Medical Work
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Original post by digitalis
Doesn't matter about how good it looks on your UCAS, it's about how much it made you think about why you wanted to be a doctor 
Yeah trust me, it really did! It totally made me want to be a doctor even more. Aaaaah
Original post by tikkitak
I dont know how young a 16 year old you are, but at the hospital I work at you can be a healthcare assistant from the age of 17, so it may be worth looking into getting some bank HCA work when you're old enough? Its really good experience, and pretty fun too 
Ahh ok, I might try this route. But unfortunately I will only just turn 16 in August, so that means I will only be 17 at the end of my AS year :/ What type of roles and work do you do as a healthcare assistant?
Original post by MedicalMayhem
Ahh ok, I might try this route. But unfortunately I will only just turn 16 in August, so that means I will only be 17 at the end of my AS year :/ What type of roles and work do you do as a healthcare assistant?
Well normally clean patients, feed patients, take their obs, help them with whatever needs doing, wipe bums, that sort of thing
. Its good though, because it gets you used to talking with patients and relatives, and you learn loads about what its actually like to work in a hospital. You get more of a sense of what doctors actually do as well. I like it 
Original post by fletchdd02
I am wanting to study medicine at uni as well, and I have a 2 week period of work experience in a hospital and public health setting already, but i'm not 16 until July so can't get any 'proper' work experience until then! 
That is more than enough work experience already!
Original post by Beska
That is more than enough work experience already!
Really? 2 weeks is enough for a medical application? As i've got about 5 weeks booked next summer, and thought i'd need a bit more to set myself apart from other candidates that may have the same grades.
Original post by MedicalMayhem
Really? 2 weeks is enough for a medical application? As i've got about 5 weeks booked next summer, and thought i'd need a bit more to set myself apart from other candidates that may have the same grades.
Yeh, more than enough. Quality over quantity blah blah and all that crap. As long as from the experience you can discuss the +ve/-ve of medicine/being a doctor as well as pick a few key skills (teamwork, caring, etc.) to use as examples in your personal statement and at interview you're golden. I personally only have 1 week shadowing a surgeon, but during that week I broke off shadowing a few different people - an F1 for a bit, nurses for a bit, a transplant surgeon (absolutely brilliant to talk about) and then a general surgeon. That is more than enough to talk about in any interview! Of course, if you have that many weeks organised already then go ahead and do them, but because of the volume remember to write down what you saw/learnt because it will really help when it comes to writing a personal statement.
e: Too be fair, I think the maximum number of 'experiences' you can talk about in your personal statement is probably limited to about 3 because of the space limitations anyway.
(edited 13 years ago)
Original post by Beska
That is more than enough work experience already!
It is if I can talk about it in my PS and my interview if I get there!
I am going to do some shadowing!
Original post by MedicalMayhem
Ahh ok, I might try this route. But unfortunately I will only just turn 16 in August, so that means I will only be 17 at the end of my AS year :/ What type of roles and work do you do as a healthcare assistant?
http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/details/Default.aspx?Id=485
Be warned though, this job separates the men from the boys. A lot of people can't stomach the thought of wiping excrement off an incontinent dementia patient, however it's probably the most important thing you can do as a carer.
Original post by Beska
Yeh, more than enough. Quality over quantity blah blah and all that crap. As long as from the experience you can discuss the +ve/-ve of medicine/being a doctor as well as pick a few key skills (teamwork, caring, etc.) to use as examples in your personal statement and at interview you're golden. I personally only have 1 week shadowing a surgeon, but during that week I broke off shadowing a few different people - an F1 for a bit, nurses for a bit, a transplant surgeon (absolutely brilliant to talk about) and then a general surgeon. That is more than enough to talk about in any interview! Of course, if you have that many weeks organised already then go ahead and do them, but because of the volume remember to write down what you saw/learnt because it will really help when it comes to writing a personal statement.
e: Too be fair, I think the maximum number of 'experiences' you can talk about in your personal statement is probably limited to about 3 because of the space limitations anyway.
e: Too be fair, I think the maximum number of 'experiences' you can talk about in your personal statement is probably limited to about 3 because of the space limitations anyway.
