From Maintenance to medicine

Hi guys – first post

I’m a 21 year old heating and ventilation engineer and for a while I’ve been looking to study medicine.
I left school with B-C grades in English, science and maths but never studied A levels as I was offered an apprenticeship. Please can someone tell me honestly, will I be able to study medicine? Or is this just a pipe dream?
I thought I would enjoy my job as a H&V engineer but I feel It doesn’t provide me with a challenge or satisfy my thirst for knowledge as I thought it would at the start.
I have been looking into taking my A levels via distance learning can anyone tell me if this is my best route.

Thank you
A2B

Reply 1

Democracy

20

Original post by A2B

Hi guys – first post

I’m a 21 year old heating and ventilation engineer and for a while I’ve been looking to study medicine.
I left school with B-C grades in English, science and maths but never studied A levels as I was offered an apprenticeship. Please can someone tell me honestly, will I be able to study medicine? Or is this just a pipe dream?
I thought I would enjoy my job as a H&V engineer but I feel It doesn’t provide me with a challenge or satisfy my thirst for knowledge as I thought it would at the start.
I have been looking into taking my A levels via distance learning can anyone tell me if this is my best route.

Thank you
A2B

Not a pipe dream at all.

Have you looked into access to medicine courses, out of interest?

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Access_to_Medicine

It would also be a good idea to sort out some work experience in a GP's surgery or hospital, just to give you some better insight into what a life in medicine is like (if you haven't already done this).

:smile:

Reply 2

HotCoco.

17

I know many people like you who have taken the access to medicine route and found success through it. Three friends, one worked in sales for almost 10 years, one was a pub owner and the other a psychologist, took the access to medicine route and are now medical students.

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Reply 3

Pittawithcheese

6

Absolutely you can be a doctor! Like everyone all you have to do is apply yourself and work hard.

Have you looked at the BM6 programme at Southampton? It might suit your circumstances. You'll also have the advantage of being able to do contract/agency plumbing work whilst you study to help offset your fees.

A bit of work experience is a great place to start. I wish you lots of luck whatever you decide!

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Reply 4

Pittawithcheese

6

Oh: and re: the distance learning route for ALevels, if you do not have any post-GCSE science exposure then I would recommend an Access Course as a better alternative, as both Chem and Bio require lab-time ;-)

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Reply 5

A2B

OP

Thank you all for the vote of confidence, the thing is I'm under contract until July 2015 by that time i will be twenty three , and with regards to The BM 6 still requires Alevels and unfortunately I don't meet any of the other criteria.

Does anyone have any experience of the distance learning? The hard part seems to be completing the practical exams for chemistry and biology.

Reply 6

Pittawithcheese

6

Original post by A2B

Thank you all for the vote of confidence, the thing is I'm under contract until July 2015 by that time i will be twenty three , and with regards to The BM 6 still requires Alevels and unfortunately I don't meet any of the other criteria.

Does anyone have any experience of the distance learning? The hard part seems to be completing the practical exams for chemistry and biology.

I have experience of distance learning both Biology and Chem. Feel free to PM me if you would like to have a chat about it. :-)

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Reply 7

thornebush

1

Hopefully pittawithcheese will be able to give you some good advice. If you want to have a chat with a current DL tutor then go to the Brockenhurst College website and follow the Distance learning link from the drop down Courses menu to find a contact. They are one of the few colleges in the whole of the UK that include the practical unit assessments. The provision centres around on campus practice and assessment in February following on from online prep through Nov, Dec, Jan Though not promoted on the website they will provide practical assessment packages only, under special circumstances.

Reply 8

Pittawithcheese

6

Original post by thornebush

Hopefully pittawithcheese will be able to give you some good advice. If you want to have a chat with a current DL tutor then go to the Brockenhurst College website and follow the Distance learning link from the drop down Courses menu to find a contact. They are one of the few colleges in the whole of the UK that include the practical unit assessments. The provision centres around on campus practice and assessment in February following on from online prep through Nov, Dec, Jan Though not promoted on the website they will provide practical assessment packages only, under special circumstances.

You are ****ting me?

I spent about 18months trying to locate a centre that would offer practical assessments.

I settled for one in Bristol. Brockenhurst college is on my flipping DOORSTEP.

*facepalm*

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Reply 9

Becca-Sarah

19

Original post by A2B

Thank you all for the vote of confidence, the thing is I'm under contract until July 2015 by that time i will be twenty three , and with regards to The BM 6 still requires Alevels and unfortunately I don't meet any of the other criteria.

Does anyone have any experience of the distance learning? The hard part seems to be completing the practical exams for chemistry and biology.

So you'd be 24 on starting medicine if all went to plan with Access... That's still not old! There are plenty of mature students in their thirties and forties starting medicine courses. Make sure you pick the route that gives you the best long term future, not just what seems to be the quickest. If you're under an apprenticeship contact and want to do A levels you may need to check that your apprenticeship provider is ok with that.

Reply 10

A2B

OP

Quick Update :smile:

Ive left it a bit to late to start any distance in science, however I think I can start A-level maths without to much trouble. Next year I will look back into chem and bio distance learning or start to consider the access courses. Thank you all for your help and votes of confidence :smile:

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