ideas: medicine + gap year

16

want to apply to medicine, but i'm taking a gap year and will be applying next year instead of this year

answers to questions i couldn't find in the prospectus (advice appreciated)

- what kind of activities etc. do med schools like a gap year applicant to have done in their gap year?

- if applicant takes up a job, what kind of jobs would they prefer a gap year applicant to have done in their gap year?

thanks for taking the time to read this :smile:

ps. sorry if this in the wrong place, but thought that more mediciney people would look here :rolleyes:

Reply 1

Wangers

16

Well they really don't mind as long as its something productive. For me I basiclly said I realise medical training is a long ardous process and am therefore working to help pay for it. To my mind thats preparation, and perfectly fair enough. So I'll be doing that, and then being a helper/language assistant at the Beijing Olympics. :biggrin:

A gap year could well be the best thing thats ever happened :biggrin:

. Along with the freedom to read whatever I want!

Reply 2

icapturethecastle

OP

16

^thanks lol...i've not been really looking forward to taking one but it's my only options so thanks for the plus points

Reply 3

karthik89

hey tami*
i'm actually taking a gap year now and am working in a hospital as a theatre support worker. Its not much work i basically stand in the OR and watch the operation and then i hand out equipment. Its really interesting cos i'm in the cardiothoracic department and so all i see is really complicated cardiac ops like vavle replacements ... they pay pretty gd as well i went on the nhs jobs website and just applied

Reply 4

Becca-Sarah

19

I'm on a gap year! I don't do anything as exciting as karthik, but I'm a medical receptionist/ data clerk in general practice. The pay is ok, the hours are nice, and the whole team is fantastic to work with. All the partners were really supportive when I said I was applying for med, and have read through my PS and just talked about their job and stuff, so even though I can't sit in on patient consultations I've learnt loads - and I actually find out more from reading the notes afterwards than I did on work exp observing.

HCA work is something I considered and would probably have done if my job hadn't come up.

Reply 5

icapturethecastle

OP

16

karthik89 and Becca-Sarah, thanks for ur replies...also
when u applied for these jobs didn't u need any previous experience...like how did they choose u over people with degrees/those who have already been to uni etc.
also do u need specific types of work exp to apply to jobs like these?

thanks so much :smile:

really appreciate the advice

Reply 6

kookoo_koochoo

1

My bro took a gap year and reapplied, he did a course in sign language, voluntary work at a children's hospice, work in a pharmacy and he took an extra A level (that was more to do with the fact he originally hadn't done biology so he did it in his gap year).

He didn't need any qualifications for any of the things he did, just CV like for any other job. I think the hospice preferred having someone his age cos the kids could relate to him more. Hope that helps.

Reply 7

icapturethecastle

OP

16

oh ok thank u! i was just unsure because i haven't really had a job...not unless u count work experience lol :rolleyes:

Reply 8

Becca-Sarah

19

tami*

karthik89 and Becca-Sarah, thanks for ur replies...also
when u applied for these jobs didn't u need any previous experience...like how did they choose u over people with degrees/those who have already been to uni etc.
also do u need specific types of work exp to apply to jobs like these?

thanks so much :smile:

really appreciate the advice

My Practice advertised specifically at my school for a gap year student; they have a long running tradition of taking on people for 1 year to fill staffing gaps, and it brings the average age of the team down dramatically.

I suppose if they had advertised it more widely, I'd have focused more on my work experience with a GP, and my communication skills from my part-time shop job. As it was, I mumbled incomprehensively throughout my interview, and got the job purely because the manager's cousin had done a year with them and then gone on to do medicine - I think simply wanting it for the medicine aspect rather than the money was the key.

Reply 9

BabyGirl

I'm working as a receptionist in a hosp too! I've been temping so far, just waiting to start this new job now!

I talked alot about my work experience and even though it wasn't paid- I showed that I learnt alot. I haven't had ANY paid employment, so if I can get a job, I'm sure you can!

Thinking about it, I wished I'd continued temping because it's abit more flexbile as this new job is 9-5 mon-fri!

Check the NHS websites and sign up to agencies etc.

I think paid employment is a better option, depending on your circumstances. Personally, my parents aren't going to be giving me anymore money for uni so a paid job is going to help me out MAJORLY!

If not, a friend of mine is volunteering all over, doing some really cool stuff! It's up to you about whether you want to be employed or you want something more flexible..

If you need any help with anythin, feel free to PM! :smile:

xx

Reply 10

icapturethecastle

OP

16

Becca-Sarah

My Practice advertised specifically at my school for a gap year student; they have a long running tradition of taking on people for 1 year to fill staffing gaps, and it brings the average age of the team down dramatically.

