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Medicine courses - the clinical years

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Reply 60
Original post by FeelTheMagic
Which part are you on about sorry? I think you mean chances of ending up in Tees so I'll answer that and hope I'm right. Basically third year if you don't want to be there you probably won't and then in 5th year the demand for Tees goes up due to the cheaper cost of living and also the better teaching making it easier to get one of the bases where you can stay in Newcastle. Honestly, the change of scenery is nice midway through the course anyway!


I'm really surprised to hear that! The way that even at interviews they make very clear that "you may need to live away from Newcastle" made me think that it was common for people who didn't want Tees to be put down there.
Reply 61
Original post by Carpediemxx
It does but iwas only there for 2 weeks and had commitments at bristol as well, so i decided to commute...i got a room at bath and took one look and vowed never to stay, its like a prison cell tbh
The rooms are not fantastic, there is talk of renovation.
Original post by Al Murray
Torbay is also less than 30 minutes by train from where I am in Exeter (station literally across the road) so I may well commute from Exeter to Torbay.


Torbay Hospital is awkward to get to though. You'll either have to get a train to Newton Abbot from Exeter, and then the number 12 bus to the hospital, or a train to Torre (less frequent) from which you could then walk to the hospital in 20 mins.

I live in Torbay!
Original post by fletchdd02
On the Kings website it says that thir teaching hospitals are St Guy's and Thomas' and another?


Not true, there's plenty they could send you to. I'm pretty sure the prospectus names quite a few.
Reply 64
Original post by xXxBaby-BooxXx
Another reason why UEA is awesome :awesome:


Once you've been getting up hideously early to catch the bus from Norwich to KL every day for a while and then meet the Cambridge students who have been staying on site and had breakfast in the mess, you may rethink. :wink:

To answer the original question, Cambridge's clinical course has its base in Addenbrooke's, and pretty much all clinical students live in Cambridge, some renting privately, some in college owned accomodation. In 4th year you spend half your placement time there and half away at one of the main DGHs (Hinchingbrooke, Peterborough, Bedford, King's Lynn, Bury St Edmund's and Ipswich). Accommodation is provided at all of them, though the quality is a bit variable and some people choose to commute, especially to the nearer hospitals. I was at Hinchingbrooke which is less than 20 miles but couldn't stand the commute so stayed there most nights and just came back to Cambridge once or twice a week and for weekends.

For 5th year you do specialties, and it gets a bit complicated. Some of the specialties are purely based at Addies (e.g. neurology, orthopaedics), some do a bit there and a bit elsewhere (e.g. obs&gynae - 4 weeks in Cambridge, 2 weeks in a DGH), and some will send you away for the whole time (paeds and psych, though some people get placed in Cambridge for these). There are also several week-long GP placements which can be anywhere, and several "review and integration" lecture weeks in the clinical school.

In 6th year you go on 9 week long "senior medicine," "senior surgery" and "acute care" (ITU, anaesthetics, A&E) placements. At least 2 of these will be out of Cambridge, in the DGHs already named plus a couple of extras like Luton, Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City etc, and for some people like me, all 3 placements were away. The rest of 6th year is GP placement, SSC, more lecture weeks etc.

So, in summary, you can expect to spend a significant proportion of your time out of Cambridge, but there is accommodation on all placements if you want it and some help with transport costs (from the clinical school in 4th year and from NHS bursaries in 5th/6th year). You certainly would not be expected to move to live permanently in any of the placement towns.
Original post by Renal
All the deaneries, as they're so big, are going to have a true mix of good and bad hospitals as well as nice and not-so-nice places to live.


So, does it really matter where you put down? I definitely don't want to stay in London, I know that much but looking at the catchement areas for the FS shows how big they are. Mersey-Liverpool to the IOM, Northern-Newcastle to Carlisle sort of thing.
Reply 66
Original post by digitalis
So, does it really matter where you put down? I definitely don't want to stay in London, I know that much but looking at the catchement areas for the FS shows how big they are. Mersey-Liverpool to the IOM, Northern-Newcastle to Carlisle sort of thing.
One word; Scotland.

If you want to get away from big city medicine you could go South Thames and work in Margate and Haywards Heath or NET and go Southend and . On that subject, you can still get tertiary medicine even when you avoid the big city hossies - Stoke Mandeville and Papworth come to mind. Remember that no matter where you go, you will almost certainly be working in a city for at least one of your foundation years.
Reply 67
Original post by Renal
One word; Scotland.

If you want to get away from big city medicine you could go South Thames and work in Margate and Haywards Heath or NET and go Southend and . On that subject, you can still get tertiary medicine even when you avoid the big city hossies - Stoke Mandeville and Papworth come to mind. Remember that no matter where you go, you will almost certainly be working in a city for at least one of your foundation years.
Some people in Severn get stuck in Yeovil for 2 years. Shudder
Original post by Renal
One word; Scotland.

If you want to get away from big city medicine you could go South Thames and work in Margate and Haywards Heath or NET and go Southend and . On that subject, you can still get tertiary medicine even when you avoid the big city hossies - Stoke Mandeville and Papworth come to mind. Remember that no matter where you go, you will almost certainly be working in a city for at least one of your foundation years.


