The Little Careers Book

XX You have to go to medical school straight away; if you delay or do something else first, you could jeopardise your future career. ࢚࢚ Important A level subjects include Chemistry and/or Biology, with Physics and Maths valuable, too. ࢚࢚ There are a range of administrative and assist healthcare roles open to school leavers, but healthcare professionals universally need a degree. ࢚࢚ The most common way to become a doctor is a 5- or 6-year medical degree. ࢚࢚ Career progression is enhanced by undertaking research via an optional one-year intercalating degree (during a medical degree). ࢚࢚ The Armed Forces (Defence Medical Services) provides bursaries for aspiring healthcare professionals, with opportunities to serve upon graduation. ࢚࢚ Be aware of the NHS Graduate Management Scheme, which you can enter with a range of different qualifications. Private providers offer similar schemes. ࢚࢚ Consider an accredited post-graduate medical course following a biomedical or related science degree. 15% of medical graduates are graduates in another subject. ࢚࢚ Applicants to medical school must demonstrate commitment through work experience in a health or caring setting. No work experience, no interview. ࢚࢚ Assessors of medical school applications want to see the insights gained from work experience and how much effort went into maximising the experience. ࢚࢚ Where you go to medical school will probably dictate where your first few jobs are. Warning: London is expensive! ࢚࢚ Choose a field within healthcare that will enthral you for 35 years. MYTHS TRUTHS XX You have to be good at everything medicine related. XX GPs are less capable than specialists. ࢚࢚ Patients are people and if you work in patient-facing areas of healthcare, especially General Practice, you must be able to work with people of different backgrounds, ages, expectations, and social behaviours. ࢚࢚ If you haven’t got good people skills, there are some professions within healthcare where they are not important, but very few. ࢚࢚ Excellent communication skills are essential across all areas of healthcare, especially the ability to manage difficult conversations. ࢚࢚ You have to be emotionally resilient to failure, able to cope with failure. ࢚࢚ Commitment, persistence and diligence are essential, especially commitment. ࢚࢚ Applying a structured scientific approach, coupled with sound judgment and moral probity are key. ࢚࢚ You will ideally have very broad interests in and an inquiring mind for both biology and chemistry. ࢚࢚ Healthcare is science-based but not entirely; there is art in the surgeon’s knife. ࢚࢚ Healthcare professions are inherently diverse and so leading teams of healthcare professionals requires understanding and appreciating diversity. ࢚࢚ You need to understand the healthcare ‘lingo’ to navigate the complexity of the clinical, business, commissioning environment. ࢚࢚ If you are not intellectually gifted, you can still succeed so long as you can assimilate, prioritise, and retain key knowledge and skills. ࢚࢚ On the job learning is of much greater importance than the knowledge base you acquire from classroom or private study. ࢚࢚ If you are going to be a doctor, you can expect that healthcare professionals will turn to you for leadership. MYTHS TRUTHS PATHWAYS TO ENTRY KEY SKILLS