B.Comm ----> Doctor of Medicine

[Secc119]

Hey all,

So I was thinking of doing a Bachelor of Commerce before going into a Doctor of Medicine, and i just wanted to know if people have done it and could share their insights and opinions on it. I've heard that it is possible but had a few questions also:
- Was it difficult to plan, fit and manage all the prerequisite subjects required for med?
- Is it still possible to go on exchange and do your prerequisite subjects overseas? Or is it way too difficult to get approved?
I understand that I will still have to do the interview but am just want to keep my options open in the future

Any and all help is appreciated

[cookiedream]

Hey all,

So I was thinking of doing a Bachelor of Commerce before going into a Doctor of Medicine, and i just wanted to know if people have done it and could share their insights and opinions on it. I've heard that it is possible but had a few questions also:
- Was it difficult to plan, fit and manage all the prerequisite subjects required for med?
- Is it still possible to go on exchange and do your prerequisite subjects overseas? Or is it way too difficult to get approved?
I understand that I will still have to do the interview but am just want to keep my options open in the future

Any and all help is appreciated

Hello!

First of all, congratulations on your astounding ATAR!!!! Pretty sure you're eligible for the Chancellor's Scholarship at the University of Melbourne, where you are guaranteed a place in any postgraduate course (including Doctor of Medicine!) after doing an undergraduate with them. You can do a Bachelor of Commerce and be sure that you have a place in their Doctor of Medicine straight after (although I think at the end of third year, there's a little interview. But I'm pretty sure most candidates get through the interview anyway.)

Well done and good luck!!

- cookiedream

[Orb]

To be honest, if you just want to apply for comm-related jobs, then do biomed. Your actual degree means very little these days, many "commerce" jobs (banking, trading, finance) are taken up by people who've studied degrees that aren't commerce. With the exception of accounting, I think in the Big 4, most, if not all require an accounting major + BComm.

It's possible to go from Bcomm --> MD but it really complicates the subjects you have to study (just because you're guaranteed a spot doesn't mean that you don't need to do the pre-reqs) and you're not really getting the best of both worlds. Also exchange is definitely a lot more difficult (restricting the number of schools you can go to).

[appleandbee]

You wouldn't be fit the med pre-reqs into your normal 3 year degree, since 7 subjects are required (3 2nd year subjects as well as 4 1st year Bio + Chem subjects which are pre-reqs for the 2nd year compulsory subjects). Also Melbourne undergrad degrees requires one 3rd year subject as breadth. So that's 8 subjects in total, but there is space for 6 breadth subjects in the subjects. You would have to do two subjects through the CAP/Community Access Program which allows to take additional subjects under a full-fee scheme (so like ~$2000-$3000 per subject, not really sure if the payment can go to HECS, but probably it does). But I've heard that chancellor scholars are allowed to take up to two CAP subjects for free.

As Orb said, unless you really want a commerce degree, it's probably best to do a Science/Biomed degree (with a diploma of maths if you want, since people with quant backgrounds are in high demand in the management consulting and investment banking sector).

[Secc119]

From what I've read on the Melbuni prereq's website, you only need six overall requirements to satisfy med which are:
Anatomy: ANAT20006 Principles of Human Structure
Biochemistry: BCMB20002 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Physiology: PHYS20008 Human Physiology
and these need prereqs of
BIOL10004   Biology of Cells and Organisms   (Physiology and Anatomy)
BIOL10005   Genetics & The Evolution of Life    (Physiology and Anatomy)
CHEM10009   Chemistry for BioSciences    (Biochemistry)

From what I've read none of these subjects have prerequisites other than certain VCE subjects.
Also in terms of picking another degree. Like I'm not sure if having a Bachelor of Commerce or Bachelor of Science would be more useful in getting a job cause like apparently chancellor people get some more opportunities in Commerce. Tbh I'm so undecided and wednesday is so close so I appreciate all the input and advice from everyone who is being really supportive!!!
Do you reckon the course advisor's would talk to me even if I don't go to melb yet?

[appleandbee]

CHEM10009   Chemistry for BioSciences    (Biochemistry)

My bad, I forgot that there was the option of CHEM10009, which is basically two first year Chemistry subjects compressed into one, allowing you to do one subject less and fit the med pre-reqs into the breadth.

As for the Commerce part, I guess it may be good if you are the proactive type, as there are some really great opportunities that are only available to Commerce students, like international case competitions (getting into teams are very competitive though).

[izzydes]

Do you reckon the course advisor's would talk to me even if I don't go to melb yet?

Totally! You can go to Stop 1 in person and talk to a course adviser or chat/phone as a future student!

[2352300]

I was also debating the same decision after being pleasantly surprised by my atar. After a lot of research, science seems like the best option as it is easier to access prerequisites to medicine while still having enough breadth subjects for me to dabble in commerce/arts. If I end up really hating science I can always transfer to another degree and hopefully cross-credit whatever breadth subjects I did.

Btw sorry to hijack this thread but my parents are pushing biomed because they're not convinced that science will be rigorous enough or whatever. I'm partial towards science because I really dunno what I wanna do in life yet so a more general degree seems better. Is science and biomed pretty much the same in terms of ability to get into med, just incase I decide that's what I'd like to do in the future?

[Secc119]

I remember hearing that there is no distinct advantage between biomed and science when going into graduate med at Melb. However by coincidence, it does happen to be that a larger proportion of the MD students are from the biomed degree.

[OutstandingInDivination]

If you want to study medicine and become a doctor, it would probably be in your best interest to study science or biomed first, just by virtue of how hard med is. The MD course is super compressed, with a lot of science being assumed. I'm doing the MBBS course, which is 5 years (cf 4 years for MD) so it's not as bad - still nightmarish though; VCE was a walk in the park. If you do a BComm, you might found yourself a little out of your depth. Having said that, its entirely up to you, but science and moreso biomed are structured to facilitate prospective medical students.

Congrats on the results btw I'm sure you'll have a bright future regardless of what you choose!

[Secc119]

Does anyone know someone who's gone through this and can provide some insight? Maybe i should be thinking about other stuff on NYE lmao

[Russ]

Why do you want to study commerce if you plan to pursue medical school?
I knew a few people that came from commerce backgrounds, but that was because they realised during their commerce studies they wanted to go into a medical field. I don't understand the rationale for deliberately setting out to do a Commerce undergrad and then transition into Medicine.

[Secc119]

Im kinda just undecided between the two fields. Like im interested in both of them and I think I would want to give them both a try. I guess by going through commerce and finding out whether I love commerce or whether I'd like to look into med. I kinda just want to give myself that option to explore both options. I probs sound really naive or smth but like Im so lost on what Im gonna do for the rest of my life, so I guess Commerce would give me that option. I've heard that people who do generally science and biomed go on to do like research and stuff like that if they don't really go into healthcare but research isn't really my thing. I guess that's why I would want to pick something like commerce which has a wide diversity of options in terms of careers or even just giving me the business skills to make my own career.