The official Medical Science thread

[Survivor39]

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Originally Posted by Annyex

Hey Guys
I'm just wondering, what if you're doing Bachelor of Science
for let's say for a year or two and after want to do a Bachelor of Medical Science?
Can you do that?
Or is there an easier option?

Option 1: Transfer from BSc to BMedSc after 1st or 2nd year provided you have obtained good marks.
The question is, why would you bother? Just pick a major within the medical sciences (Option 2). e.g. pick immunology as your major for your BSc (you can major in almost any disciplines in a BSc).

Originally Posted by Annyex

I'm interested in Immunology and Infectious Disease (from Usyd)
Of course these are not in Bachelor of Science, but maybe if you didn't get the right ATAR if you could do what's suggested above?

I think Immunoogy and Infectious disease (Microbiology) is a major available in the BSc program. Please check.

[katie tully]

Originally Posted by Dombrovski

Hey Survivor39,

I was just wondering how you found doing an Honours year; I'm only first year,
but I'm thinking of going for honours at CSU after I finish (provided I meet the criteria)

I'm a little confused about the whole process... after selection, do you just go
"Hmmm I'd like to try examine this" and then go through the scientific process in examining it?

If that makes sense?

Did you find it rewarding? painful?
do you think it was worth it? (I'm guessing yes... because of the PhD you're undertaking but anyway )

Hey Andrew

Best person to chat with if you're thinking of doing Honours is Dr Scott. He's the course coordinator for our degree and has supervised quite a few honours students (not that you have to pick him). I'm not sure how honours works with our degree, because the double degree doesn't have an honours strand but the single MedSc degree does, so you should be able to do honours as part of your medsc strand. Not sure if you can do it after 3rd year, given ours is a 4 year degree and I think even part time honours plus full time fourth year would be a lot.

But you should have worked out by the end of 3rd year which area interests you. I was sure I wanted to do something with haematology until I actually did haematology, and after spending 4 days with Andrea for Micro I'm now seriously considering micro as my favourite contender.

Once you've worked out what you want to investigate, CSU is really good at letting honours students have run of the lab, so long as you don't blow Sutherland labs up again like the last honours student did.

[Survivor39]

Originally Posted by katie tully

CSU is really good at letting honours students have run of the lab, so long as you don't blow Sutherland labs up again like the last honours student did.

How did that happen?? Is it due to the bunsen?

[katie tully]

Originally Posted by Survivor39

How did that happen?? Is it due to the bunsen?

Apparently the labs at that time were really archaic, they're the old agriculture labs and are probably as old as the uni itself. So whatever he was burning with the Bunsen burner got up into the air vents, reacted with something and went *boom*

Pretty much decimated the labs, so they're all shiney and new now.

[Dombrovski]

Originally Posted by Survivor39

Hi Dombrovski,

The Honours year pretty much works like this:

1. Near the end of your 3rd year, you start to talk to different academics who you wish to be your supervisor for the Honours year. At thi point, you want to establish something: 1) can you work with this supervisor? 2) do you like the research area? (no point working on cancer research which is your supervisor's interest if you want to work on T cells); 3) does the supervisor have the resources to support your project and does he/she thinks you are good enough.

2. Once you got that all sorted out, in your Honours year your supervisor will guide you to work on a research project. For example, to investigate the ability of T cells to produce cytokines (chemical signals) in response to E. coli infection. You read the literature to see what's been done and how it has been done.

3. With the guidance of your supervisor, you will do real lab work to investigate your research question/s. e.g. grow T cells, grow E. coli. Put them together, incubate, measure the level of cytokine response etc --> results --> you then go and make sense of your results.

4. Assessments: presentation, literature reviews, final thesis reporting what you have done.


As you can see, the Honours year is VERY different from the lecture-tutorial-lab format that you would have encountered in your first year and the following 2 years. I hope this is of some help to you. If you are unsure of anything, please ask.

Originally Posted by katie tully

Hey Andrew

Best person to chat with if you're thinking of doing Honours is Dr Scott. He's the course coordinator for our degree and has supervised quite a few honours students (not that you have to pick him). I'm not sure how honours works with our degree, because the double degree doesn't have an honours strand but the single MedSc degree does, so you should be able to do honours as part of your medsc strand. Not sure if you can do it after 3rd year, given ours is a 4 year degree and I think even part time honours plus full time fourth year would be a lot.

