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

[Rafe14]

I know this has been asked a few times but i need some clarity on this

I'm hoping to get into medicine or dentistry and i've been told that doing med sci is the best course for preparing this.

However the risk of not getting in, makes life more difficult because i don't want to end up with a lousy job with low pay and plus you can apply for medicine with other degrees provided with good marks and all

SO does that mean the medical sci is purely good preparation for med only?
Do universities favour medical sci students than over other degrees because there's a large sector of med sci/health students being selected or is it because most wanting to do med comes from this sector.

 

[DTFM]

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.

 

[Captain Hero]

i don't want to end up with a lousy job with low pay

Wow that sounds like being a doctor...

Enjoy a capped salary of about 200K a year maximum and being on call, long hours, shitty job. etc.

Only idiots want to be doctors for the money.

 

[katie tully]

1. Uni's don't favour MedSc students over others when it comes to Grad Med, they favour whoever has the highest GPA's in their undergrad degrees + GAMSAT + etc

2. It's fair to say MedSc is a fairly good introduction to medicine, but that said it's also not an easy degree to maintain a credit GPA in if you're not interested in it

 

[KFunk]

Wow that sounds like being a doctor...

Enjoy a capped salary of about 200K a year maximum and being on call, long hours, shitty job. etc.

Only idiots want to be doctors for the money.

It's closer to 250k for the upper levels of the staff specialist award - which is fantastic money IMO. Keep in mind that this is within the public system. Private practitioners, especially proceduralists, can earn more and have greater control over their hours (some areas, e.g. fertility medicine, have extremely good pay, great hours and lots of feel good moments --> but it is a hard slog to get there of course).

 

[Bacilli]

If we consider where our economy is heading, and the amount of medical school places which have recently been put foward, medicine isn't looking as promising as it currently is. Consider the following; too many graduates --> allows government to decrease cap due to the amount of individuals willing to work for whatever is offered ---> mbbs = information tech degree --> you move to Mt Druit --> what a fkn waste of 7 years....

 

[Survivor39]

I know this has been asked a few times but i need some clarity on this.

But if this issue has been clarified so many times before why are you asking again?!


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

However the risk of not getting in, makes life more difficult because i don't want to end up with a lousy job with low pay and plus you can apply for medicine with other degrees provided with good marks and all

If working in a lab is considered "lousy" then please do not enrol in any sort of science degree.

SO does that mean the medical sci is purely good preparation for med only?

No, because you can:
1. do a PhD/Masters
2. work in a lab as a research assistant
3. teach undergraduate students
4. go into the commercial section by becoming a sales rep for a scientific company.

 

[Deltan]

Why does the medical science faculty say its good for entry into pharmacy/med/dent such as at open days, brochures, is it simply just to lure ppl in doing the course?
If what your saying is the case, then why do they mention this fact at all, which seems really misleading and glorifying med sci as a good stepping stone into these fields.

But i do believe that they would give someone more special consideration who has done a med sci because they would be more familiar with the course and thus would be able to handle it better.

Wouldn't someone who has a phD in med science as opposed to someone with commerce have a better chance assuming they have similar results such as interview, GPA results?

 

[katie tully]

It's not the medical science 'faculty', you'll find it'd be the school promoting it. And for clarification, Med Sci is a good degree to do if you missed getting into Medicine, but what we're saying is, it shouldn't just be used as a last resort to get into med. We don't like seeing people end up doing MedSc because they think it's a shoe in for medicine and then bad mouth the degree because it's not what they expected.

As a stand alone degree it has a lot to offer, and those of us doing it get a bit sick of people who assume it's an easy way into medicine.

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.

Why would you do a PhD in Medical Science and then apply for Grad Medicine? Again no, when applying for Grad Med, they're not looking to see who has a better undergraduate background in science, they're looking for the best candidates with a proven record of academic ability, regardless of whether it's a science degree or an arts degree.

 

[Survivor39]

I couldn't have said it better than katie tully.

Why does the medical science faculty say its good for entry into pharmacy/med/dent such as at open days, brochures, is it simply just to lure ppl in doing the course?

