The Student Room Group

If I have a medicine offer, what should I be doing during this time?

Should I continue to revise for A-Levels, even though we are not doing any exams or is there something that would be a better use of my time? I know I should definitely chill, but it looks like the current situation of staying at home isn't going to change for a while so I might as well develop some skills or learn something that will help me down the line. What would you recommend?

Many thanks in advance,

With gratitude,

The Sudanese Prince,

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Original post by SudanesePrince
Should I continue to revise for A-Levels, even though we are not doing any exams or is there something that would be a better use of my time? I know I should definitely chill, but it looks like the current situation of staying at home isn't going to change for a while so I might as well develop some skills or learn something that will help me down the line. What would you recommend?

Many thanks in advance,

With gratitude,

The Sudanese Prince,

You could finish your A level content if you haven't already
I've seen you around here for a few years. Congrats on getting the offer!

Will your predicted grades meet your offer requirements?
Up to you, read some medicine books? (like factual stuff from doctors experiences versus textbooks)
Maybe learn a skill- learn a language? or do some online courses- I'm doing a few that I just find interesting versus for any other reason
Original post by SudanesePrince
Should I continue to revise for A-Levels, even though we are not doing any exams or is there something that would be a better use of my time? I know I should definitely chill, but it looks like the current situation of staying at home isn't going to change for a while so I might as well develop some skills or learn something that will help me down the line. What would you recommend?

Many thanks in advance,

With gratitude,

The Sudanese Prince,

Finish the A level spec and do the work teachers are setting.

Are you sure you'll get the grades you need? If not then carry on revising - otherwise maybe do some volunteering?
Original post by Gluecagone
I've seen you around here for a few years. Congrats on getting the offer!

Will your predicted grades meet your offer requirements?

Thank you, Its' been kind of crazy and I know I have bothered a lot of people on here with the constant questions. In the end, I only got one offer, thank God, but one is all you need and I feel extremely privileged to given the chance to attend.

I think I am quite lucky in terms of predicted and offer grades, hopefully, I should be able to get in, but who knows what could happen. I'm just glad I have proven to myself that I was capable of getting an offer.
Original post by Muttley79
Finish the A level spec and do the work teachers are setting.

Are you sure you'll get the grades you need? If not then carry on revising - otherwise maybe do some volunteering?

My school has been quite light in terms of work assignment. I did finish the spec anyway just to see all the stuff, the genetics stuff at the end of biology is particularly good and probably very relevant with stuff like PCR etc.

Thank you for the suggestion,
Original post by SudanesePrince
Thank you, Its' been kind of crazy and I know I have bothered a lot of people on here with the constant questions. In the end, I only got one offer, thank God, but one is all you need and I feel extremely privileged to given the chance to attend.

I think I am quite lucky in terms of predicted and offer grades, hopefully, I should be able to get in, but who knows what could happen. I'm just glad I have proven to myself that I was capable of getting an offer.

If you think you don't need to worry about meeting your grades, I'd just maybe finish off any relevant parts of the syllabus left and then maybe focus on other things to keep your mind sharp? I know people may suggest looking back over things until you start but I think it's good to remember that any other year you would have the summer holiday for a brain dump of any knowledge rote-learned and you'll go over the basics when you start med school anyway.

Enjoy being 'free'. Learn a language, read some books, keep fit. Do some volunteering if you can. Keep your mind as fresh as possible for when you do start because six months off doing anything productive or that involves hard thinking, and then starting university, will be unpleasant to say the least lol.
Original post by Gluecagone
If you think you don't need to worry about meeting your grades, I'd just maybe finish off any relevant parts of the syllabus left and then maybe focus on other things to keep your mind sharp? I know people may suggest looking back over things until you start but I think it's good to remember that any other year you would have the summer holiday for a brain dump of any knowledge rote-learned and you'll go over the basics when you start med school anyway.

Enjoy being 'free'. Learn a language, read some books, keep fit. Do some volunteering if you can. Keep your mind as fresh as possible for when you do start because six months off doing anything productive or that involves hard thinking, and then starting university, will be unpleasant to say the least lol.


Thank you for the advice. I need to improve on the fitness front, and also maybe think about some volunteering.

Thank you again for the kind and helpful words,
3rd year medic here. don't bother with the a levels. use this time to learn other skills.
Original post by Gluecagone
If you think you don't need to worry about meeting your grades, I'd just maybe finish off any relevant parts of the syllabus left and then maybe focus on other things to keep your mind sharp? I know people may suggest looking back over things until you start but I think it's good to remember that any other year you would have the summer holiday for a brain dump of any knowledge rote-learned and you'll go over the basics when you start med school anyway.

Enjoy being 'free'. Learn a language, read some books, keep fit. Do some volunteering if you can. Keep your mind as fresh as possible for when you do start because six months off doing anything productive or that involves hard thinking, and then starting university, will be unpleasant to say the least lol.


I agree with this.

Generally we advise people not to prepare for medical school in the summer holidays as everything will be taught from scratch, so there's no point trying to teach yourself anatomy etc six weeks before you're due to start. However, this is something of an unusual situation and you would normally still be learning and revising at this point in the year, so I would try and keep up with things over the next few weeks. Completing the syllabus and any outstanding work at a comfortable pace sounds like a good idea :smile:
Original post by Democracy
I agree with this.