But you should have worked out by the end of 3rd year which area interests you. I was sure I wanted to do something with haematology until I actually did haematology, and after spending 4 days with Andrea for Micro I'm now seriously considering micro as my favourite contender.

Once you've worked out what you want to investigate, CSU is really good at letting honours students have run of the lab, so long as you don't blow Sutherland labs up again like the last honours student did.

Thanks for the advice Its nice to have a rough outline of the course, because I always had the idea of entering the honours course and then being turned loose without any major guidance.

I'm already thinking of something micro orientated for further study, as I'm loving it already! (MSE was pretty good btw). Andrea is such an amazing lecturer, she makes the 8am starts worth it! But as yours have, my interests may shift when I move further into the later subjects...

I thought Dr Scott would be the person to ask, but as a first year I'm a little scared that I'll be backhanded for being pompous if I'm asking about it already, having not finished the basic core subjects yet... I mean, currently, my marks have been good, but its a few years away, and quite a lot can happen in that time... and some of the subjects look... scary... protein biochem...!

I like shiny. Shiny is good

[katie tully]

You're at the end of first year so it's probably not a bad idea to start thinking about it. Maybe if you wait until next semester when you're doing second year. But you also need to check with him whether it can be done with the double degree. He's pretty approachable so I doubt he'll back hand you for being pompous :P

[Dombrovski]

Yeah, good idea. I'll check with him when I start asking about placement next year

[Survivor39]

Originally Posted by katie tully

Pretty much decimated the labs, so they're all shiney and new now.

*sighs*.. is that how we go about getting new labs... should have told me earlier...

[emilyo]

im considering biomedical science at newcastle the course looks really interesting but i'm not sure what jobs i will be looking at by the time i finish. A friend of mine told me the best way to be a paramedic is to do a medical science degree first and then train to become a paramedic after (apparently you get paid like 4 times as much this way). I'm also looking at graduate medicine (can i get into grad med after three years of do i have to do honors?) Obviously transfering would be difficult... What other careers do i get out of this career? (i DO NOT want to end up doing research bleh, but cardio technichian seem ok). Any reply would be much appreciated

[sam5]

Originally Posted by emilyo

im considering biomedical science at newcastle the course looks really interesting but i'm not sure what jobs i will be looking at by the time i finish. A friend of mine told me the best way to be a paramedic is to do a medical science degree first and then train to become a paramedic after (apparently you get paid like 4 times as much this way). I'm also looking at graduate medicine (can i get into grad med after three years of do i have to do honors?) Obviously transfering would be difficult... What other careers do i get out of this career? (i DO NOT want to end up doing research bleh, but cardio technichian seem ok). Any reply would be much appreciated

Hey thats funny. Im doin the same degree as u!

Jobs: pathology, postgrad medicine, paramedic, medical research, pharmacy (with the new uni 2 year Master of Pharmacy)..... not much sure bout the rest.

I dont think u can transfer to medicine. For pple like me and u to do postgrad medicine, we would have to do do it in sydney for 4 years followed by an intern year. Theres 3 unis in the state where u can do postgrad as far as im concerned. We would do that after our 3 years of biomed, we dont have to do honours (thats only research anyway).

I wanna do pathology work. DW im not keen on research either. Pathology seems an interesting field, easy job (i did work experience at the Symbion lab in Kotara and got an insight into the job) but the only problem is the low pay. To get pay above $70,000 u need to be lab manager, or become a pathologist. I always wanted to be a pathologist but then i realised how i had to do medicine first, and that put me off a bit, cos im not that keen to be on the public health scene. Looks like i will have to just go with bein lab manager....

Do u know anyother pple from ur school that wanna do biomed at new uni? Do u recon it will have many candidates?

[Lukybear]

Survivor, are you doing a PhD at Cambridge, the Uni of Cambridge in the UK? Because if so that is quite brilliant. How did u get in and what are you researching? Is it a scholarship?

[emilyo]

Originally Posted by sam5

Hey thats funny. Im doin the same degree as u!

