Should there be Medicine A level?

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I don't see why there couldn't be one. A levels by their very nature are watered down compared to the actual field, so I don't see why that's a valid argument for not having a course. Although if there was to be a course, it would more than likely be Biomedical Sciences since that's the only part of the medical field which can be covered by A level without it becoming a vocational first aid course.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 22

Cheesecakefactory

There should be an A level for pornography. I'd volunteer to take part in the practicals.

Reply 23

Harbour Seal

Original post by Teravolt

If teachers don't like the content or style of one board they can teach another.

Surely the exams are nearly worthless if they are not standardised?

Also, through the nature of competition, doesn't this mean that teachers can pick an easier exam board?

Original post by oh-bang

I know!! I know they say they're the 'same standard' but they arent!!!
In my school we didnt board X, and the 'stupid people' got to do board Y as it was 'easier'. They should have one board with more choice within it!

I reckon you should all move to the Scottish Higher Still, but that's just my humble opinion :wink:

Reply 24

infernalcradle

Original post by Cheesecakefactory

There should be an A level for pornography. I'd volunteer to take part in the practicals.

even the gay porn bits?

Reply 25

Gizmo!

Original post by infernalcradle

even the gay porn bits?

goodness. dont be the one left out of pairs who then has to pair up with teach.

Reply 26

Gizmo!

Original post by Harbour Seal

Surely the exams are nearly worthless if they are not standardised?

Also, through the nature of competition, doesn't this mean that teachers can pick an easier exam board? its not about should though, is it.

Have you ever wondered why scotland, england and wales and ireland arent just one big country? thats be so much simpler then. but its just not.

Reply 27

Comeheretellme

Maybe, but then again I'd be just like Law at A-level; useless at getting into law at a good university, or at any university at all.

Reply 28

No Future

Um no.

Is there something wrong with good old fashioned chemistry and biology?

Reply 29

golddust&lipgloss

it would be treated like a level law right? most uni's don't favour that from what i hear.

so no, there shouldn't be an a level in medicine. xoxoxox

Reply 30

nexttime

They do human biology. That's about as close as you want to get really - more than that and it becomes too vocational.

Reply 31

nexttime

Original post by Harbour Seal

On a side note, why doesn't England just have one exam board?

"because competition is good durrrr..."

No in all seriousness it was to try to reduce costs. It is possibly the most ludicrous decision i have ever seen anyone make, and is largely responsible for exams getting easier and easier and less and less about actually educating. If i was going to NOT privatize anything in the entire world, it would be 1) the military, 2) medical schools, and 3) examination boards. I'd back your move to the scottish Highers, i have to say.

Reply 32

Harbour Seal

Original post by Gizmo!

its not about should though, is it.

Have you ever wondered why scotland, england and wales and ireland arent just one big country? thats be so much simpler then. but its just not.

Oh hush about the UK thing, you don't really want to be dragging that up now do you?

It's not about the situation being simple, it's about the A-Level exams becoming too simple. You don't have to turn to the Higher Still (though, in my opinion, it gives a better levelling of qualifications that all build on one another over however many years you need them to) but surely one exam board covering England would be good for the students, yes?

"No in all seriousness it was to try to reduce costs. It is possibly the most ludicrous decision i have ever seen anyone make, and is largely responsible for exams getting easier and easier and less and less about actually educating."... Is unfortunately, probably true.

I reckon y'all should just create one exam board. It'd be easier to compare results from candidates then, and there would be less pressure to make exams easier. I think :wink:

Reply 33

twelve

No - it would serve absolutely no purpose.

First of all, you'd only do it if you were planning on going into medicine or something medicine related, so anything you'd learn you'd have to learn again at university. It would be like doing Law A level, or Furhter maths - you'd have an advantage for the first term, and that would be it.

And if you decide you don't want to do medicine, you're a bit stuck, because it would be too vocational to be applied to many other courses. And what exactly would be learnt? Surely you couldn't teach a lot of the medical degree to A level students and in only two years? I don't know exactly obviously, since I haven't started a medical degree, but it seems like it would probably just be an applied form of Human Biology. And nobody like applied subjects it seems!

Reply 34

Mushi_master

Erm, what would be the point exactly? It's not exactly going to allow you to practice medicine; why not learn the basic science that is necessary to make sense of whats going on in preclinical medicine. Anything else 'medical' will be taught on the degree.

Obviously.

Reply 35

daisysmith

personally i dont think it'd be any good, esp not for people wanting to actually study medicine further, but an A level or maybe a GCSE covering first aid, human bio, a bit of basic pharmacology for household drugs and maybe some ethics or 'personal skills' splashed in there would be a good course for people to do just to prepare themselves for the outside world/having kids/caring for other people.
Im not sure though... is there already a btec for that?

Reply 36

Gizmo!

Original post by Harbour Seal

Oh hush about the UK thing, you don't really want to be dragging that up now do you? its about your question, not about the UK. its odd hearing you tell yourself to hush.

Reply 37

Fission_Mailed

Not sure what benefit you could possibly get from a medicine A level? What areas would it cover? Physiology, pharmacology, pathology, histology, biochemistry, immunology, anatomy, sociology, psychology, embryology, and that's just the preclinical areas that have come off the top of my head. My favourite thing about studying medicine is that it is a hodge-podge of loads of subjects all drawn together, but an A level in medicine would presumably just be synopses of these disciplines; there is no way that you would gain anything. The only way to teach it would be to dumb it down, so when you find yourself sitting in your first undergrad medicine lectures a few years later, they'd have to re-teach it all anyway.

An A level in anatomy would be awesome, though, and I would have taken it in a flash.

Reply 38

street.lovin'

It is going to turn out like Law. Law is a good degree but Law Alevelis regarded as soft. :frown:

Reply 39

lekky

Original post by infernalcradle

I think there should be an additional course that is about as intense as a GCSE that is to be taken alongside A levels so people can be sure they want to do it....and obviously show that they have aptitude for medicine etc. etc.