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Considering Medicine?

Hi,
My first post, So be gentle :biggrin:

At the moment, I am currently doing my GCSEs but from my sisters experience, I guess its good to plan these things earlier.

From an early age, I have always been interested in the whole "doctor" and "body" scene. Not in real "geeky" terms, Just a genuine interest in helping be the cure.

I am really interested in becoming a Doctor or a Specialist Psychologist. But after reading into the courses, I feel that I may not have the qualifications to be able to take up one of these courses.

I am currently studying;
Business Studies - B
French - A
Sociology - A
English - A
Maths - A
Science - A
RE - B

But quite a number of the courses want atleast 5 A-A*s, Something, I dont feel I am able to achieve.

I have spoken to our School Careers Advisor who was of no help, (Something I already know from my Sisters Experience) and our Local Connexions Advisors say its best to wait till I am in Sixth Form (Which I also know doesnt help).

So I have a few questions;

•

I am doing Work Experience soon, But I dont know where to apply, With relevance to my future career path. My Work Experience Advisor, Also the careers advisor wont let me put down our local Hospital or Doctors Surgery.

•

I am hoping to study Psychology and Sociology along with Biology at A Levels. Would these help secure a University Place, (Providing my GCSE Results arent of any help?)

•

If my GCSE Grades werent the required, Is it still possible I may be able to do the course?

•

Are there any careers advice teams for students who specialise in Medicine?

Thank You.

-Keiran.

P.S, Happy Holidays.

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Reply 1

Areontas

I'm not an expert in terms of knowing first-hand; I decided on a completely different course - I've come to know certain details through my parents being doctors/lecturers. You are right: Medicine is extremely competitive, but with determination there's no reason why you can't get there. Since you're still doing your GCSEs, I'm assuming you've given your predicted grades. Generally, medical schools do require a string of A*s at GCSE or a good UKCAT score (which you'll have to look up - may be advantageous if you do well).

Also, to expect an offer for medicine, you would need to be predicted and achieve AAB at A-Level. Since you can only apply to four medical schools, an option would be to apply to a spread of four, and then use your fifth choice as a back-up course (e.g. Pharmacy at a university of your choice with attainable grades). You can then go on to do Medicine with that (at post-graduate level) if you get a 2:1 or higher, I believe. So you're not out of hope if you don't get in to medschool. Very importantly, of course, if you want to do Medicine it would be useful for you to have Chemistry at A Level; so I would say Biology, Chemistry, and then maybe one from either Psychology or Sociology if you prefer.

In terms of work experience, I find it puzzling why you can't do it in a hospital, for example. Try to organise it yourself if your school is of no help.

Lastly - Merry Christmas! :smile:

Reply 2

Pepe Le Poosh

Okay so here goes...

I think your GCSEs will be fine for most courses with those grade but bare in mind some have very high GCSE grade requirements such as Birmingham. Ideally you should make sure you get As in Sciences (double award, triple award or whatever it is you're doing) as a minimum, but preferably A*s would look good but i don't think its a requirement.

Work experience wise I left it to the last minute practically and id advise you not to do so. A lot of universities seem to be impressed by long term voluntary work in a caring environment such as a hospice or rest home notably Manchester seems to favor this experience over any other.

Try to complement this with a week or two at a GPs surgery and possibly a few days at the local hospital or whatever you can get but bare in mind some hospitals are touchy about letting under 18s do work experience even if it is just observing!!

Remember it's not what you do but it's what you gain from what you do and how this allows you to develop and show the seeds of the skills required to be a doctor.

And Psychology or Sociology would be fine. I have a friend who did sociology but dropped it after AS and she's applied for medicine this year. If your interested in the Psychology side then you'd find it interesting and are almost guaranteed to do better in it then something you aren't as interested in!!

Make sure you know the requirements of the course before you apply and don't assume that GCSEs don't matter. Aim to beat your predictions and you'll do fine. I was predicted 3A*, 5As, 2Bs and a C. And i sort of surpassed those so...

Good luck!! And i hope you appreciate the long Christmas Day post!!!

Merry Christmas!!! :biggrin:

Reply 3

Speedbird2008

Hey, welcome to the Medicine forum! :smile:

Righty. First question: is your school good? What sort of results does it achieve at GCSE (are there a lot of straight A* candidates, is it private, and so on).

