Taking a break during Medical School

Hi, I was just wondering, is it possible for someone to take a few years(1-6) out whilst at medical school, say if somebody wanted to learn a different language and live in another country for a while, is it possible for him to do this during medical school? And if so, in which years? Or is he able to do it when ever, wherever?

Reply 1

Democracy

Original post by Abz231

Er no, it's medical school, not a gap year. Six years off to go travelling? In other words you could have completed the entire course and a year of work during that time!

You can do an intercalated degree (and sometimes a masters/PhD), but these will almost certainly be in the UK and they will usually be full time courses to do with medicine. You can do an elective towards the end of the course abroad, these are 6-12 weeks long, and again have to be related to medicine in some way.

You can also get time off for health reasons and other extenuating circumstances.

You can't just ask for time off and go and live in the south of France for a couple of years because you want to perfect your French though.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 2

Abz231

Original post by Democracy

Er no, it's medical school, not a gap year. Six years off to go travelling? In other words you could have completed the entire course and started work during that time!

So when ive started theres no going back? 6 years was just a rough idea, i'd be happy with 1

Reply 3

Democracy

Original post by Abz231

So when ive started theres no going back? 6 years was just a rough idea, i'd be happy with 1

What do you want to do during that time?

Reply 4

Reality Check

Original post by Abz231

Are you being serious? it's medical school, not some hobby you can pick up and drop to fit in with your 'other interests'!!!

Reply 5

Abz231

Original post by Democracy

What do you want to do during that time?

either:

1) Learn a language
2) Try a different degree

:u:

Reply 6

Democracy

Original post by Abz231

either:

1) Learn a language
2) Try a different degree

:u:

1) This is something you can do in your spare time

2) Med school isn't something you can dabble in, you should figure out if it's what you want to do before you start, not start the course and treat it like an extended gap year.

Reply 7

Abz231

Original post by Democracy

why whats med school like? Is it possible to work part time during it or noo? + thanks for your response by the way :borat:

Reply 8

junior.doctor

Original post by Abz231

why whats med school like? Is it possible to work part time during it or noo? + thanks for your response by the way :borat:

Many students have part time jobs during the preclinical years of the course. It is still possible, but much harder, during the clinical years.

You have to learn to be very careful with your time, balancing uni work / paid work and social time. Medicine is hard work but it is possible to do all three.

(Oh, and I learnt a language in my spare time during preclinical medicine - also possible.)

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 9

nexttime

Just taking a casual 6 year break? One of the more bizarre questions asked on here :p:

Look i don't know what life experience you have but there are basically no professional careers that will tolerate you taking more than 1, perhaps 2 years out. 'CV gaps' are viewed as a bad thing, as time you've spent becoming deskilled and perhaps a sign that you're a 'slacker'. Medicine, where your CV is perhaps a little less scrutinised than other very competitive careers, is probably a little more tolerant of taking a year out. Its very common to after your FY2 year (i.e. 7-8 years in) before coming back to slog out another 6-8 years to become a consultant. Its very unusual to take a years break earlier than that - its felt you'd become too deskilled and forget too much.

It is certainly possible, but only cases I've ever heard of have been due to illness, or because that person has just had a baby.

There's also the new issue that Jeremy Hunt is trying to introduce 9-10 years conscription for medical students during which you'll be banned from working outside the UK, which would make any of your plans impossible.

Now to be slightly more positive: your motivations (learning a language, travel) are quite possible during a medical degree. There are plenty of free online language courses, and university holidays are long (much longer than you'd get from any job). Medicine is also a very international career in the long term. Its just that you can't dabble here and there - its a professional career for gods sakes.

You can still do medicine and meet some of your goals. But a random 6 years break? lol no!

Reply 10

navarre

You can certainly defer perhaps your studies for a year during the course. 6 years is totally unreasonable.

Reply 11

Vmomblr

Suppose a student is unable to cope and needs time-out to develop the skills required. Would that be considered as a valid reason for a gap year? Also, what are the potential downsides to this? Will a lot of knowledge be lost?

Also, what would be the procedure to go about requesting this?

Reply 12

Helenia

Original post by Vmomblr

What do you mean by unable to cope? Taking time out for mental health reasons is ok - usually would be arranged via tutors etc. If specific educational goals are not being met, then usually they would try to remedy that before suggesting time out,