I'd be careful about how you word things you have observed during work experience. I've heard several stories of applicants being pulled apart in interview about minute details/the medicine behind a certain procedure.
Original post by winter_mute
I'd be careful about how you word things you have observed during work experience. I've heard several stories of applicants being pulled apart in interview about minute details/the medicine behind a certain procedure.
Only thing I mentioned was a total thyroidectomy that I observed (I observed 2-3), and thankfully the surgeon treated me like a med student and talked me through it.
Original post by Beska
Only thing I mentioned was a total thyroidectomy that I observed (I observed 2-3), and thankfully the surgeon treated me like a med student and talked me through it.
One of the med students in my hospital was telling me about observing a angioplasty, and UCL tore him a new one asking in detail what they were doing and why. He owned up and said he didn't know (which is a much better idea than trying to bluff IMO)
(edited 13 years ago)
Original post by winter_mute
One of the med students in my hospital was telling me about observing a angioplasty, and UCL tore him and new one asking in detail what they were doing and why. He owned up and said he didn't know (which is a much better idea than trying to bluff IMO)
That's stupid tbh. You're not there to learn about medicine. You're there to learn about the job and the lifestyle.
Original post by GodspeedGehenna
That's stupid tbh. You're not there to learn about medicine. You're there to learn about the job and the lifestyle.
Well I think that putting it on your PS somehow means you understand the procedure in their eyes. Bearing in mind they're trying to differentiate between hundreds of people so they need every little point they can.
Side note: I've just noticed my writing is **** today, in my defence I did a 10 hour shift and had 3 hours sleep last night :/
Original post by MedicalMayhem
Really? 2 weeks is enough for a medical application? As i've got about 5 weeks booked next summer, and thought i'd need a bit more to set myself apart from other candidates that may have the same grades.
I wouldn't take anything people say on here as truth without reservation. Bear in mind that you have no idea who you're talking to. They could be an admissions tutor or they could be someone who has never received an offer for medicine and thus has no idea whether 2 weeks is enough or not.
Original post by thisismycatch22
I wouldn't take anything people say on here as truth without reservation. Bear in mind that you have no idea who you're talking to. They could be an admissions tutor or they could be someone who has never received an offer for medicine and thus has no idea whether 2 weeks is enough or not.
Although I agree with your sentiment, I guarantee that 2 weeks is more than enough for most (if not all) universities. It's about quality, not quantity.
Original post by Beska
Although I agree with your sentiment, I guarantee that 2 weeks is more than enough for most (if not all) universities. It's about quality, not quantity.
What qualification do you have to say this? Have you ever received an offer of a place on any medical course? You do not have any grounds to "guarantee" anything to anyone, other than offer your own personal perspective as a potential applicant. Not someone who has some kind of insight into the process like an offer holder/student/junior doctor.
Original post by thisismycatch22
What qualification do you have to say this? Have you ever received an offer of a place on any medical course? You do not have any grounds to "guarantee" anything to anyone, other than offer your own personal perspective as a potential applicant. Not someone who has some kind of insight into the process like an offer holder/student/junior doctor.
Sigh.
Before you get your pitchfork out, there's a thread on this which mirrors my comments.
Plus, if we're going down that road, I have had two interviews with only a weeks work experience.
Original post by Beska
Sigh.
Before you get your pitchfork out, there's a thread on this which mirrors my comments.
Plus, if we're going down that road, I have had two interviews with only a weeks work experience.
Before you get your pitchfork out, there's a thread on this which mirrors my comments.
Plus, if we're going down that road, I have had two interviews with only a weeks work experience.
Which was after a year of tailor making a repeat application after you received 4 rejections without interview last time, and there is no guarantee that you will get an offer this time. That omission aside, they're not asking "is this the absolute minimum" they're asking if it will be of benefit, and realistically you have absolutely no grounds on which to answer this question. The idea that it's quality and not quantity is irrelevant because you have no idea what the quality of the work experience they've already got is, or whether the quality of the additional would benefit them and help them learn something vital about medicine they didn't the first time. You also have no idea what the rest of this person's application is like. Other people have gotten into medicine with less work experience, but renal in that thread for example applied 7 years ago. Standards may have changed, and you have no idea whether they were a borderline acceptance where more work experience would have helped.
(edited 13 years ago)
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