On a more cheerful note from the last post, where i sort of just moaned about being tired.. here are a few photos taken from the new hospital. I couldn't resist being in Whitechapel and not venturing up to admire the view from the hospital.
2 Weeks of teaching to follow... can't wait to be lazy!!
6 comments:
Love the hue of the clouds and its formation. Lovely photos. :)
Thanks,
Peny@The Importance of the Nurses’ Health Study
Hi soya milk, I've been reading your blog for ages!!!!!!!its absolutely brilliant and please don't stop!
Im posting because i have a massive conundrum that you were in once(a couple of years ago!!).
Im a non-bio grad with offers for barts 5 yr and warwick GEP(basically same as you all those years ago!)and I'm really stuck on where to go. I went to barts open day and absolutely loved it and obviously staying in london is a massive bonus but i was wondering gif you could give me any tips or advice on how to decide, also you got a phone call to start deferred GEP at barts, do you know why you got it or the reasons.circumstance? Obviously funding is a massive issue but id rather be a good doctor in 5years rather a stressed average doctor in 4years. any tips or regrets or advice about your own experiences etc would be absolutely brilliant.
Thank you so much
james
Nurse and Hospital Stories:
Awww thanks for the comment, i owe it to the great weather that day! Didn't have to do anything but click the snap button on my phone!
James:
Hi James! When i read your message i thought you were the girl i spoke to yesterday at the open day (randomly started a convo, i wasn't meant to be there) who is in a very similar situation to yourself, and i will say the same thing to you as to her...
I REALLY reccommend the 5 year course, but NOT if it's a financial burden, as the last thing you want when studying a medical degree, is to stress about money and have to work multiple part time jobs to get yourself through the course.
Being really honest with you, i don't have any regrets for choosing the 5 year course, in fact i'm glad i did, as it gave me the extra year to learn pre-clinical medicine. I missed my grades for Barts at 18, and so i was determined to come to Barts, that and it's taken me so long to get into medicine, one year in my life won't make a big difference in the future, and i simply want to be the best doctor that i could be.
Some people are suited to doing the GEP course, but personally, i prefer to learn everything over a slightly longer time, so i can have time to read into it, and get a good solid grounding before i start my clinical years. Being in clinical years now, i can say, your first 2 years is when you learn all the physiology and sciences, you won't get to do that again in the clinical years!
I was told on the phone that i got the offer for the GEP course due to my 1st class degree, but i have a feeling it may have also been because the 5 year course was oversubscribed that year.
However, obviously my situation is similar but very different to yours. My fees are 3k a year, whilst i believe you're facing fees of up to £9k? (i might be wrong here), in which case.. definitely fees will be an issue. How i saw it for myself at the time, was that yes it's slightly more expensive, but i can work and pay it off in the future, i want to make the most of medical school.
Feel free to ask me any questions, i'm more than happy to help! Congratulations on getting into Barts... it's a fantastic place here, and whilst whitechapel isn't the best looking of places, you will grow fond of it in time :)
Hey thanks for the reply, scary that I've been reading your blogs for a long time and we were in the same position!
Damn, i wish i saw you in the open day and asked you more in-depth opinion. I think i was literally all set to go to barts until i met grads at the open day who said I'm crazy to pass up the warwick opportunity. But for me i just think i see myself as a real doctor doing the 5 years(jeeves mentioned a very important point about how the medical school that you go to pretty much defines what type of doctor you are, this really struck a chord with me) as id rather do 5 years and take it at a normal pace(I'm also a non-bio grad), have more room to think and develop than stress for 4years and end up as an incomplete doctor. I also think barts offers so much more stuff than warwick as its established and theres so much potential to do what you want whether its research etc.
how have you found the whole transition from biochem to medicine? and do you feel that barts treats grads and school leavers on the same page? are most of your mates school leavers or grads(didn't think thiis would be an issue but there were basically kids on my tour who just asked the stupidest questions,lol), any tips to succeed or do well at barts when i get there?
yeah whitechapel is not the nicest of places but i see it as exciting, not many people can claim to have learnt in the east end of London!
what I've planned to do for the fees is basically get the maintenance loan and that'll pay off for most of the tuition fees if not half and my family said they'll make up the shortfall, I'm currently working part time which just about gives me my maintenance which is good. Its going to be a struggle but i think it'll be worth it in the end.
On a very positive note, reading your blog for a long time, I'm going to be starting mine up soon as well!!!!!!
I know exactly how you feel, i use to read blogs before i signed up for my own too, and it's weird to find out how alike you are to other people out there!
Sorry for the late reply, have you come to a decision yet? I had a lot of people question me about choosing a 5 year course, when i could have done the 4 year and graduate the same year or the year earlier, and with less debts. However, i had both personal reasons, and a bit like you.. i just wanted to become the best doctor that i could be, and personally, i don't think i would have done so well if i had done the 4 year course.. it's just a personal thing, and what you think you will be best adapted to. Afterall, it's you who's doing the course, and it's your debt, so whilst .. just make sure you don't have any regrets ^^!
I agree with jeeves there, medical school really does mold you, obviously we're not going to all turn out the same, but what they teach you, how they teach you, and what they put emphasis on sort of pushes you towards the type of doctor they want to produce. At Barts we have a lot on clinical and communication skills, and personally i LOVE the clincal skill side of things. The fact that most medical schools (i think we are the only one in london to do OSCE exams in year 1) actually made me want to come to Barts more, because it meant i would be doing clinical skills from day 1! Barts also has a reputation for a work hard play hard ethos, and if you love RAG... well you got to love barts :)
The transition from biochem to medicine was fine actually, i have a mixture of friends, and in fact i get on pretty well with the school leavers. I'm pretty immature, so that helps! In terms of treatment, there is no difference whatsoever, everyone is equal, you dont get any priority being a grad, nor anything extra or less. Whilst you would think undergrads say the silliest things, you get some silly questions from graduates too, i can put my hand up and admit to asking some of the silliest questions to lecturers.
Whitechapel definitely does grow on you, our lecturer had to leave mid-lecture as he had to go deal with a trauma call, as the helicopter was coming back in (don't worry that doesn't happen often!) but just to put note, on the fact that the RLH is the london trauma centre, and you get to see some pretty interesting things. We also have a primary care programme, where if you apply and you get a place, you get to go on call with the london ambulance service once a month, train with the team, and i hear you get to go up onto the helipad.. it's pretty cool if you're into emergency medicine!
Ah i've done something pretty similar to yourself, i'm on the tuition fee and maintenance loan, getting a bit of help, and working part time occasionally. I'm going to be pretty deep in debt at the end of this, but meh, i have the rest of my life to worry about that. I just wanted to enjoy my time at medical school, learn, and become a doctor at the end of it.
I really reccommend writing a blog, i found it a bit cringey at first, but now i've done it for so long, it's really nice to randomly flick back and read up on my past adventures or cringey moments, and have a good laugh.
Let me know what you decide on! I'm more than happy to answer any questions you have about being a student here at Barts :)
Keep me updated!
Remember, no matter where you go, you'll get to become a doctor at the end of it.. so just don't regret deciding how you want to get there :)
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