If you’re aiming to get a medical degree in Australia, you should know that it’s going to be a long and tough path. We’ve prepared this blog to help make that journey a little bit easier by providing you with a broad outline of the process.
In most cases, you’ll need to have an undergraduate degree already before you’re able to apply for medical courses in Australia, and your GPA should be around 5 to 5.5 to qualify. On top of this, you have to go through the dreaded GAMSAT exam. Many consider the GAMSAT exam to be the most difficult and frustrating part of their entire medical school journey. You need to be in the top 20%, more likely than not, to be accepted into a medical school. To get a good score, you need to dedicate yourself to studying humanities, chemistry, biology, and physics.
The GAMSAT exam is available in September and March every year. If you choose to sit the March GAMSAT, you’ll be able to start your med school studies next year. On the other hand, if you choose to sit the September GAMSAT, you’ll need to wait until the year after the next. Once you’ve sat the GAMSAT exam and the result is out around six months later, you’ll need to go through a medical school interview.
Provided all goes well, you’ll be able to become a med student. You can choose between 2 types of medical degrees—undergraduate and master’s. Generally speaking, both degrees are the same. The master’s version of the degree is arguable a marketing ploy targeted at international students, to sell basically the same curriculum at a higher price.
Now we’ll discuss what your experience will be like once you’ve become a med student. For the first year, you will study the role, background, and ethics of being a medical doctor. You will also learn the basics of pharmacology, anatomy, physiology, and much more.
The second year is around the same, except the learning experience will lean more towards problem-solving. You may be asked to examine an interactive patience case and present your findings.
For the third year, you will leave the safety of the class because you will be thrust into the public. Things will become much more practical, not only for your medical skills, but you will also need to practice your interpersonal skills as you are expected to interact with the medical professionals and the patients.
The fourth year is quite similar to the third year, but it’s more of a consolidation year. You will get more opportunities to research and engage in clinical trials.
Finally, you will be expected to complete internship for a period of one year at a public hospital. You can choose which hospital you prefer to do the internship at. Once you’re done will the internship, you’ve finally completed your tenure and officially become a medical doctor.
For more information, check out our full article here: https://gradready.com.au/posts/gamsat-preparation-courses/how-to-get-a-medical-degree-in-australia
