Question about Medicine at Melbourne University (1 Viewer)

[Lexicographer]

hi! im an 04er n i got accepted in mbbs/medsci at melbourne uni.

some ppl say the course is old, n thus - shit.

would u b able to xplain y the course is 'old' n out of curiosity, how does melb uni rank up with unsw, newcastle n monash?

ur opinion would b appreciated - thx

I've decided to reply to this question in public, since it is definitely something I hear a lot of.

Firstly, Melbourne university does not interview undergraduate candidates for entry to medicine. This appears to result in a very different collective attitude amongst Melbourne med students compared to other schools (the med students here can elaborate). They are often seen as (relatively) lacking in personality, or far more intense in terms of study rather than the "balance" between study and life found at interviewing schools. I stress this is just an opinion, and definitely not my own (since I have yet to meet Melbourne med students).

Secondly, I have a faint memory of being told that Melbourne is not a PBL-implementing school. However, I am not willing to bank on this because I haven't checked the facts. If this is true, it would certainly explain the "course is old" comment, but in no way does that make the medical course "shit". Recall that PBL is very young, and most of the finest doctors you have ever met are all products of the didactic "old school" training of a mere ten years ago.

Regardless of whether or not PBL is implemented at Melbourne, the medical school appears to place a higher emphasis on academic medicine (rather than clinical medicine) compared to other schools. Again, this is not bad but different. Newcastle's course (emulated by Monash, Adelaide) is more geared at fostering a "community doctor" style of training - often this is interpreted as ideally producing more GPs. Melbourne simply encourages "academic medicine" as an equally viable path for graduates.

As far as I'm concerned, old never automatically means "shit" - I don't know anyone here who calls USyd shit and they're about as old as you can get. As for rankings, all Med schools in Australia are equally accredited by the AMC and thus are, for most intents and purposes, no better or worse than one another. Many students think of Newcastle as l33t for pioneering all the new study and teaching techniques widely introduced across the last decade or two, and at the moment UNSW is said to be having a few medium-sized (definitely not minor) bumps. According to a very informed opinion here, Monash has a good course but terrible administration (in terms of resource allocation and education vs profit benefits). I think that's all there is for me to say.

I invite the medical students of this forum (second year or above, please) to give comment regarding the quoted questions. You can also reply if you're not a medical student...but I'd prefer not to have to refute common, misled rumours. Please be balanced and informed.

 

[inasero]

i dunno....what do you mean Monash has terrible administration? anyhows i pretty much agree with you rother comments. I wrote my own personal reply:

Well it's old...whether it's shit is up to you. If you like a more didactic approach then Melbourne is for you but if you want a shorter course which is more hands on and communication oriented then Monash is for you. My personal opinion but Newcastle is the best Uni, followed by Monash/Melbourne and then UNSW.

 

[Lexicographer]

i dunno....what do you mean Monash has terrible administration? anyhows i pretty much agree with you rother comments. I wrote my own personal reply:

I was trying to summarise without (possibly erroneously) restating your previous comments. You know, the ones about the university admin being more interested in international student fees than the student experience? Overcrowding, no available PBL rooms etc? If you have time it'd be good for you to link or clarify.

 

[inasero]

yeah thats true...Monash is interested in money. It's a commercial enterprise there's no doubt about it. Course is gettiing crowded these days. Next year more local students will be allowed to enter and then the crowding is going to be more of a serious issue.

But in all they make alot of money and spend accordingly. The syllabus has been developed independently by the CMHSE (Center for Medicine and Health Sciences Education) and sold overseas to some rich arab country and Bond uni. I think it's really structured and well thought out. We certainly don't experience impromptu timetable changes and the modules are really relevant to medicine. More information at www.med.monash.edu.au

 

[Skillo]

Can't say that I'm a med student, but my older sister's bf is a Uni of Melb Med Graduate and I've heard him say that it is a stale university as most of the students are there because they want to earn money, and medicine is a reletively high paying industry...oh and some people are there cause its 'prestigious'. When I talked to him about where I should apply, he immediately said: Not Melbourne.

 

[inasero]

why not? dont let other people's motivations influence you...if you like Melbourne's course...go to Melb and if you like Monash, come to Monash...

 

[Lexicographer]

why not? dont let other people's motivations influence you...if you like Melbourne's course...go to Melb and if you like Monash, come to Monash...

I agree. Forget about the other students, with Medicine you can't afford to rule out a school simply because of the misled ambitions of others. Everything should be about the course, and how it works for you.

In fact, the only situation I'd even think about rejecting Melbourne on these grounds would be the one where I have offers at all other schools...which obviously doesn't happen very often.

 

[i_am_who]

I am a 2nd year melb uni med student.

we do have pbl, a total of 4 hrs a week, spread over two tutes on mondays and fridays. We also have 5 lectures a week. We do not have the "old style".

Old style generally refers to a course in which a year or two of basic sciences is taught before any clinical relevance is introduced. Thus students learn anatomy, physiology, biochem, etc as separate subjects. No pbl is used.

Melbourne uni uses an intergrated systems- based approach- ie this semester i am studying CRL- cardiovascular, respiratory, locomotor, in which we learn anatomy, physiology, biochem etc all at once for only the cardiovascular, respiratory and locomotor systems.

 

[Rust]

I am a 2nd year melb uni med student.

we do have pbl, a total of 4 hrs a week, spread over two tutes on mondays and fridays. We also have 5 lectures a week. We do not have the "old style".

Old style generally refers to a course in which a year or two of basic sciences is taught before any clinical relevance is introduced. Thus students learn anatomy, physiology, biochem, etc as separate subjects. No pbl is used.

Melbourne uni uses an intergrated systems- based approach- ie this semester i am studying CRL- cardiovascular, respiratory, locomotor, in which we learn anatomy, physiology, biochem etc all at once for only the cardiovascular, respiratory and locomotor systems.

Thanks for this clarification. It sounds like an interesting approach to me.