Take Home Messages

Oooh congratulations on your results - they’re great! I don’t think GCSEs are even counted in your application so even if they weren’t that good I wouldn’t let it put you off! But judging by them you have the potential to get great A levels too so I say go for it if medicine is what you want to do! Work your butt off this year to get your grades and like you say, as much extra-curricular/work experience stuff as you can :) Good luck, friend! :)

A bit of a pointless post about an amusing observation in GP land:

I have been sitting in with one particular doc - he’s older, semi-retired and has a bit of a ‘paternalistic’ method (which they are always teaching us is NOT the way things should be done but it seems to work for this doc - particularly with older patients he’s seen 40 years).  Anyway he sits at his desk facing the wall and the patient’s chair is parallel with the desk, about 3 feet away and angled towards him; what I’ve noticed is that literally almost every patient shuffles the chair about a foot closer to him when they sit down. And he drags it back to it’s original position each time he leaves the room to get the next patient.  I’m sure the patients don’t notice they’re doing it and I don’t really know why they would do it but it’s such an obvious bug-bear to this poor guy - I could see him getting more and more irritated with each time he had to shove the chair back into place - it’s literally like a pantomime :’)

I think that for some people, heading straight from high school to study medicine at uni  is a bit of a mistake. Or maybe not a mistake but... harder, a reality shock. You don’t really have the maturity and experience to understand what you’re working towards, what the rest of your life will entail. And it’s not your fault - almost your entire life has been focused on getting through your education - studying, revision, tests, assignments, rules, a system, hoops to jump through for prizes and praise. The journey to med school is about getting the best results, academically and extra-curricularly out-performing competitive applicants.

You’re chucked into med school and you think it’s more of the same; studying hard, all-nighters in the library, trying to be top in your year as you’ve always been. But it’s different; you’ve jumped from a garden pond to the open sea, and if you keep focusing only on getting the best exam results and trying to be the perfect little academic you’ll drown.

There has to be a point where you let go of all that and realise what you are really working for; not some high school course with an impressive, pretty certificate at the end, but an actual vocation with staggering amounts of responsibility. Patients won’t care whether you got an A or a B in that case report or you can draw the neatest diagrams or have perfectly organised notes. Neither will your tutors - no one’s going to give you a pat on the head and a gold star. It can be frustrating and disillusioning to feel you’re not the best any more. Being a ‘grown-up’ is hard. But sooner or later you’ll have a moment where you really understand what you’ve got yourself into. It might be your first time taking a full history alone; sitting in a clinic and relating to some aspect of a patient’s life; stood in the operating theatre in awe of the violence and power in the surgeon’s hands; bringing a cup of tea to a lonely patient on the wards. And suddenly it feels very real, and your high school days were a lifetime ago. What you’re doing isn’t about ‘you’ anymore, or about impressing anyone or getting the highest test scores as if your life were a computer game. You see the bigger picture.

OK prepare for a whistle-stop tour of applying - there is SO MUCH advice on this out there but I’ll do my best for ya :)

I’m pretty sure most schools use a scoring system that’s basically similar to the one for foundation applications and factors in your school grades, UKCAT score, extracurricular achievements in sport/music/drama etc. (especially like national representation or getting music grades 6 - 8), work experience, volunteering, and your general understanding, commitment and attitude to medicine shown through your personal statement or interview. Different schools might score different components of this higher so it’s worth looking into - if you have an excellent UKCAT score you might consider schools that put a lot of emphasis on it, and vice versa.

I’m guessing you know each uni might have different A-level entry requirements (though they are probably all pretty similar) e.g. Mine asks for AAAb in Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics or Maths. The UKCAT (UK Clinical Aptitude Test) is taken online at a testing centre - like where you do your driving theory. I was told you can’t prepare for this test but DEFINITELY DO. I got this book of practice questions but there seems to be a lot more practice questions and tests around now and even an app. 

Work experience is super important but can be tricky to organise if your school doesn’t have a dedicated program or you don’t have medical contacts in your family/friends. A bit of effort pays off though and just keep contacting people - your schools career’s adviser, guidance teacher, volunteering services at hospitals, your GP (although it’s not recommended to actually shadow your own GP as you’re likely to know patients personally and it can be uncomfortable). Remember it doesn’t have to be a doctor either; any health professional can be valuable to shadow. Just don’t leave it too late, and while you’re there make sure to actually think about what you’re learning so you can write/talk about it comprehensively and eloquently.

They also look for any other part-time paid work or volunteering you do so definitely put that in and focus on skills transferable to medicine.

Unfortunately because there’s so much competition for places these days it’s basically become a requirement to have some sort of skill outside academia. Mine is music. Whatever you do, big it up as much as you can and wax lyrical about how much it has improved and developed you and what skills you learn from it.

