Debate: Medical Sci degree---> Medicine (1 Viewer)

[Wooz]

This is going a bit off topic.

Medical student numbers have increased by over 80% in the last 3 years creating a problem of its own, which is the lack of infrastructure, internship placements, speciality training positions and senior clinicians to train graduates. Thus, possibly leaving many jobless after 2012, unable to be employed because they have been unable to secure internship, etc.

The NSW state government is spending $10million to work out a solution, QLD health has assured enough places for Qld graduates till 2013, etc.

If you would like to discuss this issue with a wider range of medical students go here: http://www.medstudentsonline.com.au/forums/showthread.php?t=7584
http://pagingdr.proboards61.com/index.cgi?board=pg

 

[sparkerasp]

Medical student numbers have increased by over 80% in the last 3 years creating a problem of its own, which is the lack of infrastructure, internship placements, speciality training positions and senior clinicians to train graduates. Thus, possibly leaving many jobless after 2012, unable to be employed because they have been unable to secure internship, etc.

The NSW state government is spending $10million to work out a solution, QLD health has assured enough places for Qld graduates till 2013, etc.

Ouch. That's bad news. Hopefully it won't decrease the number of applicants for medicine because it's such a crucial field. I hope a solution is brought up quickly, otherwise this will get worse.

 

[Wooz]

Ouch. That's bad news. Hopefully it won't decrease the number of applicants for medicine because it's such a crucial field. I hope a solution is brought up quickly, otherwise this will get worse.

I think the federal government will have to, as soon as they come to there senses about the situation. Unless they can contunually force, staff and fund the colleges to increase placements and give hospitals a significant cash injection for training.

Recent news article: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24490675-23289,00.html
AMSA Campaign: http://amsa.org.au/advocacy-intern.php#1

 

[lala2]

As multiple people have said before, they don't take into account what degree you did previously. In fact, they like to see a range of backgrounds. I have spoken to a current second year med student at USYD and he says that it's quite interesting having people come from different backgrounds and approaching problems in different ways (as you might be aware, a large part of learning in medicine is through SDLs, or self-directed learning, which are usually case studies and various problems).

katie_tully summed it beautifully. They are just looking for a bit of maturity, can see you're committed (if three years of another degree hasn't changed your committment, unlikely it will now), and have picked up some generic skills useful to the practice of medicine (or anything really)--IT skills, thinking critically, knowing what refs to look up (in your area of study at least), etc.

This same med student did pharmacy as his previous degree, and he reckons pharmacy or any other health care profession, e.g. physio, [i probably prepares you better than medsc because the content you cover are quite similar, just tailored to a different slant depending on what it was (e.g. anatomy for physio, pharmacology for pharmacy, etc), and you get those communication and professional skills too, which medscience doesn't really offer.

 

[anarchron]

ln a recession everything gets affected but medicine - people will get sick however much they get. with the aging population the lack of intern spots will be fixed soon enough.

That's not true. It looks like doctors are feeling the pinch in the US now amid all the economic problems.

Consumers Cut Health Spending, As Economic Downturn Takes Toll

 

[Jonnyawesome]

Hi everyone:

My name is Jonathan and I graduated from Manly Selective this year. I really want to study medicine at university, but my UAI and UMAT score give me rather poor chances. I am considering taking the GAMSAT in 3-4 years time and taking a shot at graduate medicine. Does anyone know whether doing a chemical engineering degree jepardises my chances of getting into Graduate medicine in any way?

Also, what sort of essay questions do they ask in section 2 of the GAMSAT?

If anyone can reply, I'd really appeciate it because change or preferences closes soon.

Cheers

 

[Wooz]

Hi everyone:

My name is Jonathan and I graduated from Manly Selective this year. I really want to study medicine at university, but my UAI and UMAT score give me rather poor chances. I am considering taking the GAMSAT in 3-4 years time and taking a shot at graduate medicine. Does anyone know whether doing a chemical engineering degree jepardises my chances of getting into Graduate medicine in any way?

Also, what sort of essay questions do they ask in section 2 of the GAMSAT?

If anyone can reply, I'd really appeciate it because change or preferences closes soon.

Cheers

I think you should take another shot at UMAT and apply as a non-standard at UWS, UNCLE, etc.

Section 2 is a 1 hr session in which you are expectecd to write two essays: 1 is usually based on philosophy or a general issue while the other usually deals more with empathy i think. It varies.

You can study any undergraduate degree, do what you think you will enjoy the most.

 

[Survivor39]

Does anyone know whether doing a chemical engineering degree jepardises my chances of getting into Graduate medicine in any way?

Not at all. Grad Med school does not care what background you have. Go for it I say. The only thing "bad" is that it is not the shortest possible degree you can do so you "lose" time before you get into med.

