Registered  members with 100+ posts do not see Ads

HSFY 2019

Status
Not open for further replies.

Bootleg

Regular Member
We dont know what Conservative means, it depends on who applies, if 500 ppl applied for med with DM score of 650 or beyond, then wouldn't it be obvious that the cutoff for DM be 650 for med?
 
We dont know what Conservative means, it depends on who applies, if 500 ppl applied for med with DM score of 650 or beyond, then wouldn't it be obvious that the cutoff for DM be 650 for med?
Thresholds aren’t determined my applications - they are determined by the medical committee and then they base who fills the spots on grades once threshold is met.
 

Fili

Dentist 🦷
Moderator
I mean tbvh no one knows anything ... we're just speculating that dent interview thresholds are higher than med given that most of the people who apply for med will do so for dent as well and that there are less spots to fill in dent so the UCAT threshold will be more strict.

Pretty much I'm telling everyone to just focus on exams and get the grades you guys want since what if the threshold really does lower and you realise that you could have gotten in if yall didn't give up way too soon.
 

Gemma

Member
I mean tbvh no one knows anything ... we're just speculating that dent interview thresholds are higher than med given that most of the people who apply for med will do so for dent as well and that there are less spots to fill in dent so the UCAT threshold will be more strict.

Pretty much I'm telling everyone to just focus on exams and get the grades you guys want since what if the threshold really does lower and you realise that you could have gotten in if yall didn't give up way too soon.

Have they said if they will release the actual UCAT cut-offs? I.e. so next years people know what to aim for...
 

Registered  members with 100+ posts do not see Ads

Fencess

lil doggo
Does anyone know if they ask everyone the same questions for dentistry interviews?

They take from a pool of questions usually. Most people will probably get similar questions with a couple that vary. As long as you’ve read up and have thought about answers to the likely questions they might ask, you’re set.
 
Last edited:

Fili

Dentist 🦷
Moderator
Do many people fail to get in to dentistry because of the interview?
I am little bit worried :(

From what I hear, the interview is just pass or fail and it's pretty chill. Don't worry too much since many people think "dang I should've said this or that" but in reality, it's a lot more chill from what I hear. The main contributing factor are your grades so focus on that since it's what you have control over.
 

Registered  members with 100+ posts do not see Ads

Ortospoon

Member
Hi can anyone tell me what HSFY is actually like? In Depth please because I’m feeling a bit conflicted between medicine and law. And does it get better second year of medicine?
 

rustyedges

Moderator
Moderator
Hi can anyone tell me what HSFY is actually like? In Depth please because I’m feeling a bit conflicted between medicine and law. And does it get better second year of medicine?
You can get a halfway reasonable idea of HSFY by trawling through all the previous HSFY yearly discussion threads. HSFY is quite different from preclinical medicine (2nd and 3rd year), which is quite different to clinical medicine, which is still a lot different to what you actually do once you're a doctor. Generally, most people seem to find each year better than the previous on the whole.
 

Cathay

🚂Train Driver🚆
Emeritus Staff
Hi can anyone tell me what HSFY is actually like? In Depth please because I’m feeling a bit conflicted between medicine and law. And does it get better second year of medicine?
HSFY is really a lot like a typical uni science course, where you go to up to 4 x 1hr lectures a day, and twice a week go to 3-hour lab classes. What you do with the rest of that time, like typical university study, is up to you. For the seven core papers (4 in semester 1, and 3 in semester 2) there are no essay/report type assignments, and assessments come in the form of tests of various sizes - small (online quizzes that count towards your final mark), medium ("terms tests"/"mid-semester tests"/whatever they're called now - a Saturday morning test along the way), and large (end-of-semester final exams, one 3-hour exam for each paper).

Unfortunately the end goal of it (which for a portion of the class, is getting into medicine/dentistry) causes the most anguish for many. People get all competitive about things, wanting to know where they're placed and (ideally) wanting to know that they're ahead of the competition. I think you'd save yourself a lot of distress by just treating it as going to uni normally, except your lifestyle balance will be tipped a little heavier towards studying, compared to the average uni student (who, at various stages, choose socializing and/or part-time work over studying for that extra 5 marks).

Years 2 and 3 (preclinical medicine), as rusty mentioned, are quite different. You tend to have a little more contact time (class time) than the average uni student, but otherwise it's a lot more relaxed than HSFY - despite having more material thrown at you, you're not meticulously trying to remember every detail, because unlike HSFY, the med school exams (which are end of year) are pass-fail, where passing is not too difficult if you've been going to class and doing a bit of studying in your own time. On top of learning basic sciences (anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, microbiology etc etc etc) there are other classes built around starting to give you some appreciation of healthcare and "being a doctor", as well as clinical skills classes to introduce history-taking (gaining information from the patient about what's going on with them) and physical examination.

Years 4 and 5 (clinical medicine) step it up a notch, and I personally found it even harder than HSFY. The clinical attachments come in 4 or 8 week blocks, and it felt like there was always some assignment or assessment coming up. This is the time when you are sent on various clinical activities (including attachment to a hospital medical team at various points) and witness healthcare first-hand; and put your history and examination skills to practice - as well as refining them. At this point in my own journey I realized that medicine is not for me (you can only go so far when parents made you go do something, if that thing isn't a good fit for you) and left, so I can't comment on what comes in year 6 (final year) or after graduation (when you're a junior doctor working those crazy hours in the hospital.)

I think if you're deciding between medicine and law, or for that matter, between medicine and anything, it's not really "what is HSFY like" or even "what is med school like" that are the most important questions. As much as it seems like forever at a young age, HSFY is but a single year of your life, and med school only 5 more years. What happens after you finish? What does the career pathway look like? What does the lifestyle look like? For medicine, as a gross simplification, after graduation you will generally work at least 2 years as a House Officer, and depending on which specialty you're wanting to pursue (GP is in fact a specialty), you'll then spend a number of years working as a Registrar and progress through specialty training (some 5-6 years, slightly shorter for GP) before you gain fellowship with the specialty college and become qualified for Consultant (specialist) jobs in your field. The minimum time from starting HSFY to gaining specialist qualification is 11 years for GP, and 13-15 years for other specialties, however keep in mind that "your mileage may vary". I believe most junior doctors work at least 50 hours a week (specialty-dependent), there will be night shifts, and there may be long days (not sure if the 8am-11pm long days are gone yet - they were still there when I was in clinical years). You may also have to study or do other career-advancement things outside of those already-long work hours.

I don't mean to discourage you with this previous paragraph. In fact, I don't know if "life after law school" will look any better or not (I don't know what it looks like myself - not sure many on this forum do), but I do urge caution - be aware that medicine is a long-term commitment (the hard work goes for years beyond med school), and think about whether that's something you'd want to get into. Don't be drawn to medicine by the salary of a specialist - doctors work hard for their pay (not to mention the years of hard work that got them to that pay grade). If there is anything else you can see yourself doing, find out more about that, and see if that's any better. Make an informed choice, is what I'm saying.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Registered  members with 100+ posts do not see Ads

Top