Revision courses for finals

**catch22** · 29-08-2007, 12:18 AM

Hi,

Just wondered if anyone has any experience of the revision courses put on by the MDU and also the MPS? They're costing quite a few bob....just wanted to know if they're worth it.

Cheers

**Chulalongkorn** · 29-08-2007, 09:53 PM

I have been on them. There is nothing covered you can not do on your own but I enjoyed them and felt I had done a good weekends revision afterwards. The main thing I learnt was know the basics well and do not waste time with all the superfluous material. They do guide you in the right direction. Also worth considering are the BMA revision courses run by Dr Bob Clark (http://www.askdoctorclarke.com/. Best time to do them is 2-3 months before finals I think.

**catch22** · 30-08-2007, 01:50 AM

Originally Posted by Chulalongkorn

I have been on them. There is nothing covered you can not do on your own but I enjoyed them and felt I had done a good weekends revision afterwards. The main thing I learnt was know the basics well and do not waste time with all the superfluous material. They do guide you in the right direction. Also worth considering are the BMA revision courses run by Dr Bob Clark (http://www.askdoctorclarke.com/. Best time to do them is 2-3 months before finals I think.

thanks for your advice. I'll also have a look at the BMA courses too

cheers

**pkonline** · 01-09-2007, 02:56 PM

I think the MDU surgery course is quite popular... a lot of people have recommended it. Ive also heard good stuff about the Dr Clarke medicine course too... I just dont wana spend money on something which isnt gona be useful tho lol!

**M Clayton** · 02-09-2007, 07:55 PM

All the guys in our year that went to see Dr Bob came back thinking he was the best thing since sliced bread (some of the girls actually came back wanting his babies, but that's another story...).

Personally, I've never been a huge fan of these sort of courses - they seem to give people a bit of a false sense of security. With the best will in the world, 2 days of hardcore lectures isn't going to pass finals for you. I worked steadily throughout the year, did some targetted revision and passed without too much in the way of difficulty.

They do sound like a good way to escape your room for a few days though!

**gimperial99** · 20-11-2007, 01:27 AM

I went on the MDU surgery course for my finals. It is over 10 weeks, and is really comprehensive. I would go on it again. The medicine ones on a weekend tend to be a waste of time, you cannot really get much done in a weekend, especially in medicine. I went on a one day course at West Middlesex hospital which was quite good. Apparently there is also a course that runs over a longer period for medicine in London, one of the med students here was talking about it.

If you are at Imperial though, the MDU surgery course is a must. It costs £200. But when you are qualified that is two days wages. If you fail, you lose a years salary.

**Touche** · 20-11-2007, 05:42 PM

Er... a course for finals... isn't that called medical school?!

Seems a waste of time to me. Trying to make yourself feel better about finals as you've done some 'special' course. You can easily cover all the same stuff on your own.

You'll soon learn doctors are seen as a soft target for wallet fleecing. You'll often see MPS et al charge an arm and a leg for a load of lectures which could easily be covered on your own. Exceptions to this are courses where you gain some *required* level of certification (ALS/ATLS/APLS etc) to progress in career or where you gain invaluable practical experience (Surgical courses etc). The rest have popped up over the past few years to take advantage of our naivety IMO.

**gimperial99** · 20-11-2007, 09:01 PM

Originally Posted by Touche

Er... a course for finals... isn't that called medical school?!

Seems a waste of time to me. Trying to make yourself feel better about finals as you've done some 'special' course. You can easily cover all the same stuff on your own.

You'll soon learn doctors are seen as a soft target for wallet fleecing. You'll often see MPS et al charge an arm and a leg for a load of lectures which could easily be covered on your own. Exceptions to this are courses where you gain some *required* level of certification (ALS/ATLS/APLS etc) to progress in career or where you gain invaluable practical experience (Surgical courses etc). The rest have popped up over the past few years to take advantage of our naivety IMO.

You are right of course in theory. But from my experience at least, I learnt a lot more on the surgical revision course about surgery than I did at medical school. I suppose it reflects the problems with current medical courses. Speaking honestly, I don't think I would have done as well as I did in surgical finals without going on the 10 week course.

**gimperial99** · 27-11-2007, 07:37 PM

I was told about this course:

Elite Medical Courses - Revision course for medical finals

**DamianUK** · 29-11-2007, 05:07 AM

I actually think the courses can be a good thing.
Any chance to practice and learn a few new useful menumonics or answer structures to finals can be helpful.

I'm off to the Dr Clarke one in a couple of months just before finals. At the end of the day as has been said its a more fun way of dong a good weekends work than sitting in the library...which is way too cold at my uni.