Does the University matter when it comes to Med School?

[ezferns]

I’d love to do undergrad med next year. I know all Australian med schools award the same certification but is there a difference in the quality of the training at each uni?
Do employers look at different unis differently?
What should I take into consideration when choosing a uni to study medicine with?

[cooldude123]

It's important to recognise that med is quite competitive in the sense that most people under/postgrad are applying broadly (i.e. applying to literally every uni in the country that they meet the entry criteria for), so at your stage, there aren't really that many differences in the quality of universities that would justify not applying for one.

That being said, there are a few things you should be aware of: All med schools are accredited by the Australian Medical Council, which is a fairly high standard of training (they send out people every so often to sit in on classes etc) that "subpar" universities don't really exist in med. The way it's taught is also fairly standardised (for example a mix of lectures, tutorials and problem based learning in the first 2-2.5 years, then hospital placements for the last 2-4 years).

In Victoria, hospitals can and do preference certain universities, but this is largely only true for internship (the first year out of graduation) and will not affect your specialty training pathway, and the difference is overwhelmingly outweighed by other factors such as grades and other factors you don't have control over, such as where you're placed. (note other states have a lottery based system, so the uni you go to has zero influence on your job offer).

In the fortunate event that you receive multiple med offers - apart from the standard things (proximity to your home/in the state that you want to practice in, full fee vs CSP, duration), there's not a whole lot that separates the different med schools.

[vox nihili]

It's important to recognise that med is quite competitive in the sense that most people under/postgrad are applying broadly (i.e. applying to literally every uni in the country that they meet the entry criteria for), so at your stage, there aren't really that many differences in the quality of universities that would justify not applying for one.

That being said, there are a few things you should be aware of: All med schools are accredited by the Australian Medical Council, which is a fairly high standard of training (they send out people every so often to sit in on classes etc) that "subpar" universities don't really exist in med. The way it's taught is also fairly standardised (for example a mix of lectures, tutorials and problem based learning in the first 2-2.5 years, then hospital placements for the last 2-4 years).

In Victoria, hospitals can and do preference certain universities, but this is largely only true for internship (the first year out of graduation) and will not affect your specialty training pathway, and the difference is overwhelmingly outweighed by other factors such as grades and other factors you don't have control over, such as where you're placed. (note other states have a lottery based system, so the uni you go to has zero influence on your job offer).

In the fortunate event that you receive multiple med offers - apart from the standard things (proximity to your home/in the state that you want to practice in, full fee vs CSP, duration), there's not a whole lot that separates the different med schools.

Agree with all of this. THere are definitely differences in individual medical schools, but it's definitely worth applying broadly. In Victoria the only undergrad option is Monash, so that just about sorts that one.

Hospital preference for particular unis is pretty rare tbh. Like you said, they care more about the individual than their uni.

[Quantum44]

There is very little difference between Australian med schools in terms of curriculum and teaching quality. You are accredited the same and have exactly the same opportunity to pursue whatever speciality you want. The only real limitation of where you do med school is that you will probably have to do your internship in the same state (which makes it difficult to move further down the track).

Obviously there are differences in the prestige of universities, however this is largely irrelevant to your future career. If you are lucky enough to receive multiple offers, the deciding factors for most people are the location (as you probably want to live at home if possible or in a city you like) and length of degree (5 vs 6 vs 7 years). Stuff like CSP vs BMP, provisional places and uni specific factors (such as JCU having a focus on rural and tropical health) also come into play. You might want to consider the environment and facilities of different med schools. For instance at UAdel they just built a new med school which is pretty amazing. The course is also entirely pass/fail as internships are randomly allocated so it’s pretty chill compared to monash, where people are competing for the best internships based on uni grades and other factors.

I’d say first decide if you are willing to move interstate for undergrad med given the highly competitive nature of applications. If you aren’t, then apply for Monash med but be ready to do biomed/science and try your hand at the GAMSAT to try and get into postgrad med. If you are willing to move interstate, then apply everywhere in Australia and then consider this question if you do end up getting multiple offers.

[pi]

Hospital preference for particular unis is pretty rare tbh. Like you said, they care more about the individual than their uni.

Having been through the process, you'd be surprised. Alfred / RMH / StV / Austin / Monash all have their favourites, StV probably most pronounced of them.

[Shenz0r]

St. Vincent's have guaranteed interviews for their own students for quite some time. In recent years, the word of mouth has been that they are taking less and less of their own.

Across all hospitals, there is a mixture of Melbourne/Monash/Deakin graduates. As long as you've done well in medical school and made a good application, you'll have a chance of getting one of your higher preferences.

The only thing that I would mention is that your Z-score (essentially the ATAR of your medical school grades) is based on your own cohort's strength, not the entire state. If you have a strong cohort you are going to find it more difficult to get a higher score.

[ezferns]

Thanks very much for your replies!!
Gotta say it’s pretty cool to recognise some of you guys from the bio page

[fluff]

I know this topic is kind of dead, but I just wanted to let people know that I've heard (third-hand from a friend who's family friends with some head at Royal Melbourne) that royal melbourne hospital really favour melb uni students for (i think) internships.

My school's recently had a surge of people not wanting to do undergrad med at Monash, but instead choosing to do biomed then post grad med at Melbourne, and this is apparently the reason why (something which I thought was a little weird, but if you really want to do an internship at Royal Melbourne, I guess this is something to think about).

[vox nihili]

I know this topic is kind of dead, but I just wanted to let people know that I've heard (third-hand from a friend who's family friends with some head at Royal Melbourne) that royal melbourne hospital really favour melb uni students for (i think) internships.

My school's recently had a surge of people not wanting to do undergrad med at Monash, but instead choosing to do biomed then post grad med at Melbourne, and this is apparently the reason why (something which I thought was a little weird, but if you really want to do an internship at Royal Melbourne, I guess this is something to think about).

Definitely a little weird. There are only about 60 interns at Royal Melbourne each year across the state, and it really can't be said that RMH necessarily offers a programme so superior that it would warrant particularly risking a place in med school full stop. Your classmates, in my view, are making a bad decision based on pretty silly information. Like a lot of hospitals affiliated with UniMelb, RMH supposedly prefers to take students whohave been students there...whether or not you become a student at RMH is entirely random.

[simonhu81292]

Definitely a little weird. There are only about 60 interns at Royal Melbourne each year across the state, and it really can't be said that RMH necessarily offers a programme so superior that it would warrant particularly risking a place in med school full stop. Your classmates, in my view, are making a bad decision based on pretty silly information. Like a lot of hospitals affiliated with UniMelb, RMH supposedly prefers to take students whohave been students there...whether or not you become a student at RMH is entirely random.

I agree with this.
Most Monash MBBS students also go to Alfred and Austin.
The internship system (PMCV matching) is quite weird and strange. But is not that Monash students don't go to RMH but they could have chosen to go to Alfred over RMH.