ATAR Notes: Forum
Uni Stuff => Faculties => Health sciences => Topic started by: costargh on September 06, 2008, 10:30:04 pm
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Just in relation to people who have an interest to study medicine, why do you want to?
Is it because you want to help people?
You want to make good money?
You want to make a difference?
You want the prestige?
You have expectations from family to do it?
etc.
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It's the money and social status. Not only that, but it's not risky. That is, not only will your pay be high, but it will not fluctuate wildly with economic trends, like say investment banking.
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I don't want to study "medicine" as in a medicine degree, but i do want to do work in medical research.
My reasons are:
• i'm interested in it. (main reason)
• to help others
• the pay's not bad
• want to make a difference
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the long tiresome hours and limited social life is what sold me
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I wanted to help people. My goal was to join doctors without borders and be very very poor but happy (seriously)
But I didn't get into med. Now I'm a law student. Still going to "help" people ... at the low low rate of $xxxxx / day
Muahahaha
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Just in relation to people who have an interest to study medicine, why do you want to?
Is it because you want to help people?
You want to make good money?
You want to make a difference?
You want the prestige?
You have expectations from family to do it?
etc.
1. I want to help people/ embark on a meaningful career where I can make a difference to people's lives.
2. I am fascinated by biology, human physiology, psychology/neurology and pathology.
3. I have been incredibly sick in the past, and have been an inpatient in hospital for months on end. I thus know what it's like to go through illness, and have a real understanding of how difficult it is to cope on a day to day basis. (I find that some doctors don't realise how much you actually have to endure and are quite flippant. They don't feel the pain, the nausea, the discomfort, the stress etc). I can relate to people in these situations, and think I'd have a good way of interacting with people.
All people suffering deserve compassion, respect and dignity, no matter what they're diagnosed with (or where they live or what their income is etc), whether it be cancer, alcoholism cystic fibrosis or depression. I feel some patients with mental illness and lifestyle disease are treated appallingly, which I am disgusted by. Also, from a patient's perspective, I believe chronic illness is managed and dealt with poorly. I suppose I want to also have an impact on the way patients are dealt with, although that probably won't happen.
-To summarise above, I think I'd be a good doctor due to my experience as a patient and what I've observed, and knowledge of the intricacies of medicine.
My heart is in medicine. It's what I want to do.
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I wanted to help people. My goal was to join doctors without borders and be very very poor but happy (seriously)
But I didn't get into med. Now I'm a law student. Still going to "help" people ... at the low low rate of $xxxxx / day
Muahahaha
lol nice. only 5 figures a day. ur so generous
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ah nice jessie makes sense
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Out of interest, why do you ask?
Are you having difficulty understanding why anyone would want to do it? Fair enough I suppose.
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Jessie I hope I'll have someone like you as my doctor if I ever get sick enough to visit one :)
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Nup, not having difficulty understanding. :)
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Nup, not having difficulty understanding. :)
Considering it...? :D
Jessie I hope I'll have someone like you as my doctor if I ever get sick enough to visit one :)
Aww :)
Nina you can be my lawyer :P
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It's the money and social status. Not only that, but it's not risky. That is, not only will your pay be high, but it will not fluctuate wildly with economic trends, like say investment banking.
What about job satisfaction?
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For me medicine is something I've always been amazed by, ever since I spent some time in hospital when I was 5 years old.
I feel it's a career that combines a lot of the things in life that I'm passionate about.
I find the medical disciplines and specialties fascinating and am eager to learn more about them, but I also want to apply this knowledge and contribute positively towards those who are genuinely in need of comfort and treatment.
I went to work experience at the Monash Medical centre in Year 10 and spending some time in the wards showed me the importance of empowering patients through effective communication. Before my time there, I think I underestimated how important understanding the specific needs of patients was. Forming these kinds of bonds with patients is something I see as very meaningful and mutually rewarding. I feel its something that I would be good at, and would enjoy doing.
This year when I was fundraising with my school for the Good Friday Appeal a woman gave us a large jar filled with coins (it was dfficult to lift!)
She told us that she had been collecting the money over the past year, little by little until that day. When we thanked her and told her how generous a donation it was, she explained that it was the least she could do after the Royal Children's Hospital had done so much for her son some years previously.
By this stage I was already set on doing medicine. But this moving experience was one which renewed my interest and passion for it. Seeing how medicine can have such a positive and life changing impact on people and their families, makes me want to contribute in a simlar way.
Medicine is all I've ever wanted to do-and I'm determined to pursue this dream, no matter how long it takes. :)
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^ out of interest, what are your preferences?
I think (judging from your post), that if you didn't get into medicine, nursing would also be a meaningful pathway of getting towards your goal if you didn't get straight into Monash Uni medicine. You sound like you're fairly interpersonal, and nursing would give you a better practical and theoretical grounding for post grad med than biomed. That way you could work causally/ part time as a nurse and care for patients, whilst studying post grad medicine. I know men aren't keen on considering this, but I think you definitely should.
:)
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My preferences are:
1. Medicine Surgery Monash Clayton
2.Medicine Surgery (Bonded) Monash Clayton
3.Medicine Surgery (ERC) Monash Clayton
4.Biomedicine UoM
Well to be honest doing nursing was something I never considered! I am quite academic and although I'm not a big fan of the Melbourne model, since Biomed is the preferred pathway into post-grad medicine, and I am interested in the sciences which underpin medicine this seemed like a viable option for me. I think its a course which I'd still enjoy. :)
Is it the same process to enter post-grad med from nursing (consideration of GPA, GAMSAT and interview)? I think it's a less conventional pathway though, since most post-grad students seem to have science or biomed backgrounds.
Do your preferences look similar to mine? Or did you include nursing as well?
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If you do nursing though, you'll pretty much have to study for GAMSAT on your own.
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My preferences are:
1. Medicine Surgery Monash Clayton
2.Medicine Surgery (Bonded) Monash Clayton
3.Medicine Surgery (ERC) Monash Clayton
4.Biomedicine UoM
Well to be honest doing nursing was something I never considered! I am quite academic and although I'm not a big fan of the Melbourne model, since Biomed is the preferred pathway into post-grad medicine, and I am interested in the sciences which underpin medicine this seemed like a viable option for me. I think its a course which I'd still enjoy. :)
Is it the same process to enter post-grad med from nursing (consideration of GPA, GAMSAT and interview)? I think it's a less conventional pathway though, since most post-grad students seem to have science or biomed backgrounds.
Do your preferences look similar to mine? Or did you include nursing as well?
Lol, fair enough. It just depends on what suits you I guess :).
But doing Nursing and applying for med is in no way 'non-conventional'. You'd be surprised how many individuals are in P.grad MBBS who have done a BN. In fact, you can apply for post grad medicine with any course (and the way of applying is exactly the same). I spoke to a guy at Monash, and he said the best courses to do in preparation for medicine post grad are courses with physiology and patient care electives, such as health science, nursing, speech pathology, psychology etc. I was also told that individuals who have done B. Nursing are more likely to stay in the course, as they have a better idea of what is entailed, and are much better prepared than those who have completed generalised science degrees. So it's a completely valid (and useful) pathway to medicine.
Where's biology in your subjects btw? :P
Orsel: I think people are unaware of what a nursing degree truly entails. You don't learn how to make food and make beds. You study physiology, pathology (diagnosis), psychology, chemistry, studies of Australian and international Health and patient care etc. So yeah.
Also, Nurses do more than clean up your vomit. Nurses have the potential to (NPs) diagnose, prescribe and administer medication, manage and plan out a patient's care, manage a ward, take obs, perform procedures, check for signs of deterioration etc, and provide care and support. It is a challenging and rewarding career than requires intelligence.
Most people have to study for the GAMSAT by themselves anyway, or they get a tutor.
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True, but from what you've mentioned, only chemistry is directly helpful in GAMSAT. This is in comparison with a generic science degree which will cover physics and biology as well.
Of course there's nothing wrong with completing a degree in Nursing, or any degree for that matter, and then studying for GAMSAT by yourself. I simply state that science/biomed/etc would be more relevant, without making any opinion on whether this is a better choice.
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Well, gosh - I guess I wanted to become a doctor because ever since I was a little boy, I just wanted to help people. I don't tell this story often, but I remember when I was seven years old, one time I found a bird that had fallen out of its nest, and so I picked him up and I brought him home, and I made him a house out of an empty shoebox.... I'm becoming a doctor for the same four reasons that everybody does - chicks, money, power and chicks.
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I'm becoming a doctor for the same four reasons that everybody does - chicks, money, power and chicks.
Lmao! can you imagine if someone said that in the interveiw! ;D
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"One of the main reasons I went into medicine was for the laughs - that and the pussy, and that dried up ten year ago, if you'll pardon the expression."
Garth Morenghi's Darkplace = quite possibly one of the funniest TV shows of all time.
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Well, gosh - I guess I wanted to become a doctor because ever since I was a little boy, I just wanted to help people. I don't tell this story often, but I remember when I was seven years old, one time I found a bird that had fallen out of its nest, and so I picked him up and I brought him home, and I made him a house out of an empty shoebox.... I'm becoming a doctor for the same four reasons that everybody does - chicks, money, power and chicks.
Haha I love scrubs
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True, but from what you've mentioned, only chemistry is directly helpful in GAMSAT. This is in comparison with a generic science degree which will cover physics and biology as well.
Of course there's nothing wrong with completing a degree in Nursing, or any degree for that matter, and then studying for GAMSAT by yourself. I simply state that science/biomed/etc would be more relevant, without making any opinion on whether this is a better choice.
Yeah. As weird as this sounds, Biomed/ science is more relevant to the GAMSAT, but it's not really more relevant to the course as a whole, however.
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My friend gave up Nursing as her first preference because she thought that it had only entailed 'shift work' and thought that she was better than that. However, as Jess said, nursing is more than just shift work, they have the power to do much more, and sometimes, even the highest calibre of nurses get paid a very sufficient wage, and can easily assist in surgery.
Now, my friend wants to do medicine like everyone else at school. :(
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My friend gave up Nursing as her first preference because she thought that it had only entailed 'shift work' and thought that she was better than that. However, as Jess said, nursing is more than just shift work, they have the power to do much more, and sometimes, even the highest calibre of nurses get paid a very sufficient wage, and can easily assist in surgery.
Now, my friend wants to do medicine like everyone else at school. :(
Yeah, such a common misconception about nursing :(
The opportunities in Nursing are infinite. Nurses don't necessarily only do "shift work" in hospitals; there are a myriad of settings and areas which nurses can choose to work in. This obviously includes hospital based work (where you can specialise in a particular area, eg. Intensive care, midwifery, neonatal care, oncology etc), or you could go into management, research, case management, school nursing/work place nursing, community based health care, become a disease educator, lecturer, practice manager, work in radiology/ cath labs, work in pathology labs, do policy advising, or become a nurse practitioner etc.
It's a really great career. I just can't choose between medicine and nursing... although they are different, they both involve helping people one on one, are rewarding careers, and include the study of biology, physiology, pathology and psychology, which I am highly interested in. So I think I'd enjoy both.
But it's such a shame that so many individuals are deterred from nursing due to the misconceptions which float around about the nature of the career, and its seemingly "unattractive wages" (although, whilst nursing should be funded better, the wages are really not that bad at all.) We need intelligent, motivated and compassionate nurses. :) I wish the incentives were more visible so more people would be attracted to the career.