Does it matter at all what University you go to after you get your degree? For example, will Student A who went to UNSW be given a lot more opportunities / options than say Student B who went to UWS? Or will it pretty much be the same, since its more about actual practice / experience later on.... not Uni prestige.
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velox
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Nope, no-one cares.
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enlighten us with your 1.5 semesters of expeirence!
Different universities offer different experiences. Whether these differences constitute an advantage or a disadvantage depends on where you want your degree to take you.Maldini92 said:
USyd and UNSW have a monopoly on the big, super-specialised institutions (e.g. POW, RPA, Royal North Shore, Westmead, etc...) and so will have more elective opportunities in niche areas like fetal medicine, neurosurgery, neonatal intensive care and so forth. Note, though, that (1) medicine is not solely composed of elective opportunities and (2) electives at hospitals attached to other insitutions are often possible (depending on how a university sets up elective terms). Likewise, there may be potential differences in training settings, e.g. does the university have rural clinical schools? How many places are available, how competitive are they and do they preference rural bonded medical students? (N.B. big hospitals are not always all they are cracked up to be! It is all too easy to be forgotten amidst the crowd)
You can expect all universities to be competent at teaching the standard med sci, paeds, O&G, psych, GP, etc. combo. If the university is no good then (one should hope) they won't be acredited.
There may also be differences in research opportunities. Go8 universities (in the NSW region this means USyd, UNSW and ANU) can typically be expected to have bigger faculties with bigger budgets in both clinical medicine and medical science. For example, UNSW has its own faculty academics as well as direct institutional ties with research bodies like the Garvan Institute, the POW Medical Research Institute, the Black Dog Institute,, the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Research, etc. Whether or not this is an issue depends on whether you are keen on research and what your interests are. Universities with smaller budgets may nonetheless have strong research in specific areas.
Research and elective experience could matter in some highly competitive areas like opthalmology, but in general I would expect post-graduate experience to carry more weight (things like referrals from supervisors, clinical experience, papers published and PhD research).
Po1nty probably has a better idea about this stuff than me.
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+Po1ntDeXt3r+
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Each uni has its own strength..KFunk said:
UQ with vaccine development
UWA with burns and gastro bugs...
etc etc..
the research means jack to the run of the mill undergrad.. but its nice to join a place with the most funding and the least ... tossers... the latter point is the most important
UNSW and USYD share facilities..
about the degree... well it doesnt matter?.. as long as you get a good clinical case load to observe, treat and you read like all the medical textbooks ur suppose to..(anyone notice that big robbins, cecils and harrisons are like hideous in length.?.)
just know whats in the books and be able to do a physical examination and prescribe lik 200+ medications before u graduate.. thats all you need..
its easy to spot a good graduate.. its one that knows almost anything you throw at them..
the specialist stuff.. research is useful for like reading the new changes and applying them but you can do most of these things in like rural areas if you were really determined.
My opinion is based on AMC graduates, 2 universities and about just over 9 semesters... and my mates at UNSW/Umelb/Adel some are great at medicine and .. some arent..
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+Po1ntDeXt3r+
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no they wont.. UNCLE produces specialist tooMaldini92 said:
guys I think that the fact that some unis (ie Syd. d NSW unis) have been around for longer thus are dare i say more experiences while others like western are starting of and are finding their ground. but quilification wise if u make it through uni (any) and become a doctor man hats off to u. no one gives a crap what uni u went 2 if u have the passion and determination as a doctor then u will do well no matter where u go 2.
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UNSW is kinda new compared to UWA, Melb, Adel, and UQ which are older..zoci said:
still not the best way to judge a med school..
This may be more of an issue in the future due to competition for training positions, which will especially intensify around the time of the '11/'12 graduates according to IMET projections. It is quite reasonable to think that graduates will not only be graded internally at their own medical schools, but also externally against fellow graduates from other schools - at present, this seems to be the only way of solving the problem of gross oversupply of interns that is seemingly about to hit NSW. In this event, medical school performance may carry some weight, although individuals will still be able to stand out.
But I agree, most schools competently cover the basic clinical sciences, and exposure to key areas such as paeds, OG, psych.
The bigger teaching institutions (POW/RPA etc) are definitely not all theya re cracked up to be in many respects - clinical exposure/accessibility/interest and time from the teaching staff etc may be much greater at the smaller institutions, although their research programmes and funding may certainly be lacking in certain areas.
But I agree, most schools competently cover the basic clinical sciences, and exposure to key areas such as paeds, OG, psych.
The bigger teaching institutions (POW/RPA etc) are definitely not all theya re cracked up to be in many respects - clinical exposure/accessibility/interest and time from the teaching staff etc may be much greater at the smaller institutions, although their research programmes and funding may certainly be lacking in certain areas.
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internal exams are notorious for not being able to predict graduate performance.. as a result medical schools no longer confer honours in medicine.. internal written ones are far worse too.. they are easy to cheat in and are nothing like clinical medicine.. so OSCEs would be better... even the AMC conceded this... and they have soo much money that the written exam is now just a MCQ cos essays are not good enough to assess in the time and with the money.qp said:
external exams would be a more likely option.. or reference letters.. or just the preferential intern placement which hasnt really failed to date.
I quite lik the preferential lottery system it is better... and is used in almost all states but vic
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Yeh OSCEs are better than mcq's/sba's for the most part - I suppose a competency test would involve both though. The preferential lottery system hasn't failed to date because graduates
GY1s has more or less been 1:1. Honours as a grading system is slowly being reintroduced in some schools with a strong research component, in addition to coursework grades - a fair system I think.
GY1s has more or less been 1:1. Honours as a grading system is slowly being reintroduced in some schools with a strong research component, in addition to coursework grades - a fair system I think.
+Po1ntDeXt3r+
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PGY1 (CSP/MRBS/BMP) < intern Places...qp said:Yeh OSCEs are better than mcq's/sba's for the most part - I suppose a competency test would involve both though. The preferential lottery system hasn't failed to date because graduates
this is based on the federal govt obligation to at least support the graduates they helped pay for.. Full FEE will not and may not....
tho my statement above does not insure that there is appropriate supervision
Yeh priority is obviously given to CSPs, BMPs, MRBS, and only then Full fee/Ints etc, if no. graduates exceeds positions. 2008 figures were 576 trainee positions in NSW, and a little over 600 graduates according to IMET, so roughly 1:1. 1000+ graduates are expected in 2013, so it'll be interesting to see what is done.
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PGY1 will just goto areas of need..qp said:
we arent stupid.. it pays more
in SA, WA and QLD.... good thing is tat your consultant will be on the phone.. and they will have a Reg and then they will let you do lots of interesting things..
Yep we'll need to meet the demand as it rises. There were some interesting discussions at this year's forum of specialists with IMET regarding how to cope with the increasing numbers - possibility of fast-tracking, increased sub-specialty flexibility, pathways etc sound quite exciting. Not sure what the situation is like in other states besides NSW though.
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of course but then we devalue the position of a diverse generalist.. which has been the problem with "fast tracked"....qp said:
i mean we all know about OBGYN despite not wanting to be either ..
The generalist can be de-valued to some extent in these proposals, but mobile generalists with the ability to change subspecialties as the need arises may complement the specialist streams, and then with IPL etc you build your model.