Whats it really like being a doctor/medical student?

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I'm liking the sound of this, can't wait for Leeds!

Are you for 2012 entry or 2013? I'm thinking of applying for 2013, but dont really want to be at the same uni as mysister -but Leeds is sooo goooood!!!

Reply 61

Mangodepo11

Original post by sarahlovesfun

Are you for 2012 entry or 2013? I'm thinking of applying for 2013, but dont really want to be at the same uni as mysister -but Leeds is sooo goooood!!!

I am actually fully set on leeds. Im going to do my personal statement to fit what leeds asks for. I want to go there so bad :smile:

))

Reply 62

Kingbradley6

Original post by Richyp22

I am actually fully set on leeds. Im going to do my personal statement to fit what leeds asks for. I want to go there so bad :smile:

))

Do bear in mind that Leeds is really competitive and putting all your eggs in one basket may lead itself to more disappointment if you don't get in than if you just went into it with the view of "I'm fully set on any medical school that I apply to".

Reply 63

digitalis

Original post by Richyp22

I am actually fully set on leeds. Im going to do my personal statement to fit what leeds asks for. I want to go there so bad :smile:

))

Woooo Leeds house officer 2012-2013 here!

Reply 64

digitalis

Original post by sarahlovesfun

NO SOCIAL LIFE!!!! My sister is a medical student at Leeds and from the look of her facebook pics that show up in my feed she never does anything but socialise!

Having said that though I know she works hard, and she's even got time to help me with some (much-needed) UKCAT practice

I dont know about FY1 etc but I think in any profession you dont have much time at the start. or end.

What year is she in?

I really wouldn't base everything on what impression preclinical medicine gives, in fact with hindsight I would barely call that being a medical student. Doing 3 years of unpaid full time placements, that is a completely different deal.

This all said, our degree is a piece of piss compared to US/Canadian students. I've just come off four weeks of internal medicine sub-internship floors and I was totally drained. And I had a dossy rotation with no evening call. One of the other senior medical students was pulling a 10PM on call every third day, where he actually had to do stuff like admit patients and cross cover inpatient teams. And then he would start his day at 6AM.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 65

Mangodepo11

Original post by digitalis

Woooo Leeds house officer 2012-2013 here!

Whats a house officer??

Reply 66

Mangodepo11

Original post by Kingbradley6

Well yes oviously. Im probably going to apply for manchester and sheffield for sure too and they pretty much look for the same things as Leeds. Wouldnt mind any of the ones i apply for, Idd be happy to get one interview and go with that.

I looked at leeds and 9% get an offer which is intense.

Reply 67

Kingbradley6

Original post by Richyp22

9% is intense and yeah I realised you probably knew but I know from experiencing viewing one above the rest can lead to disappointment lol.

Original post by Richyp22

Whats a house officer??

First year working as a doctor out of medical school (F1).

Reply 68

Sherbet

Original post by sarahlovesfun

Are you for 2012 entry or 2013? I'm thinking of applying for 2013, but dont really want to be at the same uni as mysister -but Leeds is sooo goooood!!!

2012

you'll never see each other it's a massive uni!

Reply 69

glance

Original post by hoonosewot

Either that or her boyfriend is using his studies as an excuse to not hang out with her... :colone:

Haha, that's what I thought too...

I'm in my final year, revising for my finals at the moment.

Looking back, what's it really been like?

Well first and second year were a lot of lectures. There was an insane volume to learn and remember. The concepts weren't difficult, and would be quite interesting in moderation, but I remember revising drug after drug, what muscle connects to what bone, what pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism is...an incredible amount. There were an awful lot of lectures, and all of them on different things. But you were all in it together, you made great friends with other medics, and it often gave great excuses to meet up and bemoan your life (and inevitably end up getting completely smashed). I look back on my first two years now and think "they can't have been that bad", but I still have all the notes I made for revision and wonder how on earth I read all of that. I did spend a lot of time going out and being a student though. It wasn't so much as "have time" to go out though, it was more that going out and socialising was part of the course. The release felt necessary.

The clinical years were tough because you had to go in and feel completely inadequate. Weekdays consisted mainly of waking up very early to haul yourself to some grey hospital site where you spend the morning wandering around, feeling out of place and in the way, and then allow yourself to receive the front end of your consultant's bad day by being told how little you knew and "how much reading you had to do". Clinical years are horribly inefficient, and I hated them. Yes you got to walk around with a stethoscope, but I hated being a student on the wards. I think my general dislike for hospitals didn't really help this. And you had to go in, otherwise your consultant or supervisor wouldn't sign your stupid form. As a clinical medical student, you'll become a professional signature-hunter. You need attendance signed, you need all these practical skills signed, you need to have delivered all these babies. Hundreds of things to get signed. And it's not really something you think about when you apply to medical school, but you only go to the university for the first two years. The clinical years are all in hospitals. And there's too many students to all fit in one hospital, so they send you miles away. Depending on your university, these hospitals can be far enough away that they have to put you up in hospital accommodation, so you don't come home to your boyfriend/girlfriend/housemates in the evening.

