Medical Student Blog

Around about 12:00 this afternoon, I received a direct message on twitter from @goldensky, admittedly at first I thought it was spam and just ignored it, however, for some reason curiosity got the better of me and I followed the link in the message which took me to goldenskye’s blog. The name of the game is to post seven random facts about yourself, then select seven other friends from twitter and request that they do the same. It’s similar to all that chain mail stuff you mark as spam, but … what the hell, it’s good fun and I’m waiting for the party to start down the pub.

1. I’m currently dressed as a vicar whilst writing this and I’m confused as to whether it’s a sin to embellish the truth whilst dressed as a member of the cloth.
2. My favourite cartoon whilst growing-up was Fraggle Rock and I still have a Gobo cuddly toy from when I was four years old that I keep on my desk. To-date, I think it’s the oldest thing I own and probably the only thing I cherish other than my Porsche.
3. Next week, my Porsche is being taken back by the finance agency, as two weeks ago I quit my IT job in London so I could get a full-time job in the Hospital, to meet my required health-care experience to get into Medical School. I’m also having to move out of my little rented cottage and back in with my Mum. Roll on 2009 eh, isn’t there a book about the monk who sold his Ferrari, perhaps ‘the wannabe medical student who sold his Porsche’, has a ring to it?
4. I actually have a phobia of taking/giving blood and I’m currently reading different books on CBT and NLP as well as watching multiple blood test videos on you tube, on repeat — desensitisation and all that… I think it’s working… I’m not going to be the medical student who passes out during gross anatomy due to feeling a little squeamish, besides which I have a passion for emergency medicine – work that one out! *sigh*
5. Today I was in a shop buying some beers for tonight and an old lady came-up to me and asked what Parish I was based in (she assumed I was a priest/vicar), and I told her London and smiled kindly, somewhat as I imagined a vicar would. Oh did I not say? I have actually been wearing my vicar outfit all day, including when I went in to town .. but the party doesn’t start until 20:00 tonight.. (I’m so going to regret writing this list)
6. I bought myself an engraved stethoscope for Christmas and sometimes I wear it around my neck whilst reading, but I make sure no one is around first
7. The last time I was doing volunteer work for the Blind Society as a befriender, I had gone around this house to help some old-guy fill-in his will, within ten minutes the police were knocking on the door and I had been arrested and put in their squad car. Evidently one of the resident old-ladies had seen me arrive and thought I was a burglar, what made it worse was I couldn’t find my volunteer ID to show the police so had to go down the station while they verified I was who I said I was. I didn’t do anymore volunteering for them again.

Well that’s that done, not too embarrassing I hope, now to the part where I tag seven people to take part:

• bramzo
• Berci
• bartcollet
• rosyblue
• sandnsurf
• kevinmd
• scanman

Rules as copied from goldenskye’s blog:

• Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
• Share seven facts about yourself in the post – some random, some weird.
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.

One of the biggest concerns for a mature student considering medical school, can be their lack of academic qualifications.

With the majority of medical schools requiring a minimum of GCSE Maths and English at pass level or above (some even stipulating that they will not consider anything less than four As at GCSE), with many more also asking for at least Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English (Remember that GCSE double science will usually substitute for Physics, Chemistry and Biology but not Maths).

Then, there is AS and A2 levels! Most medical schools will require your A2 level grades to have a minimum of AAB, with the essential subject usually being Chemistry to A2 level (due to physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology and molecular pathology being highly dependant on a good knowledge of chemistry). However, there are some schools which put more weight on Biology than Chemistry, so it’s important to look into each individual schools prospectus and requirements.

I’m assuming at this point you’ve already given-up? Well, don’t give-up just yet because as mature students we have a trick up our sleeves and it’s called ‘access to medicine’. Access to medicine courses are developed specifically for those wishing to train as healthcare professionals and undertake a medical degree. You will be expected to have some work experience outside of the course, preferably in a healthcare setting. The course is designed for those who have achieved in other areas (not necessarily academically) and wish to re-train as doctors. The main subjects studied include biology, chemistry, psychology and maths for medicine, which provide a sound science education to underpin any future medical training. Assessment is through exams, coursework, presentations and research projects.

