TSR Med Students' Society Part VI

Passed all my first year exams (wooo!!) Can you update me to 2nd year QUB? Bring on round 2 in September!

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Reply 61

Mutmit287

22

Original post by Doc2be

Passed all my first year exams (wooo!!) Can you update me to 2nd year QUB? Bring on round 2 in September!

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well done! It really is the best feeling x

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Reply 62

Lionheartat20

11

Does anyone use CAGE in an alcohol history OSCE or do you prefer AUDIT-C?
Rumour in our year is that they don't like CAGE at all - but then we have never formally been taught how to take an alcohol history.

AUDIT-C seems, to me, overly complicated to interpret properly within an OSCE station. (Presuming you are not provided the template & marking criteria)

Reply 63

lekky

19

I'll shortly be FY1 Scotland not intercal year..... as I FINALLY have been allocated a job (YEAH) which is actually totally fine even if not my first choice job or city but have been guaranteed I can handpick my FY2 jobs as compensation for how royally they've ****ed me over.

Woo hooooo

Reply 64

lekky

19

Original post by Ronove

Just 48 hours left of non-married life. What what what what. :eek3:

Might start studying for my resit just to distract myself...

Congrats

Reply 65

Helenia

20

Original post by lekky

I'll shortly be FY1 Scotland not intercal year..... as I FINALLY have been allocated a job (YEAH) which is actually totally fine even if not my first choice job or city but have been guaranteed I can handpick my FY2 jobs as compensation for how royally they've ****ed me over.

Woo hooooo

Excellent news! Hope that the job works out well for you.

Reply 66

Ronove

18

Original post by lekky

Congrats

Thanks.

We're about to have wedding leftovers and then wedding cake as a late evening snack. :rofl2:

Reply 67

Beska

21

Original post by Lionheartat20

Does anyone use CAGE in an alcohol history OSCE or do you prefer AUDIT-C?
Rumour in our year is that they don't like CAGE at all - but then we have never formally been taught how to take an alcohol history.

AUDIT-C seems, to me, overly complicated to interpret properly within an OSCE station. (Presuming you are not provided the template & marking criteria)

I wouldn't ad lib AUDIT-C, that's a bit ridiculous. For alcohol screening there's no real problem with CAGE - it's very sensitive and specific (about 90% for each). Not sure why a university would disagree with something like CAGE. Simplicity for tools isn't something that's a bad thing...

Rumours are probably rumours. Somebody probably did a history in front of some OTT gastro reg who didn't like CAGE and it spread from there.

Reply 68

Lionheartat20

11

Original post by Beska

I wouldn't ad lib AUDIT-C, that's a bit ridiculous. For alcohol screening there's no real problem with CAGE - it's very sensitive and specific (about 90% for each). Not sure why a university would disagree with something like CAGE. Simplicity for tools isn't something that's a bad thing...

Rumours are probably rumours. Somebody probably did a history in front of some OTT gastro reg who didn't like CAGE and it spread from there.

Well I've remembered MMSE off by heart (As part of knowing "Mental Health State Communication" and separately "Neurological History Taking" (although the latter is more likely to be headaches) but AUDIT-C seems a step too far! People in our year say CAGE is "too aggressively worded" but I'm going to stick with it as it's just one part of the alcohol history. AUDIT-C would fill more time of the history which could be better spent earning marks with other questions.

OSCEs start tomorrow. :eek:

I know things enough, just hope keep on top of the anxiety :smile:

So many people seem to be on summer holidays here and we are still going in 3rd year :tongue:

*Runs off back to revision*

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 69

spacepirate-James

18

Original post by Lionheartat20

Does anyone use CAGE in an alcohol history OSCE or do you prefer AUDIT-C?
Rumour in our year is that they don't like CAGE at all - but then we have never formally been taught how to take an alcohol history.

AUDIT-C seems, to me, overly complicated to interpret properly within an OSCE station. (Presuming you are not provided the template & marking criteria)

Just want to add that technically AUDIT-C (i.e. the shortened version of AUDIT) only asks about how much alcohol someone is imbibing not questions regarding guilt, or using alcohol as an eye-opener (which are covered in CAGE as well as the full AUDIT). Equally doing a CAGE and not asking about how much/frequency of drinking is of little help too.

In real life scenarios - away from all this OSCE tick-boxing - I've found that CAGE questions can seem quite confrontational if not properly 'introduced', especially with patients who are reluctant to admit that they might have a drinking problem. As a screening tool for the majority of people, it's quick, reliable and effective but I'd say for people who you really suspect to have substance misuse/addiction problems, go with AUDIT or a better substance misuse tool.

Reply 70

Maxxie

15

I have somehow passed finals :biggrin:

Looking forward to a slightly more chilled out fifth year.