 

[Rekkusu]

Hi everyone:

My name is Jonathan and I graduated from Manly Selective this year. I really want to study medicine at university, but my UAI and UMAT score give me rather poor chances. I am considering taking the GAMSAT in 3-4 years time and taking a shot at graduate medicine. Does anyone know whether doing a chemical engineering degree jepardises my chances of getting into Graduate medicine in any way?

Also, what sort of essay questions do they ask in section 2 of the GAMSAT?

If anyone can reply, I'd really appeciate it because change or preferences closes soon.

Cheers

The best thing you can do, is choose a degree you really love and will do well in it. Although some may say studying a degree with medical relevance may assist in that admissions test, I'd say its huge risk to your GPA - particularly if you don't enjoy it. If your degree's final GPA isn't past 5.5, then it would only mean you're wasting more time in completing a masters/hons just to boost your GPA up to the minimum standard required by Acer.

I have heard some universities are introducing Pre-Medicine Courses/Diploma which supposedly enhances your chances of medicine entry to that particular university's medical faculty.

 

[katie tully]

Hi everyone:

My name is Jonathan and I graduated from Manly Selective this year. I really want to study medicine at university, but my UAI and UMAT score give me rather poor chances. I am considering taking the GAMSAT in 3-4 years time and taking a shot at graduate medicine. Does anyone know whether doing a chemical engineering degree jepardises my chances of getting into Graduate medicine in any way?

Also, what sort of essay questions do they ask in section 2 of the GAMSAT?

If anyone can reply, I'd really appeciate it because change or preferences closes soon.

Cheers

I think Chemical Engineering would be an excellent precursor to medicine, to be honest. I assume the degree takes a fair bit of analytical and problem solving skills - skills that I think are more beneficial to medicine than being able to memorise every function of the body without being able to apply it.

 

[frostysnow]

My career advisor said it's better to do something broader like advanced science etc. because you can choose from a wider range and its less restricting than just medscience. + you can choose the stuff they teach in med science anyway i think. It also gives you a good opportunity to get into graduate med.

Second option of getting into med: do your degree well and try again next year for undergraduate. alot of people go for unsw med when they're in 1st year uni. here you need umat and good uni scores.

Also uws offers about 6 - 10 interview places for 2010 med, if you do their advanced science course.

This is pretty much all i know about med if i don't get in the undergraduate course for next year

 

[lionking1191]

That's not true. It looks like doctors are feeling the pinch in the US now amid all the economic problems.

Consumers Cut Health Spending, As Economic Downturn Takes Toll

but the US do have a different medical system. for one there is no medicare, and private insurance is your only bet. the situation in Australia is more optimistic.

 

[katie tully]

My career advisor said it's better to do something broader like advanced science etc. because you can choose from a wider range and its less restricting than just medscience. + you can choose the stuff they teach in med science anyway i think. It also gives you a good opportunity to get into graduate med.

Second option of getting into med: do your degree well and try again next year for undergraduate. alot of people go for unsw med when they're in 1st year uni. here you need umat and good uni scores.

Also uws offers about 6 - 10 interview places for 2010 med, if you do their advanced science course.

This is pretty much all i know about med if i don't get in the undergraduate course for next year

Your careers advisor is a clown because there are plenty of electives in MedSc, and secondly it doesn't give you any more of an opportunity to get into Med than an Arts degree.

 

[dp624]

Hey did you attend chem scholar school at any stage? marwick?

onto question:
I don't tihnk doing any particular course would really help or detract from your chances of med. if it were me, i'd do sometihng I like, so i could get high marks throughout the year.

 

[RogueAcademic]

It will make some of the medicine degree a bit easier, but you don't stand a better chance of getting into medicine with it.

secondly it doesn't give you any more of an opportunity to get into Med than an Arts degree.

I don't tihnk doing any particular course would really help or detract from your chances of med. if it were me, i'd do sometihng I like, so i could get high marks throughout the year.

No, the chosen field of your first degree has no bearing on the selection process.

They don't give special preference to somebody who has Medical Science over any other undergrad degree. They're not looking for people with a background in science specifically.

No, MedSc does not give you a better chance of getting into medicine/dentistry.

1. Uni's don't favour MedSc students over others when it comes to Grad Med

As multiple people have said before, they don't take into account what degree you did previously.

Medical Science will in no way help you get into medicine.

That is not quite correct. Your choice of undergraduate studies do affect your chances of getting into medicine, at least officially at Deakin School of Medicine:

Prior learning:
Applicants who have completed a major sequence in biomedical or health sciences during their undergraduate degree receive a 2% weighting.

