This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

medical news

how does everyone keep up to date with all the medical news? i really need to start reading about it because i'm applying for medicine in september and i'm sure they'll ask me about some medical news in my interviews. (assuming i get interviews!)

Reply 1

Knogle

16

Probably have a Google Alert for 'medicine'?

Reply 2

rahmed

What i did was read into depth about a subject that i really liked - cardiovascular diseases. Then i searched for treatments relating to these disorders. It would be really useful to write on your personal statement that you are intrigued by the ....... system. Because it is inevitable that they will ask you about it, and then off you go...

Knogle

Probably have a Google Alert for 'medicine'?

And have one for "the" while you're at it! :p:

Reply 4

Knogle

16

Miles

www.studentbmj.com

And have one for "the" while you're at it! :p:

it was an idea!

Reply 5

Pippin

Student BMJ is deffinitely a good one. As i'm not a proper med student yet i sometimes find it difficult to get through a whole one without the aid of a medical dictionary but its still v. interesting and they always duscuss major issues in medicine really well i.e. pro's, con's and a conclusion so you get to see it from different of points of view which is always good. I'd also recomend the economist magazine if you're interested in specifically NHS stuff e.g. budgets, deficits, etc. I do economics A-level so the whole mag was useful to me but if you don't do any businessy/economicsy type subject then you could get someone who does to let you have a look or cut out the relevant articles if they don't mind.

Reply 6

Ribbons

12

rahmed

What i did was read into depth about a subject that i really liked - cardiovascular diseases. Then i searched for treatments relating to these disorders. It would be really useful to write on your personal statement that you are intrigued by the ....... system. Because it is inevitable that they will ask you about it, and then off you go...

not really.
I had 3 interviews....and none picked up on hints i kept dropping about similar stuff, neither did they ask me about similar stuff from my PS.
I guess it just depends. :dontknow:

Reply 7

rahmed

oh well that was unlucky

Reply 8

Helenia

20

I was such a badly prepared applicant :redface:

Reply 9

michaela_banana

9

Any good newspaper (most of the bad one's will be ok too). Watch the news on BBC for a couple of weeks before any interviews (including on the day of your interview. Liverpool asked me at 11 o'clock about something i'd first seen on the news when i woke up that morning). Read new scientist too, if for no other reason than it's really interesting.

And start reading popsci books (robert winston is a good starting point) for interesting little facts that, imo, make you look cool when you drop them into conversations. (Oh, the discussions I had with my fashion-student of an ex boyfriend!!)

Reply 10

kiaora

1

don't stress too much... before both of my interviews i only really concentrated on medical news a couple of weeks beforehand. it's more about gaining a general appreciation of the issues involved, rather than an ability to recount details about every single medical procedure known to man. they don't expect you to know everything, that's why you're going to med school!

Reply 11

linksys

OP

ok thx ppl!

Reply 12

Kwekubo

A couple of reading material suggestions: The Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine by James Le Fanu (a very interesting analysis of key achievements in the last century) and anything by Richard Dawkins.

Reply 13

corkskrew

2

Kwekubo

anything by Richard Dawkins.

The Selfish Gene is a good start.
Medical news from BBC news website - separate health section which links every article to related topics. Also buy the Times on a Tuesday for "public agenda" supplement... page 6 of this has a brief synopsis of the major health isues and discoveries over the past week.

Reply 14

michaela_banana

9

I found the selfish gene a bit heavy to start with. Plus, i know it was massively influential, but it was written in the 70's. Probably not the most newsworthy book. But very interesting. As I said before, books by Robert Winston are light but interesting. And my personal favourite is a book on genetic technologies (engineering, cloning, reproductive ethics) called "Remaking Eden" by somebody Silver. Lots of discussion topics in that one.

I'll check out that James Le Fanu book btw.

Reply 15

RetiredAccount89

18

michaela_banana

I found the selfish gene a bit heavy to start with. Plus, i know it was massively influential, but it was written in the 70's. Probably not the most newsworthy book. But very interesting. As I said before, books by Robert Winston are light but interesting. And my personal favourite is a book on genetic technologies (engineering, cloning, reproductive ethics) called "Remaking Eden" by somebody Silver. Lots of discussion topics in that one.

I'll check out that James Le Fanu book btw.

and when do you think your admissions tutor would have gone to uni/school.?
i think every med student should have a read through the selfish gene. its a great read even if it is rather heavy at times. and it will help.
theres a guy called matt ridley i think you has a book the chemistry of life. thats a requisite read at some places.

and its a great suggestion by someone about bbc health page.

Reply 16

michaela_banana

9

True true (admits defeat) I was just thinking about his/her initial question. (Also, bedtime reading should be mostly for fun!)

Matt Ridley also wrote a book called Genome which is really good. It's 1 chapter for every chromosome, which sometimes comes across a little anecdotal, but gives some really interesting little titbits of information you don't normally pick up in genetic books.

A requisite read you say? I may have to consult it.

Reply 17

RetiredAccount89

18

michaela_banana

True true (admits defeat) I was just thinking about his/her initial question. (Also, bedtime reading should be mostly for fun!)

Matt Ridley also wrote a book called Genome which is really good. It's 1 chapter for every chromosome, which sometimes comes across a little anecdotal, but gives some really interesting little titbits of information you don't normally pick up in genetic books.

A requisite read you say? I may have to consult it.

nuts, not matt ridley (hes just another science writer) i meant Steven Rose - the chemistry of life.
it might be a little dry for you, but it basically its a more popularised version of 'biochemsitry for dummies'. just a quick run through biochemsitry, how it affects us etc.
it'll mean that once you start biochem in the 1st year that you'll find things much easier.
wouldn't read it pre-interview though! thats what Dawkin is for.

Reply 18

snmichaels

1

If you want Richard Dawkins Light, might I suggest The View from Mount Improbable. It's a pretty good one, and is an extract from Climbing Mount Improbable and is only about 60 or so pages.

I went to his guest lecture at the Christmas Lectures at Imperial, and a lot of the book was in his lecture, plus a lot more stuff from his other books.

Reply 19

michaela_banana

9

Hey! I'm capable of getting through Rickard Dawkins. It just wasn't the first popsci book I would recommend checking out. Also, thanks for the other recommendations. I will investigate them. We have a few of his books in the library at school so i'll see if we have that one. ATM I'm knee deep in dressmaking (and dressmaking books) for prom and evolutionary psychology books for bio. So maybe after easter!

I thought a matt ridley biochemistry book sounded a little odd as he is a geneticist. But I will get that one. I like to be well prepared for things like biochem. Otherwise I get confuddled. I assume I'm no longer pre-interview so it's ok. Hope's lost for nottingham now.

medical news

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you