Original post by Lionheartat20

Does anyone use CAGE in an alcohol history OSCE or do you prefer AUDIT-C?
Rumour in our year is that they don't like CAGE at all - but then we have never formally been taught how to take an alcohol history.

AUDIT-C seems, to me, overly complicated to interpret properly within an OSCE station. (Presuming you are not provided the template & marking criteria)

I used CAGE in my OSCEs, but I've not even heard of AUDIT-C ha.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 71

ameelia22

15

Question: how many medical schools traditionally sit "exemption exams" or like the equivalent of finals in Year 4 of the medical programme? Is that a thing? Just trying to get my head around the whole process because from my understanding we sit "finals" at the end of year 4 and Jan of Year 5, and if we pass everything we don't have to sit anything in the summer of Year 5?

Reply 72

Mutmit287

22

Original post by ameelia22

Question: how many medical schools traditionally sit "exemption exams" or like the equivalent of finals in Year 4 of the medical programme? Is that a thing? Just trying to get my head around the whole process because from my understanding we sit "finals" at the end of year 4 and Jan of Year 5, and if we pass everything we don't have to sit anything in the summer of Year 5?

My medical school (Cardiff) do this! The way our course is built means we sit finals slightly earlier to allow us to do our senior student placements and elective without worrying about revision or exams.

Reply 73

ameelia22

15

Original post by Natalierm2707

My medical school (Cardiff) do this! The way our course is built means we sit finals slightly earlier to allow us to do our senior student placements and elective without worrying about revision or exams.

Yea I completely get the logic but for some bizarre and horrific reason UoM have decided to move the elective to the end of Year 4... which makes me so angry because we come back and sit exemption exams straight away?? We are then doing placement right up until we graduate?

Reply 74

Mutmit287

22

Original post by ameelia22

Yea I completely get the logic but for some bizarre and horrific reason UoM have decided to move the elective to the end of Year 4... which makes me so angry because we come back and sit exemption exams straight away?? We are then doing placement right up until we graduate?

we sit finals at the end of year 4 and start of year 5 (we have 3 sets if im pretty sure and we have to pass just 2), we then go on elective at easter of year 5 and then do our senior student placement (shadowing the f1s we will take over if we stay in wales) just before we graduate.

UoM system does seem slightly flawed because it means you having to revise on elective which shouldn't be the case!

Reply 75

Ghotay

13

We have our elective between y4 exams and results. It's quite nice because there's no work you could do in that time, but it means if you fail you have to come home early for resits

Reply 76

Elwyn

17

Original post by ameelia22

Yea I completely get the logic but for some bizarre and horrific reason UoM have decided to move the elective to the end of Year 4... which makes me so angry because we come back and sit exemption exams straight away?? We are then doing placement right up until we graduate?

Original post by Natalierm2707

we sit finals at the end of year 4 and start of year 5 (we have 3 sets if im pretty sure and we have to pass just 2), we then go on elective at easter of year 5 and then do our senior student placement (shadowing the f1s we will take over if we stay in wales) just before we graduate.

UoM system does seem slightly flawed because it means you having to revise on elective which shouldn't be the case!

The Cardiff system isn't perfect either though. The layout means you start 4th year first week of September, have 4th year exams in April/May, then as soon as these are done you jump into what's technically your first 5th year placement which is 7 weeks long and then a couple of weeks after this you have the finals OSCE and first of the written finals. This means that 4th year runs from the first week of September until the last week of July with only two 'weeks off' around christmas. As the current 4th years will tell you it's a very stressful year.*

With regard to the exams, you're perfectly right. There are 3 sets of SBA question papers. One in July at the end of 4th year. Then the others are November and February. You have to get a minimum of 50% averaged across your two best papers. So technically you could get 90%, 10%, 5% and pass. If you haven't achieved this after 3 attempts you are allowed a 4th attempt which is classed as the resit.*

Reply 77

Mutmit287

22

Original post by Elwyn

The Cardiff system isn't perfect either though. The layout means you start 4th year first week of September, have 4th year exams in April/May, then as soon as these are done you jump into what's technically your first 5th year placement which is 7 weeks long and then a couple of weeks after this you have the finals OSCE and first of the written finals. This means that 4th year runs from the first week of September until the last week of July with only two 'weeks off' around christmas. As the current 4th years will tell you it's a very stressful year.*

With regard to the exams, you're perfectly right. There are 3 sets of SBA question papers. One in July at the end of 4th year. Then the others are November and February. You have to get a minimum of 50% averaged across your two best papers. So technically you could get 90%, 10%, 5% and pass. If you haven't achieved this after 3 attempts you are allowed a 4th attempt which is classed as the resit.*

Are the 5th year exams the same as the progress tests?

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Reply 78

Elwyn

17

Original post by Natalierm2707

Are the 5th year exams the same as the progress tests?

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No, the progress tests are something new that came with the new course. I'm not sure if the current finals structure will be the same when you come to do them.