Prior clinical experience in a health discipline:
Applicants who have completed one year of clinical practice as a registered health professional (eg dentistry, dietetics, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology, and speech pathology) receive a 2% weighting..​

The official word at other medical schools may be that there is no discrimination between what degree you apply with, but unofficially and perhaps during the interview stage, it does help to show a certain amount of focus and commitment of wanting to get into med and have a medical career (for eg, if two applicants are equal in every way except one has a biomedical degree and the other has an arts degree..).

IIRC, UQ School of Med has been the only school that has openly and actively gone out of their way to diversify their pool of eligible applicants by opening up application eligibility to include other degree types and expressing an interest for applicants from a wide(r) range of backgrounds, not just from biomedical backgrounds.

What they want is someone who is committed in the study of medicine, someone who is mature (hopefully after a 3-4 year degree compared to someone who just finished high school and dooes know what he/she really wants to do) and STILL committed in getting into medicine.... Again, what they really need is someone committed to life-long learning in medicine

Sometimes, that can best be shown in the way you are committed to getting into medicine or the health-related field by the choice of undergraduate degree. Having studied or worked in the health-related field, if you are still interested in getting into medicine, that can be viewed as you making an informed decision coming from an informed background, especially after having had a (up to that point) significant involvement in the health-related area, whereupon you have potentially shown a capacity for life-long learning and involvement required in medicine.

They will teach you from the basics.

No they don't. You are expected to have basic knowledge of biomedical concepts before beginning the course, hence the GAMSAT test. Even so, passing the GAMSAT does not mean you have all required knowledge. If you don't, you are expected to do personal study in your own time during your degree. Presumbly you would've studied enough to gain a great GAMSAT score, but still, many students from non-biomedical backgrounds have a slight disadvantage when compared with students from biomedical backgrounds during their medical studies.

This same med student did pharmacy as his previous degree, and he reckons pharmacy or any other health care profession, e.g. physio, [i probably prepares you better than medsc because the content you cover are quite similar, just tailored to a different slant depending on what it was (e.g. anatomy for physio, pharmacology for pharmacy, etc), and you get those communication and professional skills too, which medscience doesn't really offer.

Not only does it probably prepares you better, if you look at the Deakin admissions information, they acknowledge that it is definitely advantageous and openly desirable for future doctors to have this experience in their backgrounds.

 

[Deltan]

Yes it does, at least officially at Deakin School of Medicine anyway:

Prior learning:
Applicants who have completed a major sequence in biomedical or health sciences during their undergraduate degree receive a 2% weighting.
​

What difference can 2% make? XD​

 

[RogueAcademic]

What difference can 2% make? XD

You wouldn't be saying that if you just missed out on a spot because another applicant had that 2% advantage over you. Even if you had the same spectacular GPA and everything else, he/she got through over you simply because they did a health science degree and you did an arts degree.. 2% makes all the difference in that situation. And if you read Deakin's admission policy above, there is a potential for you to gain a 4% advantage.

Medicine is a very very competitive course to get into, each school of medicine receives many more applications than they have places for. Sometimes these little advantages are used to tip the scale ever so slightly in favour of an applicant that is the same in almost every other way to other applicants. Keep in mind that the vast majority of medical applicants are high achievers with great GPAs, you'll need every advantage to stand out.

 

[Wooz]

For Umelb graduate medicine (MD, Doctor of Medicine): You will need to undertake biomedical science or a bachelor of science with anatomy and physiology subjects.
Melbourne Model Medicine : School of Medicine : MDHS : The University of Melbourne

Deltan: 2% can mean alot, because there is normally only a few marks seperating candidates in Gamsat, due to the bell curve and scaling you dumb sh*t.

Yes, many students will have high GPA's, especially when 6 is scalled by acer to 6.75, 5 becomes 5.75, and 4 becomes 4.5.

 

[RogueAcademic]

For Umelb graduate medicine (MD, Doctor of Medicine): You will need to undertake biomedical science or a bachelor of science with anatomy and physiology subjects.
Melbourne Model Medicine : School of Medicine : MDHS : The University of Melbourne

There you go. The good thing is, that makes it three universities who are upfront and honest about what they are looking for - UniMelb, Deakin and UQ. There are so many people who continue to say that the choice of undergraduate studies is unimportant but the reality is, it is important, whether officially or unofficially. It looks like universities are starting to make it more official now.

 

[Deltan]

There you go. The good thing is, that makes it three universities who are upfront and honest about what they are looking for - UniMelb, Deakin and UQ. There are so many people who continue to say that the choice of undergraduate studies is unimportant but the reality is, it is important, whether officially or unofficially. It looks like universities are starting to make it more official now.

Does this favouritism apply only for med or others fields such as dentistry/pharmacy?