Jobs: pathology, postgrad medicine, paramedic, medical research, pharmacy (with the new uni 2 year Master of Pharmacy)..... not much sure bout the rest.

I dont think u can transfer to medicine. For pple like me and u to do postgrad medicine, we would have to do do it in sydney for 4 years followed by an intern year. Theres 3 unis in the state where u can do postgrad as far as im concerned. We would do that after our 3 years of biomed, we dont have to do honours (thats only research anyway).

I wanna do pathology work. DW im not keen on research either. Pathology seems an interesting field, easy job (i did work experience at the Symbion lab in Kotara and got an insight into the job) but the only problem is the low pay. To get pay above $70,000 u need to be lab manager, or become a pathologist. I always wanted to be a pathologist but then i realised how i had to do medicine first, and that put me off a bit, cos im not that keen to be on the public health scene. Looks like i will have to just go with bein lab manager....

Do u know anyother pple from ur school that wanna do biomed at new uni? Do u recon it will have many candidates?

u going to new castle?? I looked at the subject list and it all looks awsome i love everything to do with biology and how the human body works etc so it looks like a really interesting course. And pathology would be a really interesting career and to me $70 000 is more than enough. As long as I love my job and can pay the bills thats all i really care about. I think paramedic or doctor would be cool too so it might offer me alot of options.

I am the only one i know of going for this course in New Castle it is high 80's which is achievable for me but in other places it is low 90's.

Any way thanks for the reply and goodluck getting into the course you want

[Survivor39]

Originally Posted by emilyo

A friend of mine told me the best way to be a paramedic is to do a medical science degree first and then train to become a paramedic after (apparently you get paid like 4 times as much this way)

I'm not sure about the pay but I would imagine it would be really hard work and youhave to be on call, probably 24 hours.

Originally Posted by emilyo

I'm also looking at graduate medicine (can i get into grad med after three years of do i have to do honors?) Obviously transfering would be difficult... What other careers do i get out of this career? (i DO NOT want to end up doing research bleh, but cardio technichian seem ok). Any reply would be much appreciated

Yes you can get into graduate medicine after 3 years (from any discipline). Almost all graduate medical degrees are 4 yeas in length. This option requires you to sit a 5.5 hr GAMSAT Test.

To get into the UNSW Medical Program, you can complete a 4 year MedSc (Hons, at least Class 2.1), and compete for ~16-20 spots available and they will transfer you directly to 4th year medicine. You then complete 4th, 5th and 6th year at UNSW Medicine. You will graduate with a BMedSc (Hons) and MBBS.

For careers after MedSc alone, check out other posts that I've made.

[Survivor39]

Originally Posted by Lukybear

Survivor, are you doing a PhD at Cambridge, the Uni of Cambridge in the UK?

Yes I am in England now at the University of Cambridge.

Originally Posted by Lukybear

Because if so that is quite brilliant.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Lukybear

How did u get in and what are you researching? Is it a scholarship?

I got quite good marks in my Medical Science degree so I decided to give it a go and see if Cambridge will have me. I also wanted an overseas experience. I applied online, with the support of 3 academic referees. In the end, I got a fully-funded scholarship to do a PhD. I am working on immunology, looking at how different components of a cell affect how we fight and clear pathogens.

The University is stunningly beautiful and every where you look you see amazing architecture full of 800 years of history.

Are you considering going overseas to study?

[sam5]

Originally Posted by emilyo

u going to new castle?? I looked at the subject list and it all looks awsome i love everything to do with biology and how the human body works etc so it looks like a really interesting course. And pathology would be a really interesting career and to me $70 000 is more than enough. As long as I love my job and can pay the bills thats all i really care about. I think paramedic or doctor would be cool too so it might offer me alot of options.

I am the only one i know of going for this course in New Castle it is high 80's which is achievable for me but in other places it is low 90's.

Any way thanks for the reply and goodluck getting into the course you want

yeah im goin to newcastle. Same course as u.

Yeah i liked the course as well so i think i will enjoy it. Hope u do too.

Ur the only 1 at ur school? ive got a couple of mates doin it too, but im not sure if they will get the ATAR requirement lol.

Do u live in newcastle? (i ask this cos u dont seem to know much about newcastle, e.g. u call it New Castle instead of Newcastle. )