Biomed at Melbourne or Pharmacy at Parkville?

[Shenz0r]

Hey guys, I'm tossing up whether to put Biomedicine or Pharmacy for my first preferences (after getting such a low UMAT that I have no hope of a second-round interview for MBBS)

I'd rather use Biomed as a pathway for getting into MD later, but seeing how hard it is to pass the GAMSAT, I have to consider the possibility of not getting into any grad-program at all. So, if that's hypothetically the case, what careers can you open up with a Biomedicine degree apart from just simply research? And what would working in a research centre be like? I'd be interested in doing some research, especially on cancer.

I'm also quite into Chemistry and Physiology at the moment, which is one of the focuses of Pharmacy. The advantage of doing Pharmacy is that I at least have a career back-up if I fail to transfer into undergrad Medicine at any other unis next year, but the thing is, I'm not too keen on it because of the declining job prospects from what my sister's telling me (and she's doing 3rd year Pharm now).

Any insights into this would be really appreciated!

[Stick]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think a Pharmacy career is still accessible after a Bachelor of Biomedicine degree. I'd go for that one.

[HighLatency]

I don't see the problem with research, you get first dibs on the new stuff (maybe).
*Cross fingers for human longevity*

[thushan]

Hey guys, I'm tossing up whether to put Biomedicine or Pharmacy for my first preferences (after getting such a low UMAT that I have no hope of a second-round interview for MBBS)

I'd rather use Biomed as a pathway for getting into MD later, but seeing how hard it is to pass the GAMSAT, I have to consider the possibility of not getting into any grad-program at all. So, if that's hypothetically the case, what careers can you open up with a Biomedicine degree apart from just simply research? And what would working in a research centre be like? I'd be interested in doing some research, especially on cancer.

I'm also quite into Chemistry and Physiology at the moment, which is one of the focuses of Pharmacy. The advantage of doing Pharmacy is that I at least have a career back-up if I fail to transfer into undergrad Medicine at any other unis next year, but the thing is, I'm not too keen on it because of the declining job prospects from what my sister's telling me (and she's doing 3rd year Pharm now).

Any insights into this would be really appreciated!

You can always sit GAMSAT multiple times remember.

[WhoTookMyUsername]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think a Pharmacy career is still accessible after a Bachelor of Biomedicine degree. I'd go for that one.

does melbourne even offer pharmacy? I searched for a bit and could only find "pharmacology."

Although if pharmacy can be done at melbourne sounds by far the best choice for you in terms of having both your 1st and 2nd career choices within the one undergrad degree.

[nisha]

Only do pharmacy if you genuinely like it. Bear in mind that the no. of pharmacy students are rapidly increasing, and thus this means less jobs for them to have.

[Starlight]

Majority of the people who don't get in to a grad program will probably pursue further studies such as honours, masters, phd...


I've mentioned this before but you can work in something like ethics which is something not many people know about and most certainly has a role in medicine, so i'd imagine there are pretty good job prospects.

Also teaching or lecturing (usually lecturing with a phd)

99% sure you can't do pharmacy at melbourne.



Also, if you were to go to melbourne uni- perhaps science might be the best option for you. There are more majors you can choose from.

[Shenz0r]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think a Pharmacy career is still accessible after a Bachelor of Biomedicine degree. I'd go for that one.

does melbourne even offer pharmacy? I searched for a bit and could only find "pharmacology."

Although if pharmacy can be done at melbourne sounds by far the best choice for you in terms of having both your 1st and 2nd career choices within the one undergrad degree.

Yeah Melbourne doesn't offer Pharmacy, only Monash Parkville, RMIT and Deakin offer it.

[WhoTookMyUsername]

Hey guys, I'm tossing up whether to put Biomedicine or Pharmacy for my first preferences (after getting such a low UMAT that I have no hope of a second-round interview for MBBS)

I'd rather use Biomed as a pathway for getting into MD later, but seeing how hard it is to pass the GAMSAT, I have to consider the possibility of not getting into any grad-program at all. So, if that's hypothetically the case, what careers can you open up with a Biomedicine degree apart from just simply research? And what would working in a research centre be like? I'd be interested in doing some research, especially on cancer.

I'm also quite into Chemistry and Physiology at the moment, which is one of the focuses of Pharmacy. The advantage of doing Pharmacy is that I at least have a career back-up if I fail to transfer into undergrad Medicine at any other unis next year, but the thing is, I'm not too keen on it because of the declining job prospects from what my sister's telling me (and she's doing 3rd year Pharm now).

Any insights into this would be really appreciated!

I share numerous similar concerns to you about my preferences. I think you need to look at how much you want to become a doctor, consider what secondary paths you would go to if you didn't get into MD (from biomed), whether you would be willing to go to deakin or monash postgrad, whether you're willing to accept a bonded postgrad place (to determine approximate chance of you getting in) and then balance these against how much you would like your secondary preference (pharmacy).

