• Question: if you get a grade C in your GCSE's can you become a doctor??

    Asked by nidahayat to Indi, Jarv, John, Ken, Vicky on 12 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: John Prytherch

      John Prytherch answered on 12 Mar 2012:

      Absolutely. Becoming a doctor, either a medical doctor or a scientist, is a lot of work, but if it is something you want to do then go for it. If you have a few bad exam results along the way then don’t panic. If you have to you can always retake the exams.

    • Photo: Jarvist Moore Frost

      Jarvist Moore Frost answered on 12 Mar 2012:

      I think the key thing to remember with everything that you ever try and do in your life, is that you only fail when you give up. Until that point, you’re moving towards it as a goal. It doesn’t matter what your grades were, it only matters what your grades will be next, that you’re motivated to work towards it. Even if you have to go back to college to do extra work and courses to make the requirements of a university degree, you can do that.

      Also, don’t forget that there are lots of health care professionals who make a massive difference to patients – everything from nursing and therapists to lab technicians and paramedics. It’s not ‘Dr’ or nothing, and there may be something that fits you better & which you’ll enjoy more.

    • Photo: Indi Ghangrekar

      Indi Ghangrekar answered on 12 Mar 2012:

      Very good answers from John and Jarvist, I completely agree! You can do it and if you are worried that your grades won’t be good enough it is always a good idea to try to get some experience doing something extra-curricular too.

      So, if you mean a medical doctor, it would be good to try to get some experience working in some kind of medical environment like a nursing home or a medical charity like Macmillan nurses or something, careers advisors will (hopefully) be able to point you in the right direction of where to volunteer to do something.

      If you mean a doctor of research (like us on I’m a scientist) what about trying to get some experience in a research lab? Either at a university close to you or some other kind of research or engineering institute near you.

      It will need a bit of work but there are lots of options to try, and it never hurts to ask someone if they’ll help you get that experience – the worst that will happen is that they will say no but if they don’t, you could really learn a lot, get something very interesting on your CV and meet people that you normally wouldn’t!

    • Photo: Vicky Young

      Vicky Young answered on 12 Mar 2012:

      I think its great you wanna be a doctor. Don’t give up, you can recover your grades in your A levels!

      Good luck!!!!!

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