Finished my first year of medical school - Ask me anything!

Original post by Chlo.Harr

How can i get the opportunity to shadow a doc. Etc

Please reply

Reply 161

tahmidislam32

After you finish your course at uni - do you have to do another 2 years of training to become a fully qualified doctor. And then say if you want to specialise in cardiology how many nmore years are you looking at!!

Reply 162

Helenia

20

Original post by tahmidislam32

After you finish your course at uni - do you have to do another 2 years of training to become a fully qualified doctor. And then say if you want to specialise in cardiology how many nmore years are you looking at!!

Depends what point you consider to be "fully qualified." Once you graduate from uni you are a doctor, can put it on your bank card etc. You then do the two year Foundation Programme, and for the first (FY1) year you are only provisionally registered with the GMC, which puts some restrictions on where you can practice, prescribe etc. On successful completion of FY1 you are eligible for full GMC registration. After completing FY2 you then apply for specialty training, which takes anything from 3-8 years (GP is 3 years, almost everything else is at least 6) after which you will become a consultant - though some people take even longer doing research, subspecialty training etc.

Reply 163

tahmidislam32

Thank you for your reply - when you are doing the FY1 and FY2 do you get paid? if yes then how much? And why do some universities offer 5 years and others 6 years what do you gain and learn in the 6th year thats different to the others does it make you stand out?

Reply 164

Chlo.Harr

But i dont really 'know' anyone apart from my scary GP...

Reply 165

TechRaid3r

11

Original post by Chlo.Harr

But i dont really 'know' anyone apart from my scary GP...

I had to go through my mother's friend's sister's friend to get into contact with a GP for work experience. Its really almost impossible without contacts. But its more useful to have experience dealing with patients so in a care home setting which is very easy to obtain.

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Reply 166

OU#50

Original post by Chlo.Harr

Please reply

Write directly to all GP's in your area, if they don't respond pop in and follow it up. My son got to visit two different practices by doing that.

He also managed to get one week shadowing an orthopaedic consultant by writing directly to him. He just got a list of consultants from the local hospital website and sent letters directly to them explaining that he was considering medicine and would be grateful for any time they could offer even if it was for one day. By doing that he bypassed the HR dept who can take a long time getting back to students.

Failing that - work experience at a local hospice, school for special needs, physio depts.
I think many med schools realise that it isnt always possible to get shadowing experience as long as you have done something that would give you an insight into what a career in medicine might entail

Reply 167

Helenia

20

Original post by tahmidislam32

Thank you for your reply - when you are doing the FY1 and FY2 do you get paid? if yes then how much? And why do some universities offer 5 years and others 6 years what do you gain and learn in the 6th year thats different to the others does it make you stand out?

The 6th year is an intercalated year, so you do additional study in a particular area and get a BSc/BA (or occasionally MSc if you do it later in the course) on top of your medical degree. It gets you a few points on job applications but is fairly common so doesn't make you "stand out" that much overall.

There are also foundation courses which are 6 years long, but they have an additional year at the start of the course and are designed for students who either haven't done the right A-levels (i.e. not enough sciences) or come from disadvantaged backgrounds and haven't got the right grades. They then progress into the normal 5 year course.

You do get paid as an FY1 and onwards. Basic salary is ~£22k pa, but that is usually topped up by a "banding" supplement of (most commonly) 40-50% depending on the amount of antisocial hours worked. For an FY2 the basic is ~£27k. Though Jeremy Hunt wants to take away banding so who knows what will happen...

Reply 168

Chlo.Harr

Original post by OU#50

Write directly to all GP's in your area, if they don't respond pop in and follow it up. My son got to visit two different practices by doing that.

He also managed to get one week shadowing an orthopaedic consultant by writing directly to him. He just got a list of consultants from the local hospital website and sent letters directly to them explaining that he was considering medicine and would be grateful for any time they could offer even if it was for one day. By doing that he bypassed the HR dept who can take a long time getting back to students.

Failing that - work experience at a local hospice, school for special needs, physio depts.
I think many med schools realise that it isnt always possible to get shadowing experience as long as you have done something that would give you an insight into what a career in medicine might entail

Thanks sooo much!