That goes for everything you write in your personal statement actually - they don’t just want a descriptive list of what you’ve done, they want some critical, reflective thinking. E.g. don’t just say “I have shadowed doctors and nurses on an acute admissions ward and saw a variety of medical, surgical and orthopaedic patients;” say something like: “shadowing both doctors and nurses on an acute admissions ward has made me appreciate that efficient work and communication between all members of the multidisciplinary team is vital for high-quality patient care” yadayada.

Writing your personal statement is a really hard thing to do and takes time. It’s important to get a balance between making your personal statement ‘personal’ and informative; say why you want to do medicine, but don’t lay on the sob story too thick; get in as much of your skills and experiences you can, but without it just becoming a list. It’s the only thing that’ll separate you from the mass of other applicant with the same grades; it’s your ticket to an interview and will be the basis of your interview, so make sure you know what you are talking about and DO NOT LIE. It’ll catch up to you eventually. Think about how you sound to other people through your writing - are you too cocky? Too modest? Boring? Witty? Annoying? Over-the-top? Get other people to read it and make suggestions.

And once you’ve got an interview…. Well, that’s a whole other topic and this post is already faaaaar too long and I need to go and study but if you have specific questions please do ask :)

Hello! Woo third year, the fun begins! :) I was super nervous too but honestly you wouldn't believe how quickly you get used to being on the wards. It's a bit like maybe you were a bit freaked out and nervous before your first anatomy session? I know most of my class was was but literally 10 minutes in we were all totally into it and just think how cool it was to be holding a freaking brain!

As for getting into a new learning style... If you're are like us you'll have say a week or two of 'core lectures?' This is pretty intense and don't expect to remember everything right away! but go back and look at them throughout your rotation and it'll fall into place. I actually found it much easier to retain info once I'd seen a patient with the condition. Make the most of your contact time and ask questions of your tutors - don't worry about 'looking stupid' - you are there to learn! Giving a wrong answer in a bedside session can be completely mortifying but really no one cares or will remember except you. It's much more interesting for your tutor and other students in your group if there's a bit of discussion and questions.If your school's anything like ours you'll have a lot of hanging around waiting for tutors or surgeries or during surgeries so use the time - if you are with other students quiz each other or go over conditions; carry 'pocket books' and look up conditions you see in clinics between patients or when the doc is doing dictation. 'Oxford handbook of clinical medicine' is SO GOOD - seriously like my bible. We were told to spend as much time on the wards as possible but I had to take that with a pinch of salt; of course talking to and examining patients are skills you WILL really need BUT only doing that probably won't get you through your exams. You'll probably still have a fair bit of 'non-contact' time which you can use to study in a way that works for you - making notes from lectures/textbooks or whatever, just like you've been doing for the last 2 years.

So sorry I’ve taken ages to answer this - I don’t get many messages and I completely forgot it was in my ask box!

I’m afraid I don’t entirely understand the American system so apologies if I’ve got it wrong but I think you do 3 years pre-med, 5 years of med school and then either do an internship year or immediately start your residency?

In the UK medicine at university is an undergraduate (first-entry) degree so many of us do the 5 years coming straight from high school. To get into that program you need excellent high school grades (officially it’s AAABB at Higher but most people applying have AAAAA) plus a good UKCAT score (UK Clinical Aptitude Test) plus volunteering/work experience/extra-curricular skills etc. I.E a well-written personal statement. Different med schools place different emphasis on each component. Most interview as well but not all - the university I chose doesn’t.

You obviously have exams all the way through med school then your ‘Finals’ (which used to be in 5th year but my university are changing it to 4th year for my cohort). Part of this is the ‘Situational Judgement Test’ where they basically test how you would react in situations that are challenging clinically or ethically. The results of these go into an application system where you also get points for publications, prizes and other achievements. This is basically a job application for ‘Foundation’ year placements  - you have graduated as a doctor but still have to complete FY1 to be fully registered with the General Medical Council. After 2 foundation years you then choose your specialty and depending on what it is you do Core Training (CT) or Speciality Training (ST).

I hope all that made sense! ANYWAY in a rather long-winded way I am explaining that I am only in my 4th year of med school so haven’t yet done a ‘residency’ :P And being a bit cagey I will only say that I am studying in Scotland ;)

Professor Tanya Byron, ‘The Skeleton Cupboard’

I didn’t think I’d enjoy derm at all but I’m finding it pretty fascinating actually - skin is weird and wonderful. A bit apprehensive about surgery though because with the patients awake I find it so much harder not to imagine it happening to me which isn’t the ideal situation if half their face is hanging off. Hmm. We’ll see...