What do you go into if you're not academic enough for medicine?
I would absolutely love to study medicine and become a doctor, but I'm just not smart enough and I don't have that DRIVE. I was just looking at some of the GCSE/A Level requirements for medicine and they seem so unobtainable. I'm predicted a mixture of A*s, As and Bs at GCSE which I think would be great, but never enough for medicine.
I was thinking of nursing, but I was in hospital over the summer (my appendix decided to perforate) and I saw how hard nurses worked and how they had to deal with moaning kids like myself, for little pay which is a concern for me. I was thinking maybe this isn't for me, and also I would seriously be the only guy on that ward if I was a nurse there!
So, I've been looking for something in between these two career choices/courses for about a year. By this I mean a career where I can work in a hospital, get into courses with the grades I've been predicted and get good pay... Something in between a nurse and doctor academically and financially.
I'm just very confused about what I want to do with my life, I would love to work in a hospital, but I'm also thinking of other things; for instance graphic design, or law (I'm pretty good at English but my school wouldn't let us study it for GCSE).
Any help and reassurance would be nice! Thanks.
I was thinking of nursing, but I was in hospital over the summer (my appendix decided to perforate) and I saw how hard nurses worked and how they had to deal with moaning kids like myself, for little pay which is a concern for me. I was thinking maybe this isn't for me, and also I would seriously be the only guy on that ward if I was a nurse there!
So, I've been looking for something in between these two career choices/courses for about a year. By this I mean a career where I can work in a hospital, get into courses with the grades I've been predicted and get good pay... Something in between a nurse and doctor academically and financially.
I'm just very confused about what I want to do with my life, I would love to work in a hospital, but I'm also thinking of other things; for instance graphic design, or law (I'm pretty good at English but my school wouldn't let us study it for GCSE).
Any help and reassurance would be nice! Thanks.
Original post by romansholiday
I would absolutely love to study medicine and become a doctor, but I'm just not smart enough and I don't have that DRIVE. I was just looking at some of the GCSE/A Level requirements for medicine and they seem so unobtainable. I'm predicted a mixture of A*s, As and Bs at GCSE which I think would be great, but never enough for medicine.
Actually it would be. Not all medical schools want stellar GCSEs. Some prefer to look at your UKCAT score for example. You don't need to be a genius to get into medical school or to be a doctor.
Medicine and nursing are wildly different careers - nursing is not medicine lite. I'd definitely suggest doing some more reading and getting some work experience as that will help better inform your decision.
Also, there are lots of male nurses, you definitely wouldn't be the only one!
Original post by romansholiday
It could be. There are plenty of schools which do not overly care about GCSEs.
You would need to get AAA at a-level, do well in entry tests, get lots of work experience and interviews though.
I was thinking of nursing, but I was in hospital over the summer (my appendix decided to perforate) and I saw how hard nurses worked and how they had to deal with moaning kids like myself, for little pay which is a concern for me. I was thinking maybe this isn't for me, and also I would seriously be the only guy on that ward if I was a nurse there!
If you're afraid of a little competition I would also not recommend nursing. Whilst the academic requirements are lower, the level of competition isn't.
They're also paid quite a lot in absolute terms (particularly if senior).
So, I've been looking for something in between these two career choices/courses for about a year. By this I mean a career where I can work in a hospital, get into courses with the grades I've been predicted and get good pay...
Pharmacy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology. Maybe physician's associate (uncertain role in the UK at the moment).
Original post by nexttime
It could be. There are plenty of schools which do not overly care about GCSEs.
You would need to get AAA at a-level, do well in entry tests, get lots of work experience and interviews though.
If you're afraid of a little competition I would also not recommend nursing. Whilst the academic requirements are lower, the level of competition isn't.
They're also paid quite a lot in absolute terms (particularly if senior).
Pharmacy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology. Maybe physician's associate (uncertain role in the UK at the moment).
You would need to get AAA at a-level, do well in entry tests, get lots of work experience and interviews though.
If you're afraid of a little competition I would also not recommend nursing. Whilst the academic requirements are lower, the level of competition isn't.
