as I can. Would some A-Level Biology books help a bit perhaps? I'm sure everything will settle soon enough.

Hi, OP -

I agree with everyone saying that self study of the A level Biology material is important. But IME panicky students aren’t in a good headspace to do this effectively, and trying ineffectively can make things worse.

A semester (or a year) of tutoring can arrest this cycle. During the tutoring the students should be working on active learning and a transition to independent learning.

My DS felt overwhelmed in the first term and he had biology. All of his course mates felt the same. It is a hard course with far more demands put on them than a lot of degrees. He is now in his second year and loving it. It’s a steep learning curve but it is possible to get there.

You don’t need to self-study A level biology - just read up on topics relevant to your lectures.

This is trickier than it sounds, and it is a reactive approach. You are at most one step ahead of the game and you don’t gain the confidence that comes from having a strong background.

Many students manage to get from pillar to post with this approach, but do they thrive? Not so much IME.