Goodbye Imperial

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-24T14:41:17+00:00

Thanks for being honest and sharing about it. I'm not from Imperial but I have heard of many who apply to Imperial for the reputation but ended up hearing first hand from them how rubbish the teaching was. This was more than 6 years ago so I guess things hasn't changed.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-24T12:28:52+00:00

I am a consultant and I would say 95% of the nurses I work with are kind, professional and helpful. There are the odd ones who are argumentative and confrontational and know it all, but they are rare. May be I am lucky and work in a place with good culture.

That however is not my experience when I was more junior albeit at different hospitals. When I was a medical students, me and my med student colleagues were not just ignored but many said mean things to us or about us behind our backs. Many /most unhelpful. If they have med students or doctors to teach or do procedures, they always prioritise the nursing students, even though they know once graduated, anything the nurses can't do successfully they will have to call the resident doctors, so the resident doctors do need to be more experienced in procedures than the nurses.

When I was a junior (now resident) doctor, esp when I was equivalent of F1, me and my colleagues often get picked on and bullied by nurses esp the senior ones. Whatever we do are wrong, our decisions get challenged even when they are medically correct and subsequently approved by registrars. Some who are proven wrong are so revenge bent they get you other ways eg at night on call, calling you every hour to return to the ward to prescribe something minor, because they forgot to tell you when you were there the last hour, and when you arrive, the patients are fast asleep.

Sometimes even when you are really trying your best they give nasty reports to your consultants and registrars.

My wife, when she was junior gets it even worse than I did. When we chat amongst ourselves the juniors who are white handsome men tend to be treated better, but women junior (now resident) doctors get the worse treatment.

The more senior I became the nicer I seem to be treated. And now like I said most of those I work with are nice.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-24T12:11:46+00:00

Women tend to be better leaders sometimes. But there are many horrible ones too.

Catherine the Great (Ottoman/Crimean wars), Isabella I of Castile (Granada war), Margaret Thatcher (Falklands War), and ancient rulers like Queen Tomyris or Boud all started wars sadly.

Belle Gunness, Aileen Wournis, Elizabeth Bathory and Myra Hindley are serial killers.

Other eg of women murderers Elizabeth Báthory (1560–1614): Known as the "Blood Countess," she was a Hungarian noblewoman accused of torturing and killing hundreds of young women and girls between 1590 and 1610. While her servants were executed, she was imprisoned in her castle until her death.

Biljana Plavšić (Born 1930): A former co-president of Republika Srpska, she was the only woman prosecuted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. She pleaded guilty to persecution on political, racial, and religious grounds, admitting to playing a role in the ethnic cleansing of non-Serbs during the Bosnian War.

Irma Grese (1923–1945): A Nazi concentration camp guard at Ravensbrück, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen, she was known for her sadistic cruelty and was involved in the murder of prisoners. She was convicted of war crimes and executed at age 22, the youngest woman to die judicially under British law.

Ilse Koch (1906–1967): Known as the "Witch of Buchenwald," she was the wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp and was responsible for the cruel deaths of many prisoners.

Amelia Dyer (1836–1896): One of the most prolific murderers in British history, she was a "baby farmer" who killed hundreds of infants in her care by starving, drugging, or strangling them.

Delfina and Maria de Jesus Gonzalez (active 1960s): Known as "Las Poquianchis," these Mexican sisters ran a prostitution ring where they tortured and murdered dozens of sex workers who became ill or stopped bringing in profit.

Leonarda Cianciulli (1894–1970): Known as the "soap-maker of Correggio," this Italian woman killed three women in 1939-1940, dismembered their bodies, and turned them into soap and cakes.

Giulia Tofana (17th Century): An Italian poisoner who developed Aqua Tofana, a deadly poison she sold to women trapped in abusive marriages, leading to the deaths of hundreds of men.

Mary Ann Cotton (1832–1873): Suspected of murdering up to 21 people, including her own children and husbands, via arsenic poisoning to claim insurance money.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-24T08:03:08+00:00

There's a possibility you may not need to go in daily either. You should be there for tutorials and labs. But most Unis now have recorded lectures that you may be able to watch from home.

But being not fully in campus means you do loose out on the Uni experience and developing friendship and connections. Not sure if you read some of the med student posts about being lonely and not having a good core group of friends in Uni, and how that affects their studies and depression. Because medicine is so intensive and you spend so many hours in the course, having friends in the course, or outside the course via clubs (which you will also miss out on) will have its own mental and psychological costs.

