WWYD my average grade teenager has decided she'd like to do medicine!!

[mosschops30]

Would you wholly support their decision even if you knew that academically they werent up to it?

Dd is a bright girl, but doesnt woek to herfull potental. She is aiming for c's in most of her gcses and may get an A/B in a couple of subjects.

She always wanted to do teachin which is well within her capabilities, but now shes got her heart set on medicine and knows she has to really raise her game at gcse and then get 3 A's minimum to get into university.

I am supporting her, and would be proud whatever she does, but should i discuss with her the possibility that it may not happen?

Teachers will now need b or above in English and maths at gcse if gove follows through on his promises.

let her live her dream OP, let her be thrown into the deep end, surrounded by ferociously hard-working high achievers and then let her make her own mind up as to whether it's the carrer for her.

career.
Crossed fingers.

Where did i say that you can be lazy to teach?? I cant see anywhere that ive suggested that.
The fact is that medicine is much more difficult t get in to at university, the entrance requirements are higher, the course is longer and more demanding and the demand for places greater.
Im not dissing teachers at all, i was over th moon that she wanted to do teaching initially.
Why on here does someone pick out a ficticious statement and then start having a strop about it?

She is doing dual science, and her teacher has said she would need to take applied science in year 11 which leads in to doing A level sciences

I think the important thing is that future teachers have passion for their job. We need people to go into teaching because its their vocation. There are many good teachers who would not make good doctors and vica versa.

I think its silly to suggest a child is an under achiever just because she isn't a straight A student.

I think that teachers deserve respect, but so do lots of other jobs. Being a teacher is as intellectually taxing a say being a nurse, physio, audiologist, network manager etc.

We can't all get straight As in life. It is truely grade inflation if a child with less than medical school entry is considered be an under achiever.

Its the kind of thing thats pretty hard to arrange, but would it be possible for her to do some work experience with a pathologist? I think the reality in pathology is pretty different to the general perception, especially from TV drama etc. Its also rather different from the vast majority of jobs that doctors do.

If she has her heart set on it, and doesn't get the grades this time its not game over. Graduate Entry Medicine is becoming increasingly popular and as long as you have a 2:i in a first degree and can show a passion for medicine then you have a good chance of getting in. The funding is also much more generous than for undergraduate courses, so its not the same as paying for two degrees.

Hope that helps!

Golin, i did not say my daughter was an underachiever, and i find it quite insulting that you suggest a child getting C grades and some A or B grades is an 'underachiever'.

All i can say is im glad youre not teaching my children if thats your attiude

Why didn't she take triple science?

Sorry pixie you may be right, i may have those mixed up

'Dd is a bright girl, but doesnt woek to herfull potental. '

You said your daughter is not working to her full potential?
That is underachieving.

yes, i would wholly support their decision.

i would also sit with her and look through all the entry requirements and let her see how much work it will be.

when i was at secondary school some of the teachers were happy to give extra tuition at the end of the day, perhaps something like that would help if she is really serious about it?

I lived with a mother who was always pointing out the bad possibilities and I have ended up being someone who never bothers because at the back of my head I have her saying "well, it's going to be really hard are you sure you can do it?"

A child working their socks off and achieving Ds or Es at any level is not underachieving.

She doesn't need a medical degree to become a pathologist - most don't. But CSI it ain't.
Getting good grades will help her no matter what she does in the end (eg to do natural sciences specialising in pathology at Cambridge she'd need As, but there's manyother unis)

My first work experience was in a hospital path lab and the staff were delighted to have someone take an interest and offered me a job after a week - but this was before path got on telly.

Hospital might do a tour round the path labs as well as work exp.

THere's loads of professions allied to medicine she might well enjoy - good luck to her if any such career is a motivating factor.

Goblinchild, Pixieonaleaf and Gottakeepchanging I agree with the lot of ya!

Most of my pupils seem to believe they are going to be journalists, doctors, lawyers etc still, it amuses me!

A lot of my Reality TV fed Y6 think they are going to play for Chelsea, Man U or be WAGS.
Should I discuss with them the possibility that it may not happen?

She needs to try to get As, no less tha Bs at GCSE. A levels are not all that matters- GCSEs are now scrutinised as well by lots of med schools. If all else fails, she can do a related degree- or a degree in soemthing she enjoys and is good at for 3 years, and if she gets a 2:1 preferably she can apply for grad entry medicine, with relevant work experience. She'd be in with a fighting chance on that route. Definitely support her decision, if she's bright she can do it. NO problem, it's juts a question of having faith in herself and learning how to study and apply herself. If she has a goal it will be easier for her to find the motivation.

sorry typos!

My DD1 is currently at Exeter University (Peninsula school of medicine and dentistry) in her first year of medicine

The competition for places is absolutely horrendous. She had mostly A grades at GCSE and was predicted straight As at A level and was still very lucky to be offered a place. The med schools expect the majority of GCSEs to be A grades and preselect on those criteria even before they get to interview stage..3 As will NOT be enough.

For medicine it has to be pure science/maths at A level.. Chemistry is ESSENTIAL (I don't know of any med schools that will consider an applicant without a predicted A in chem) and maths, bio or physics are the other main choices.. you need at least two to be sciences.

To survive Chem and Maths at A level you HAVE to be A/A* level at GSCE. They are the toughest A levels (along with physics which my DD didn't do..she did biology) and for all but the most able and hard working they are a bitch.

My DD is the sort that has always worked very hard, pretty unflappable and I hadn't seen her cry since she was a little child..until the day of the core 4 maths final exam when she was convinced she had messed it up. The day she got her A level results and got the A*s she needed I was physically sick with stress until she called me!

BUT it's doable.. if your DD really really wants it. But she needs to know now, to be fair to her, just how high the stakes are. There are over 11 applicants per place for medicine and every student will be predicted straight As as NO med schools are now accepting less:(

If the incentive is enough.. she can set her sights on getting those A grades at GCSE and go all out for it. But if you really don't think she can do it, or would struggle with the A level sciences, then I would gently steer her towards other allied careers... there are plenty of fantastic allied careers.

I am in a similar position with my DD2 now..she is in yr 12. Aced her GSCEs..all A/A* and skipped into A level. Only she has found it far tougher than she thought and is struggling, and consequently is very down now, and doubting herself .. and realistically I think she is likely to come out with BBC or BCC at A level which makes her options at Uni much narrower than her sister. She is capable but can't cope with the pressure:(
However she is looking at Mental Health Nursing as a possible option .. lower grades to get in but a very interesting career!

Someone mentioned graduate medicine, but the competition for that is even worse than undergrad, plus another X years of student loans..:/

I hope your DD can be inspired to work her socks off .. My DD1 is LOVING her first year of medicine even tho she is working harder than she has ever done:)

What an informative and realistic post Medusa, and I agree that Maths was a bitch of a subject to do. My DD was reduced to tears over it as well, but eventually managed with serious hard work and much hot chocolate. The other subjects were nowhere near as stressful.

Can I ask medusa how many A did you DD got in GCSE, as my DS got 5 and 4B and 1C. currently studying A level(maths,chem,bio and English lit AS level) I would be interested to know if this is good enough for med school.