All in all, it has been a pretty terrible and terrifying experience, but the hours weren't nearly as bad as some people have been making out in this thread - you get quite a few half days, and a lot of people don't really start working until a few months before exams.

Saying that though, in the past 6 years I have had many privileges and experiences I'll never forget. I've seen life and death. I've delivered babies at 4am, and been the last person to attempt chest compressions on a patient before they were declared dead. I've been the 1st assistant in keyhole surgery, I've met several celebrities, I've dissected dead bodies. I've spoken to serial murderers and rapists in high security mental hospitals, and I've had conversations with people who believe this isn't a hospital but a spaceship. And these are all things I'd never have done, and so for me it's been worth it.

Reply 70

glance

There's nothing to it really:

Respiratory
Cardiology
Gastroenterology
Immunology
Haematology
Oncology
Neurology
Rheumatology
Dermatology
Endocrinology
Paediatrics
Renal
Palliative Care
Emergency Medicine
Anaesthetics and Critical Care
Genitourinary Medicine, HIV, Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
Geriatrics
Radiology
Primary Care
Psychiatry
Ophthalmology
Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Ear, Nose and Throat
Trauma and Orthopaedics
Vascular
General Surgery
Breast Surgery
Urology
Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery
Lower Gastrointestinal Surgery
Anatomy of the Head and Neck
Anatomy of the Limbs
Anatomy of the Thorax
Anatomy of the Pelvis
Pathology
Ethics and Law
Sociology
Epidemiology
Public Health
Statistics
Communication Skills

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 71

GrahamRodney

Original post by glance

There's nothing to it really:

Respiratory
Cardiology
Gastroenterology
Immunology
Haematology
Oncology
Neurology
Rheumatology
Dermatology
Endocrinology
Paediatrics
Renal
Palliative Care
Emergency Medicine
Anaesthetics
Primary Care
Psychiatry
Ophthalmology
Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Ear, Nose and Throat
Trauma and Orthopaedics
Vascular
General Surgery
Breast Surgery
Urology
Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery
Lower Gastrointestinal Surgery
Anatomy of the Head and Neck
Anatomy of the Limbs
Anatomy of the Thorax
Anatomy of the Pelvis
Pathology
Ethics and Law
Sociology
Epidemiology
Public Health
Statistics
Communication Skills

Wot about infectious diseases? :smile:

Reply 72

milesofsea

Your teacher is right.

Reply 73

glance

Original post by GrahamRodney

Wot about infectious diseases? :smile:

Yes indeed, corrected!

Reply 74

HaNzY

Original post by My-My-My

I'm sorry but this is rubbish. They don't "weed you out". They want to keep you (because we get money for them!!) and those who are asked to leave are not up to it.
We don't get grade (A*s, As etc) we get given percentage marks. The average is between 60-70% so a "C", and we were all A/A* students like your boyfriend. The reading is excessive but I learnt early on you didn't need to do it all.Maybe your bf hasn't learnt that yet.

You're bf sounds like he works a lot harder than what is required.
I'm also in my third year at Brum. I've spent on average 5 hours a day on placement with a maximum of two hours work a night, and I've just passed all my exams with some marks I'm really proud of.

I'm just worried you're giving Birmingham a bad rep. I know you don't mean to to it but they're not slave drivers, you're just going out with someone incredibly committed!!

I know you get given percentage marks, but as you say you can convert them to grades (which is what I did to make the post easier to understand), so I don't know what your point is there lol.

I'm not trying to give Brum a bad rep, however, I have not had a very good experience and I am damn glad to be leaving (now I'm talking about my own course as well). I am aware that different people have different experiences, that is why I said that I hope someone with a better experience jumps on the thread. But I also know medicine isn't a bunch of roses like some folks make out, so I wanted to stress this side of it to the OP.

And yes my bf is incredibly committed, and he doesn't do all the reading either, he doesn't have time to lol! And he has had to be in hospital for at least 8 hours most days, so I think you had lucky placements! Aren't you really p***ed off that you get like no summer? Going back in June is complete and utter ****e.

