Medicine FAQ / So You Want To Be A Doctor

[Jenny_2108]

because biomed is not medicine.. they are difference courses

Yep, it's a separate course, not everyone doing Biomed wants to do med (some prefer research options, academia, etc.)

So what is the undergraduate course should we choose to study med at UoM? I usually assume that its bachelor of biomed or science though

[Bhootnike]

preferably those two i think. ^

Russ, had a question. My dad always told me:
if i become a doctor, after I finish MBBS, become a gp, i'll get a job, and then, ill earn 100k a year. vs other jobs where usually if you start up, you get 60kish, which then builds up to 100k after ages. e.g. engineering.
i'm guessing he wasn't aware that to actually 'get' a job, it takes like 10 years?

[pi]

because biomed is not medicine.. they are difference courses

Yep, it's a separate course, not everyone doing Biomed wants to do med (some prefer research options, academia, etc.)

So what is the undergraduate course should we choose to study med at UoM? I usually assume that its bachelor of biomed or science though

Yep, either of those is the norm from UoM. Although not everyone in the MD is from UoM (eg. Biomed or Science applicants from other unis are there too).

i'm guessing he wasn't aware that to actually 'get' a job, it takes like 10 years?

Most asian/curry parents are like that unless they are in the profession themselves

[paulsterio]

Most asian/curry parents are like that unless they are in the profession themselves

I don't understand why most curry/asian parents think that doctors earn THAT much, like sure they earn a lot, but not THAT much.

[aes_999]

Because in asian countries, doctors are well respected in those societies.

[Bhootnike]

^

ha,

 

[paulsterio]

Because in asian countries, doctors are well respected in those societies.

Doctors are well respected in our societies as well, doesn't mean that they get paid a lot. A lot of other professions are well respected as well, doesn't mean they get paid a lot too?

[Jenny_2108]

Maybe they are paranoid about this job Actually for them, its also prestige when talking to other friends, they can be proud of their children's jobs, I guess.

aes_99: Thats quite true, not only in Australia, other countries as well. Getting in med course requires very high score and long duration at uni. If you become a doctor, it means a lot to the parents

[aes_999]

Yeah, but I've lived in an asian country before, and I know how to explain this. You've gotta go to the mindset of your parents' generation. Most asian parents in Australia practically lived in their original countries before migrating in Aus., and it's a clear indicative that there's a general consensus that basically, if you can get a good profession, your life is set (aka engineer, doctor, lawyer etc). Now, we're talking about Asia here, not in Australia.

To Paulsterio, the reason you can say this.

Most asian/curry parents are like that unless they are in the profession themselves

I don't understand why most curry/asian parents think that doctors earn THAT much, like sure they earn a lot, but not THAT much.

That's because you're not thinking in the ways of your parents. Sure, doctors don't earn that much, but you're comparing this with other professions like, a builder or a garbage collector. In Australia, builders can earn a lot more than doctors if they're successful, and garbage collectors can still earn a decent amount. But in Asian countries, those types of jobs get you peanuts. That's why asian parents who emigrate to Aus. wants like, the bestest for their kids, hence they push their kids to get these super duper awesome ultimate *insert epic line here* jobs like doctor, because in asian countries, that's like, awesome man.

END RANT HERE.

EDIT: Oh, and seeing that you, Paulsterio, seem to be very much into curry girls, I am sure you understand that being an MBBS student will easily get you brownie points with said girl, her parents, her aunties and uncles etc etc. 

[mr.politiks]

My opinion is that you don't, as such, need to be driven to help others and see it as some sort of higher calling. Plenty of people say you do, but ignore them.

You don't need a higher calling, but it can seriously help. Don't compromise a higher calling or greater motivations if you have them. That said, yeah, heaps of doctors do see their work as still a job, because getting "too serious" about patients can also be difficult. However, if you are serious about doing something unique later down the track and really want to make some sacrifices then a higher calling could become a little more important. (Again, not all doctors of course, but their are some who do get involved in things like Medicins Sans Frontiers, etc etc, and highly involved at that)

[nacho]

I thought of this when I read the title

Cypress Hill - Rock Superstar

So you wanna be a rock superstar and live large?
A big house, five cars, you're in charge
Comin' up in the world, don't trust nobody
Got to look over your shoulder constantly

[pi]

Another small section that there are a few problems about:

Preferences in VTAC - Bonded vs. Unbonded: the common myth
There is only a disadvantage if you put a Bonded place above an Unbonded place in you VTAC preferences, only a disadvantage. There is a common urban myth (mainly brought about by ill-informed parents) that because students are less keen about Bonded places, by having it first will give the student an advantage in getting one and hence a place in medical school. This is not true at all. As Bonded places are only given to the bottom 25% of successful applicants, there are two main successful scenarios if you have Bonded ahead of Unbonded:
1) You fall in the bottom 25% and get Bonded, this would have happened anyway if it was your second preference
2) You fall into the top 75% and get Bonded, when if Unbonded was above, you would have got that place
So in essence, NEVER put Bonded spots above Unbonded spots, as there is only a disadvantage to yourself if you do.





Additions to this:

I heard that not all medical school places are the same..

Correct. There are different types of places, depending on what you apply for and how good your marks are. Broadly speaking:

Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP): The government pays a large amount of your fees, leaving you the rest to pay yourself (roughly 10k a year). They also offer you the ability to take on a debt for that 10k and pay them back through the tax system once you're earning actual money.

Full Fee Place (FFP): If you're an international student / don't have ANZ citizenship then you can't get a CSP and have to take one of these. It's expensive (roughly 60k a year) so work out where that money's coming from before you start.

Bonded Medical Place (BMP): Turns out doctors like money and city comforts and don't want to work rurally, leading to a whole lot of rural health problems. To address this, the government has introduced a scheme where 25% of medical school places are "bonded". Before you start you sign a contract and you'll have to work rurally for as many years as you spend at medical school.

Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship (MRBS): Same as a BMP except the government pays YOU to study medicine (yay!) to the tune of $25k a year. Your obligation may be slightly longer, since it's 6 years absolute, rather than "however long your course is".

If you want more information on the BMP or MRBS, I strongly (STRONGLY) recommend you google the government website and read the contract and your obligations etc. You would have to be an idiot to sign one without having a proper read of it/think about it. They're legal documents that will dramatically affect your future!

Bonded Medical Place (BMP): **worth noting in the para that it is exactly the same as CSP except the bond

Extended Rural Cohort (ERC): A small stream of students whereby the clinical years are undertaken in rural/regional areas. All students here are CSP, except these students accept their place knowing that their clinical years will definitely be in a rural/regional setting. Preference is given to domestic rural applicants.

[Russ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SuZvMy8PuNY

AMSA 2013. Medicine isn't all work (yes it is) we get to have fun as well

[Stick]

Obviously one major barrier for potential and current medicine students is being exposed to a plethora of very confronting circumstances (by this I am referring to the 'blood and guts' ). On a more personal level, I've only started considering medicine as a viable career option as it has the academic pursuits I crave, has a lot of science and problem-solving aspects and is a job that is people-oriented and allows me to help others. But I guess I've always had uncertainty about if and how I'd deal with seeing these sorts of things throughout medical training and whether or not it is a career I should even be considering if I think I can't deal with those aspects of the job. Perhaps you could enlighten us on this side of medicine?

[Jenny_2108]

Btw, I have another question: Undergraduate and post-grad medicine, which one is better?