Naked Science Forum

General Science => General Science => Topic started by: sas86 on 10/09/2020 13:32:55

Title: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: sas86 on 10/09/2020 13:32:55
As many did, I greatly enjoyed Gabriel Weston's BBC series Incredible Medicine.  What is also interesting is her education. She studied for an MA in English Literature at Edinburgh University. Afterwards, she studied at medical school in London in 1993 and qualified as a surgeon and ENT specialist.  She has an O Level in Biology.

Could someone be accepted in medical school now if they had an GCSE subject in Biology and an unrelated university degree?
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: alancalverd on 10/09/2020 15:06:57
Yes. Aptitude is more important than history. My favorite oncologist had A level music (I played her compositions and accompanied her solos, in a brass band) plus enormous enthusiasm and what can only be described as "doctor attitude".

In my day the medical schools weren't worried about prior qualifications in biology since they taught human anatomy and physiology from scratch anyway, but advised that the undergraduate course could be hard work for anyone who didn't have A level physics and chemistry.
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: sas86 on 10/09/2020 15:17:19
An undergraduate course at medical school?
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: alancalverd on 10/09/2020 16:21:21
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/medicine-graduate-course describes both the graduate and undergraduate entry requirements.

That said, we have a retired doctor friend whose mother simply wrote to the Mistress of a certain College saying "My daughter will be coming up to Cambridge next term to study medicine. Please enrol her."  That's how to get things done. 
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: sas86 on 10/09/2020 16:34:36
I don't know which medical school Gabriel Weston went to. Could someone get a place at Barts,  or anywhere else with the qualifications she had?
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: alancalverd on 10/09/2020 16:43:21
AFAIK Barts does not have an undergraduate entry (it was the preferred clinical placement for Cambridge graduates before  Addenbrookes was expanded) but Kings, UCL/UCH and Imperial/Hammersmith probably do.
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: Bored chemist on 10/09/2020 18:18:29
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/medicine-graduate-course describes both the graduate and undergraduate entry requirements.

That said, we have a retired doctor friend whose mother simply wrote to the Mistress of a certain College saying "My daughter will be coming up to Cambridge next term to study medicine. Please enrol her."  That's how to get things done. 
That's Cambridge for you...

I don't know which medical school Gabriel Weston went to. Could someone get a place at Barts,  or anywhere else with the qualifications she had?
It's likely that her most important qualification was how she came across at interview.
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: sas86 on 10/09/2020 19:18:10
Her path to medicine is really interesting. She qualified in 2000 so it took her seven years.
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: alancalverd on 11/09/2020 08:56:27
About the same as my musical oncologist.
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: sas86 on 11/09/2020 13:08:53
A oncologist who originally had studied music?
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: Colin2B on 11/09/2020 14:21:39
A oncologist who originally had studied music?
Musical ability is very common among medical folks. My wife plays ‘cello, one of our daughters studied virology and immunology, but went on to become a professional musician. When my wife was on the selection board for new registrars the initial review of CVs would be punctuated by someone asking ‘do we think grade 6 violin is good enough?’ or ‘do we need a bassoonist?’
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: alancalverd on 11/09/2020 14:46:01
My oncologist friend plays percussion and piano. 
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: sas86 on 11/09/2020 15:30:17
Sorry I don't mean to sound silly. Had your oncologist friend studied music before changing career and studying medicine? Gabriel Weston is interesting for the reasons I've written; English Literature MA and an O Level in Biology and she was accepted to study medicine in 1993. I like her programmes.
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: alancalverd on 11/09/2020 16:44:32
She left school with A level music and geography and entered a clinical laboratory technician training scheme, dissected rats for a couple of years then got a medical school placement.

Warwick University medical school recruits mature students from any background if they have sufficient aptitude.
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: RobertTery8 on 17/11/2021 14:07:36
This is a great person for me who achieved everything on his own. I am now in college and have no time to do anything. I use uk.spamwriter to order my essays. An excellent service that does everything in a row and does not fail.
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: Origin on 17/11/2021 15:15:08
I am now in college and have no time to do anything
I guess you are going fail out or die since you don't have time to study or eat.
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: alancalverd on 22/11/2021 11:35:36
and, unlike those who use it, does not fail.
My italics. When someone has bought his coursework, it is hugely satisfying to question him at a viva and watch him crash and burn, burying his bank balance and any future career along with the charred corpse of his aspirations.
Title: Re: Gabriel Weston's education and career
Post by: Bored chemist on 22/11/2021 19:18:29
and, unlike those who use it, does not fail.
My italics. When someone has bought his coursework, it is hugely satisfying to question him at a viva and watch him crash and burn, burying his bank balance and any future career along with the charred corpse of his aspirations.
I don't always agree with Alan, but I think I would buy tickets for that.