Medicine FAQ / So You Want To Be A Doctor

[pi]

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

Overall, I'd say neither is better than the other. It depends on what you're after (I'll make a list of each later on in this post), but personally, I was lucky to get any offers for med, so I took the first one that came my way. It happened to be undergrad

Undergrad
- Shorter, usually 5-6 years of total uni (5 at Monash, 6 at other places like JCU)
- The course is less "crammed"
- More contact hours at uni
- Good for those who know exactly what they want to do right after high school
- No full fee places in Vic
- Good holidays

Postgrad
- Longer, usually 7 years of total uni
- Course is a little more "crammed" as typically years 1 and 2 of an undergrad degree become year 1 of a post grad degree
- Less uni contact hours
- Good for those who are unsure coming out of high school or for those wanting a second shot at getting into medicine
- Full fee places available in Vic
- Crappier holidays

In terms of research opportunities, I'd argue they're also about equal. Although, some unis do have better research reps than others.

As far as I know, there is no difference in the doctors they produce (in terms of "quality"), and essentially the UoM MD = Monash MBBS (ie. it is not a "Masters"). Usually though, if someone gets into undergrad, they go to undergrad, the only exceptions I've heard to that are scholarship recipients who choose UoM for a variety of reasons (many don't make that choice too)

[Jenny_2108]

From your post, it seems like undergrad is a better choice
If we take postgrad, GAMSAT is required right? Is GAMSAT very hard? Which uni offer postgrad besides UoM?

[Starlight]

From your post, it seems like undergrad is a better choice
If we take postgrad, GAMSAT is required right? Is GAMSAT very hard? Which uni offer postgrad besides UoM?

Yeah Gamsat. Apparently it takes 6 hours or something. Consists of multiple choice questions (from bio, chem, physics) and essay questions.

[thushan]

From your post, it seems like undergrad is a better choice
If we take postgrad, GAMSAT is required right? Is GAMSAT very hard? Which uni offer postgrad besides UoM?

My sister after doing GAMSAT: never again.

[Starlight]

From your post, it seems like undergrad is a better choice
If we take postgrad, GAMSAT is required right? Is GAMSAT very hard? Which uni offer postgrad besides UoM?

My sister after doing GAMSAT: never again.

Lol some people have attempted it up to 3 times. Depends on the person I guess, if it's really worth it.

[thushan]

From your post, it seems like undergrad is a better choice
If we take postgrad, GAMSAT is required right? Is GAMSAT very hard? Which uni offer postgrad besides UoM?

My sister after doing GAMSAT: never again.

Lol some people have attempted it up to 3 times. Depends on the person I guess, if it's really worth it.

Now that's courage.

Imagine if the UMAT were 6 hours...say a 170 minute Section 1, 100 minute Section 2 and 60 minute section 3

[Bhootnike]

From your post, it seems like undergrad is a better choice
If we take postgrad, GAMSAT is required right? Is GAMSAT very hard? Which uni offer postgrad besides UoM?

My sister after doing GAMSAT: never again.

Lol some people have attempted it up to 3 times. Depends on the person I guess, if it's really worth it.

Now that's courage.

Imagine if the UMAT were 6 hours...say a 170 minute Section 1, 100 minute Section 2 and 60 minute section 3

[pi]

^Good luck

[Russ]

GAMSAT isn't that bad. It was a drain but people do tend to get kinda melodramatic about it.

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?

As I mentioned last night, you'll get inured to it. I didn't like dissections much in high school, last semester I was breaking ribs and removing limbs with the best of them.

I'd be much more concerned about the emotional damage and the confronting social situations that will crop up in medicine, because they're a lot more traumatic than the 'blood and guts'. Have a think about your coping mechanisms and mental strength. They're things that will develop (I'm certainly not the person I was 5 years ago in y11) but it's always good to contemplate it beforehand.

[Starlight]

From your post, it seems like undergrad is a better choice
If we take postgrad, GAMSAT is required right? Is GAMSAT very hard? Which uni offer postgrad besides UoM?

My sister after doing GAMSAT: never again.

Did she end up getting into med/ dent/optom?

[pi]

From your post, it seems like undergrad is a better choice
If we take postgrad, GAMSAT is required right? Is GAMSAT very hard? Which uni offer postgrad besides UoM?

My sister after doing GAMSAT: never again.

Did she end up getting into med/ dent/optom?

Yeah, she got into med afaik.

[WhoTookMyUsername]

From your post, it seems like undergrad is a better choice
If we take postgrad, GAMSAT is required right? Is GAMSAT very hard? Which uni offer postgrad besides UoM?

My sister after doing GAMSAT: never again.

Did she end up getting into med/ dent/optom?

Yeah, she got into med afaik.

She's related to thushan   

[thushan]

Haha yeah she's 3rd year @ ANU now.

[charmanderp]

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

Overall, I'd say neither is better than the other. It depends on what you're after (I'll make a list of each later on in this post), but personally, I was lucky to get any offers for med, so I took the first one that came my way. It happened to be undergrad

Undergrad
- Shorter, usually 5-6 years of total uni (5 at Monash, 6 at other places like JCU)
- The course is less "crammed"
- More contact hours at uni
- Good for those who know exactly what they want to do right after high school
- No full fee places in Vic
- Good holidays

Postgrad
- Longer, usually 7 years of total uni
- Course is a little more "crammed" as typically years 1 and 2 of an undergrad degree become year 1 of a post grad degree
- Less uni contact hours
- Good for those who are unsure coming out of high school or for those wanting a second shot at getting into medicine
- Full fee places available in Vic
- Crappier holidays

In terms of research opportunities, I'd argue they're also about equal. Although, some unis do have better research reps than others.

As far as I know, there is no difference in the doctors they produce (in terms of "quality"), and essentially the UoM MD = Monash MBBS (ie. it is not a "Masters"). Usually though, if someone gets into undergrad, they go to undergrad, the only exceptions I've heard to that are scholarship recipients who choose UoM for a variety of reasons (many don't make that choice too)

And I guess if you do an undergrad degree before postgrad Med it gives you another option in case you ever want to try something else.

[paulsterio]

pi, are you sure that undergrad is less crammed, I thought that postgrad would be better because once you've reached the first year of your MD, you would have done quite a fair bit of anatomy, physiology and other human sciences already - rather than us, I find it overwhelming to learn both the science and clinical applications at once

Moderator action: removed real name, sorry for the inconvenience