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Original post by girl_in_black
Does it really matter which is harder to get into? Being an Oxbridge graduate does not necessarily mean that you will be a good doctor at the end - I have worked with a couple of Oxford graduates who were pretty awful as F1s.


But isn't everyone just awful as an FY1 as it's something so new to them? Plus nationally Oxbridge do fantastic in the exams in compairson to people from other medical unis and so don't see why if one had the opportunity wouldn't go there.
Original post by girl_in_black
Does it really matter which is harder to get into? Being an Oxbridge graduate does not necessarily mean that you will be a good doctor at the end - I have worked with a couple of Oxford graduates who were pretty awful as F1s.


2 out of...?

Is that a strong evidence base?

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Original post by Doonesbury
To any college, or just LMH?

Just to LMH
Original post by xxvvvxxc
But isn't everyone just awful as an FY1 as it's something so new to them?


Well different med schools emphasise different things. The non-medical stuff, like comms skills and secretarial skills, is a lot more relevant to an fy1 than any medical stuff, really. Some med schools even do finals in 4th year then spend the entirity of 5th year doing preparing for placement stuff, independent of formally assessed medical knowledge! .

So its not really surprising some med students are more prepared for initial placements than others. In fact, Oxford openly says it's not that interested in making great FY1s. It's later on including exams and consultantancy they target.
Original post by nexttime
Well different med schools emphasise different things. The non-medical stuff, like comms skills and secretarial skills, is a lot more relevant to an fy1 than any medical stuff, really. Some med schools even do finals in 4th year then spend the entirity of 5th year doing preparing for placement stuff, independent of formally assessed medical knowledge! .

So its not really surprising some med students are more prepared for initial placements than others. In fact, Oxford openly says it's not that interested in making great FY1s. It's later on including exams and consultantancy they target.


Yes, but communication skills are no less important than clinical knowledge, and become even more so as you get more senior. The Cambridge graduates I have worked with seemed to have better communication skills than Oxford graduates (though of course I am basing my opinion on a fairly small sample of people).
Original post by girl_in_black
Yes, but communication skills are no less important than clinical knowledge...


In terms of how much time should be spent on them at med school? Strongly disagree! You can only have so many lectures on how to say 'there there'.

I also tend to think that some people seem to value certain aspects of comms skills far too highly. You can be autistic to the point of not being able to make eye contact, but if you are a nice person patients and colleagues will like and confide in you.

The worst communication I see comes from individuals whose common link is not med school, it's speciality: Surgery :P

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