Australian Medical Schools - Questions

[ohyou98]

I graduated with BS/BA from a university in the US. I have lived in Europe most of my life, and I am originally from Asia. I don't consider any country my home, and everywhere I go, I will be international, so I am trying to experience as many cultures as possible and travel as much as possible. Next on my list is Australia, and I am interested in medical schools there because of 4-year programs. I can't find much information about the programs on the Internet, so I am turning to SDN for advice. My main questions are:

1. Are there any board exams to match into residencies like in the US?
2. Can you do research on the side while in medical school?
3. How do you match into residencies?
4. Is there a possibility to do a dual degree program at all?
5. When you do rotations at hospitals, can you do one abroad?
6. How is the school life balance?

Thank you!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Wolvvs]

Some of this stuff is probably better answered by online resources. Maybe google something like "process for becoming a doctor in australia". This page from the university of sydney gives a decent overview: How to become a doctor

There are plenty of opportunities for research and dual degrees, usually PhD or MPhil. Most schools do have opportunities for rotations abroad. And the school life balance is generally pretty good, you do have to put in the work but certainly better than the US.

I would just make sure you know what you're getting into first. The general advice for medical school is to do training where you want to practice. Doctors are highly regulated nearly everywhere and the transition process between countries for doctors can be quite challenging, often requiring a return to training for some years. Clinical medicine is one of the more unfriendly fields to working internationally. My point really is I wouldn't choose to get an MD in Australia just to check a box. I could understand for another higher degree, but it doesn't make a lot of sense to get an MD in Australia unless you plan to practice there in the long term.

 

[lymphocyte]

I graduated with BS/BA from a university in the US. I have lived in Europe most of my life, and I am originally from Asia. I don't consider any country my home, and everywhere I go, I will be international, so I am trying to experience as many cultures as possible and travel as much as possible. Next on my list is Australia, and I am interested in medical schools there because of 4-year programs. I can't find much information about the programs on the Internet, so I am turning to SDN for advice. My main questions are:

1. Are there any board exams to match into residencies like in the US?
2. Can you do research on the side while in medical school?
3. How do you match into residencies?
4. Is there a possibility to do a dual degree program at all?
5. When you do rotations at hospitals, can you do one abroad?
6. How is the school life balance?

Thank you!

1. No board exams needed to match into residencies, but it depends e.g. taking/passing "primary exams" for some fields like surgery or situational judgement tests for general practice. It's MUCH harder to get OUT of most training programmes than it is to get into them (with a few exceptions).
2. You generally have a fair bit of free time in medical school, more than enough for research.
3. There is no concept of "residency." You apply to speciality colleges for specialty training like RACGP (for becoming a GP), RACP (for becoming a physician, RANZCOG (for becoming an obstetrician), etc. You apply through a merit based process that's unique to each college. You usually apply after two years of pre-vocational training.
4. Yes but it's expensive.
5. Yes but COVID.
6. School life balance is really good, and "balance" is a concept taken very seriously in Australia. High school students are required to take classes on self-care for example. And work life balance as a doctor is generally phenomenal compared to the US.

 

[sean80439]

I should add that the more competitive colleges/programs - orthopaedics, ophthalmology, dermatology, general surgery, neurosurgery all basically require multiple years prior to application. Many applicants are pgy3-8 with multiple years as a non-trainee in that field before getting on, and some expect things like the GSSE (expensive anatomy / surgical written exam) to be competitive.