2012 SPM students - interested in medicine

[fadz777]

Originally Posted by eve88

I think its been said before, competent doctors should have little trouble at all getting a job - but you have to be competent at what you're doing!

To start with, get into an accredited university (minimum!)
Its obviously better to do your research and get into a course that is "respectable" amongst the doctors here. Also, if at all possible, be at a university with a proper teaching hospital (ie, students in clinical years at the hospital are accepted and EXPECTED to be part of the team including clerking, examining patients, presenting to MO/Specialists, doing minor procedures like bloods and lines etc).

Realize that medicine is a journey of life-long education - expect to be studying and sitting exams anywhere from 6-15 years AFTER final year med studentship, and even having finished all the exams there is a need to spend a good few hours every week on education, both your own and your colleagues (this starts at med school; if an incompetent student is allowed to be an incompetent doctor, you both end up worse off because someone will have to clean up the messes) - keeping up with medical literature at the very least, learning new skills/methods of doing things from others and also remembering to teach.

Remember that the aim of medical school training is to produce good junior doctors, not specialists - so congrats that you already know which specialty you want to go in, but dont be discouraged to find out that the path may not be immediately obvious.

Also, outside of clinical work there are non-clinical options, and that again, if you are a competent doctor graduating from a reputable medical school there would be job opportunities outside clinical medicine.

SO tl;dr, good doctors are likely still to be needed, so jobs will be available, but make darn well sure you are good.

What about the post-graduate study, can I be a lecturer is I continue studying?

[podrunner]

Originally Posted by fadz777

What about the post-graduate study, can I be a lecturer is I continue studying?

What do you mean by "post-graduate study"?