is medicine school hard?

[kween21]

is it hard and time consuming or is it like what other degrees are like?
does it matter if you do a 5 year course or is 6 years preffered? also what alevels are preffered to get into med school?

[JamesM]

Can't answer the first question, as im not currently in medical school. Although, from what I gather, its a bit more intense, and you require a good level of motivation.
Five year courses are the most widely available, six year courses have the extra year due to either an intercalculated B.sc.(e.g. Imperial) or because it offers a foundation year (Year 0 -Southampton); usually for those offering lower A' level grades or high grades in less orthadox subjects (e.g. Arts subjects).
Dont think either type of course is more prestigious, just directed at different types of students.

Standard five year courses require chemistry and/or biology (some definately require Chemistry with one other science; while others will except biology without chemistry; or chemistry at AS level).
If you want the widest ragne of options, then good AS grades in Chemistry, Biology and Physics/Maths seems to be the best option.

Hope this helps!

[dehydrated water]

i would say first 3 years are what the final years of a normal degree are like, and that the following years (clinical - what i've just started) are nothing like any other degree.......i'm currently in hospital 8-5 (with an hours travelling at either end of the day) and then you've still got to head home to do reading, essays etc...hard work, but it'll be worth it

[yazoo]

It's definitely more time consuming that most degrees, especially in the clinical years where you spend full days in hospitals much of the time. Whether or not you perceive it as hard is a much more individual thing. I know people who worked extremely hard and those that did not! It's a bit like school really, some people find it much easier than others. The crucial aspect is whether or not you enjoy it, I think.

[Simon]

It's tough, undoubtedly...but I think it's balanced out by being so interesting across the board. During my undergrad degree I had to do so many things that weren't that interesting to me. Even biochemistry lectures at med school, which can be dry and difficult, are all there to add up to you being able to learn about the human body.
The hours are long - MUCH longer than any other subject - and you are thrown in at the deep end. The type of person who goes into medicine, generally, is able to cope with this hitting the ground running. You have to do a lot of things more formally than your colleagues in other subjects; you will have to dress smartly for clinical skills, ward experiences, etc etc, never mind when you are having patient contact full-time in your clinical years.

Virtually every medical school in the UK will allow you to intercalate (sandwiching a BMSc into your five-year course), depending, usually, on your academic marks in previous years. Only a few (Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL, St Andrews....) have a six-year course which is not optional.
Some people realise early on that they want to be a surgeon, so they may intercalate in anatomy, or a wannabe anaesthetist may do physiology - just to get some of those skills which may show some extra commitment to their chosen field when they come to apply for jobs. Others do something quite unrelated to medicine (or something closely related), just because they're interested in it. That is the best motivation; going into an Honours research year is tough work if you are not dedicated and interested in your subject. I was just speaking to a friend who intercalated in pharmacology and she found it an incredibly difficult year. When I asked her why she did it, she said she didn't know :-) A recipe for disaster.

A-Level preferences: check out specific schools! It does vary. Nearly all want two sciences, one of which must be chemistry. Some prefer three sciences, and some prefer a non-science subject. I can't stress how important it is to check out individual schools for this.

[Evolution]

Something that stuck with me when a student was discussing medicine is that "You will have most likely been top of you class for a few years now. That will change dramatically in med school because everyone there has been top of their class. You will fill dumb while others get it right, you will worry about studying and you will question everything. But if you can stay focus and motivated. You can get through it!"

[Matt641]

As to whether it's hard or not, well yes and no. I don't think that the actual concepts that you learn are hard to grasp, remember that not so many years ago for todays doctors, the requirements for medicine weren't AAA.

Where it becomes hard is the amount of time that you need to put in due to the volume of information, the dedication required and the fact that your final won't be (just) a paper essay like a lot of other degrees, but hands on.

1st year I didn't do much work because I had done a decent bio A level, but in 2nd and 4th (BSc) year non medics will laugh at how much you have to work. And thats at Imperial where there are no arts students.
Clinical firms you may get up at 7:30 and not return till 18:00 to do some reading normally, and if you're smart you'll stay there out of hours too. So its demanding, but if you enjoy it, whos to complain?

As for 5 or 6 year, I don't know if it makes much difference. It lets you show you had commitment to a speciality from early on I suppose, and it also gives you a chance to take a break and study something less 'mediciney' or if you want a foundation for PhD which is of course CV boost (not that that should be a motive for study).
Maybe your best bet is to go somewhere where its an optional choice - but at these places you may have to compete for entry to the BSc programme, and like someone else said, 50% of the year at med school will probably be cleverer than you so watch out!

[Helen_485]

I'm at St Andrews where we all get a BSc(hons) med sci degree before starting the clinical year - and I wanted to point out that the main benefit of a batchelor's degree on top of the MBChB or whatever is that it's another qualification, which is medically related and adds to your application for jobs etc. It doesn't make that much difference or everyone would do it, but it is a little added extra and if you did an intercalated year and were able to have it be in a specific subject that interests you... then all the better for getting into your chosen specialty.

There are other differences with 5/6 year courses - on a traditional course, it is 6 years but for the first 3 you are essentially just doing a degree in medical science. They throw in a reasonable amount of clinical stuff because it is medical school, but you get quite a bit less than other courses because it is very heavy on the scientific side, giving you a really good foundation for beginning the clinical years. It is not for everyone, which is why only a few medical schools in the UK still have this course style. But you do get that extra grounding in the science, and you do get the extra degree at the end of it. You just have to put up with a bit of frustration at how much more clinical stuff your friends at other unis are doing, and also put in a lot of work because there is more to it than pre-clinical years at other schools.

[missy^]

hey,

read your reply to the post..im in 4th yr too in msia..the thing is..i realised that since we're in the hosp the whole day i just tend to neglect or read less maybe coz i feeel exhausted unless exams are coming..kinda bad i know..but i dont know..i should change this habit and try read daily or something..sigh..

[yazoo]

Most medics are like this. Revising after a long day on the wards is a pain. One we have to suffer - so do it with a