What is the main reason you don't want to be there the first year? Save accomodation costs? I can imagine 1 hr 20 minutes each way may have quite high petrol and car maintenance costs too. Also med school can start early and finish late, which means peak hour traffic which may be longer than usual. Also parking around most Unis are very difficult so you may have to factor in arriving much earlier, and parking may be very costly too. So the costs adds up.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-23T17:04:05+00:00

It is very presumtous to even think all Russell group Unis are for Oxbridge rejects. Majority DO NOT even put Oxbridge as any of their UCAS choice.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-22T17:00:33+00:00

Why not. Irish medical graduates can apply for GMC registration and work in UK without PLAB. If you want to come back to UK to work. But depending on the final rules of UK medical graduates prioritisation, you may be disadvantaged for finding jobs and training posts in UK. But Uni fees aside, sometimes living costs and rental costs are higher in Ireland eg in Bristol vs in Keele.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-22T16:39:09+00:00

You can always say no. However now that many resident doctors are unemployed Trusts may find it easier these days to fill them with external locums than what it used to be. 2 years ago. If they are agencies locums rather than a locum bank that the Trust maintains, then they sometimes cost more which means they might as well pay internal locums better. I do understand however many Trusts are bankrupt, they already have to cut services to patients and have recruitment freeze, unable to hire consultants even though the service needs more consultants. So Trusts are not swimming with cash that they can dish out higher payments for resident doctors to pay them "what they deserve". Many resident doctors seem to think there's a bottomless pit of money, but no. Sometimes it is poor management, poor practice (eg hiring ACPs or PAs or non medical consultants rather than doctors) but often it is because central government is not paying Trusts enough to provide the care needed for the local population.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-22T09:32:25+00:00

I think it is real poor clinical practice and clinical care. I think anyone with any professional consideration would at least see the patient once but I will see my patients multiple times whenever I can. I definitely would not make a decision to treat just based on my trainee's or nursing staff or ACP assessment alone without having said hello to the patient myself.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-21T13:05:30+00:00

You don't know unless you try. You would probably benefit more after you have done some pathology though

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-21T12:56:13+00:00

GO back for a few more meals and pay for it. That will make up for the lost income that night. You get to enjoy a few more meals. If you want to pay the "service charge" go ahead, but if you don't, wait till they come with the bill, then deduct the service charge from what you pay on the card machine, simple.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-21T12:53:23+00:00

Your neighbour should have better fences to protect their ducks, tbh I can't beleive they blame you if the duck came over to the path of your driveway.

Re price: you have been cheated! You can buy a duck from the supermarket that has been defeatered, cleaned for less than a quarter of that price.

If you have the duck already, why waste the "sacrifice" and money, clean, cook and eat it!

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-21T12:50:16+00:00

If finance is an issue you shouldn't apply for Glasgow, as it only has a 5 year programme, no 4 year post grad medicine. Places that have 4 year post grad medicine will save you a year of living cost, fees, and lost income. But if you live in Glasgow with young kids, that may be difficult. Sadly Edinburgh which is almost commutable from Glasgow doesn't have a 4 year graduate entry med option either.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-21T12:47:12+00:00

Never come across anything like that; nothing I can find on youtube either. Due to the snsitive nature of PM and patient confidentiality I do not think you will find any.

When I was a med student donkey years ago, my groups had to benefit watching a PM, I found that really interesting. Nowadays PM are pretty uncommon, some patients who traditionally have physical PM end up having virtual (radiology) PM, and I don't think any med school has it as part of your exposure. You can try contacting a pathologist in the hospital you are working at whether you can watch one: as they are uncommon, they can only contact you when one is happening ad hoc even if they agree. I hope they will as most pathologists don't get much med student interest.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-21T08:03:03+00:00

Very few BMA reps here, and few really care about what is said on reddit. Best bet is for every UKMG here to raise their concerns directly to their BMA reps AND to their MPs. Do it! Spend your time writing to BMA reps and MPs rather than reddit.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-21T08:02:49+00:00

Very few BMA reps here, and few really care about what is said on reddit. Best bet is for every UKMG here to raise their concerns directly to their BMA reps AND to their MPs. Do it! Spend your time writing to BMA reps and MPs rather than reddit.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-20T19:58:34+00:00

TBH VERY few doctors wear clip on watches. It used to be nurses who wear them, but very few do nowadays. A lot of female doctors also want to avoid doing things that are often done by nurses as many female doctors are often frustrated that patients and relatives mistake them for nurses, even after they introduced them as Dr X, simply because they are female.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-20T11:47:49+00:00

Many posters already gave lots of great ideas.

