TSR Med Students' Society Part IV

You don't have a medic parent??? That's quite surprising as there are fewer people in your year than mine. Some people in your year even got assigned two medic parents so that everyone in my year would have a child .

Thanks man, glad to see someone understands

X

People on this thread are being very, very strange o.O I don't think he needs to be told by 2000 people that he shouldn't trample on other people for his own benefit... I mean, it's nice enough that people are trying to keep you on the right side of life, but still.. it seems a bit like you're being attacked.

Areeb, you should help people who will help you in return. That's the bottom line. If random people are asking you for help, you are within your right to say no. At the end of the day, helping others is great, so long as your own grades don't suffer and you can get some form of help in return. I don't think you sound arrogant at all. Helping people who cannot help you is absolutely fine too, so long as you don't jeopardise your own exams (for example, helping a struggling friend...)

Reading stuff like this makes me really happy and glad to be at Cambridge where this kind of competition isn't necessarily present with people 'finding out' my ranking and being like 'oohh she did well, gonna go and ask her for help' :/

Anyone have any advice for my brother? He's applying for dentistry, I know boo hoo and he is trying to fit all his WE in. He has 5 different placements at orthodontists, GDP, hygienist etc but so far has only talked about 2 in detail.

Does he need details on all of them?

Is there a separate space on the UCAS form to list WE?

Or could he talk about 2 in details and then just list the other 3 and the lengths of time?

So for example, I did WE at 1) for 2 months, 2) for 2 days, 3) for 3 weeks, 4) for 7 months and 5) for 3 days. In 1) I enjoyed blah blah blah. In 4) I learnt that blah blah blah.


I hope this makes sense. It's only a general question so I can't be bothered to post in the dentistry thread.

Thanks very much I do think there was a bit of an over-reaction.

All I see it as:

1) Original post was a bit sarcastic and jokey.
2) I established I didn't want to help people who only wanted a revision group after hearing my results. These people don't usually converse or interact with me.
3) I am more than happy to help my friend.
4) 7 to 8 people is taking the piss.
5) I in no way whatsoever wanted to do people over. Not helping randomers does not equal sabotaging the progress of others.
6) I was in no way arrogant. Those who know me on the fitness forums and the odd person who knows me in real life will know this. Was simply stating my ranking arrogant?


I think next time I'll just keep it to myself.

There is little benefit to listing each placement individually, and no, there is no space on the UCAS form to list it apart from in the personal statement. If he wants to, he could put something like "spent x days in total at y different surgeries/clinics" but it's not essential. He also doesn't need to name the places he did work exp at - "an orthodontist" "an oral surgeon" etc is absolutely fine. I tell the medical applicants that it makes no difference whether they did their shadowing in a run-down DGH in the middle of nowhere or at Great Ormond Street - most of where you get placements is down to where your parents live, so it's hardly fair to discriminate on that basis. I imagine that dentistry is the same.

When I'm reviewing statements for applicants who have bucketloads of experience, I usually tell them to pick one or two and reflect in more detail, and mention the others more briefly if they can. I would rather read something insightful about life as a doctor than "I observed a hip replacement, an arthroscopy, a laparoscopic cholecystectomy and an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram" or similar. Procedural names and hospital/clinic names and locations take up vast amounts of space, if nothing else!

As for your other post, I didn't say you were going to, just that it was something to be aware of and avoid. I'm sure you're a good guy at heart or you wouldn't be asking about the situation on here.

I think you have misinterpreted. I am on your side. Those were examples of NOT COOL behaviour. I did not mean to suggest you participate in them, only that they exist.

I miss orthopaedics.

I'm glad you asked the question before I had to.

Though I suppose if you have gone onto something even worse, it's understandable that you'd miss it. That or it's Stockholm syndrome.

A friend texted me saying he wanted to start a revision group with some people. I told him "I'm fine, thanks" because I don't want to help the others who I know won't be able to help me back.

I came 18th in a year of 240 and felt I could have done better.

I am already thinking about audits and publications and brown-nosing consultants at the start of 2nd year.



****ing hell, I think I'm becoming a gunner. Someone please help before it's too late..

I miss orthopaedics.

You're not in the wrong bro. Some people just prefer to study alone.

When I read your post I went "holy ****, people actually study in groups?" then felt really autistic and introverted. I'd never even considered studying with other people - not that they have nothing to offer, I'm just very set in my ways of thinking and working and whatever I've done so far has always worked for me quite well so I see little reason for experimentation, nom sayin?





I haven't even done my orthopaedics rot yet and I think it's what I probably want to end up doing. I'm intercalating this year in Sports & Exercise Medicine, and I've got such a ****ing hard-on for biomechanics, I just want to be a personal trainer and sort peoples movement patterns out. Prevention is better than treatment - why don't they teach people basic body awareness and biomechanics in PE? ****ing bull****, rounders and tennis is horse****, **** talent nurturing, we should be teaching people important life skills like "how to pick up that heavy object off the floor using your hamstrings and not injure your back".

Everyone says I should be an orthopod, even if they don't know what I'm into, cos I have the "personality for it" - not sure if compliment? Probably not YOLO I LOVE MUSCLES.

Areeb, you should help people who will help you in return. That's the bottom line. If random people are asking you for help, you are within your right to say no. At the end of the day, helping others is great, so long as your own grades don't suffer and you can get some form of help in return. I don't think you sound arrogant at all. Helping people who cannot help you is absolutely fine too, so long as you don't jeopardise your own exams (for example, helping a struggling friend...)

thought us medics were supposed to be altruistic? ^^

Your love for biomechanics comes across in your blog haha.

thought us medics were supposed to be altruistic? ^^

thought us medics were supposed to be altruistic? ^^

There's no such thing as true altruism. It is a made up fairytale to soothe our cognitive dissonance.

See maybe this is my happy fuzzy global health bubble but I do think people can be altruistic. With all the collaboration and pooled knowledge etc.

Giving away 'tricks of the trade' is exactly what we should be doing so that we get better doctors all round and everyone benefits. I mean maybe this naïvety will mean I get mown down in the maw of capitalism/medical specialties. But then maybe I am a crazy person for thinking knowledge should be distributed freely if it can be done so at no/a marginal cost. Yes looking at you academic journals