Taking a year out between degree and fy1

**jainuk** · 22-01-2009, 08:25 PM

My questions are:

1. Do you think that one could forget medicine?
2. Has anyone done this?
3. Are there any 'refresher' courses if I did this.

Thank you!!!!

**yazoo** · 22-01-2009, 11:56 PM

Originally Posted by jainuk

My questions are:

1. Do you think that one could forget medicine?
2. Has anyone done this?
3. Are there any 'refresher' courses if I did this.

1. Yes. I think you can forget things, especially when they are not second nature to start with. I think starting FY1 is hard for anyone. I suspect it's even harder if you've been out of it for a year.

2. The only people I know are people who failed final year. And they all did locums before starting full-time work.

3. I don't think there are refresher courses except for people who fail, and these tend to be run by the medical school.

One of the FY1s on my ward at the moment had to move hundreds of miles from home (and was really upset at the idea of leaving med school friends) and is loving it. She now wants to stay here for specialty training after just 5 months!

You just never know what good comes out of the seemingly bad. And you can always move back, jobs allowing. And you may have to move away later anyway to get the training post that you want.

**anj_222** · 23-01-2009, 01:43 AM

Originally Posted by jainuk

My questions are:

1. Do you think that one could forget medicine?
2. Has anyone done this?
3. Are there any 'refresher' courses if I did this.

Thank you!!!!

im taking the year out..more cos didnt manage to make up my mind on where i wanted to go and the prospect of having a year out seemed like a nice idea after 5 yrs of medical school.

1. i think totallyy yess!! esp when your doing something unrelated to medicine! im offcourse going travelling and am hoping to prob carry the oxford handbook around with me to keep looking at o something

hehe.
2. so yes im doing it

n i do kno quite a few ppl around whove done it...including some of the f1's ive met on my rotations...n its seriously not a big deal. cos u can take upto 2 yrs out after graduation.
3. as for refresher courses, try talking to someone in your medical school and see if they might be able to help you with it. i was adviced to maybe organise and go on a 2nd elective before coming back in june to help me get back into the flow of things. most medical schools should definitely help you with the relevant paperwork if you talk to them. also ull be doing a few weeks of the f1 shadowing before actually starting on the job so dat shud help!

n abt the questions... yes i got told to answer to the point in a very straightforward manner (offocurse in full sentences though hehe), cos seemingly ppl who did that scored higher than people who wrote them in fancy clever english, even though ud actually think it shud be the otherway round. but i guess since theyre going by a checklist, youll score higher if its easier for them to spot.
good luck with it xx

**anj_222** · 07-02-2009, 04:33 PM

aww hehe no no your not! i can understand y ud be worried about that.

well frankly taking the year out isnt such a bad thing these days! cos as u kno theyre all behind the having a fully rounded doctor as opposed to those from bak in the days who jus were burried in their books all day and might have been good doctors but not a lot else.
kind of why our academic rankings only count for 40% of our apps now.

one of my SHO's (ST2) wen i was doing paeds had taken the year out after F2 to just go travelling and nothing else. n yes she did get asked about it in her interviews but she just told them how she had always wanted to do it and felt that its helped her develop as a person due to the whole experience of bein out there on her own in new surroundings etc. they din ask her anything medical after that n she got the job!!

so i think as long as u make it sound like uve acheived something out of that time out (as opposed to have been lazing around doing nothing productive...even if dats wat u did hehe) its jus about the way u sell it to them

so don worry abt it.

**jainuk** · 09-02-2009, 02:50 AM

thank you. I was realllllly stressing out. Hopefully I can do an MA in the time.

**Hany** · 27-03-2009, 08:38 PM

Hi guys,

Am thinking of doing something similar and was wondering what the arrangements are if taking a year out to do an MSc..

1. Is it allowed to defer F1 for one year?
2. Is it permisseable to leave the system, complete the research degree and reapply? (This may be my preferred option as I would like to compete for an Academic Foundation post)
3. Are you allowed to locum as an F1 while doing research? There seems to be some confusion on this depending who I ask. (I thought you'd need GMC reg. tho?)

Thanks

**jainuk** · 27-05-2009, 09:06 PM

Heya, you can locum f1 but jobs are scarce.

I have already left the foundation programme so no choice now.

I know one other student who has also.

You have to ask permission from your uni to locum.

Apply for a provisional GMC registration as you would if you were going into f1.

-Tessa

**mase** · 11-12-2009, 12:50 AM

Hi Tessa,

do you ahve to locum around your university area? or would you be allowed with provisional GMC registration to apply anywhere?

How did you decide what masters to set up? and were you planning to reapply to MTAS the following year (I resume you then can't use the masters for points as its too early in the year?)

Thank you!

Anna