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TSR Med Students' Society Part V

It's must be so terrifying to have finals in fifth/sixth year. So much depends on you passing I don't think I would cope.

Posted from TSR Mobile

But don't you think that makes 4th year THAT much more miserable. DAT, MHL, Research, AMK, and ISCEs. A lot of people have asked what exactly our 'finals' are, would you say our ISCE? Wonder how other med schools see our assessment set up.

Reply 1181

nexttime

22

Original post by Kinkerz

N.Z. would be good. Seems like a really cool place.

It is! The medicine is pretty much the same as the UK, plus a bunch of cultural stuff for the maori, except that everyone is much nicer and doctors wear jeans and trainers.

I struggled to do much paeds when i was there as the doctors kept insisting that seeing their beautiful country is far more interesting and worthwhile.

Reply 1182

Elles

17

Original post by Hydromancer

I was very interested in that. Have you had a look at living costs around the area? It is very experience for me :frown:

Anyone have any experience of electives in Canada/US and doesn't mind sharing their thoughts?

I found NIH pretty inexpensive by U.S.A elective standards: there were no tuition-fee style fees, found accommodation as a room in a house (Craigslist I think it was back in the day - its a pretty residential area a bit out of DC - I had loads of promising offers - although I unfortunately chose a bit poorly as although in easy walking distance my family were a bit antisocial/rude which combined with being solo for that leg of elective didn't help homesickness!) & as it was 'research' managed to wangle some more £££s from my College to go there. :biggrin:

On an English speaking note - Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean somewhere near the date line! :cool:

Most transfers via NZ so schedule in some holiday time there too.

I've posted about my elective before - it was one of extremes... us 2 students with 1 doctor in the hospital (quite good for GP as lots of emerging chronic disease but also some interesting 'tropicals' and a few 'emergencies') v. a US research campus with as many people on/pretty much as big as the whole island!

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1183

Beska

21

Royal Prince Alfred in Sydney anyone?! :biggrin:

Reply 1184

Mushi_master

17

Original post by carcinoma

Lol

Sorry bro, I'm sure it will be fine.

Iv just got used to the idea that I'm doing them next term and final year is a doss (assessment wise anyway)

Posted from TSR Mobile

4th year was pretty brutal here too, you guys have it easy :wink:

In all fairness, I can imagine it just makes the penultimate year that extra bit insane, whereas we have the 'luxury' of putting it off for a while.

Reply 1185

Tech

12

Anyone know anyone who did their elective in Northern Ireland?

Reply 1186

Kinkerz

15

Original post by Tech

Anyone know anyone who did their elective in Northern Ireland?

No

Reply 1187

Angury

18

Original post by Tech

Anyone know anyone who did their elective in Northern Ireland?

What interests you about Northern Ireland? (I'm from there so am curious :tongue:

)

Reply 1188

Democracy

OP

20

Original post by Hydromancer

I was very interested in that. Have you had a look at living costs around the area? It is very experience for me :frown:

Anyone have any experience of electives in Canada/US and doesn't mind sharing their thoughts?

Digitalis did a US elective a few years back - he said it was really full-on in terms of workload and what they expect of you and what they'll let you do (they pretty much treat you like an intern). This tallies with what I've heard from others about US electives too. Hard work but apparently really useful.

Original post by Kinkerz

E.M. in America, nice. Bullet wound galore.

Ah, part of me would love to give that kind of thing a stab, but the other part of me wants to just have an anxiety- and stress-free couple of months before F.Y. starts.
Someone from my old year-group who is currently on their elective uploaded a Facebook picture of them on a ridiculously picturesque beach (white sand, basically turquoise water). Seems civilised to me.

N.Z. would be good. Seems like a really cool place.

Yeahhhhh - that's the dilemma I'm facing too. My elective will be immediately after exams so I'll probably be feeling exhausted and in need of a break...on the other hand, I just don't see myself lying on a beach for six weeks by myself, I think I'd get really bored. Ideally I'd find something between the two :frown:

I've heard Australia is also really good for EM - and apparently less of a baptism-by-fire type of experience...no idea how true that is, but I might end up looking into there too.

Reply 1189

shiggydiggy

12

I did my elective in EM here in the UK. I don't particularly feel as though I missed out on anything. I didn't treat it like a holiday and I worked fairly hard. I basically filled in as an F1 with the exception of having my scripts and investigation requests needing to be signed off.

I have no idea how people can afford to travel around the world as a student with no real income. I can barely afford this course let alone a 6-8 week international holiday!

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1190

JoshL123

2

Hey guys!

I was just wondering if anyone could clarify some anatomy for me..I initially thought it was simply but what exactly is the pectoral girdle composed of? On wiki, and several sites it mentions that it is formed from the scapula and the clavicle. However, on the anatomy sheets we are handed it mentions the clavicle, scapula and the proximal part of the humerus that articulates with the glenoid of the scapula. I was just curious because then it affects the ligaments that you would say that stabilises the pectoral girdle, right?

Thanks :smile:

Reply 1191

Kinkerz

15

Original post by Democracy

Digitalis did a US elective a few years back - he said it was really full-on in terms of workload and what they expect of you and what they'll let you do (they pretty much treat you like an intern). This tallies with what I've heard from others about US electives too. Hard work but apparently really useful.

