Medicine FAQ / So You Want To Be A Doctor

[pi]

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

Well I've heard that undergrad is less crammed. Even though all postgrads have done some stuff that are prereqs, they still cram years 1 and 2 of MBBS (not just the knowledge, also the clinical stuff, etc.) into 1 year, that's a lot imo.

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[Russ]

You have 12 week semesters; your course is less crammed

(I can elaborate if you want, but the compression of 2 years into 1 is pretty hectic)

[shinny]

Not sure how UoM does it, but the Deakin students that were with me last year did the Monash 3rd and 4th year in one year. I have NO idea how that's possible. Learning all of general medicine, general surgery, AND all the specialities (psychiatry, women's and children's) in a single year.

[thushan]

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

That only happens @ Melbourne, where anat/phys/biochem are prerequisites. @ Monash and Deakin, you don't need a science background to get into med - you can be an arts or commerce student and get in. So yeah, grad entry is more crammed. Monash Gippsland does our yr 1 and 2 in one year, and Deakin does preclin in 2 years.

Moderator action: removed real name, sorry for the inconvenience

[Jenny_2108]

So what do we study in postgrad for medicine? I used to assume that finishing bachelor of science/biomed undergrad will give you more advantages to study postgrad because at least, you have some basic knowledge about it, is it right?

If someone do postgrad without any science/biomed background, how can they cope with heaps of scientific terminilogy?
And someone finish Art/Commerce degree, study medicine postgrad, whats the point of doing bachelor of art/commerce then?  Kinda wasting time!

Btw, whats GAMSAT's score required to study postgrad at UoM? How many times can we do GAMSAT?

[charmanderp]

So what do we study in postgrad for medicine? I used to assume that finishing bachelor of science/biomed undergrad will give you more advantages to study postgrad because at least, you have some basic knowledge about it, is it right?

If someone do postgrad without any science/biomed background, how can they cope with heaps of scientific terminilogy?
And someone finish Art/Commerce degree, study medicine postgrad, whats the point of doing bachelor of art/commerce then?  Kinda wasting time!

Btw, whats GAMSAT's score required to study postgrad at UoM? How many times can we do GAMSAT?

That depends on the individual university; best to check out the prerequisites in their respective handbook for postgrad med.

[Starlight]

So what do we study in postgrad for medicine? I used to assume that finishing bachelor of science/biomed undergrad will give you more advantages to study postgrad because at least, you have some basic knowledge about it, is it right?

If someone do postgrad without any science/biomed background, how can they cope with heaps of scientific terminilogy?
And someone finish Art/Commerce degree, study medicine postgrad, whats the point of doing bachelor of art/commerce then?  Kinda wasting time!

Btw, whats GAMSAT's score required to study postgrad at UoM? How many times can we do GAMSAT?

Apparently as many times as you want to do gamsat? Well.. a lot of times. From looking at other forums i'd say mid 60s +

[anonymous1]

^ The gamsat can be sat every year from when you're in your second year of uni, if you don't get a good score basically you could just keep sitting it even after your 3 year degree continues if you are that eager! The score tends to be in mid 60's as El2012 pointed out.

[paulsterio]

So what do we study in postgrad for medicine? I used to assume that finishing bachelor of science/biomed undergrad will give you more advantages to study postgrad because at least, you have some basic knowledge about it, is it right?

In some courses such as the MD at UoM, you have to study BSc or BBioMed with the correct prerequisites to be considered. For Monash and Deakin, you will need no prerequisites, but you are right - it is better to study BSc/BBioMed because it gives you a lot of background knowledge.

If someone do postgrad without any science/biomed background, how can they cope with heaps of scientific terminilogy?

You would cope with it just as you would cope with it in undergraduate MBBS - pretty much terminology is pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

And someone finish Art/Commerce degree, study medicine postgrad, whats the point of doing bachelor of art/commerce then?  Kinda wasting time!

There are many reasons why - first of all, interest - some people might have an interest in a particular area which they would like to know more about before entering medicine. It's not only that though - Arts/Commerce and other disciplines have a lot more in common with medicine than you might think. Like I usually say, Medicine is as much an Art as it is a Science - so don't think that medicine is science and science only because it isn't.

Is Deakin Medicine a viable alternative to Monash?
What are the disadvantages and/or of going to Deakin compared to Monash

All medical schools in Australia are accredited and you will become a doctor if you go to any university and complete a medical degree.

Disadvantages - it's in Geelong - but I don't know if you'd rather Geelong or Gippsland - that's up to you really - no other disadvantages that I know of.

[WhoTookMyUsername]

Oh it's in geelong? No wonder monash is more demand lol, i thought it was at burwood

[paulsterio]

Oh it's in geelong? No wonder monash is more demand lol, i thought it was at burwood

Monash is in Gippsland and if you asked me, Geelong is a better place to live

[Starlight]

Oh it's in geelong? No wonder monash is more demand lol, i thought it was at burwood

Geelong is a better place to live

mmnah..

[WhoTookMyUsername]

Oh it's in geelong? No wonder monash is more demand lol, i thought it was at burwood

Monash is in Gippsland and if you asked me, Geelong is a better place to live

Monash is at monash university isn't it D:

[Russ]

If you're talking about postgrad then 'Monash' means Gippsland and 'Deakin' means Geelong. Only undergrad is taught at Clayton

In some courses such as the MD at UoM, you have to study BSc or BBioMed with the correct prerequisites to be considered.

This also isn't true, you can study whatever degree you want, you just need the three prerequisite subjects

[WhoTookMyUsername]

Ahk, so most students would just do Undergrad at Clayton and then stop there?
(so Deakin undergrad is at geelong? or gippsland?)