For me personally i don't really like any of the biomed alternatives to MD, which is why i'm strongly considering putting comm at melb above biomed; but if you can see yourself doing research/teaching/optometry/dentistry etc. and don't really prefer pharmacy that much over these back up plans, i would say definitely go into Biomed.

[Tomw2]

Hey guys, I'm tossing up whether to put Biomedicine or Pharmacy for my first preferences (after getting such a low UMAT that I have no hope of a second-round interview for MBBS)

I'd rather use Biomed as a pathway for getting into MD later, but seeing how hard it is to pass the GAMSAT, I have to consider the possibility of not getting into any grad-program at all. So, if that's hypothetically the case, what careers can you open up with a Biomedicine degree apart from just simply research? And what would working in a research centre be like? I'd be interested in doing some research, especially on cancer.

I'm also quite into Chemistry and Physiology at the moment, which is one of the focuses of Pharmacy. The advantage of doing Pharmacy is that I at least have a career back-up if I fail to transfer into undergrad Medicine at any other unis next year, but the thing is, I'm not too keen on it because of the declining job prospects from what my sister's telling me (and she's doing 3rd year Pharm now).

Any insights into this would be really appreciated!

So you're a year 12 student ideally wanting to do medicine, have a strong interest in chemistry and physiology, job security is a high priority and you are cautious and foreward-thinking enough to consider alternatives if all doesn't go to plan. Good start

Seems to me, BSc with breadth/non-science electives would be the ideal 2nd preference to MBBS.
Gives you the change to try several things in 1st year, while still being on track for the MD prerequisites and GAMSAT-recommended units. After that you can branch out according to what interests you and explore the idea of different professions in thorough way.

IMO simply liking chem and physiology is not on it's own a good reason to take up pharmacy (just as liking biology isnt a good reason to take up medicine) - there's a lot to the practice of pharmacy that is completely divorced from the sciences.

At completion of the degree you will be well placed to select an ideal vocation for your current situation - be that medicine, pharmacy or whatever.

[paulsterio]

There's a saying which I like repeating to myself in times where I have to make a decision:

"Good things come to those who want it most"

Think about it this way, in four years time, Melbourne will have an intake of MD students, you've just finished your Pharmacy degree and are now looking for a job. What is the difference between them and you? They simply wanted to be a doctor more than you did.

It's your decision, but never forget that you are always rewarded for hard work and not giving up. Ask yourself how badly you want it, and adjust accordingly.

[HERculina]

Around what ATAR do you need to get into pharmacy at monash?

[Jenny_2108]

Around what ATAR do you need to get into pharmacy at monash?

For bachelor of Pharmacy, you should aim 95 but it may slightly change every year though

[Biceps]

Pharmacy is a waste. i don't recommend you to aim for that.
A guy came to our school. He finished pharmacy and went through so much effort to find a job in his course only to end up completely despising his job. He said that pharmacists are among the lowest payed people in Australia
Go for Biomedicine!! with that you have a chance of doing so many different jobs. Or you can move on to doing medicine as well .

[Tomw2]

Go for Biomedicine!! with that you have a chance of doing so many different jobs.

I would argue the vocational and academic outcomes for biomed are virtually no different to a BSc with medical science majors/minors and electives. Some might even argue that biomed is even more generalist and many of the few positions that advertise specifically for medical science undergrads hire on the basis of major specialisations, particularly those that are laboratory intensive.

Pharmacy is a waste. i don't recommend you to aim for that.
A guy came to our school. He finished pharmacy and went through so much effort to find a job in his course only to end up completely despising his job. He said that pharmacists are among the lowest payed people in Australia

Though I tend to agree, any statement writing off an entire profession should be considered cautiously. I know a couple of lucky people who landed excellent clinical hospital pharmacy roles and they absolutely love their careers (disclaimer: although they are the only 2 pharmacists I have ever spoken to who are positive about their job... the other dozen or so, not so much  ).

At the risk of going OT, I tend think that although there are definite roles for pharmacists in the health team, the profession has become increasingly redundant since medication formulation and preparation was taken over by industrial facilities and since dispensing has become somewhat of a medico-legal algorithm. The professional bargaining power pharmacists once had wasn't just because they were licensed drug dealers - they were the ones who prepared the medications themselves.

Much of pharmacy practice is unremunerated. Beyond the bare minimum required by law, it is not financially viable for a community pharmacist to spend extended periods of time counselling and education people about medication use and health when dispensing. Despite being qualified to give advice on a range of minor ailments and OTC treatments, the only remuneration a community pharmacist gets from such activity is the margin on the products they sell. If person walks into a GPs clinic with a minor burn, the GP gets paid. If the same patient walks into a pharmacy, the pharmacist get's the profit made from the non-adhesive dressing or whatever.