IF your school is very highly achieving, and you are getting A/B grades at GCSE, then you may want to re-consider, because you obviously should get better grades IF you are at a school like that. However, if you are at less good school, then those GCSE grades are a solid set of grades.

As for work experience, I would say that you just need to peser and pester and pester the local hospital - they will get anoyed, give in and probably give you a placement. If not, then try contacting the consultant itself, presumably in Psychiatry as that is what you are looking for.

In terms of AS Levels, I would not advise you to do Sociology, because it is not as well regarded as other subjects. Biology and Chemistry are pre-requisites, and Psychology would be great as that is what you want to go in to. The fourth choice should be a solid subject, like Economics, Maths or English Literature.

Hope that helps!!

:smile:

Reply 4

digitalis

I am so so so impressed by the OP. You seem intelligent, with enough forward planning and individual drive in trying to find about the career which is exactly what admissions tutors look for.

Don't worry about your GCSEs, your predicted grades are fine and it's likely you will far exceed your predictions when summer exams come, what with study leave and extra revision etc. Obviously, the better grades you have, the better chance you have of getting a place, but GCSEs aren't that important.

School advisers are usually %%%%%%%%e, so you will need to do your own legwork. Write to surgeries/trusts asking for observerships or work experience programs. You are correct in thinking that work experience is a MUST.

For A levels, take Biology and Chemistry and another subject (rigorous-psych is fine) in order to maximise the amount of uni's you can apply to. Remember med schools generally require 4 AS levels.

Stick around these forums for advice regarding to medicine and its application, also medical schools directly are very useful in terms of their admissions offices.

PM for any more specific advice. :smile:

Reply 5

AEH

Your plan is good and you've got the right attitude to things, which is all you can really ask for at this stage in things. One thing that hasn't come up yet is A-Level Chemistry, which you really need to have a B prediction in to get your application off the ground.

Bear in mind how grades fit into the overall scheme of things, that they are the basis of every successful application but they only get the selectors to read down to the bottom of the page. It is the second half; the personal statement and interview supported by work experience and general life experience; that wins the offer and its that you need to start thinking about now as well.

Reply 6

i'm no superman

You can get in with A's and B's at GCSE - they're fantastic results!

You're doing your GCSEs right now so it's a great thing that you've identified your worries right now. You can get A*'s and A's by all means! Hey and even if you don't, you can still get in - don't forget that!

As for AS choices, well, I'd consider Chemistry since it's prioritised amongst many medical schools when applying. I'd consider Maths too since you're aiming at an A.

Reply 7

KeiranW

Hi Guys and Girls,

Firstly, Thank you for taking the time with those ever so helpful replies :P

My School? To be truthful, It is probably one of the worst in my town. It has failed one Ofsted since I have been there and I know (since my siblings went there) it has failed previously aswell. I would like to get A*s, Not just because, They are higher. But purely because I know I am capable of achieving those grades. However, To even attempt those, I need to have been taught some different things and at the moment, Only my Biology teacher has been prepared to help me a little more, As I think he is the only one who understands my potential, As he is also a Doctor and understands what it would mean to me.

Thanks for the advice, RE Work Experience. I have continually been pestering the Work Experience Co-Ordinator as to why she wont let me choose my option. However, According to her, They wont take me on without any real explanation. I could understand if I was actually physically involved, But I wont be, All I want is to be able to just have an overview an insight. Thanks for the advice on contacting the Hospital/Medical Institute directly. The only thing I dont want to do, Is contact them, Who in turn will contact her for a reference and for her to get annoyed and to deliberately "dumb" me down.
I think I might ask my Aunt to organise it, As obviously working there, She is more likely to have a contact to speak to, Team Leader ect?

Thanks for all your help so far. Il keep checking back on this thread for any updates and hopefully, Post any progress I make.

Once again, Thanks.

-Keiran.

P.S, Enjoy the rest of Christmas :wink:

Reply 8

manderlay in flames

Another arrogant doctor without the brains to back it, go into management please.

Reply 9

north bank gooner

What a nasty, rude reply.

Kieran, you're GCSE grades are fine. I got similar grades to you when I did my GCSEs and I'm now at university studying medicine, so I can assure you there's nothing wrong with your grades.

