Information on medicine

Minstadave said:
This is exactly what I was asked in my Cambridge undergrad interview :)
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As far as I can remember, my Barts interview consisted of 'How was your journey?', 'Why do you want to study medicine?', 'Why have you chosen Barts?', and then I'm sure there was a question on which football team I support, and that was it. The Barts panel really know how to sort the men from the boys :o
 
Doohickey said:
^ That is so not me! I'm pleased with my rotations I think, though I've never done a renal firm as a student, as you say, it looks very interesting. Will have to be sharp on my drugs too. Renal looks like there will be plenty of general med, so that's good, and also looks good for auditing to get that out of the way.

Have you any experience of vascular surgery?
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I've just finished Gen Surg FY1 doing Upper GI but with a lot of Vascular work during the on take. Its a lot of ischaemic/necrotic toes, amputations, iloprost infusions, I really liked it as a student but not so keen now I've seen it close up. Interesting work as an FY1 though as all the vascular patients are really sick post op due to their multiple comorbidities.

Just remember when you're doing renal to avoid giving much fluid to the dialysis patients and think very carefully about your drug choices as anything that is renally excreted won't be cleared and anything nephrotoxic (NSAIDs/Gent) will cause more trouble than they're worth.
 
I know someone who was applying for medicine, and must be really difficult to get in - they did st. Johns ambulance, did several stints in the hospital following doctors around, got mostly A*'s at GCSE, on course for all A's at A level, and only got 2 offers! (out of 5)

So whatever, just make sure you do plenty of related activities to prove to universities that you are really interested.
 
Minstadave said:
I've just finished Gen Surg FY1 doing Upper GI but with a lot of Vascular work during the on take. Its a lot of ischaemic/necrotic toes, amputations, iloprost infusions, I really liked it as a student but not so keen now I've seen it close up. Interesting work as an FY1 though as all the vascular patients are really sick post op due to their multiple comorbidities.

Just remember when you're doing renal to avoid giving much fluid to the dialysis patients and think very carefully about your drug choices as anything that is renally excreted won't be cleared and anything nephrotoxic (NSAIDs/Gent) will cause more trouble than they're worth.
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Thanks :) Underneath the nerves I am so looking forward to it :)
 
Doohickey said:
Thanks :) Underneath the nerves I am so looking forward to it :)
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You should be most worried about when you go onto your second job, you're gonna be prescribing loads of meds at subtherapeutic renal doses lol

Mintsta: just finished Upper GI here too, and am embroiled in a battle with medical staffing, since I finally got our rota monitoring results, and it seems every F1 in surgery is owed about £2000 per 4/12 rotation

Off to Expensive Scare on wednesday, which will be fun
 
anant_shah94 said:
First off, this isn't a medical thread, in the sense that I'm not asking for any help with my own health.

I'm very interested in becoming a doctor, knowing that it's an extremely competitive field, so I need to be a cut above the rest of the people. I was wondering if anybody knew of any particularly good books to read, or any documentaries to watch? I know there was recently one on surgery, and I watched a few episodes of that. Could anybody recommend any reading or documentaries about the various specialities as well, as these would give me an idea about what type of doctor would be best for me.

Also, I'm going to be asking at my local gp surgery and the hospital whether I can do any work experience. I know this isn't the easiest field to obtain experience, but do you think there is any chance I can get a place? I'm skeptical because of the problems of swine flu, and all that jazz.

Thanks for any help
:D:D
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Not sure whether deciding what type of doctor you want to be is appropriate right now. You will really have no idea until you are in med school and have experienced the different fields.

I would suggest asking at your local gp surgery, at the hospital (though that might be more tricky to organise), at a care home, hospice. I obtained a place at medical school last year without work experience in a gp surgery or hospital, although I did volunteer for a sustained period with St Johns Ambulance and with disabled kids. The most important thing is what you learn from your work experience and its relevance to your future medical practice.

