Preps prior to housemanship

It has been more than 6 months since I submitted the SPA online application for the HO post and yes you guessed it right: I am still jobless and FOREVER waiting for my turn. Sob sob. Ain't nobody gonna shed a single tear of empathy for me so, moving on... what shall I write about today? Oh yeah..about the HO prep courses that are making headlines on social media these days particularly on Facebook. It is claimed by these so-called 'medical experts' that attending their 'value for money' courses gives the newbies the headstart that they apparently need in order to ace through their housemanship training period. Wow. Just wow.(note the cynical tone) Where do they come up with ideas like this? Not only is it highly profittable for the one who organizes it but it stands on its own because it happens that the current failure rate of housemen can easily be used as the supporting evidence to further harp on the importance of attending such training or coaching modules. I know of a fellow graduate who actually had clinical attachment done at several hospitals prior to her housemanship training and even she confessed to getting screwed all the same in the first week of her job. All the preparation in the world isn't going to save you from any of the toxicities that is expected of the training of junior doctors. Face it. That's just how it is. You could be a first ranker for all you might be or a highly dedicated lavishly spending course goer, but the reality would be just as sour for you as it is for others. Don't get me wrong; I am all up for getting prepared in advance on any way you can but why can't you trust yourself enough to do it on your own? The more support they get, the more easier it would be for them to turn something optional like this into something mandatory, thus further adding to the financial burden among the chronically unemployed grads..sort of like making observerships and/or externships  compulsory for the US residency training and they don't come cheap I tell you!!! Far from even affordable! I know I haven't been hitting the books as much as I used to when I was still preparing for the EPR but I have not neglected them either. I have been trying to coach myself before my intake which I think might be soon (hopefully!)..from recalling to adding up more knowledge on what one ought to know and to even tackling some calculations, I think I am doing myself more favor than any of those private courses could. After all, what's 5 years of medicine if you can't be your own tutor? 😇 It's up to you if you decide to go for those refresher courses because it is your money and your willingness but this is just something that I have an opinion about and hence have stated it here. If you think you would like me to start discussing (for free obviously, duh) about some of the medical stuff I have fed my mind with, let me know. 'When you share the knowledge you have with others, it helps you to gain more understanding of it'.