They're also paid quite a lot in absolute terms (particularly if senior).
Pharmacy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology. Maybe physician's associate (uncertain role in the UK at the moment).
Thanks for replying. I'm not afraid of competition, I don't know where you got that from. I've heard about the Physicians Associate before and it sounds like something I would enjoy. However, it doesn't seem like there's a CLEAR path to get into that career. It's not like studying nursing or medicine.. It's almost like that career is unknown and there's not much info on it.
If you are predicted A*s, As and Bs then you are academic enough for medicine
You know, your predicted grades are based on your past grades. If you work better now, and there's plenty of time, you could still get the grades that you want.
Aren't membership exams extremely hard? Meaning that even if you do skip the university phase you still have to cram and study to be a doctor/consultant. But otherwise I would suggest healthcare. Have you heard of the NHS STP programme? It enables people who don't have medicine degrees to work in a hospital, though as a healthcare specialist, not a doctor. For example you could do Radiology with a physics degree. But there would be no way for someone to do medicine without hard work.
If your grades aren't sufficient for medicine now then...
Perhaps pursue a biomedical degree and then train as a Physician Associate? These courses will be more established in a few years and appear to pay a (reasonable) salary while you are training: http://www.mhs.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-certificate-diploma/courses/physician-associate-studies-pgdip/ The PA role is still being defined but it's likely that they will work in a similar way to doctors in some settings, perhaps just with limited responsibility/scope of practice.
And/or if your undergraduate studies go well you could apply for graduate entry medicine.
Either way it would mean you could start putting together work experience, healthcare summer jobs, etc as they will be useful for applying to graduate medicine and PA programmes.
Don't be put off nursing because of the pay. You don't have to be a ward nurse forever - many ambitious nurses move swiftly into management/leadership or work as nurse practitioners. I envisage the PA role being quite similar to a nurse practitioner (i.e. see a patient, assess, diagnose, implement management plan... but with consultant supervision).
As others have said, it's unlikely that you're not smart enough for medicine - if it's something you want to do then make a plan and get on with it.
Perhaps pursue a biomedical degree and then train as a Physician Associate? These courses will be more established in a few years and appear to pay a (reasonable) salary while you are training: http://www.mhs.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-certificate-diploma/courses/physician-associate-studies-pgdip/ The PA role is still being defined but it's likely that they will work in a similar way to doctors in some settings, perhaps just with limited responsibility/scope of practice.
And/or if your undergraduate studies go well you could apply for graduate entry medicine.
Either way it would mean you could start putting together work experience, healthcare summer jobs, etc as they will be useful for applying to graduate medicine and PA programmes.
Don't be put off nursing because of the pay. You don't have to be a ward nurse forever - many ambitious nurses move swiftly into management/leadership or work as nurse practitioners. I envisage the PA role being quite similar to a nurse practitioner (i.e. see a patient, assess, diagnose, implement management plan... but with consultant supervision).
As others have said, it's unlikely that you're not smart enough for medicine - if it's something you want to do then make a plan and get on with it.
Original post by nexttime
Pharmacy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology. Maybe physician's associate (uncertain role in the UK at the moment).
Many of the same things I was going to mention!
There are lot of other more obscure roles in hospitals though. You could be a lab tech, radiographer, theatre tech. Actually there are all sorts of technician jobs in hospitals, people who hang around and actually know how the machines work. Social worker, paramedic. The options are actually pretty extensive.
It would be more useful to know what exactly appeals to you about a medical career. Do you want to study science, do you want to care for people? Or is it just the 'idea' of a medical job that appeals to you?
I also feel compelled to add that there are a LOT of opportunities to do really varied and demanding things in nursing. You could work triage in A&E, be a scrub nurse, endoscopy nurse, nurse specialist in any number of conditions. All jobs that require a lot of knowledge and can be paid pretty well. Especially if you become a nurse practitioner or ward sister or something like that. I would say that the closest thing to 'between a nurse and a doctor' is... a senior nurse, honestly
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