I'm glad you are having a good time, my bf is as well, even though he moans about it a little bit. You probably live there which makes it a lot easier, we chose to live away, which whilst saving money is a good idea, it's quite an issue because I don't care how much Brum say they cater for home students, they do not. You know the FOCSOC (freshers off campus society)??? Held most of its meetings late at night in the centre of Brum so only people who live near the uni and Brum can really go (it would probably cost me like £50 in taxi fees to go to one meeting!). So whilst the place is probably awesome for people living there (which I have no doubt it is) it makes ridiculous claims to those who live a substantial distance away...anyway, I'm ranting now lol.

My main point to the OP (and others) was do your research into the course, the career and the uni, before making any decisions. I know this is an obvious point, but it is so important. I found that the more research I did, the more I was put off it, but obviously it will be the opposite for others so it's an important exercise to do :smile:

Reply 75

HaNzY

Original post by hoonosewot

Either that or her boyfriend is using his studies as an excuse to not hang out with her... :colone:

Whilst you think your post is pretty witty, this is not the case.

EDIT: No idea why I got negged for this. He has no idea of the situation or of our relationship. I have been with my guy over a third of my life, we practically live together and we hope to move in together and get married not long after he has finished at med school. I do see him, but he works a lot of this time. So I get negged for telling this jackass that what he says isn't correct because he doesn't know the facts?

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 76

hoonosewot

Original post by HaNzY

Whilst you think your post is pretty witty, this is not the case.

Next time you see him, ask for a hard copy of his timetable.

Thank me later.

Reply 77

digitalis

Original post by hoonosewot

Next time you see him, ask for a hard copy of his timetable.

Thank me later.

You ****ing legend.

repped

Reply 78

My-My-My

Original post by HaNzY

My point with the grades is that the majority of medics who were all "A* students" like your boyfriend are now achieving "Bs" and "Cs". It's very rare for people to get an average of over 80% across the year. You seemed surprised that even with all the work you bf was doing, he was still only getting 60-70% but this is completely normal and actually a huge achievement.

I'm really not that bothered about the holiday dates. 7 weeks is still a long time! So what I'm in uni in July? I'm not stupid enough to think that when I start work as a doctor I'll be getting 2 months in the summer like I did at uni. Most of my friends and my boyfriend are finishing in the next week so I'll still be able to see them. I'm going away at the start of June and we have 3 weeks off in August so I'm going on holiday with my family then. 10 weeks off in the summer ain't bad!

Exactly, you chose to live away because it was cheaper. I chose to spend more and live in Selly Oak. That was your decision, we've both made compromises be it cost or socialising.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 79

HaNzY

Original post by My-My-My

I wasn't surprised about the grades thing at all, I did my research. I was letting the OP know that they shouldn't be surprised if they don't get As in uni when they were getting As before. I'm really proud he is doing so well, but some people may feel bad about getting a B or C, but it is something they need to be prepared for. Twas advice, not confusion.

Well I'm glad it's worked out for you, but some people's exams go on until the early part of June and so if they are going out with medics, they don't get much time to see each other. That's what I was moaning about, they could have given you July off instead of April when everybody else's exams are. Again, this is something to know before people apply which is why I said it in the first place. We knew he wouldn't get as much holiday as me, but we didn't know he could get his holiday when everyone else was doing exams...we do now. So I wanted to let others know this fact too. When he is getting paid a full time salary, this issue doesn't bother me, he should do full time hours then of course and book off holiday. But it is not a full time job yet, you are paying them for you to do full time job hours pretty much, which personally I do not agree with. If they want you working full time hours then they should at least pay your tuition (and don't tell me because I know they do in 5th year), but they should be doing it earlier. Because let's face it, students are doing quite a lot of stuff to help the running of the hospitals (I could be very specific here but I have decided not to, what's the point).

Original post by hoonosewot

Next time you see him, ask for a hard copy of his timetable.

Thank me later.

We've always had each other's timetables so we can plan when to see each other.......

I wanted to give advice and explain mine and my boyfriend's experience of medicine (and I said some things about Brum in general too), I can only say from MY experience. I have said all the way through this thread that this is definitely not the only experience, most people will be really enjoying it, but it is certainly not wise going into the career with rose coloured specs, which is why I was pointing certain things out. I do not deny that people enjoy it etc etc etc, but it seems some folks in this thread are denying that we have had a more crap experience than them and are trying to 'put me right'.

OP asked for honest opinions, I gave mine, you give yours, they may differ, that's to be expected. OP can then read everything and weigh up different opinions. That's how these things work. 'Putting me right' isn't going to change my experience.