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Medicine degree: typical week

Sorry if there has already been a thread like tis but i was just wondering what is your typical week at uni like?

How many hours of lectures/pbl/clinical work etc. do you get?

Do you have to do a lot of work outside of lectures?

Reply 1

linkdapink

15

I can't really talk as I don't do medicine...

But from what I can tell from the Newcastle Medics... they work 9-5 apart from 2 days where they work only half days (which still amounts to about 4 hours)

Reply 2

bright star

1

^^ depends though. when they do their medical law teaching for example there's only stuff scheduled 3 days a week :biggrin:

Reply 3

Renal

17

Depends. I'm in from 9.30 til about 3 everyday, but I'm doing psych and it's lazy, next month it's brain surgery with a two hour commute every day.

Reply 4

Elles

17

You need to define 'typical' more - by university, year, student-keeness etc. :p:

My upcoming week, as Oxford 5th year student who has chosen to sign up for the clinics/shifts listed:
Monday - PM teaching session (1.5 hours)
Tuesday - AM presentation/teaching session (2 hours), PM clinic (hmm, 3 hours?)
Wednesday - Day with a team 8am - 8pm (though potential to leave earlier)
Thursday - Day Pre-assessment Clinic (8 hours), Evening Shift (5 hours)
Friday - AM lecture (1 hour), AM clinic (~3 hours?)
& a ~2hour tutorial to be fitted in somewhere.

This particular attachment probably has less clinical time than usual - because there are lots of different areas to cover & defined shift patterns/regulated sign ups, rather than being ward/GP based.
Work outside will definitely be needed for the presentation, tutorial, so I know something for the clinics/shifts & exams in a few weeks.

During preclinical my general timetable was more like:
~2-3 hours optional lectures Mon - Fri AMs
~ 2-3 Practical sessions a week (e.g. Physiology, Pharmacology, Pathology, Anatomy) which would be ~ 3hours
Doctor-Patient course ~3 hours every few weeks
Tutorials ~ 2-3 hours worth a week - sometimes more
Work for tutorials (essays!) was the bulk of self directed stuff, sometimes reading for/writing up practicals.

In my intercalated BA year the lecture timetable was ~3 hours a week. Time was spent preparing for tutorials (~1 every 2 weeks), reading around lectures & work of the research project/dissertation.

Reply 5

digitalis

17

First year medic, doing systems in health atm.

Monday:9-11 lectures, 2.30-4 microanatomy
Tuesday:12-1 Lecture, 2-3.30 PBL
Wednesday:8-9, 11-1 lectures
Thursday: Alternate weeks Medsoc/3.30-5 Anatomy
Friday:12-1 Lecture, 2-3.30 PBL

Reply 6

tomoli

2

Wow, without meaning to gatecrash the medicine forum, I had absolutely no idea a medicine was so much work. I knew it was hard, but... well, wow.

Reply 7

pepilachat

OP

7

yeah this is great i just wanted a wide range on unis and year groups so keep them coming in people!

Reply 8

krisstassen

12

I was wondering...do u get to socialise with other people at uni..say if u are at kings and guys doing medicine..will u meet ppl studying say ..law or pharmacy or whatever at kings....or do u just meet other medics

Reply 9

blondevalkyrie

15

This probably wont be 100% accurate, and I can't entirely remember the conversation but my room mate did medicine and she did like 9-5 everyday a week and then had a lot of homework at Keele

Reply 10

Elles

17

Not working with the Kings example, but in general if you live in halls / go to student events you're likely to meet people other than medics.
How easy it is & the range of other students might be influenced by medical school though - whether there's exclusive medic accommodation segregation and whether the university (or UoL component!) is focussed on healthcare/science or not.

It was a factor that featured in my decision making post offers. I liked the idea of not frequently being surrounded by oodles of medics from the off, so went for collegiate (my immediate peers are 5 others in my year at my college), not science/healthcare limited & getting to be more of a typical student.

At clinicals/as the years go by your social circle might well become more medicy though - as people graduate/move away or you live out & move closer to hospitals & timetables become less compatible with 'normal' student life.

Reply 11

krisstassen

12

Elles

Not working with the Kings example, but in general if you live in halls / go to student events you're likely to meet people other than medics.
How easy it is & the range of other students might be influenced by medical school though - whether there's exclusive medic accommodation segregation and whether the university (or UoL component!) is focussed on healthcare/science or not.

It was a factor that featured in my decision making post offers. I liked the idea of not frequently being surrounded by oodles of medics from the off, so went for collegiate (my immediate peers are 5 others in my year at my college), not science/healthcare limited & getting to be more of a typical student.

At clinicals/as the years go by your social circle might well become more medicy though - as people graduate/move away or you live out & move closer to hospitals & timetables become less compatible with 'normal' student life.

Yeh exactly...I certainly want a vast mixture of friends and not just future doctors..

Reply 12

fairycakes

12

4th year medic doing mangement bsc

3 days of full lectures. other times are free for group work and other individual assignments, of which there is a lot.

management is a pain. i can't wait for clinicals again.

Reply 13

bright star

1

blondevalkyrie

This probably wont be 100% accurate, and I can't entirely remember the conversation but my room mate did medicine and she did like 9-5 everyday a week and then had a lot of homework at Keele

doesn't sound right. keele run a manchester course more or less and my friends who are manchester medics certainly have nothing resembling this.

sorry i'm not really helping am i. i'll stop telling other people they're lying and contribute later methinks.

Reply 14

*tink*

GP week so about 9-6.30 mon, tues, thurs and friday
lectures 9-1 wednesday

normal placement weeks, get in for 9 then go home any time between 12 and 5 depending on whats going on/how keen I am feeling. (on average about 3/4ish unless I'm in clinic)

Lecture weeks pretty much 9-5 apart from wednesdays 9-1. Luckily they don't come round too often!

Reply 15

Wangers

16

digitalis

First year medic, doing systems in health atm.

Monday:9-11 lectures, 2.30-4 microanatomy
Tuesday:12-1 Lecture, 2-3.30 PBL
Wednesday:8-9, 11-1 lecturesThursday: Alternate weeks Medsoc/3.30-5 Anatomy
Friday:12-1 Lecture, 2-3.30 PBL

8AM lecture? Slave drivers.... :eek:

Oh and wheres UWCM? *is geographiclly hopeless*

Reply 16

Democracy

20

Wangers

Oh and wheres UWCM? *is geographiclly hopeless*

University of Wales College of Medicine methinks...

Reply 17

Elles

17

Wangers

8AM lecture? Slave drivers.... :eek:

Try 7.30am tutes/7am start ambulance shifts at a hospital 45 minutes away.
Medicine = not compatible with my natural sleep-wake cycle. :bawling:

Reply 18

Saffie

11

yeh digitalis, what's that all about?? does anyone go to them? i see freshers every wednesday and they're lucky if they make it to the latter ones!

my timetable (year 2, BL) has been pretty much:

monday: 9-10:30 PBL, 12-1 lecture
tuedays: 9-12:30 microanatomy/practicals/anatomy rubbish or 1:30-4 alternate weeks
wednesday: 9-11 lectures
thursday: 9-10:30 PBL, 12-1 lecture
friday: 9-12:30 microanatomy rubbish etc 2-5 lectures

We're divided into two halves of the year, my half has had PBLs in the mornings since september. I think we get them at 2-3:30 in a few weeks. wooo lie ins!

There's quite a bit of work to be done on top of that. I'd say it takes 2-3 hours to prepare a PBL well. And you have to learn all the info thrown at you as well. So how much work you do really depends on how much info you're given- and how dense you are I guess.