Reply 10

KeiranW

only nihilism

Another arrogant doctor without the brains to back it, go into management please.

Thanks for your vote of confidence :biggrin:

-

Thanks for your reply Gooner. Much appreciated! :wink:

Reply 11

manderlay in flames

It's not nasty really, there are far too many thick arrogant doctors around we really don't need more. Some of the people I know going into medicine I wouldn't trust to mow my lawn. I know several people who have been personally %%%%%%%%ed over by the incompetence of their doctors so threads like this depress me.

Reply 12

AEH

What a crock of %%%%%%%%e above there. This kid hasn't even taken his GCSEs yet and you think he's brainless? Its barely fair to rate people at A-Level, let alone these. He's pretty much at absolute zero at the moment but he knows what jobs he needs to do to get any further and is making the best fist anyone could be expected to make of it all (Good as I made anyway). Yeah, he's probably going to screw a load of stuff up and say the wrong thing to the wrong person over the next three years, but that's all part of the game, you get your head bitten off a few times. Again, I know my SpR thinks nothing of knocking me off my perch once a week and that's six years on from where the kid is now. (Just as a note to the OP, you haven't put a word wrong yet but sooner or later you will do, don't worry about it).

As far as your school careers department is concerned, I would write them off. They specialise in getting people into any kind of work at all, vocational training schemes and the military, which isn't what you're about. What you need to do is start writing letters to GP surgeries, hospital personnel departments and other caring organisations and ask if they can help. That way, whatever ideas they have which are suitable for you (A volunteer program, regular paid work or a shadowing scheme) they can direct you appropriately or maybe give you another number to call. Lay out where you are and where you want to be, rather than being too specific, in the most polite possible way and just see what happens.

Reply 13

ThePenguinMafia

Whilst I'm not going to say outright that those gcse's will stop you getting into medicine, failure to get AAA/ AAB would force you to try graduate medicine where you'd have to get a 2:i which is arguably just as, if not more, difficult, would stop you.

If you can get AAB or a 2:i, you can get into a medical course regardless of your GCSE's. GCSE's are easy exams in comparison to these two though.

You appear to be very intelligent and as is quite common, you could well be underestimating your ability to get good grades. My advice would be to keep pushing to see if you can do it but to look at alternatives on the way.

You'll need chemistry for medicine. It's arguably more important than biology.

Reply 14

i'm no superman

only nihilism

Some of the people I know going into medicine I wouldn't trust to mow my lawn.

Okay well don't turn up to A&E when you've mowed your hand off. :rolleyes:

Reply 15

manderlay in flames

Well he thinks that medicine entails being "the cure", he's really arrogant about his "potential", he's planning to take duff A levels and hasn't even twigged that he needs Chemistry. He's taking duff GCSEs and getting mediocre grades and yeah most of the time I'd hold people to GCSEs below As they're so easy now.
So the evidence for arrogance and no brains is there.

Reply 16

digitalis

Gee, you are a tool aren't you!

Reply 17

AEH

Oh right, you're a troll, righty ho. Sorry your thread's been spoilt OP.

Reply 18

north bank gooner

Only Nihilism is right about the A-Level subjects, you really should be taking at least four subjects for your AS, but you can drop one for A2.

Chemistry is a must for medicine. Don't ask me why, but practically all unis require chemistry rather than biology as a base subject (some require biology as well) with at least one other science-based subject, like physics or maths.

Reply 19

KeiranW

only nihilism

I did not say, I was the cure or Medicine was the cure, I said, I would like to help be the cure. That doesnt just mean physically, "Oh, Here is the cure for whatever you have.. bla bla", I mean, Emotionally, Psychologically.

Sorry, But, Unless you actually visit my school, See what GCSE options we have been given the opportunity to study, You dont have the right to say they are "duff". Not everyone visits some fancy school where they have the world best options to pick from :mad:

.

"mediocre grades", Im sorry, But if you read my previous posts, You will find that those are probably some of the highest grades you could possibly achieve from my school. Oh and dont say how I should move schools :rolleyes:

, I think you will find that the way our LEA implements the catchment rules, Is imo, Pretty rediculous.

But thanks nevertheless, Im pretty sure I know where to turn now if I ever need advice, Not :tsr2: