Medicine FAQ / So You Want To Be A Doctor

[MelonBar]

Some changes to places with the new budget.

tl;dr MRBS has been scrapped and BMP is no longer the length of your medical degree. Not sure if this is going to help address rural medicine in the long-term.

Why are they changing the system? Wouldn't 1 year ROS make the shortage of doctors in rural areas worse? Or is there a monetary reason for this... ?

[pi]

Why are they changing the system? Wouldn't 1 year ROS make the shortage of doctors in rural areas worse? Or is there a monetary reason for this... ?

It wasn't working, no one was going back (paying it off instead mainly).

[MelonBar]

Med o week has been hectic!

One of my prac demo's was a phd student with a medical degree, he told me having a phd is standard these days if you want to be competitive for any specialty training. I was wondering if the application process for phd is any easier or different for med students who apply with a view of specializing, as med marks are bell curved 

[pi]

Most people who do a PhD tend to do a it either to apply for a specialist program (ie. after completing BPT if they want something super-competitive like cardiology where a PhD is almost mandatory to become an AT) or during fellowship (ie. after their AT years to make themselves more competitive for consultant positions). These are common pathways because you know what you want to do and hence it's highly likely your PhD will be in the area of interest. Many people either don't know what they want to do or change their mind after/during med school which is why that's an uncommon pathway (and also people want to "become a doctor already" and all that jazz).

I'm not familiar with specifically how to apply for a PhD as it's not something I'm ready to commit to yet  


edit:
- BPT = basic physician training
- AT = advanced trainee

[Russ]

There are pros and cons to being a doctor applying to do a PhD. Probably more pros than cons, but it's still a mixed bag. I wouldn't worry too much about it, if you choose to go down that pathway then securing a PhD spot will be the easiest part of getting your consultant position. It's also so far away that you shouldn't waste effort thinking about it (things will change).
I'm considering the PhD pathway for next year and the most important step is having a supervisor willing to commit to you.

[n.a]

Just a slightly off topic question:

Approximately how much time do you get for yourself/family/friends, etc as a med student/fully educated doctor?

[pi]

Just a slightly off topic question:

Approximately how much time do you get for yourself/family/friends, etc as a med student/fully educated doctor?

As a doctor, certainly later down the line during registrar exams, studying becomes a large part of your non-working life. But otherwise, from all accounts, it's possible to maintain a healthier balance if you really want to. Certain hospitals are said to work their junior staff harder than others, but even then, a balance is possible. Granted, Russ is probably better equipped to answer that one.

As a student, other than maybe SWOTVAC, a balance should definitely be achievable. It's also important to remember that in uni you study as much or as little as you want, and in the end of the day pretty much everyone (or rather, every domestic student) who passes becomes a doctor anyway. You don't need to strive for a big 80+ any more like many would if they were going to try and get in to a graduate-entry course. Your med school marks become significantly LESS important as you move up the ladder; just like VTAC didn't ask you for your NAPLAN results, the various Colleges don't care much about your med school marks.

[Russ]

Just a slightly off topic question:

Approximately how much time do you get for yourself/family/friends, etc as a med student/fully educated doctor?

Med students can essentially do what they want, within reason. Nobody cares if you take the day off because you have a family event, as long as you're not doing it too often. You'll be busy but not beyond reason.

If you're a junior doctor, you get most weekends to yourself but most of my weeknights involve getting home, eating and then resting. It's hard to justify going out when you finish at 6, get home at 7 and need to start at 8 the next morning. You can usually swing the occasional weeknight out but it's certainly tough to do it regularly when you're quite exhausted after the day. Part time is the way to go

[heart]

Perfect can get back into gym gainz third year really screwed me over lol.
Edit:
Thought this was interesting and relevant http://www.mapmycareer.health.nsw.gov.au/Pages/Compare.aspx?sid=51,17,14#

[karenc.]

Hello everyone, I am just wondering if anyone had tips for MMI interviews because I have a few interviews from overseas medical schools in December. Also I am wondering what should I say when they ask me 'why do you wish to study medicine?' At the moment I can only think of 2 things: I am interested in biology and chemistry and like helping people.
Many thanks

[vox nihili]

Hello everyone, I am just wondering if anyone had tips for MMI interviews because I have a few interviews from overseas medical schools in December. Also I am wondering what should I say when they ask me 'why do you wish to study medicine?' At the moment I can only think of 2 things: I am interested in biology and chemistry and like helping people.
Many thanks

Why do you really want to study medicine though? I think that's a really important starting point for that question.

[Shenz0r]

Best to answer that by talking about any experience you've had and it also helps to talk about why you're choosing Medicine over other fields. Walk them through your decision making

[lachlancarroll]

Hi,
I have finished all of my year 12 exams for this year. During the year I decided I wanted to get into medicine at Monash- however I did not complete chemistry. What I am planning to do is have a gap year next year and complete chemistry throughout the course of the year as well as the UMAT. I will then reapply to VTAC with the undergraduate Medicine course at Monash. I was wondering if anyone else has ever gone through in this process and if you think it all sounds good to do. I will not have commenced any university course so believe I will still be eligible and count as a year 12 student as I will be completing chemistry.
Cheers

[Rumena]

Hi,
I wanted to get into medicine since the start of this year however I never thought I would get a good enough atar to even be considered for the course, therefore I didn't do the umat.
But I have gotten my atar now and it's higher than the required atar for the Monash guarantee medicine course which is 94 plus the umat score of 175. I've met all the other prerequisites tho. So I'm just looking for advice as I am very confused on what to do. I'm thinking of doing biomedical science and then getting into medicine hopefully. If anyone has gotten into medicine that way can they please give some advice on what I should do?!!

[heart]

Hi,
I wanted to get into medicine since the start of this year however I never thought I would get a good enough atar to even be considered for the course, therefore I didn't do the umat.
But I have gotten my atar now and it's higher than the required atar for the Monash guarantee medicine course which is 94 plus the umat score of 175. I've met all the other prerequisites tho. So I'm just looking for advice as I am very confused on what to do. I'm thinking of doing biomedical science and then getting into medicine hopefully. If anyone has gotten into medicine that way can they please give some advice on what I should do?!!

If you want to increase you chances to get into post grad medicine in Victoria best to do the bachelor of biomedical science at Monash, however, still sit the GAMSAT so you can apply to other universities besides Monash.