Medicine is a demanding career with a pretty complex application process, so it's so important to be sure that it's definitely what you want to do before applying! A lot of students who are academic and have an interest in science are inclined towards medicine if they are unaware of other options, but there are also many other science-based careers, either clinical or non-clinical to be aware of. At the end of my GCSE's in 2016, I was deciding between medicine (becoming a doctor), or biomedical sciences (a more research, laboratory based career). Here are all of the things I did to make my final decision, which ended up being Medicine: 1. WORK EXPERIENCE- I organised 3 weeks of work experience in my local hospital: 1 week on the Acute Medical Unit, 1 week on Care of the Elderly and 1 week on the Children's Unit and I loved every minute of it! If you can, try and request a variety of wards as all of my placements were so different and gave me a different outlook on different specialities. Also try and get a placement at a GP if you can
(sometimes they don't let you do a placement in your local GP due to confidentiality, but definitely try different ones!), this shows a completely different side to medicine which is interesting to see! Many people think that work experience is important to talk about on your personal statement and at interviews which is totally right, but I do think that it is most important for YOU, and deciding if you could picture yourself in that environment. I think it's also important to realise that you might see certain things on your work experience that may panic you or be shocking to see for the first time, but I think this is all part of seeing what a career in medicine is going to be like. In terms of when to arrange your work experience, I applied for medicine in October of 2017, and my work experience was spread out from February to August which worked well relative to my AS exams, and writing my personal statement. 2. RESEARCH OTHER OPTIONS- I think it's important to know your options just in case you come across something that you might also find interesting. If you are very science-inclined, there are many non-clinical careers that are more research-based, but if you are more of a 'people person' there are also many clinical careers that are less about the medical knowledge and more about working with people in a caring environment. Even if you are 100% sure on medicine, it's good just to have a bit of a browse just to confirm your decision. 3. CONSIDER YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES- everybody has weaknesses, even those people that appear amazing at everything!! I think that considering your strengths and weaknesses is especially useful after work experience, you could make a list of all the skills that you saw in doctors, and write a list of the skills that you believe you have, but also your weaknesses. Consider if you are willing to work on your weaknesses, and try and turn them into strengths. For example, if you see that doctors need to have good organisation and prioritisation skills but this is a weakness of yours, slowly start to integrate different habits into your everyday life to turn this into a strength. I don't think that a couple of weaknesses should affect your decision to study medicine at all, especially if you are willing to work on them! I think the only thing that would perhaps make you consider your options is if you aren't willing to work on certain aspects of yourself, as doctor's always need to be progressing and making improvements to themselves. It's important to be able to recognise weaknesses and be adaptable to change. 4. SPEAKING TO CURRENT MEDICAL STUDENTS AND JUNIOR DOCTORS- This was incredibly useful for me on my work experience, as the medical students and junior doctors totally understood my questions and concerns, as they were in my position not so long ago! They can really give a good perspective to the workload of medicine, the pressure of working in a hospital etc. It was reassuring to hear that they are well supported in their teams and that, although they find some parts of medicine challenging, they are so glad that they chose that particular career path. If you don't get the chance to speak to medical students/doctors on your work experience, try websites such as The Student Room, as there are so many lovely students that are always willing to share their stories and help you out! I hope this post helped some of you who are considering applying to medicine, I remember being in the same position a while ago and it was be tricky to be sure and make a final decision, but if you follow these steps it should help you out a bit! Best of luck to any aspiring medical students, and if you have any questions about the application process (or anything else!), feel free to DM me on Instagram, @studyingwithjasmine x
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