Healthcare Assistant - they assist with the daily care of patients; like fulfilling activities of daily living (washing, dressing, toileting); and help deal with some of the daily tasks like mealtimes, changing bed sheets; bay obs; restocking rooms, etc.

Reply 303

CharlieGEM

11

Original post by Hype en Ecosse

Wow! Great job!

How is life in medical school treating you?

Oh, wait...

Glad I'm not in medical school. Academically, the rote learning had started to bore me to death. Work wise I'll be glad not to be tied to the NHS which is an entity run for the benefit of a number of special interest groups: none of which are the patients.

Even working as an HCA is an experiment (to see what working in healthcare was like) I won't have to regret much longer. I enjoy the patient contact part but nothing else at all.

Reply 304

KatieBlogger

13

Original post by TimmonaPortella

Given that parliament is full to the brim with Oxford PPE grads without any other life experience that's probably not ridiculous.

No, that's exactly why I think it's ridiculous.

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Reply 305

Democracy

20

Original post by CharlieGEM

Glad I'm not in medical school. Academically, the rote learning had started to bore me to death. Work wise I'll be glad not to be tied to the NHS which is an entity run for the benefit of a number of special interest groups: none of which are the patients.

Even working as an HCA is an experiment (to see what working in healthcare was like) I won't have to regret much longer. I enjoy the patient contact part but nothing else at all.

Dude, you are like the poster boy for the "bitter med school reject" trope. The trouble is that you are also in your 30s, so you really are old enough to know better.

Medicine is not about rote learning at all, I don't know where you got that idea into your head but it's rubbish. Since the job is fundamentally a practical one which is all about dealing with individuals (who do not fit into black and white paradigms or neat little boxes, despite what you may think), it therefore logically follows that rote learning will be of little value.

Med school examiners can spot a student who's trying to pass their exams on the back of copious book learning and zero patient contact from a mile off. Such students do not do well. This is not a job for people who do not have lateral thinking skills or are merely looking to be algorithm monkeys.

And just as an aside, you place way too much value on UKCAT scores. **** me, the rest of the world merely views the UKCAT as a hoop to jump through, not as a way of determining whether an HCA (or whoever) would have made a better doctor than a current med student.

Reply 306

Kallisto

Entertainment Forum Helper

22

Original post by GradeA*UnderA

x

Share your opinion, but in a different view: I guess most students have a wrong imagination of studying medicine to become a doctor. Without to know how responsible it is. Without to know how important it is to deal with patients. Most of them just think of prestige, a good wage and a good career. That is very surfically. I know there are students who are aware of this resposibility. I know there are students who are capable of treating patients trustfully and with respect. But the majority has really no idea of that. Diagnose an illness is not enough to become a good doctor in my opnion. *** *

Reply 307

Etomidate

15

I love all of this "most med students" talk that's going on in this thread. I'm presuming that the people writing these things are basing their opinions on those one or two applicants that were in their class at sixthform, or the over-excited 18 year old fresher they met during freshers week.

I, for one, can say that most of the medical students I know are genuinely caring, respectful and have chosen to give up the best years of their lives to look after your grandparents when they come in with a fall, whether that's at 2pm on a tuesday or 3am on a saturday.

I honestly don't know where all this hate is coming from.

Reply 308

lionel61

I took english literature.

Reply 309

Underscore__

21

Not civil engineering, there may be other that qualify as not proper engineering but I can't think of any others.

Original post by Etomidate

I love all of this "most med students" talk that's going on in this thread. I'm presuming that the people writing these things are basing their opinions on those one or two applicants that were in their class at sixthform, or the over-excited 18 year old fresher they met during freshers week.

I, for one, can say that most of the medical students I know are genuinely caring, respectful and have chosen to give up the best years of their lives to look after your grandparents when they come in with a fall, whether that's at 2pm on a tuesday or 3am on a saturday.

I honestly don't know where all this hate is coming from.

I'm sure their choice isn't at all influenced by medicine having the highest average earnings of a any degree subject...

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(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 310

returnmigrant

21

Medicine.

People tie themselves up in knots stressing about 'getting into Med School' when actually if they applied to Medical Sciences they'd have a far easier time getting a place (no tortuous interview days for a start). AND they'd be contributing to 'saving lives' in a far more profound way than being a doctor because their research into Ebola, Cancer, Zika, antibiotic resistance etc will save thousands of lives not just a few. Its Medical Scientists who win Nobel Prizes, not GPs.

Reply 311

Etomidate

15

Original post by Underscore__

Not civil engineering, there may be other that qualify as not proper engineering but I can't think of any others.

I'm sure their choice isn't at all influenced by medicine having the highest average earnings of a any degree subject...

Posted from TSR Mobile

If they were that concerned about money, they would take their 3 or 4 A's at A-level, study maths/eco at uni and go work in the City. They would be out-earning doctors in the space of a few months, and they wouldn't have to pay thousands of pounds in exam fees, GMC fees, insurance, BMA membership, portfolio expenses and course fees.

In doing so, they would also shave off two years of student debt and loss of income.

Medicine is ok on paper for pay, but it's not fantastic in the grand scheme of things. I don't know many doctors that are motivated by money. Earning a starting salary of £30k in return for a 50-70hr working week two years later than your peers doesn't sound that wonderful.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 312

lucabrasi98

15

Original post by Underscore__

Not civil engineering, there may be other that qualify as not proper engineering but I can't think of any others.
Posted from TSR Mobile

Is this bait? Civil engineering is the closest possible thing to "proper engineering" there is. Well joint with mechanical. Look at definitions:
"the branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines, and structures."

" the work of designing and creating large structures (such as roads and bridges) or new products or systems by using scientific methods"

"Engineering is the application of mathematics, empirical evidence and scientific, economic, social, and practical knowledge in order to invent, innovate, design, build, maintain, research, and improve structures, machines, tools, systems, components, materials, processes and organizations."

And it probably has the most diverse job fields too. You can go into finance, work on land fills, skyscrapers, underground tunnels, regular railways, airports (one of the Manchester civil engineering lecturers helped design one of the heathrow terminals), dams, resevoirs, any smaller scale structure (e.g a house or apartment), roads, bridges, sports stadiums ect.

Most popular engineering shows on TV is full of civil engineers. I thought you were going to say something like chemical or audio engineering. But what you're saying is so inaccurate that I can only assume you've confused "civil engineer" with being a surveyor, regular site manager or builder.

Edit: And it's worth adding that it has the highest employment rate of all engineering disciplines according to prospect.com.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 313

Underscore__

21

Original post by Etomidate

If they were that concerned about money, they would take their 3 or 4 A's at A-level, study maths/eco at uni and go work in the City. They would be out-earning doctors in the space of a few months, and they wouldn't have to pay thousands of pounds in exam fees, GMC fees, insurance, BMA membership, portfolio expenses and course fees.

In doing so, they would also shave off two years of student debt and loss of income.

Medicine is ok on paper for pay, but it's not fantastic in the grand scheme of things. I don't know many doctors that are motivated by money. Earning a starting salary of £30k in return for a 50-70hr working week two years later than your peers doesn't sound that wonderful.

But medicine graduates earn, on average, more than economics or maths grads so that would make no sense. Studying medicine is a way to guarantee yourself a pretty good salary for life

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Reply 314

Underscore__

21

Original post by lucabrasi98

Is this bait? Civil engineering is the closest possible thing to "proper engineering" there is. Well joint with mechanical. Look at definitions:
"the branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines, and structures."

" the work of designing and creating large structures (such as roads and bridges) or new products or systems by using scientific methods"

"Engineering is the application of mathematics, empirical evidence and scientific, economic, social, and practical knowledge in order to invent, innovate, design, build, maintain, research, and improve structures, machines, tools, systems, components, materials, processes and organizations."

And it probably has the most diverse job fields too. You can go into finance, work on land fills, skyscrapers, underground tunnels, regular railways, airports (one of the Manchester civil engineering lecturers helped design one of the heathrow terminals), dams, resevoirs, any smaller scale structure (e.g a house or apartment), roads, bridges, sports stadiums ect.

Most popular engineering shows on TV is full of civil engineers. I thought you were going to say something like chemical or audio engineering. But what you're saying is so inaccurate that I can only assume you've confused "civil engineer" with being a surveyor, regular site manager or builder.

Edit: And it's worth adding that it has the highest employment rate of all engineering disciplines according to prospect.com.

I suppose audio engineering is another I wouldn't class as proper engineering. I know a few people who studied civil engineering, they all did well but they all said their course is quite easy

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Reply 315

Lkathryn08

19

Why has this thread become "why my degree is better than yours due to 'insert petty reason'"?

Reply 316

Etomidate

15

Original post by Underscore__

But medicine graduates earn, on average, more than economics or maths grads so that would make no sense. Studying medicine is a way to guarantee yourself a pretty good salary for life

Posted from TSR Mobile

Factor in two extra years of lost earning, the expenses of working as a doctor, the moving up and down the country and the erratic hours - I would wager that your typical eco/maths grad would be doing better off.

That said, the fact that medicine is a reliable income doesn't automatically mean every doctor is "in it for the money". Quite the opposite - I know many grad entry students who gave up very lucrative careers in finance and pharmaceuticals for one in medicine, taking a massive paycut in doing so.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 317

Dynamic_Vicz

16

Original post by Lkathryn08

Why has this thread become "why my degree is better than yours due to 'insert petty reason'"?

ikr it is predominantly the medicine lovers.

Reply 318

lucabrasi98

15

Original post by Underscore__

I suppose audio engineering is another I wouldn't class as proper engineering. I know a few people who studied civil engineering, they all did well but they all said their course is quite easy

Posted from TSR Mobile

It may be possible that they were just very good at the subject? Or the university wasn't that good? Imperial has A*A*A requirements for it and idk anyone from there that finds it easy. But even ignoring that, it doesn't make sense to use how easy it is as an argument in the first place. The hardest (upon general consensus) is electrical which I heard just becomes ridiculously complicated in 3rd and 4th years. But I wouldn't call it the most "proper".

Anyway, surely proper ones should be ones that actually fit the definition for engineering? Mechanical, Civil, Electrical and Aerospace are usually seen as the main ones. Maybe Chemical too. With the rest (e.g agricultural, sound, computer, biomedical, biological, materials ect.), you often see university's awarding Msci degrees for completing them instead of MEng degrees. Although obviously there are exceptions. . Especially at top Unis.

Original post by Etomidate

Factor in two extra years of lost earning, the expenses of working as a doctor, the moving up and down the country and the erratic hours - I would wager that your typical eco/maths grad would be doing better off.

tbf, how significant is a 2 year loss in earning when you're looking at pay across their careers? And who said anything about moving around the country?

Is it really a 2 year loss in earnings anyway? My cousins who did medicine said they got paid in the latter stages of the course. In addition to that, doesn't the NHS cover some of their student loans? So they don't pay as much as they normally would. It's also worth noting that you're essentially guaranteed a job right away if you complete a medicine degree. I know maths/eco grads who struggled to find jobs they wanted for months after. Some just settled for something they didn't really enjoy.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 319

username2808544

Medicine
Maybe I'm just bitter though...
Actually definitely bitter because I didn't get good enough GCSE's for it. But yay to those who are gonna take medicine!

Most overrated degree in your imo?

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