Reply 169

Marci0

Hi!
I would be really pleased if someone could help me in a few things. Im hungarian and i have 2 more years to take the final exams (erettsegi). I would like to learn medicine at oxford. My questions are the following:
1. What do i have to do to apply?
2. If i have clinical experience where do i have to write it ( i worked in hospitals )
3. What kind of documents or letters do i have to send to oxford?

And if its possible i would like to get in touch with somebody who knows these things

Thanks a lot
Marci

Reply 170

bubblepop123

What's the cheerleading team like? What levels? And what were tryouts like?

Reply 171

OP

OMG guys I'm so sorry I didn't see all these replies! Seriously, still can't figure out TSR :colondollar:

Original post by bubblepop123

What's the cheerleading team like? What levels? And what were tryouts like?

The cheer team is SO much fun!! We compete at levels 1 and 2, and levels 1-3 group stunt, and also do Jazz, Hip hop and Pom dance :smile:

I can't recommend it enough, it's so much fun and such a great sport :biggrin:

Reply 172

bubblepop123

Original post by bailey432

The cheer team is SO much fun!! We compete at levels 1 and 2, and levels 1-3 group stunt, and also do Jazz, Hip hop and Pom dance :smile:

I can't recommend it enough, it's so much fun and such a great sport :biggrin:

What's the tumble ability like? Where do you train and how often? Is it easy to keep on top of work whilst staying committed to the team?

Reply 173

OP

Original post by muchensmile

Hi another quick question! How long is the uni summer holidays (if it exists) and do you think its enough time to travel abroad? Or is the summer spent on doing work experience etc?

It's replying time again everyone! Sorry, been so busy lately! Hope you all still care for answers to your questions...

Summer holidays in first and second year are both about 3 months long - ABSOLUTELY enough time to travel :biggrin:

Don't really need to worry about work experience unless you're SUPER keen, but most people I know spend their summer either getting away from medicine for a bit, or working to get some money (usually non-medical related jobs).

Reply 174

OP

Original post by RevisionNad

how did you find first year- was it a big jump from a2? rate the hardness? And how did you find the UKCAT/BMAT? What kind of work experience did you do to get in/ are you doing at the moment? Any tips for anyone wanting to do it? Do you get time to do things you like out of revision and work(if applicable)? Are there a lot of mature students/postgrad students?

First year was the biggest. Jump. Ever. From A2... It'll be hard, but you learn to adjust. The UKCAT I found okay, my practices went terribly but managed to get just under 700 average in the end. My main work experience was hospital shadowing, nursery helper, and assistant in the hospital doing surveys and interviews. Now I do none :rofl:

You MAKE time for doing things outside of studying. It's very easy to do nothing but study due to the sheer volume of work, but it's so important to have a life outside of medicine. Yes, in my year about 40% of us are postgrad/mature students!

Reply 175

OP

Original post by fatima1998

this might be unrelated!!!
but what subjects did u take in GCSE's?
what grades did u achieved in ur GCSE's??
n what did u take in A levels?
n what grades did u achieved in ur A levels?
:smile:

GCSE's - English lit (A), english lang (A*), maths (A*), further maths (A*), science (A*), further science (A*), spanish (A), art (A*), economics (A), drama (A),and some others but I forget haha!! Literally forgotten my GCSE's... Ended up with 7A* 4A's anyway!

A level's - Biology (A), Chemistry (A), Psychology (A*), Maths AS level (A)

Reply 176

OP

Original post by Chlo.Harr

Please reply

I sent letters/emails to all of the local GP practices, hospitals, and nursing home. I had ZERO contacts and managed to get all my work experience by just asking around :smile:

Also, your school/college might be able to set you up or give you some names/numbers if you ask them :smile:

Reply 177

OP

Original post by bubblepop123

What's the tumble ability like? Where do you train and how often? Is it easy to keep on top of work whilst staying committed to the team?

Tumbling ability isn't fab, we're talking cartwheels and walkovers, and one or two people have back handsprings... We train in the sports centre on campus 3 times a week. Yes it is, I managed it!

Reply 178

AuroraU