Hmm, I know, I know. It would be a lot easier if I wanted to do the whole NET thing but I just want to leave. Which then makes choosing somewhere new way harder! Feels like UCAS all over again. I might go and have a look at Leeds (there are some cool F1 jobs going in St. James', AMU/anaesthetics/upper GI) or Newcastle in the summer and base my decisions on the general feel of the place. Try and speak to some of the F1s doing the jobs and see what they think.
Original post by Gizmo!
mind you, on £35 a week, you could afford to get out of stockton every weekend, or go abroad for a city break every month. thats as a student...
magic times at northern med schools.


Yeah I literally bought a high spec laptop and the upfront cost of an iphone 4 out of my first loan payment and it didn't affect me whatsoever!
Original post by Beska
I'm really surprised to hear that! The way that even at interviews they make very clear that "you may need to live away from Newcastle" made me think that it was common for people who didn't want Tees to be put down there.


They probably say that because of the Northumbria base unit as well, but in that you're still more likely to be within easy commutable distance of Newcastle. I think 15 people a year have to do the first term in Carlisle but you get free accommodation while you're there, and then a slightly higher number of people in 5th year have to go there. I think they just say that at interview so they have a point where it's been directly said to you so you can't go back and complain further down the line.
Reply 71
Original post by theatrical
Torbay Hospital is awkward to get to though. You'll either have to get a train to Newton Abbot from Exeter, and then the number 12 bus to the hospital, or a train to Torre (less frequent) from which you could then walk to the hospital in 20 mins.

I live in Torbay!


Hmm well my choice is either to arrive at Torre or Torquay and the station nearest to me is St James' Park. I'll probably keep a room in hospital accommodation just incase I miss the last train or if I feel to tired to go home et al.
Reply 72
Original post by FeelTheMagic
Yeah I literally bought a high spec laptop and the upfront cost of an iphone 4 out of my first loan payment and it didn't affect me whatsoever!
lol aye thats what the landlords of UCL medics do with the 200% inflated rent they charge them.
Original post by I<3LAMP
Hull York Medical School has. But I did intentionally look for it.

It was also mentioned on the day I had my interview in their 1 hour speech about the Uni.


perhaps because they are 'new' as a med school and their area is carved out of arteas that were traditionally part of other med school's areas ( e.g. Scunthorpe and Grimsby used to be Med school placements for Sheffield )
Original post by Renal
One word; Scotland.

If you want to get away from big city medicine you could go South Thames and work in Margate and Haywards Heath or NET and go Southend and . On that subject, you can still get tertiary medicine even when you avoid the big city hossies - Stoke Mandeville and Papworth come to mind. Remember that no matter where you go, you will almost certainly be working in a city for at least one of your foundation years.



why SM ? it's a DGH with a tertiary unit ... Pinderfields has 2 teritary units (spinal and level 3 burns) .. SM isn't the only Spinal injuries centre in the Uk


isn't Papworth moving to Addenbrookes at some point and they didn't used to have SHOs just Regs ..
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 75
Original post by zippyRN
why SM ? it's a DGH with a tertiary unit ... Pinderfields has 2 teritary units ..


isn't Papworth moving to addenbrookes at some point and they didn't used to have SHOs just Regs ..


Papworth is indeed moving to Addies, but I believe that the transfer won't be complete until 2013ish. Plus Addenbrooke's is a tertiary centre in its own right for many things, so it's still a valid option.

Don't know when you last spoke to anyone working at Papworth, but they definitely have (quite a few) SHOs now and have just last year introduced a handful of F1s - some of my friends were among the first to work there at that level.
Reply 76
Original post by zippyRN
why SM ? it's a DGH with a tertiary unit ... Pinderfields has 2 teritary units (spinal and level 3 burns) .. SM isn't the only Spinal injuries centre in the Uk


isn't Papworth moving to Addenbrookes at some point and they didn't used to have SHOs just Regs ..
I know nothing about them tbh, they just sprung to mind. and, to be honest, I've never heard of Pinderfields.
Original post by Helenia
Papworth is indeed moving to Addies, but I believe that the transfer won't be complete until 2013ish. Plus Addenbrooke's is a tertiary centre in its own right for many things, so it's still a valid option.

Don't know when you last spoke to anyone working at Papworth, but they definitely have (quite a few) SHOs now and have just last year introduced a handful of F1s - some of my friends were among the first to work there at that level.



it's a fair few years ago 5 -6 when my Dad was under their care for a lung transplant ...

i know Addenbrookes is a tertiary centre for other things and ultimately i doubt that moving will change the excellence of the services current at Papworth ... just lose the beautiful setting of the current hospital at Papworth
Reply 78
Original post by Renal
I know nothing about them tbh, they just sprung to mind. and, to be honest, I've never heard of Pinderfields.


I have :biggrin: It is in Wakefield, my home town :redface:
Reply 79
Original post by zippyRN
it's a fair few years ago 5 -6 when my Dad was under their care for a lung transplant ...

i know Addenbrookes is a tertiary centre for other things and ultimately i doubt that moving will change the excellence of the services current at Papworth ... just lose the beautiful setting of the current hospital at Papworth

Yep, patients will now get a beautiful view of the M11 instead of the rather pretty duckpond. I loved the old postcards showing all the patients' beds wheeled out onto the balcony to "take the air" - they've stopped doing that for some reason now. :frown:

And while it is a shame, I can see why they're doing it - it's a bit of an anomaly to have one of the world's leading cardiac surgery centres (and one of only two-I think-PCI centres in East Anglia) in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere!

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