What interests people in Medicine?

[chid]

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?

[orsel]

If you do nursing though, you'll pretty much have to study for GAMSAT on your own.

[jess3254]

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?

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.

[orsel]

^
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.

[Matt The Rat]

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.

[iamdan08]

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! 

[humph]

"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.

[jess3254]

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

[jess3254]

^
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.

[xox.happy1.xox]

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.

[jess3254]

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.