Try these books:
Trust Me I'm a Junior Doctor - Max Pemberton
Bedside Stories - Confessions of a Junior Doctor
House of God - Samuel Shem

Join the New Media Medicine forum, where there are many more applicants to chat to. Do you know about the UKCAT/BMAT?

~ psyphers gf (2nd year med student) :p
 
XRAY said:
Well you'll need chemistry AS and A2. Some universities require an "A" grade in chemistry. Things may change with the introduction of A* grading at A Levels.

Biology IS mandatory at numerous medical schools (i.e. certainly not a myth, e.g. Nottingham - http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/mhs/undergraduate-courses/medicine-undergrad/index.php). However I would highly recommend that you do biology even if it isn't a requirement. Medical schools look highly on biology A2 students.

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Where_to_Study_Medicine - This list contains all of the British medical schools including their grade requirements. Some may be out of date as I'm not sure when the last time the list was updated. However, it will give you a general idea. Unfortunately, medical schools are getting much pickier due to the increasing number of applicants so its unlikely that, assuming there is out of date information, the grade requirements have decreased...e.g. UCL just went from AAB to AAA this year (inc. A in chemistry).

Just to let you know, many medical schools only consider further maths and maths as one A level, so depending on your reasons for taking it, it may not be necessary.

Also, many medical schools require some form of examination to be considered. They all use either the UKCAT or BMAT tests, so don't worry about taking a different one for each Uni. The maximum you will take is 2 if you choose one school which wants the UKCAT and one which wants the BMAT.

A great book to help you is "The Insiders' Guide to UK Medical Schools". It helped me a lot in the application process.

Whilst work experience is very useful, it isn't mandatory. The application staff at the medical schools are well aware that many students have great difficulty and bad luck with trying to get placements. However, volunteer work is a must! I can't stress that clearly enough. And I don't just mean helping out at pre-schools and summer camps. You need to show them that you're willing to get your hands dirty in the not-so-glamorous part of medicine. Cleaning up vomit at rest-homes and aiding the severely disabled go to the toilet is something that no one wants to do, but unpleasant situations similar to these will make up a large part of your life as a doctor. You need to be able to show that you understand what you're getting yourself in to.

Before you finish school, make sure you have some extra-curricular to your name. Med schools want people with personalities, not robots who spend every hour of their waking lives in a text book. That doesn't make a good doctor. Positions of responsibility are also looked highly upon: prefects, team-captains etc.

There are some great annual courses at Nottingham University which introduce you to life as a medical student: Medsim and Medlink. A very high proportion of prospective UK medical students will attend at least one of these. When I went, I found that Medlink was more of a basic introduction into what medicine is all about, including lectures on all of the different branches of medicine. Medsim was more hands-on. We learned how to use various medical instruments and had some sessions where we attempted to diagnose real patients. We also learned some basic medical theory in sample lectures.

http://www.medlink-uk.com/

I don't want to worry you, but getting into Medical School is tricky. Don't get me wrong, if you are a good candidate you will get in eventually. The problem is the HUGE number of applicants each year. Any very many of them will be just as good as you are. A lot of the process is, unfortunately, luck. Loads of great candidates apply every year and don't even get an interview. But even in this event, you could take a gap year and reapply, or take a different degree and then move onto medicine afterwards. No matter which route you take, if you are persistent, you will get in eventually.

Good luck mate. If you need help just ask. I'm also a prospective medical student. I'm taking a Gap Year and will hopefully be going to med school next year.
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WOW very good post.

Im gland I only have to get a job now which is easier then getting to to university lol.
 
Thanks guys! Cambridge is the place I want to go. A few months ago, our school took a few students there, I went to Jesus College as they were having a science open day. Really enjoyed myself.

I'm aware of the BMAT, but have never been able to get much information as their site is down, although one teacher told me it's multiple choice and tests the way you think about things rather than your knowledge.
 
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