Generally we advise people not to prepare for medical school in the summer holidays as everything will be taught from scratch, so there's no point trying to teach yourself anatomy etc six weeks before you're due to start. However, this is something of an unusual situation and you would normally still be learning and revising at this point in the year, so I would try and keep up with things over the next few weeks. Completing the syllabus and any outstanding work at a comfortable pace sounds like a good idea :smile:

Thank you. If I have finished the syllabus stuff is there anything that would be particularly beneficial?
Do I keep revising my A level work? Learn some biology? Do nothing? Thanks in advance 😊
Best to do nothing. Take this time to relax, so you can hit the ground running when you start. However, since you have ended school a lot earlier than expected it would be a good idea to keep going over your human biology a couple times so that it remains in your memory. After you're happy with this, just chiiilllll
Reply 14
Hi
I have gained a place to study medicine in September. As school is off and A-Levels have been cancelled I have quite a bit of free time. I was wondering whether anyone could give any advice on whether to prepare for medical school, and if so what sort of topics I could prepare for/read up on to get slightly ahead.
could you help?

Thankyou
Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any resources that I could use as bridging work for medicine before starting in September, or any idea of what I should look at before I start.

Thanks.
Coming from a first year medic, relax :smile: I wish I had taken a long break before starting university so just take the time to chill and maybe work on yourself, find things you enjoy etc. Do things you want to do rather than things you think you should be doing because you will be starting completely afresh in September with content.
Would any current / graduated students suggest buying and reading textbooks that follow the course before starting 1st year (EG. Netter's Anatomy)? If so, what textbooks do you recommend? Or do you think its unnecessary to pre-read and I should just wait until I actually start the course?
Hi, you sound like a keen conscientious student. Good show! Just because something is not necessary does not mean it will not do any good. My first comment would be that the course structure and its administration varies from uni to uni. So it is difficult to suggest any specific books as the subjects done early on will vary somewhat.
Having said that, a basic understanding of the core principles would be interesting reading for you, and it would give you a slight headstart and insight into your chosen career. Medicine is a gruelling course, and any such advantage can only help.

I would not spend too much money on books r n though [medical books are not cheap]. Also, a lot of students prefer to do some/most of their studying online. If you are a books fan like myself, I would suggest getting a couple of smallish broad-based books on a couple of topics that interest you generally.

Use a website like www.alibris.co.uk [also compare with the infamous amazon!] where you can pick up super bargains of just slightly outdated editions, but if you are anything like myself [I just cannot read a book that has its corners carelessly bent OR its pages ruined by someone who has licked their fingers to turn the pages [ugh!], wait stealthily like a cheetah before pouncing, when a "Like New" copy comes up from reputable companies like "AnyBook" with a great feedback record, where sometimes you can pick a very well looked after copy for next to nothing (at this early stage, you do not need to know the latest research that drives clinical decision making, so a slightly older edition is well good enough).

Some core subjects that most unis are likely to take up early on are [as you guessed] anatomy, physiology and histology. I would not make things too hard r n so think about the "An Illustrated Text". series OR "At A Glance" series [most of which are around 100 pages], and get 1-2 to get a feel.

Another thing to think about is something like the excellent {though v old) series of novels on medical issues (v nicely leather bound copies btw) by Reader's Digest, which make a combination of medicine and a novel-like story to make things a bit more, shall we say, palatable.

Hope this helps!
M
Original post by macpatgh-Sheldon
Hi, you sound like a keen conscientious student. Good show! Just because something is not necessary does not mean it will not do any good. My first comment would be that the course structure and its administration varies from uni to uni. So it is difficult to suggest any specific books as the subjects done early on will vary somewhat.
Having said that, a basic understanding of the core principles would be interesting reading for you, and it would give you a slight headstart and insight into your chosen career. Medicine is a gruelling course, and any such advantage can only help.

I would not spend too much money on books r n though [medical books are not cheap]. Also, a lot of students prefer to do some/most of their studying online. If you are a books fan like myself, I would suggest getting a couple of smallish broad-based books on a couple of topics that interest you generally.

Use a website like www.alibris.co.uk [also compare with the infamous amazon!] where you can pick up super bargains of just slightly outdated editions, but if you are anything like myself [I just cannot read a book that has its corners carelessly bent OR its pages ruined by someone who has licked their fingers to turn the pages [ugh!], wait stealthily like a cheetah before pouncing, when a "Like New" copy comes up from reputable companies like "AnyBook" with a great feedback record, where sometimes you can pick a very well looked after copy for next to nothing (at this early stage, you do not need to know the latest research that drives clinical decision making, so a slightly older edition is well good enough).

Some core subjects that most unis are likely to take up early on are [as you guessed] anatomy, physiology and histology. I would not make things too hard r n so think about the "An Illustrated Text". series OR "At A Glance" series [most of which are around 100 pages], and get 1-2 to get a feel.

Another thing to think about is something like the excellent {though v old) series of novels on medical issues (v nicely leather bound copies btw) by Reader's Digest, which make a combination of medicine and a novel-like story to make things a bit more, shall we say, palatable.

Hope this helps!
M

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond and in such great detail. I will look into your advice and see if there is anything that suits me!

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