Yeah there are various intensities for U.S. electives. Digitalis did a subinternship, which is the most hands-on. You can do less intense electives, all the way down to an observership, where your patient contact will be fairly minimal and dry.

Yeahhhhh - that's the dilemma I'm facing too. My elective will be immediately after exams so I'll probably be feeling exhausted and in need of a break...on the other hand, I just don't see myself lying on a beach for six weeks by myself, I think I'd get really bored. Ideally I'd find something between the two :frown:

I've heard Australia is also really good for EM - and apparently less of a baptism-by-fire type of experience...no idea how true that is, but I might end up looking into there too.

Exactly. It's a surprisingly difficult decision.
Focus your elective on sampling a country? A particular specialty? A particular project? A particular lifestyle? So many variables to balance.

Fewer bullet wounds, more atracotoxins...
I think E.M. will be pretty reasonable anywhere, to be honest.

Reply 1192

TattyBoJangles

19

So, first year is over.. o: Does it all go this quickly? Aha.

I know it's way too early for me to be thinking of electives, but you all have such exciting plans. If I'm honest, I can't see myself doing it outside of the UK. I have no disposable income at the moment as it is and I'll no doubt be even worse off when I'm living in London for clinical years.

Plus I'd rather spend that sort of money on an actual holiday :shifty:

Edit: Although, thinking about it, I have family in Auckland and my aunt works there as a specialist nurse. They did offer to have me over there on my gap year but I never managed it. Hmm..

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1193

Nuttyneuron

2

I feel, the more I revise, the more stuff I've revised earlier in the week pours out of my brain and disappears into nothingness :angry:

Reply 1194

Elles

17

Look into potential funding sources for electives - mine ended up not costing much at all* for an around the world ticket with 10 days of holiday in the Cook Islands & New Zealand sandwiched in the middle of x2 month placements!

I really wanted to take the opportunity to sample somewhere different with the 10-week chunk that I had - with the thought process it's easy enough to do SSMs/tasters in different specialties or even locum SHO level in specialties/different UK locations.
English speaking was high on my priority list & relatively 'safe'.
Then something that I'd find interesting/potentially relevant to the future - so I went for a combination of something rural/more developing to get some practical experience (& relevance to primary care) & then something more BigNameShinySpecialistResearchy relevant to my primary care & my Plan B specialty (Psychiatry).

I went the weekend after finals finished - but all the sitting travelling was lazing around enough & then I wanted to get on with things! :biggrin:

*Element of luck - but I used a Med School Elective grant, College travel grant, College research grant, College accommodation rebate and a grant from a random Trust related to where I grew up.
Accommodation costs were pretty minimal - free hospital accommodation, reduced rate (for being local) luxury bungalow when the now-Mr-Elles came out to join me, CamperVan split 2 ways round NZ & lodger in a family's house in U.S.A.
& didn't really need much 'spending money' as such - got 'doctor' deals for moped hire/eating out/boat trips etc., got given all the fruit we could eat (!) & in the US was busy working (days were quite full but research is probably less intense than pure clinical) or did free touristy things.

Reply 1195

Democracy

OP

20

Original post by shiggydiggy

I did my elective in EM here in the UK. I don't particularly feel as though I missed out on anything. I didn't treat it like a holiday and I worked fairly hard. I basically filled in as an F1 with the exception of having my scripts and investigation requests needing to be signed off.

I have no idea how people can afford to travel around the world as a student with no real income. I can barely afford this course let alone a 6-8 week international holiday!

If I stayed in the UK I think I'd only want to go to London - which would end up being quite expensive too (though obviously not as much as abroad!).

What specialty did you do your elective in dude?

Reply 1196

Hydromancer

7

Original post by Elles

Look into potential funding sources for electives - mine ended up not costing much at all* for an around the world ticket with 10 days of holiday in the Cook Islands & New Zealand sandwiched in the middle of x2 month placements!

Just curious about NIH...was there any opportunity to get involved in research?

Reply 1197

shiggydiggy

12

Original post by Democracy

If I stayed in the UK I think I'd only want to go to London - which would end up being quite expensive too (though obviously not as much as abroad!).

What specialty did you do your elective in dude?

A&E & remote medicine.

What is it with you Londoners?! London is an awful awful place!

Reply 1198

Democracy

OP

20

Original post by shiggydiggy

A&E & remote medicine.

What is it with you Londoners?! London is an awful awful place!

Sweet - kinda envy you for being so close to the end now, must be nice to see a job and salary in sight!

Nah mate, I need urban decay, night buses and 24/7 shops on every street corner to keep me happy :wink:

Reply 1199

shiggydiggy

12

Original post by Democracy

Sweet - kinda envy you for being so close to the end now, must be nice to see a job and salary in sight!

Nah mate, I need urban decay, night buses and 24/7 shops on every street corner to keep me happy :wink:

Ha yeah, I'll tell you what, it's flying by. You'll be off on elective soon enough, you'll see!

Sounds like a nightmare to me. Give me a landy, some sheep and lots of hedgerows any day.

TSR Med Students' Society Part V

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