Do you think doing Biomed before Med was advantageous to you?
Say, hypothetically, you could go back to Year 12: if you could choose between either, would you go undergrad or postgrad Med? Why?
Thanks for doing this. :)
Even now I'm not entirely sure that I want to be a doctor; not at least in the same way that some of my colleagues are, who live and breathe medicine (which is great!).
Just curious, what do you think you'll do after med school if you don't end up being a doctor?
What has been your favourite and least favourite parts of med so far? :)
What made you decide to do biomed? And was there anything in particular that made you realise that you did want to continue on to do postgrad med? What would you have done if you had decided not to continue with med?
I’m still a year away from thinking about clinical placements, but I’m curious as to how to found transitioning from the pre-clinical to clinical side of your degree. Going from learning about anatomy, physiology, pathology and management along with clinical skills in a controlled environment seems such a huge step away from actually using your knowledge in a hospital setting, even if there are doctors and nurses to help you along the way. Was there anything you found easier or more difficult than you anticipated?
Hey Vox,
Thanks for doing this, really appreciate it.
Do you think that the culture at your high school was better, or at university? What is it like and what are the biggest differences? In what ways do you think the teachers or students are different?
Did you find it hard to stay committed to Biomedicine/Medicine throughout high school and your degree?
Thank you very much. :)
Throughout your university experience thus far, did you ever had any doubts about studying biomed, and then moving onto medicine? Did it always just 'feel right', or did you at some point seriously consider possible alternatives?
Hello Vox!
Firstly I just wanted to say I went to the SWOT lecture for biology last year and you were really engaging when breaking down concepts and made us students laugh a lot - something that was greatly needed during exam period so thank you!
- What do you personally think are the benefits of following a postgraduate pathway to medicine?
- Did you experience postgraduate entry into medicine as a really difficult pathway to take? Do you think your mindset had a significant impact on your entry into med?
- Do you think you would want to become an academic or would you prefer teaching secondary students if you pursued education later on? (tbh you'd be a great lecturer)
- Where did your interest in learning Mandarin come from? I'm currently learning the language too so I was wondering how you go about learning it?
- Could you give us some study tips that we could apply to our VCE subjects?
十分感谢 Vox!!! ;)
Hi,
Thanks so much for doing this.
What is your advice for doing well in a disadvantaged school? What I find quite difficult is believing that I can achieve scores that I think I'm capable of but then not seeing any past student from my school has been able to do so.
Also, re your comment about the bullying that goes on in med school, that came as a surprise to me :( What you said was exactly right, the same people who are saving lives may also be the people ruining those of others. Med is something I'm quite keen on in the future, and it's a shame that the culture is like this. What has the first couple of years of med been like in terms of workload in comparison to where you are now? And is it true that biomed is really heavy in terms of workload? If so, how did you manage your time once you got out of year 12 and into biomed?
Thanks so much again, really appreciate this insight
Hi,
Do you have any advice for someone who is considering going into med but is hesitant because of how prestigious the course is and is worried they will be the dumbest in the cohort ::) ::) Also, what do you have to say about the stigma/stereotype that sometimes surrounds med, regarding the cohort being really competitive/ filled with people whose life passion has always been medicine? As I'm someone who never pictured themselves doing med (tendency to underestimate myself :/) and kinda just ended up liking science, finding an interest in the medical field etc and realised it is a possibility.
Thanks, hopefully you can make sense of these questions ;D
Oh, and one more question; what are the contact hours like for both biomedicine and med/how much time are you spending at uni per week? Is having a life (having a part time job etc) outside of uni pretty manageable or not?
Thanks again!!
I have four questions:
1) How to you approach the privilege that other students possess? I didn't attend a disadvantaged school (but still only attended public schools all throughout my life) but come from a low SES background but struggle with perceived inferiority and well as elitism (obviously many people from privileged backgrounds are elitist but occasionally it does manifest).
2) How did you find your emergency medicine placement? I'm really interested in practicing in this field despite the terrible hours because of the resilience, mental prowess, teamwork and leadership it requires. I'm planning to pursue either EM or Psychiatry (or Neuropsychiatry), because I'm admire the resilience and empathy those fields demand.
3) Do you think that relevant extracurriculars (like involvement in global health programs or active volunteering in public health issues) should be given weight in medical school applications?
4) Do/How do medical students find time to pursue extra-curriculars or other interests?
Thanks!
EDIT: What is your opinion on people that never planned to pursue medicine from young. Throughout high school, I've thought about it but never seriously contemplated it (didn't even sit the UMAT), because I didn't think I was 'smart' enough (taking into account that I missed a lot of classes in my first few years of high school for a bunch of reasons), didn't know any doctors, was a first generation uni student etc. Also a large proportion of people in my high school wanted to study med, many of whom were doing it for cultural stereotype/ stable career/don't know what else to do reasons, which turned me away a bit. It's only in the last few years that I've developed a passion for it, I love learning about medical conditions, I gravitate towards public/global health related activities (I edit two publications), I volunteer in domestic violence education, I'm feel very emotional and psychologically connected to ethical issues in the medical practice in a way that very few things makes me feel as such. I still feel inferior/less legit to people that have wanted do study med their entire life.
Was there a "lightbulb" moment that made you want to do med in high school?
OR
Did you want to do med from a very young age?
Appreciate you doing this! All my serious questions have been asked by others, so...
If you had to change the adjective in Little River, what would you calll it?
If that's what you want to do, frankly, fuck what everyone else thinks, just go for it.