Schools hot on 'medicine' as a career choice

[nokissymum]

my friends ds is 10yrs and been saying for about 3 years now he wants to be a doctor when he is old enough. Friend and i were wondering wether there are any particular schools known of whose graduants seem to have a strong swaying towards medicine.

I may be wrong in this assumption but seem to feel certain schools just seem to end up with most their students going in a particular direction, be it languages, enineering etc. Thank you.

No way. Farming is reknowned for being the highest suicide rate.

I would defiantly confirm the you really have to be dedicated. It took my DSIL until she was 30+ to find an area of medicine she was happy with. She gave been a doctor totally for a bit. I suspect she became a doctor to please her dad and to prove that she DH and DMIL were right to make him let her go to state 6 th form.

I think kez is right.
Certainly stress of making a farm pay has caused the divorce of friends of mine

the schools in this country that send most pupils to medicine are likely to be either private or grammar schools as they have more of the pupils who achieve the grades necessary.

In general state schools are not as good at preparing pupils for the more demanding interviews, if you look at one of the league tables that shows how many pupils go to Oxbridge then you'll see state schools don't generally have the sort of percentages a private school would have for the same levels of ability. The children from state schools who do succeed are likely to be those whose parents educate themselves in what is required and see that their children are prepared.

There is a lot of good advice on mumsnet and elsewhere about how to prepare a child to apply to medical school. I haven't read this book personally but it might be worth seeing if your local library have it. www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/0955132541

Work (including voluntary) experience is key - both for a child to decide if medicine is really for them and to convince interviewers of that. This doesn't have to be glamorous. Interviewers may be more impressed by a child who has worked in a nursing home or hospice, especially if this was for a sustained period, as that shows greater understanding and commitment.

Although it's not as easy for British doctors to work abroad as it used to be I don't think any doctor need fear unemployment if prepared to travel.

They say about high employment rates of doctors but, to be honest, they hit the Hugh hurdle much earlier than most professions - medical school. Most professions there aren't that many hurdles until you come to find a job and then you compete. Doctors compete at medical school entry which seems to lead to less of them competing for jobs. I'm not an expert but that certainly seems the case as medical school entry seems very hard and limited in number.

I wouldn't think about it in those terms, really. If he is serious (and I speak as someone who changed career plans about 5 times during high school) then he needs a school which will get him his results at GCSE and A level. He'll also need suitable work experience later on (some schools have better links than others - I spent 2 weeks in the operating theatres in my local hospital, I know people from other schools who were sent to the local supermarket/factories to sit it out!)

Then there's extracurricular activities - go for a school with plenty of choice, it doesn't matter so much what they are as long as he does something, so he should play to his strengths be they music, drama, sports, scouts, DofE, cadets, whatever (a range is good too - dabbled with all the above myself) They like voluntary work too, once he's older shifts in a nursing home etc always go down well, and are increasingly expected! WRVS may take him earlier (it's mainly but not exclusively little old ladies who help running shops, cafes and libraries in hospitals, changing flower-water and generally being GoodEggs)

The only thing I'd say about academics is to try for separate sciences at GCSE, as it makes A Level easier. Look at prospectuses before choosing A-level options, as some have different requirements. All want chemistry, but some maths and some biology, so check out his favoured ones at that stage.

On a practical note, medicine is a long course as an undergraduate, and longer learning after that; he needs to understand that the Daily Wail headline salaries are effectively made up (so he'll be paying back loans for years - I missed the start of fees but due to finish paying next year after 8!), that there's a lot of moving around the country especially to start with after graduation, and exams continue way into his thirties. And I still work 100 hour weeks on occasion, even if not routinely any more!

If he's still up for it - GREAT! I can't imagine doing anything else, and I look forward to working with him in about 15 years time!

Kez100 - No doctors and nurses have the highest suicide rate

Thats one newspaper article from 2000 and from statistics put forward by that professions own bodies. You can google almost any above average suicide rate profession and find a newspaper article on it. I've also heard Vets and Dentists mentioned in the past, as well as Farmers. A lot probably has to do with the fact when they are very down they have access to medicines to complete the process. A lot of farming suicides involve guns, as they have access to them.