With that said, there might some of you out there who still wish to re-take a GSCE or A level or two (I am re-taking GCSE Maths before entering access to medicine). You have a couple of choices, one is to ring around your local schools and colleges and see if they’re offering evening courses, or, you can use one of the many distance learning providers (I have included a couple at the bottom of this article). The benefit of distance learning for me, was I was able to study in my own time, use the resources I had available at home, and I didn’t have to feel uncomfortable sitting in a class room full of students half my age! For some of you however, this might not work as well, you might prefer the tutor being present in the class room if you have any questions or perhaps you work better surrounded by people all working to achieve the same goal … it’s whatever works best for you!

Here are a couple of distance learning providers that I recommend.

http://www.icslearn.co.uk/ (I used them to re-take my Maths GCSE)

http://www.oxfordcollege.ac/ (Currently offers A Level in Biology (AS) where as ICS does not)

With many universities now offering graduate entry programmes, there has become an immediate need for a comprehensive and up-to-date guide on both gaining a place at GEM, as well as the other relevant aspects of a medical career, enter ‘How to Get into Graduate Entry Medicine’.

Topics of the book include reasons why to consider medicine, help with deciding which medical school to choose, the application process, obtaining work experience, entrance exams, interviews, financial implications and career paths in the NHS.

If you’re like me, you’ve read a dozen books by now on how to get into medical school, so how does this one differ? Well, it doesn’t really. If you’re thinking of buying this book because it’s going to offer some alternative insight into GEM compared to all the other books on the market, I wouldn’t — it doesn’t!

A particular chapter of interest for me, however, was obtaining work experience. For those of you who don’t know or recognise the importance here, the majority of medical schools and colleges all require work experience in a health-care related setting, this enables you to examine what it means to be a health-care professional and make sure medicine is the right choice for you. The chapter goes into great detail regarding what constitutes quality work experience and what experiences you should be seeking. There is also useful tips on how to make the experience tangible whilst getting the most out of it. If like myself you didn’t/don’t know where to start or which setting to look for work experience, there is also details included along with information on how to apply.

Overall the book was well written and worth buying if you can afford it, but please don’t expect too much GEM specific related content, because it just didn’t hold-up to the title. I give it 6/10.

Amazon link: http://tinyurl.com/6hq9j2

Out of all the ‘getting into medicine’ books I have read so far, this has easily been the most comprehensive.

I think what stands it apart from its cohorts, is that it starts at the very beginning, the history of medicine. The book goes into detail about the progression of medicine from Ancient Greeks where illness was considered to be punishment from the Gods, to Hippocrates and his theories on humours, continuing with Ayurvedic medicine, The Egyptians, The Romans, The Middle East, The Renaissance and concluding with Modern Day medicine — This history of medicine was a wonderful and thought provoking chapter, one to which I will continue to come back and thumb through in the future.

The book continues with the expected entry requirements to medicine with a strong focus on sixth formers and their schools perspective, the role of the secondary school and where to get further information. There is also a detailed guide to medical school interview preparation and how to choose a medical school.

The graduate entry medicine chapter will be of keen interest to my maturer student visitors and for anyone with a degree who is considering entry to medicine through the graduate entry programme. The chapter goes into detail about whether GEP is right for you, by exploration of individual university courses and their content. One example is the degree of patient contact at early stages and the obvious disadvantages including a more intense work load offering less time to catch-up if you fall behind, along with generally shorter holidays and less time for part-work. There is also discussion of the differences between problem and course-based approaches to learning. All in all this chapter is very well written and covers everything a mature student would expect, including interview tips, financing options and a look into BMAT, MSAT and UKAT admission tests.

The final chapters include information on your medical years and how to survive them as well information on the foundation years and what to expect.

Overall this book is an excellent and easy read and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone considering a career in medicine. I give it 9/10.

Amazon Link: http://tinyurl.com/559b89