Medicine FAQ / So You Want To Be A Doctor

[shinny]

Thanks! Another stupid question, at the end of the day, a MBBS and MD are essentially the same thing right?
It's just all the Doctors at my Clinic have MD's, and none seem to have done MBBS?

Are most of the doctors in your clinic locals? If not, many unis overseas (such as the US) only have a MD system.

Invariably, all the GPs at the clinic I'm based at have MBBS's, since that's all there was on offer in Victoria previously. Unusual to have so many MD's I'd think.

[Bhootnike]

I see!
Ohh ok, so if i do UoM, i'll definitely do it 2nd year.
How was your lifestyle in biomed?
did it occupy much of your time, and thus relatively speaking with monash mbbs, do you reckon you got the benefit of the doubt in terms of lifestyle? the fact you are in the city, in the central hub on melbourne pretty much?!
im guessing you didnt reside in the city, but if you take that into consideration.. :p ?

yo yo baby spiceahhhh

[TheFedExpress]

Thanks! Another stupid question, at the end of the day, a MBBS and MD are essentially the same thing right?
It's just all the Doctors at my Clinic have MD's, and none seem to have done MBBS?

There might be a slight difference in terms of intern points, to find that out, we'll have to wait and see what those certain hospitals release when MD students graduate.

Are most of the doctors in your clinic locals? If not, many unis overseas (such as the US) only have a MD system.

I think they're mainly locals, but at least 2/10 are international that I know of. I'm in the country so know and see most of the doctors (play tennis with 4 of them) so I'll have a chat to them and see what they think about MBBS vs MD.

[Russ]

I see!
Ohh ok, so if i do UoM, i'll definitely do it 2nd year.
How was your lifestyle in biomed?
did it occupy much of your time, and thus relatively speaking with monash mbbs, do you reckon you got the benefit of the doubt in terms of lifestyle? the fact you are in the city, in the central hub on melbourne pretty much?!
im guessing you didnt reside in the city, but if you take that into consideration.. :p ?

yo yo baby spiceahhhh

My lifestyle? Well the first 2 years were reasonably high in contact hours, 20+ in first year and just under that in second year. I also worked a couple of afternoons a week during this period and usually went out at least one night on the weekend. Wasn't extremely stressed or anything except in first year which was pretty full on. It's really hard for me to give a good estimate since I'm looking back (rose tinted glasses etc.) and I see the content and can't really remember how it was for me. Imagine how you felt in year 9, it's the same sort of thing for me to estimate my first year haha.

That said being in the city was great, major reason for me not wanting to go to Monash was that it was Monash and in Clayton. No desire to go there every day for X years, when I live so close to UoM (inner city). I can't compare to the MBBS in terms of lifestyle though.

There might be a slight difference in terms of intern points, to find that out, we'll have to wait and see what those certain hospitals release when MD students graduate.

The difference here will be from degrees that the MD students did prior to their MD, not the different medical degrees themselves

[Russ]

Updated OP with RACP training stuff I was reading

edit, prep courses for the RACP exams cost 2k and literally take 2 weeks and you receive 10kg of notes. This is truly the life <3

[paulsterio]

edit, prep courses for the RACP exams cost 2k and literally take 2 weeks and you receive 10kg of notes. This is truly the life <3

are they actually worth the 2k or do they rip you off like MedEntry and co. ?

[Russ]

I have no idea but I can definitely see the potential value as being orders of magnitude greater than what UMAT companies could offer given the content you need to study

'I'believe'I'could'have'passed'the'exam'without'going'to'a'course,'and'indeed'I
have'a'number'of'friends'who'did.'I'am'not'a'strong'advocate'of'the'preparatory
courses,'mainly'because'of'their'costs.'However,'if'you'can'afford'the'time'and'money,
they'certainly'won’t'hurt'your'cause.'At'the'very'least,'they'make'you'feel'that'you'are
not'disadvantaged'by'not'attending.

From someone who sat the exam in 2002, so it seems pretty standard

[pi]

Found this interesting

[Tomw2]

Found this interesting

http://www.practicelink.com/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HappinessFactorChart-532x630.png

Yeah that is interesting!

Although this is US data and the professional issues and industry is very different over there, dermatology being on top is common in most systems. Dermo is generally low-risk, high-volume, uses a range of medical and surgical treatments, most conditions have good prognosis, the overheads are reasonable and it is lifestyle friendly. In Australia it is comparatively well-remunerated too.

Primary care (GP) has a much worse profile in the US than here.

[Russ]

I think the most interesting point is that the "would I choose medicine again" answer is probably the same within a statistical margin for all specialties, but the "would I choose the same specialty again" decreases pretty linearly with job satisfaction. Also (based on a glance) there doesn't seem to be a strong correlation with income.

Had this recommended by an upperclassperson at medball last night: https://www.anmed.com.au/
Signed up, did the 25 free questions, I like it. 3 months would take me through to the end of exams, might sub depending on how I feel about it

[paulsterio]

I'm surprised radiology is so high!

[Tomw2]

I'm surprised radiology is so high!

It is here too. And very competitive to get into. Very lifestyle friendly, lots of scope for subspecialisation and innovation, constant high demand, high remuneration, reasonable medico-legal risk. Due to IT and networking developments in the last 10 years it is also very flexible in terms of work settings and the ability to provide consults from afar.

Some are highly/totally procedural practitioners (e.g. interventional radiologists) who perform some of the most complex invasive procedures in medicine (e.g. controlling cerebral blood flow during neurosurgery). These types of practitioners tend to be one of the more highly remunerated specialists in medicine, hence the high average pay too.

[paulsterio]

Yeah, I might actually look into radiology, not so much because of the pay, but the lifestyle, might be something I like!

Anyway, also, I recently spoke to my family GP about his work...etc. and I'm just curious to know why GPs are usually rated so low on these comparisons, because according to him, he likes his job, especially the flexible hours, the easygoing nature of having a clinic (as opposed to the hospital) and the positives of having "known" patients on a regular basis...etc.

[pi]

Anyway, also, I recently spoke to my family GP about his work...etc. and I'm just curious to know why GPs are usually rated so low on these comparisons, because according to him, he likes his job, especially the flexible hours, the easygoing nature of having a clinic (as opposed to the hospital) and the positives of having "known" patients on a regular basis...etc.

I think the American GPs are a lot worse off from Aussie ones :/

[Tomw2]

Certainly are. They are somewhat devalued relatively speaking.

Primary health care (GP) is quite different between here and the US due to the medicare system. In the US it is either user pays in full or their insurance covers some/all. Insurance is very complicated in the US and usually done through employment HMOs. Due to this and the variable presentations of general practice (ie mild illness up to complex multi-factorial case), a US GP has to deal a lot with insurance companies and billing. Furthermore, referrals work different in that system too e.g. a woman can book an appointment directly with their OBGYN without a referral from a GP.