where should i go to for Med Sci? (2 Viewers)

[Densuki]

hey i just came across a new degree at usyd its called
Bachelor of Combined Medicine:
its 7 years, what do u think the cut off for it will be?..thre isnt much about it on the site...

 

[nit]

99.95

10ch

 

[sikeveo]

u 2 are kinda lucky ... more medical schools opening up
so dun feel too screwed

Im not 'screwed' Im just obtaining a more liberal education before doing med

Those matters aside, im not sure if I would be able to handle all the ego's in med. As ppl on medstudentsonline have probably seen.


Edit; But no-one will want to go to uws or uow

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

haha... ud be surprised... medical schools are of a different calibre to the rest of uni..
UWS and UoW will be good.. im sure of it..

haha yes the medicine ego is pretty bad .... thank god for ethics and communication tuts..

 

[Densuki]

oh sigh...15 years huh?..now the qtn has gone from where to do medsci
to ..do i want to commit myself to 15 years...

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

true question is.. "arent u in ure HSC?"

well its a 15 yr process..
mabbe become a GP its shorter..about 9-11yrs... and v. interesting

 

[Densuki]

true question is.. "arent u in ure HSC?"

well its a 15 yr process..
mabbe become a GP its shorter..about 9-11yrs... and v. interesting

ahaha yup! exams r done soon! one left!

 

[sikeveo]

haha... ud be surprised... medical schools are of a different calibre to the rest of uni..
UWS and UoW will be good.. im sure of it..

haha yes the medicine ego is pretty bad .... thank god for ethics and communication tuts..

Uow is mainly community medicine. I.e. you have to have a bloody portfolio to show your ties with rural communities/communities. That will screw over a lot of people.

And for uws, i thinlk (i read it somewhere), they are again focussing on community medicine.

These are all ploys to churn out more gps who will go the country.

 

[sikeveo]

true question is.. "arent u in ure HSC?"

well its a 15 yr process..
mabbe become a GP its shorter..about 9-11yrs... and v. interesting

The thing is, you are also getting paid (i.e. you are working) while you study. So its not *that* bad i guess. But it would kill your life.

 

[seremify007]

I wonder if ppl do med because they want to help people, or because of the prestige/money factor?

 

[sikeveo]

Its been done before.....Dont go OT.

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

I wonder if ppl do med because they want to help people, or because of the prestige/money factor?

geez sif ... for prestige its the shits.. cos ppl sue u..
for about 13 yrs of training and exams. its crap pay..

i do it for the proximity to drugs..

 

[Bob.J]

i do it coz i wanna kill people, euthansia style bro ooOOOo

 

[ameh]

I want to do Med and become a GP for prestige/money/ and because the family GP is my role model.

 

[Lexicographer]

Get over it. . I have nothing against UTS, but i know nothing about it. As goes with UWS.

I know a reasonable amount about unsw/usyd med sci and gave my opinion based on what i know. No need to call me ignorant.

Ok I couldn't read the rest of the thread past this post, so sorry if someone's already brought it up, but do you even know what ignorant means?

Ignorance is the trait of lacking certain knowledge (or, in another context, education). So in reality, what you've just said is precisely what I said: you are ignorant.

Edit: OK Alvin's very next post clarified, damn. Still, I was right!

Regarding ethics tutes and communication etc...I haven't been so good with those. I mean, I know my shit but it's not quite the same if I'm watching anime or playing gameboy during the FRS eh?

And to the thread creator, do you want a primarily scientific role (your pathology/immunology), a pastoral role (caring for people) or both? Also, do you want to be "running the show" or are you content to take a more "team member" role? Do you want a high turnover of patients/clients or do you want to keep seeing the same people over time?

If you want a more scientific than pastoral role, BMedSc with research and/or lab tech work is your thing. Labwork all day, every day, processing cultures and looking at slides.

If you want a balance between scientific and pastoral, I'm afraid you're looking at the doctoring and it's not easy. The others have already gone into that. Even then, pathology has virtually no (live) patient contact, and immunology is limited. Immunologists do have a few "repeat customers" though, kids with chronic atopia and things. This path puts you in the driver's seat, since we all know that doctors still run the show.

