how important is it to do well in medical exams?

[confusedmedic]

hi every1

im a 1st yr medic. i hav very little idea about what happens after i graduate.

and i have pressure from my dad to get very high marks in my medical exams. and the worries that i wont be able to specialise in my fave field (pediatrics) if i dont do really well in my exams.

if i want a distinction or honours, i need to do really well in my exams from year 1.

but how important is it to do really well in ur medical exams? if i get a normal pass, or even a below-avg pass, what kind of impact will that have for my career prospects?

please give any advice/help/personal experiences you can.

thanks xxx

[Gizmo says -]

depends on ow much the weighting of marks in each separate year is important for access to degree options and to your mtas job application.

ultimately you need good marks to give you a decent mark in your ob application anyway, but lets say that your your first term contributes 5% of the marks towards your degreee classification or result....then there no point burning the midnight oil for 3 months just to get 3% more than someone who doesnt do that.

coupled to that, peopel tend to work in cycles of good marks, then not so good marks year after year, so try to it a trend where you are working most when the exam marks count most, rather than trying to get every mark every term, which will either just burn you out, or simply mean you arent doing other extracurricular fings that are more important for your job and life fulfilment.

concentrate your efforts when the marks contribute more to your job application, i would.

[rjm]

I think there is more and more recognition on doing well in med school with the change to the nationalised job allocation systems rather than just being friends or having been the student/house officer of the consultant. Jobs tend to be allocated firstly by shortlisting, based on a points system, with points for honours/distinctions/BScs/other degrees/prizes as well as other things such as teamwork etc, and once shortlisted by interview where again having these things may get you extra points. I am certainly starting to see that people without BScs and having done well in med school are struggling to get shortlisted now.

However, it will vary from med school to med school what you can get. Where I was it was Honours or Pass, about 10% of people get honours and its hard work to get that, you have to be consistent throughout your time at med school.

[confusedmedic]

thanks Gizmo and thanks rjm x

so i guess i need to do well but be careful that the effort i put in is proportional to the accreditation for each exam.

[rjm]

Personally, I wouldnt get worked up about getting honours, just do your best and anything is a bonus. People that seemed to get there heart set on it didnt seem to do as well...maybe the additional stress didnt help.

[Diya]

We found out this week that all of our exam results including 1st yr count towards our quartile which count for approx 50% of the overall score used in the application for jobs (which u apply for at the end of 4th yr). Obviously clinical grades count for more than pre-clinical aspects but it all counts so the more u bank now, the bigger the cushion u have for harder assessments later

[tutu200]

Medicine's really competitive so you have to think about quartiles, especially for Paediatrics honey. Well done for being concerned already at first year!

The system's always changing so you never know:
a) which marks are going to contribute - the Uni might tell you in retrospect, which is never helpful
b) whether more weighting will be on academic or non when it comes to your job applications
c) whether there will be FPAS forms or pure interview

Earlier job applications meant you could get a job where you really wanted one even in the lowest quartile by writing a smart form or paying someone to write what they're looking for. People in the first quartile still end up in rubbish parts of the country because they haven't written what the examiner subjectively wanted on the form. This probably won't be the case in a few years time.

There are also too many doctors now so you're in competition with your peers for one place at each step of the way.

In short, your dad's right that you need to try your best to get a good grade. BUT... don't beat yourself up about it if you scrape a pass or don't get 100%. At most good medical schools, most of the students are clever and read far too much, sometimes making 70% worth honours, which you're probably not used to from school, where it was possible to get 100% in every A Level module. It's not because you're dim at all, it usually depends on how much time you spend reading and how much less of a life you have.

I've seen some honours written paper students who come across all creepy on patients, and some mediocre grade students come across as honours practical/comm skills. It's usually that way around. When it comes to practical exams, personality, acting skills, ability to talk BS, and likeability play a bigger part. Subjective exams can make your grade a bit of a lottery then so again, don't worry about getting an average grade. Just always try your best and you'll do fine.

[rjm]

To Tutu200,

Getting honours on your degree certificate will require you to do well (be at honours standard) in both written and clinical exams, so you cant have honours and be crap at communication/clinical skills. That is not to say however that you cant do crap at the written exams and be great at clinical skills - but you wont get honours.

As for paediatrics being competitive, all jobs are competitive but actually paeds is one of the least so, the application:appointment ratio is probably one of the best.

[Diya]

Good news! It's one of my top 5 in the shortlist

[dsn]

Ultimately it all matters how ambitious you are. As long as you're not in the bottom 10-20% you're probably going to have a job somewhere. Ok, it might not be at the best teaching hospital in the most prestigious speciality, but what does it matter really? As long as you're treating patients (and so one has to man DGHs), surely you're doing what you entered medicine to do. And even if you start your career very averagely, doesn't mean there isn't opportunity to progress over a 40 year career.