Any Med Students Out There??

mikeassured

Hi all,

DD who is in lower sixth at the moment has just come back from Medlink at Nottingham Uni, which she found really interesting and thoroughly enjoyed.

My dh and I attended the various seminars today and Medsim was mentioned a few times as a useful course to go on. Also they were talking of a one day course by ATOM in 2008 which will supposedly help with upcoming uni interviews etc.

I was just wondering if anyone has been on either of these courses and whether they found them truly helpful??

Many thanks


Sue

firbird

hi sue! i'm a 2nd year medical student and from my perspective, all of these courses/seminars are useless if you want to study medicine. it's a life-long career choice and *nothing* can prepare you for what's coming up at uni. I never went on any of these courses and got 3 interviews and offers, so there's no benefit to your application either....

littlevet1

Hi there, I'm not a medic but a vet student, which is pretty similar in terms of competition for university places and interview processes. I have to say I agree with firbird - these courses really don't help that much. I went on a couple - vetsim and vetsix, both at Nottingham and probably run by the same company. It didn't help with my interview skills and although the lectures and seminars were quite interesting, they certainly didn't help me get my place at university. The only thing I would say is that the courses do give the opportunity to meet other applicants so your daughter would be able to chat to them to see what preparation they are doing for their university applications and see if others are doing things she hasn't thought of. Also you do stay in university halls and get to meet a lot of people so it's quite fun and a good experience - a bit like the first day of freshers week when you don't know anybody and just have to go and introduce yourself. All in all though, I think the courses are very expensive and probably not worth the money. Your daughter would be far better off spending her time getting useful work experience - although you'd be better off asking a medical student about this!

adidas

I'd like to agree with the above posters. I'm in my third year and whereas I think it's great if you can afford it and it's great fun, it's by no means necessary. Certainly not 'value for money'.

DrFluffy

I'm a 4th year. Medlink/medsix/etc are fairly pointless in terms of preparation to apply or for life as a medical student/doctor. They probably have their place if you are unsure about applying as you will get some idea of what is expected and get to mingle with the sorts of people you will be spending the next 5 or 6 years with!

It is a bit of a rip off, and there are FREE courses with more kudos - look in to the University of London Taster Courses, the Sutton Trust's Oxford Summer School, etc... The UoL ones are ran by the Admissions depts of the various london medical schools, not by the 'fake' medical doctor - Garry Craven, and therefore for the right reasons, not for profit

mikeassured

Many thanks everyone for your opinions. After doing a bit of research you have just confirmed what I suspected.

She is very lucky in having a placement every Saturday on a surgical ward at our local hospital, which will give her more insight than any course they offer.

Thanks Dr Fluffy for your suggestions, we live in Birmingham but will definitely look at the taster courses in London you mentioned.

Sue

firbird

wow! that is an lucky, it sounds like a fantastic placement and i hope she makes the most of it!

rainbowtrout

Yep these courses are an interesting experience but absolutely unnecessary from a university admission point of view.
In my university I think they base 90% of their decision on academic performance and about 5% on passion for the subject. After all if you don't make the grade at the end of the course you are not going to qualify as a doctor, regardless of any quantity of enthusiasm and interest in helping your fellow human beings.