I suppose if they had advertised it more widely, I'd have focused more on my work experience with a GP, and my communication skills from my part-time shop job. As it was, I mumbled incomprehensively throughout my interview, and got the job purely because the manager's cousin had done a year with them and then gone on to do medicine - I think simply wanting it for the medicine aspect rather than the money was the key.

thanks for the info...can i ask which hospital it was? do u know if all hospitals have certain spaces they like to fill up with gap year students? thanks agan!

Reply 11

icapturethecastle

OP

16

generally...do med schools like/prefer gap year applicants (that is if gap year has been used well eg. work/volunaeering/work exp) and is the success rate of gap year aplicants who apply + get accepted high?

Reply 12

Becca-Sarah

19

tami*

thanks for the info...can i ask which hospital it was? do u know if all hospitals have certain spaces they like to fill up with gap year students? thanks agan!

It's not a hospital, I'm in GP land. It's a massive practice though (12 doctors at the last count) so it's not as calm and quiet as people expect!

Reply 13

mrs_bellamy

18

BabyGirl

I'm working as a receptionist in a hosp too! I've been temping so far, just waiting to start this new job now!

Hey, how did you get into temping? I'm working as a lifeguard atm, boring as hell, I've applied for looooaads of hospital admin jobs and not heard much back so far (one interview on thurs tho woo, so fingers crossed that goes well!). If I can't get anything more permenant I'd much rather do temping than be stuck as a lifeguard, loved it as a part time job in yr 13, but its driving me nuts being full time after only 2 months!

Are you all just working in your gap years? That's probs what I'll end up doing for most of it, but would like to fit in some travelling if poss. Wanted to volunteer abroad but its just too expensive, even if you go through a charity. My gap year was completely unplanned so I don't really know what to do with it! Really don't wanna waste it all at that leisure centre lol.

Reply 14

BabyGirl

^Hey erm I just joined some agencies like Reed and told them what I was looking for i.e something medical. Temping is great, I loved it! And the money's good :biggrin:

upto £12 an hour!

Yeh I'm working through my gap year because of how expensive uni is! If you want to, you can always work for 6 months and then travel for the other 6 months.

Reply 15

Helenia

20

tami*

generally...do med schools like/prefer gap year applicants (that is if gap year has been used well eg. work/volunaeering/work exp) and is the success rate of gap year aplicants who apply + get accepted high?

I'm not sure if there's generally a preference either way (though some Cambridge colleges do not accept medics who want to take gap years). It's certainly fairly common, but I don't think it would affect your chances much either way.

However, a well-planned, productive gap year is going to get you much more kudos than working in Tesco all year or bumming round the world on Daddy's credit card (not that I'm saying you'd do this, but you get the idea...) A job is an excellent idea for some of it, something medical if you can, but if not, just something that puts you in contact with the public, helps you improve communication skills and understand people etc. You don't have to work all year though - save up money to go travelling, whatever the purpose is, or just save money for med school, whatever you like!

When I applied for medical school, I intended to spend 6 months of my gap year working in a German children's home, to both improve my language and as a social learning experience. However, that ended up falling through, so what I actually did was work (paid) for the local FE college in Student Services for about 6 months in total, and spent 3 months as a volunteer as a Girl Guides Centre in Switzerland (www.ourchalet.ch if you're interested). Neither of these were directly medical, but both were challenging in their own way and I learnt a lot and grew up a lot.

Reply 16

Becca-Sarah

19

An example of a badly-used gap year:

My friend is 'travelling', which conjures up images of backpacking, on a student budget, staying in hostels. However, she's actually just tacked herself onto daddy's business trips this year, so is visiting lots of places, but only seeing the inside of the local 5* hotel and first class BA cabin.

Reply 17

icapturethecastle

OP

16

^ thanks again everyone :0

Helenia, i didn't realise that some unis...(camebridge colleges) didn't like gap years... :s-smilie:

is it the same with any others do u know? sorry...i couldn't find it on the websites

ps. thanks for the link btw :smile:

Reply 18

Wangers

16

They don't like gap years because you lose the flow of academia, not sure how specificlly true for Medicine, but definatly for maths orientated courses. Personally I think I need the time to just step away and find myself and all that.

Reply 19

Becca-Sarah

19

Surely you're more motivated to work having had a break from it? By this point, we've been in education for a minimum of 14 years - 12 months out isn't going to make you forget everything you've ever learnt or how to learn.

ideas: medicine + gap year

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