Yes - why do you think MedSc has such a high UAI cut off compared with other science degree. However, it does provides a good background in the area of medical sciences, but that doesn't mean other science degrees are not as good for providing a simialr background for med.

But i do believe that they would give someone more special consideration who has done a med sci because they would be more familiar with the course and thus would be able to handle it better.

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

Someone who has completed a MedSc degree may be better adapted to the environment but it really doesn't matter. They will teach you from the basics. Again, what they really need is someone committed to life-long learning in medicine.

 

[katie tully]

Really, you'd be just as equipped doing a straight BSc and majoring in something like Biology, Microbiology, Cell Pathology, Immunobiology, etc. Or even something like Behavioural Science.

Plus I'm sure there are a few people, myself included, who are a bit offended when lab jobs are referred to as 'lousy'. They're not terribly paid and I personally think sitting in a lab and researching, or testing specimens all day would be terribly fascinating.

 

[Wooz]

Really, you'd be just as equipped doing a straight BSc and majoring in something like Biology, Microbiology, Cell Pathology, Immunobiology, etc. Or even something like Behavioural Science.

Plus I'm sure there are a few people, myself included, who are a bit offended when lab jobs are referred to as 'lousy'. They're not terribly paid and I personally think sitting in a lab and researching, or testing specimens all day would be terribly fascinating.

I spent 8 hours today in a lab making various pharmaceuticals (multi step synthesis), testing with Infra Red spectroscopy, Nuclear Magnetic reasoning, etc = not fun and laborious

 

[katie tully]

Ack.

I do Pharmaceutics next year, second semester. I hope we get to do cool stuff.

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!

 

[Survivor39]

I spent 8 hours today in a lab making various pharmaceuticals (multi step synthesis), testing with Infra Red spectroscopy, Nuclear Magnetic reasoning, etc = not fun and laborious

Seriously you need a PhD before you start doing interesting stuff, like drug discovery.

 

[lionking1191]

If we consider where our economy is heading, and the amount of medical school places which have recently been put foward, medicine isn't looking as promising as it currently is. Consider the following; too many graduates --> allows government to decrease cap due to the amount of individuals willing to work for whatever is offered ---> mbbs = information tech degree --> you move to Mt Druit --> what a fkn waste of 7 years....

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.

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

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.

unless there are too many doctors.. who arent able to be trained..
medicine is an apprenticeship.. u cant just stick.. 17:1 and hope for a competent practitioner..

 

[sparkerasp]

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 is one of the large advantages of medicine, however the risk factor in treating someone is also pretty high.

Anyway, back to the OP question, I also had this predicament. Medical Science will in no way help you get into medicine. It will help you with some of the first year stuff, but you're pretty much on par with those who haven't done medical science in your second year of medicine.*

*This is information replied to me by the University of Sydney Postgraduate Medicine Faculty.

So do something you like and will do well in. They look at your GPA (Grade Point Average) and you have to be above 5 or 5.5 depending on which uni you want to go to so picking something you don't like (even if it is medical science) won't help.

 

[lionking1191]

unless there are too many doctors.. who arent able to be trained..
medicine is an apprenticeship.. u cant just stick.. 17:1 and hope for a competent practitioner..

problem is there are too much medical students and yet still not enough doctors. our population is expected to increase by 30% in 20 years and that's not even taking into account the aging population. the real problem is not the abundance of students (in my ignorant opinion) but rather a need for a overhaul of the health systems.

mind you all they'll do with the 10b dollars is probably another 50pg report which will get ignored just like last time.

 

[katie tully]

problem is there are too much medical students and yet still not enough doctors. our population is expected to increase by 30% in 20 years and that's not even taking into account the aging population. the real problem is not the abundance of students (in my ignorant opinion) but rather a need for a overhaul of the health systems.

mind you all they'll do with the 10b dollars is probably another 50pg report which will get ignored just like last time.

Uh, where are you getting this from.

It has been said time and time again that the only solution to the doctor crisis is to increase student numbers.

 

[lionking1191]

Uh, where are you getting this from.

It has been said time and time again that the only solution to the doctor crisis is to increase student numbers.

you mean the too much med. students part? the lack of intern spots?

edit: actually i have no idea what ur referring to, please clarify