Leaning more to the pastoral side is nursing. Now nurses aren't just about short skirts and huge tits, they actually have to learn a lot of scientific stuff and do a lot of procedural work (cannulation, drawing blood etc). They look after the needs of the patient as a person more than as a specimen, but don't give the orders. Depending on where you choose to work, you can have high patient turnover (such as in a surgical ward at hospital) or you can look after the same people for years (nursing home). Depending on how high you qualify (EN, RN, NP etc) you could just be wiping arse or you could be medicating, supervising long-term care and doing other doctory-type stuff. Nurses don't do any labwork though.

Anyway, hope this is useful. Good luck with your decisions.

 

[Lexicographer]

I want to do Med and become a GP for prestige/money/ and because the family GP is my role model.

Oh my you're in for a nasty surprise. GPs don't have prestige, or even respect. Patients ABUSE their GPs, thinking that health care is a mere "commodity", and that GPs are just salespeople. It's not like the old days when people actually respect the doctor's advice (back when there was no internet) and really DID WHAT THEY WERE F--KING TOLD. Now people think medical qualifications are something you just buy on ebay, and if they don't like what you say they'll find another doctor.

Even other doctors have no respect for GPs, despite their position in the Australian health system as primary care providers. They're the infantry, the front line - they have to take all the shit before it filters through to everyone else. I mean, the GP's word is already near-worthless to people who can easily look up Wikipedia for whatever symptoms they're imagining, and now even specialists are starting to lose credibility. Sure, second opinions are important, but specialists aren't supermarkets, where the price may be better at the next one you visit.

Then of course there's the issue of money. Oh yes, "doctors are rich" I hear you say, well ha! They're not! Yes, they're affluent, but it doesn't come nearly as effortlessly as you'd like. Just think, general clinic hours already extend several hours after businesses shut, then the doctors have to follow up cases in their own time (organising pathology testing, referrals to specialists and allied health workers, reviewing requested information, reporting to public health units etc), as well as keeping up to date in the practice (reading journals, attending workshops and conferences). Let's not neglect the extreme expense of running a practice - ever notice how everything in the surgery is individually wrapped, single use disposable equipment? Or perhaps something horribly expensive like a bed, an examination lamp, an otoscope. Insurance accounts for up to 50% of all gross income, worse if anyone's ever tried to sue you (regardless of whether you lose or not). Oh yes, doctors sweat for their money.

Then there's the psychological cost. Other affluent professions (engineering, commerce) do have their burden of stress but it's only doctors and clergy that have to take on the real problems of other individuals onto themselves. Yes social workers and psychologists do it too, but nowhere near the same volume as doctors.

In short, doctoring is a shit job. I still don't know why I'm sticking with it, and anyone here can tell you the same. Do it only if you love it, because NOTHING else will pull you through.

 

[nit]

Originally posted by Lexicographer
Now nurses aren't just about short skirts and huge tits, they actually have to learn a lot of scientific stuff and do a lot of procedural work (cannulation, drawing blood etc).

Gold, Robert!

 

[sikeveo]

snip

Ok next time ill recommend UTS.

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

to those who wonder why psychologist dun realli have this problem its..
medicare (psychologist dun get access to this.. and hence ppl with low socio-economic problems dun really see them because its very expensive)
+
general practice is a business industry...you are expected to find a balance between giving the time n patient care.. unless u want to lose ure life and mind.. so u neglect the care part..

about UWS and UoW medicine... the focus on community medicine isnt just at them.. ull find that at monash, adelaide, JCU, UNSW, UWA, UTAS ..

so i dun see how tats a bad thing.. when u should be practicing community-focussed medicine for all specialties.. its not just a PC response, its about respect and.. its important for patients wellbeing..

up to 60% of medical schools will churn out GPs...... because they are the frontline

 

[sikeveo]

JCU, UWS, UoW, UNCLE have stated that they focus on community medicine whereas the others dont. I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing, but when the course is geared towards that, it can leave large gaps in people's knowledge which they realise when they want to specialise.