Medicine
A comprehensive guide to studying Medicine at university.
- Pretty much guaranteed a job at the end of the degree - good job stability
- You are constantly challenged - you will become a well-rounded person who has self-discipline
- Very rewarding and stimulating career at the end of it. Often quite fulfilling.
- Long hours and can be extremely draining. That often means less free time to pursue other things because of long contact hours (usually).
- Content is difficult and there is so much of it - requires a huge degree of discipline and motivation to keep up
- 5 or 6 (or even more) is a lot of time - that means a lot of money goes into medical school, and a lot of time. You often graduate way after your friends doing other degrees.
So many students think medicine is only for the most science-y, neeky and reclusive. That studying is all we do, and we all learn how to develop cures for every disease under the sun.
Whilst yes, medicine is science-heavy, the focus is mostly on how the science you learn is APPLIED to a patient scenario. Communication is more vital if you want to excel in the degree.
Secondly, we DO NOT study all day - far from it. In my experience, medics are the most social students funnily enough (which makes sense if you think about it, given we chose a relatively ‘social’ path which usually requires lots of patient interaction).
Another misconception is that it’s virtually impossible to get into medical school. Again, not true - whilst medical school is relatively competitive compared to most degrees, please don’t be put off by statistics. If you have the grades, the motivation and the drive to do it, getting into medical school is very feasible. You have as good a chance as everyone else.
How it compares to A Level/IB:
Whilst science is key to medicine (obviously), the way you learn is very different to school. You are completely in charge of your own learning and have to be disciplined to get through the content. And trust me, if you thought there was a lot of content at A-level, medical school is something else!
You go into so much depth about various topics you cover in A-level and have to learn loads of weird names for things (especially in anatomy). If you thought respiration was horrible at A-level, just wait until medical school! The science you learn is also for the purpose of applying it to clinical scenarios - there is a reason for (some of) the things you learn at medical school.
Most interesting/enjoyable topics you’ll study & why:
Physiology - it was actually so interesting. Whilst some concepts are hard to get your head around (think renal), its fascinating to learn about the different body systems.
Medical law and ethics - some find it boring, most love it. Understanding the philosophical side of medicine is so much fun, and having discussions with experts can be so enlightening.
Genetics - most people seem to love this. It is quite interesting looking at how genetic conditions arise and the science behind it.
Least interesting/enjoyable topics you’ll study & why:
I am so sorry but anatomy is horrific (for a lot of medical students). It’s a bit like marmite - you either love it or hate it. Most fall into the latter. The names, locations, nerve supply, blood supply, lymph supply, origins, attachments of all the muscles in the body. Please. On top of that, all the bones, the organs, the parts of the bones, the parts of the organs, all the arteries, veins, lymph vessels. It’s a lot. And the names are weird - who decided to call a muscle gastrocnemius please?
Also, Biochemistry (to an extent). Again, this divides students. I think this subject can be interesting but it can be hard to see the clinical relevance of every single enzyme in the Krebs cycle to your career unless you want to go into something very biochemistry related. If I hear the word cyclin one more time I actually might lose it.
Where do students studying your degree usually end up career-wise?
Employment prospects for Medicine are pretty good - and by that, we mean that 99% of grads are employed in the medical profession.
A medical degree will set you up for a huge range of careers, including: surgery, hospital medicine and general practice. You could also go into research and help discover the newest treatments - or into academia to educate the next generation of medics!
The majority of UK medics are employed by the NHS - although there is some scope for private work later in your career. Other employers include the Armed Forces, prisons, and research institutes like the Medical Research Council.
What misconceptions are there around the career prospects of your degree?
That everyone just goes into a medical profession in the traditional sense. You don’t have to become a GP or a surgeon after medicine. You could do research, law, teaching, engineering, academia, hospital medicine, business and so much more! Medicine is extremely diverse. And loads of students go on to complete masters degrees and PhDs, even in fields not medicine-related.
Are there other ways into these careers?
Foundation years, graduate courses, studying medicine abroad are all common options. You need a medicine degree to treat patients, but you don’t have to do the standard course to do this.
Many students do foundation years first, some do other degrees and then do graduate medicine instead.
What concrete, employable skills will you graduate with?
You develop your communication and teamworking skills a lot. With the amount of patient contact you have, and considering how collaborative medicine is as a subject, you will find yourself rarely working on your own. The ability to be analytical and to work with others is so key, not just in medicine but in other careers as well, and medicine prepares its students for just that. Not to mention a scientific foundation that allows you to diagnose and treat patients.