What's it like to read Medicine in Oxford?

[hanaazainuddin]

Hello!

I am currently in year 12 (yes, 6 months to go before I start completing my UCAS form!). I was thinking about the type of course I'd be most interested in (i.e. system-based or subject-based) and I kinda decided that it would be best if I knew my theory before I started to do anything practical.

Could any current Oxford medical students tell me what it's like to read Medicine there? (I.e. course structure, etc.) And how do you like it (so far)?

Best wishes,
Hanaa.

[Fuchsia]

Very, VERY theoretical. Don't go for it unless you really really like science, enjoy minimal patient contact in your first year, and minimal clinical relevance... :P

Then again, the clinical years make up for it by all accounts, and have to say I'm loving it. Hard work though....trust me. :|

[Polaris]

The lady has said it really. In the first two years its lectures, tutorials and labs and some token patient contact relating to the bits of science we happen to be doing.

Typically we get about 25 to 30 hours contact time all told each week, the variation being between colleges and different numbers of tutorials each week. The standard number is 3, though some have 2, and some have 4, and last week we went crazy and had 9 (though most didn't have essays to hand in, thank god...).

It's very very very science-based - I like it this way, but some will not and find all this very tedious...

[ahneta]

LOL, I overheard one of the Catz people mentioning their 9 tutes, but didn't catch why so many tutorials were necessary (and as I was eavesdropping, it hardly seemed polite to go over and ask) - dare I ask?

And with regards to the original post: the course is very theoretical, there are lots of essays and things, tutorials are very intense (but as long as you prepare for them you really do learn a lot from them), and the lack of patient contact and clinical teaching (in the first three years) means it's not the kind of course that'll suit everyone who wants to be a doctor. But Oxford is wonderful, really it is.

[ahneta]

Oh, I agree that most lectures contain plenty of references to diseases relevant to the topic of the lecture. "Relevance" was the wrong word - what I meant was that we learn all the theory but don't see it put into practice much, as the first three years are very theoretical with little clinical teaching. Badly worded on my part!

What can I say? I dropped English at the age of 16. .

[jackrobinson]

Is there any guarantee that a Pre-Clinical student at Oxbridge will DEFINITELY get a place on the Clinical course be it at Oxford or Cambridge or London?