Medicine FAQ / So You Want To Be A Doctor

[WhoTookMyUsername]

I would have thought the competition at Melbourne would balance it out to some extent?

[Russ]

Ahahah yea the Monash med kids I know should have it harder than the Melbourne kids right? Since it's 5 years instead of 7. So Melbourne should be more chill or is it same thing?

Melbourne is 4 years, undergrad doesn't count. Melbourne is also legit crazy compared to Monash in the first 2 years, read the last couple of pages if you want to read some opinions on it

Undergrad competition is also pretty minimal based on what I experienced

[Bhootnike]

@ Baby Spice - do you do med/biomed at UoM?

[pi]

@ Baby Spice - do you do med/biomed at UoM?

Done Biomed (very well in fact!) and now doing the MD.

[Aurelian]

Melbourne is 4 years, undergrad doesn't count. Melbourne is also legit crazy compared to Monash in the first 2 years, read the last couple of pages if you want to read some opinions on it

Hey Russ, just out of curiosity, what sort of depth do you go into all the areas of medical science compared the depth you'd go into for the same area if you majored in it undergrad? Like, for example, how does how much you learn when studying pharmacology in the MD stack up against a pharmacology major in BBMed/BSc?

[WhoTookMyUsername]

Hey Aurelian, I'm curious as to why you did BSc instead of Biomed as you intent to go to MD?

[Bhootnike]

@ Baby Spice - do you do med/biomed at UoM?

Done Biomed (very well in fact!) and now doing the MD.

noice.
So babyspice, im assuming you had to go through the gamsat way ? unless u got in before it got implemented!
did you have the time and ability/motivation to prepare for gamsat during biomed?
and can u sit the gamsat 1st year?

[Aurelian]

Hey Aurelian, I'm curious as to why you did BSc instead of Biomed as you intent to go to MD?

I may want to major in chemistry, and I also wanted to study physics all through first year. Originally a physics major was on the table as well.

[Russ]

Hey Russ, just out of curiosity, what sort of depth do you go into all the areas of medical science compared the depth you'd go into for the same area if you majored in it undergrad? Like, for example, how does how much you learn when studying pharmacology in the MD stack up against a pharmacology major in BBMed/BSc?

Mmm. You do enough to hold a conversation and understand what somebody who had majored in it would be talking about. Different for different areas; anatomy has a lot just in core, neuroscience has very little. But in general I think the above holds true. We did a fair amount of pharmacology, probably covered the Principles of Pharmacology 101 stuff? Pharmacokinetics/dynamics, the basic potency vs. efficacy stuff, D/R curves, which I gather is the fundamentals.

A lot of what we learned on all those different areas is being retaught in the MD though, I will say that.

So babyspice, im assuming you had to go through the gamsat way ? unless u got in before it got implemented!
did you have the time and ability/motivation to prepare for gamsat during biomed?
and can u sit the gamsat 1st year?

Did GAMSAT. Studied the end of January and all of February for it (it's held in March). Wasn't a problem with respect to motivation or anything like that. You can't sit it in first year, you need to be within 2 years of the end of your degree.

[Bhootnike]

I see!
Ohh ok, so if i do UoM, i'll definitely do it 2nd year.
How was your lifestyle in biomed?
did it occupy much of your time, and thus relatively speaking with monash mbbs, do you reckon you got the benefit of the doubt in terms of lifestyle? the fact you are in the city, in the central hub on melbourne pretty much?!
im guessing you didnt reside in the city, but if you take that into consideration.. :p ?

[TheFedExpress]

essentially the UoM MD = Monash MBBS (ie. it is not a "Masters").

Sorry to rehash an old reply, but here it is said a UoM MD is NOT a Masters. However I found this on the UniMelb MD site.

"The new Doctor of Medicine (MD) provides a fresh approach to medical training. As the only Australian professional entry masters level program, the Melbourne MD creates a new benchmark in 21st centry medical education."

I'm not fully up to speed with how it all works so sorry if this sounds stupid,  but is a "Masters Level Program" different to a "Masters"?

[pi]

This is my understanding, might be wrong:

As far as I know, it doesn't really count as a proper Masters. In terms of content, MD's do exactly the same as MBBS (albeit in one less year), so I see no reason to count it as a Masters, even though it's graduate study. Not sure if an applicant to intern spots in certain hospitals would get "extra" points for having MD instead of the MBBS.

For a "real" Masters, I always assumed something like this: http://monash.edu/pubs/handbooks/courses/3852.html  (note that this is not a PhD, this is http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/courses/0047.html)

[Russ]

It's because masters used to refer to a masters of medicine, which was a further qualification. The MD is not that qualification, despite being a "masters" degree.

[TheFedExpress]

This is my understanding, might be wrong:

As far as I know, it doesn't really count as a proper Masters. In terms of content, MD's do exactly the same as MBBS (albeit in one less year), so I see no reason to count it as a Masters, even though it's graduate study. Not sure if an applicant to intern spots in certain hospitals would get "extra" points for having MD instead of the MBBS.

For a "real" Masters, I always assumed something like this: http://monash.edu/pubs/handbooks/courses/3852.html  (note that this is not a PhD, this is http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/courses/0047.html)

Thanks! Another stupid question, at the end of the day, a MBBS and MD are essentially the same thing right?
It's just all the Doctors at my Clinic have MD's, and none seem to have done MBBS?
It's because masters used to refer to a masters of medicine, which was a further qualification. The MD is not that qualification, despite being a "masters" degree.

[pi]

Thanks! Another stupid question, at the end of the day, a MBBS and MD are essentially the same thing right?
It's just all the Doctors at my Clinic have MD's, and none seem to have done MBBS?

There might be a slight difference in terms of intern points, to find that out, we'll have to wait and see what those certain hospitals release when MD students graduate.

Are most of the doctors in your clinic locals? If not, many unis overseas (such as the US) only have a MD system.