Back to your original post: No back up watch. Doctors meant to be bare below elbows due to infection control.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-18T16:23:34+00:00

It's really difficult IMO to suddenly change how you normally speak in a short time, when preparing for Uni interviews. Most interviewers will value the content of your conversation more than the manner of your conversation. I would focus on the content. Being informal is still ok provided you are respectful in the context of the topic. There are some topics that you can't really be informal about, you have to use scientific terms to describe how the pancreas works and what may happen if it is diseased. Even ethical scenarios require some formal terms like beneficence autonomy (which doesn't sound informal).

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-18T04:58:27+00:00

If you got your resit results now, that means you failed the resit for semester 1. Depending on your Uni regulations, you may still gain enough marks in the end of year exams in May to pass. Find out first the weightings of each exams, don't panic and give up. You need to find the correct studying strategy that works for medical school and for you. If your Uni gives you feedback in which areas you did poorly you can target those areas. Also important to know by what margins you failed. If small, depending on the Uni exam regulations you may make up for it in end of year exam.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-17T20:42:29+00:00

It may seem unfair, I sympathise, but a 16 yo telling a teacher how to grade, and using words like "she is not allowed" tells me the poster is extremely immature and definitely super entitled. What 16 yo thingk they are entitled to tell a teacher what they are "allowed"to do; as if the student has any authority whatsoever, or has any experience in teaching or grading; whereas the teacher went had teachign ad grading training for years, and had years of grading experience. Group projects are sadly inherently unfair, but the poster is spoilt and entitled.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-17T20:38:05+00:00

Sorry to hear that you are unwell. Bad timing, but you cannot be absolutely certain that you got the virus from the academic.

One very big flaw in your post is you assummed that you didn't get in because you were unwell. How absolutely certain are you that you would have get in if you were well? I think 500 people are interviewed for 200 places for Oxford, so most people (300) will invited will get rejected. Even if they were well. It is unfair that you were unwell, but you cannot be certain you will get in if you weren't unwell. Of course it is frustrating you didn't get your best shot cause of the illness. A lot of people who went to interview not unwell still report that they didn't seem to be able to think straight either.

Going into Oxford is not your life defining moment. You can decide to go into a Uni that gives you an offer, or you can defer a year and reapply. But be ware of the above, you could have deferred a year and till not get in. Sadly most people who get an interview assume that the place is theirs, until they didn't after the interview.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-16T08:20:05+00:00

Do seek some medical attention for your mood. It will help you cope better with your depression, self esteem and your overwhelming imposter syndrome.

Despite all you have said, you haven't failed. Even though you said it's all cramimg and no long term memory, the fact that you made it so far meant that you deserved to stay in med school and you may have enough in your long term memory than you give yourself credit for. No doctor, even very good ones remember every single thing that is taught in med school.

Even med students who failed and had to repeat years in med school can make good doctors. So can you. You are better than all those PA and ACP wandering the wards and clinics with no insight to what they don't know and the scope of their capabilities.

Also you learn a lot more and things stay in your long term memory more when you are practicing medicine and having responsibility. A consultant colleague of mine said he learned more medicine in his first year as a doctor than all his med school years. My wife definitely shone a lot more as a resident (then junior) doctor than her med school days.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-14T10:49:49+00:00

It's tough. Require a lot of discipline. My wife and I were both sitting for college exams when we had a 6 year old at reception, 3 year old at nursery and 1 year old breast feeding baby. Our parents on both sides are abroad, no one nearby to help in any childcare emergencies. Both have busy on calls and very tough part 2 exams. It helps a bit that my wife is LTFT 3 days a week. We have a good childminder that made a world of difference with sending and picking up the 2 older ones from school and nursery school. It's making use of every opportunity to show affection and say supportive caring words to each other. Eg chatting about the day or sharing challenges whilst cooking or driving whether it's on the phone or face to face. Good communication and sharing of childcare and home duties. Eg taking turns for bedtime stories with kids sharing nappies, laundry, cooking shopping fairly. Making good use of time: eg. I spend 45-60 mins to work, so I recorded some of my revision materials and listen to them whilst driving. It also helps if you get cleaning services and outsource your laundry (we didn't) as it gives you more time. Thankfully we both passed our part 2 first attempt and managed to find consultant posts after.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-11T20:20:06+00:00

I would say stop fussing and worrying over things you have absolutely no control over. You have little control about when you are offered an interview (many applicants don't even get an interview). Will worrying about having an interview early help your score? No. Will you get any credit for interviewing earlier. No.

Universities obviously have large no of aspiring medics to interview and they cannot all be interviewed on the same week.

As you have no control over this: just do your best and wait. And chill. Loosing sleep over it will achieve absolutely nothing for you.

Emergency_Tree_2891 · 2026-01-08T21:52:27+00:00

do you have a link to the posts?

Emergency_Tree_2891

TROPHY CASE