Transferring from Biomedicine to Science

[lebnon]

I guess what it comes down to is "each to their own" depending on ambitions, interests, priorities, etc.

I wouldn't mind riding such a roller-coaster (not that I'm at all sure about what I want to do if I pass my degree) for the tangible benefit to people I think I could have on people's lives.

But the next person might not, and that's society

Amen.

I suppose I looked at a lot of pretty girls around campus and figured medicine wasn't worth not getting to know them better, partying hard and relaxing more often and that was a main player in my thought process as shallow as it sounds.

[Hehetymen]

Main reason for not wanting to do it is the wtf do I do if I don't get in or if I do get in and find it too stressful/not what I expected. Starting another undergrad course when I'm 25 or something is a strong do not want.

[John President]

I respect the consideration you put into the decision you made. It's definitely better to change your mind now than at any point further down the track. And Melbourne Uni can be a very enjoyable place to be if you're not constantly stressed out. Make the most of it, but keep a good work-life balance

[Russ]

When speaking to a person who works with suregons****:

You misunderstand me, I'm not saying that you'll never work dumb hours like that, I'm just saying it's not standard, which is what you seemed to be implying

[thushan]

Amen.

I suppose I looked at a lot of pretty girls around campus and figured medicine wasn't worth not getting to know them better, partying hard and relaxing more often and that was a main player in my thought process as shallow as it sounds.

Haha! So much for "chicks, money, power and chicks"

[lebnon]

You misunderstand me, I'm not saying that you'll never work dumb hours like that, I'm just saying it's not standard, which is what you seemed to be implying

Yes, but you will certainly be working long hours as a surgeon. I have a family friend who is a general surgeon, he has said, 'I never really got a chance to have kids.' My point was that surgeons work incredibly long hours and from memory, get one weekend off a month.

@thush. Before you had an explosion of people going to uni, it was probably true that doctors got heaps of girls. They were seen as educated people with status and money, makes sense in a world full of uneducated people.

Like, my aunty (~50) was telling me that when she finished high school, some of her friends had the intentions of marrying a doctor. You never really hear of that kind of stuff happening any more. No girls (worth knowing) would get with you because you're a doctor. If anything, we call them 'gold-diggers' now.

[thushan]

Yes, but you will certainly be working long hours as a surgeon. I have a family friend who is a general surgeon, he has said, 'I never really got a chance to have kids.' My point was that surgeons work incredibly long hours and from memory, get one weekend off a month.

@thush. Before you had an explosion of people going to uni, it was probably true that doctors got heaps of girls. They were seen as educated people with status and money, makes sense in a world full of uneducated people.

Like, my aunty (~50) was telling me that when she finished high school, some of her friends had the intentions of marrying a doctor. You never really hear of that kind of stuff happening any more. No girls (worth knowing) would get with you because you're a doctor. If anything, we call them 'gold-diggers' now.

Leb - I know I was just taking the piss

[Russ]

I think we can all agree that the moral of the story is surgery is an inferior pathway and it's your own fault for doing those hours

-nods-

[JinXi]

I have a cousin who became a fully qualified cardiac surgeon at 30 years old. Whenever I ask him about his job, he get excited and it's very apparent that he enjoys what he does. I must admit that he does somewhat have a weird sense of humor though. At 34 now, he's already married and has 2 children, so there's definitely a "life" behind a surgeon.

However, his life is quite erratic. Every now and then (quite often actually), he gets a emergency call from his hospital and has to rush off to work regardless of the time, which can be extremely stressful for some people especially if they're in the middle of something.
 
P.S. Everyone gets impressed by him whenever a cake needs to be cut. He seems to do it so effortlessly and the pieces are always perfectly the same! There was once that he miss-cut the cake and wondered aloud that if that was a real person, that guy would've been dead...

[lebnon]

I think we can all agree that the moral of the story is surgery is an inferior pathway and it's your own fault for doing those hours

-nods-

I'd like to clarify my stance in this thread a little. I am by no means telling people what to do in life. I'm just trying to tell people that a career in medicine is a big decision (a wonderful one for certain people) and it'd be wise to delve a little deeper into it before deciding it's the career for you. I know my mother's GP absolutely loves her job and I know my GP seems like he hates it. I'm just trying to tell people which one you'll be before you decide to go into medicine because it's a massive commitment in your lie.

It's probably as big (in my opinion bigger) a decision as who you marry.

[Russ]

That wasn't satire directed at you fyi, I was just making a joke (because surgery is bad)

I agree that a lot of people go into medicine without knowing what they want or what they're in for.

[thushan]

That wasn't satire directed at you fyi, I was just making a joke (because surgery is bad)

I agree that a lot of people go into medicine without knowing what they want or what they're in for.

Case in point right here.

But hopefully it pays off.

[lebnon]

In retrospect, I really think undergraduate professional degrees are a poor idea. ~90%+ of year 12s have no idea if medicine is really for them. I'd go ahead and say ~90% of year 12s have no idea what being a scientist, engineer or lawyer entails either.

For what it's worth, only about 3 out of my 10 friends who came to Melbourne still have the same career path in mind as when they started.

Although I do feel the Melbourne Model was of course introduced for the $$$, that doesn't strictly mean it's bad for students.

[lebnon]

Hi,

I just thought I'd update this in case there's ever another student who searches the archives and wants to know what happens in this situation.

I was made an 'informal' offer to B.Science at Melbourne and got credited for all my first year Biomedicine subjects (so I have completed 100 points of a Science degree).

Moral of the story is, if you have a 75+ average and ATAR that would have been above the clearly in. Someone at the uni can make your transfer happen even if you didn't apply through VTAC, don't listen to their generic, 'you need to apply through VTAC',  you just need to find someone high enough up, suck up to them and they'll make it happen.

Thanks for the help guys.