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[2020 entry and beyond] Guide to Bonded Medical Places

dotwingz said:
Very true. However, I was under the impression that both residents and interns do more 'scut-work' then meaningful surgeries. By being a JMO in a rural area i would think you would experience a more stressful and actionful first years which you could utilise for a fellowship interview. I think I might ask around
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I don’t think your internship year will help you at all with specialty program applications (maybe referees you met during intern year could help a bit), and have a feeling surgical applications in particular will be dependent on sufficient exposure to surgeries that you wouldn’t get in a rural area. pi or chinaski (or one of the other docs) can give you a more detailed answer.
 
Bringing up internship experiences or references for a fellowship-level interview would probably seem a bit desperate.
 
I don't think it would be right to assume an intern OR a resident would do "meaningful surgeries". If anything, your opportunity to scrub in and actually getting something to do more than holding retractors would be greater in a rural area, wherein there isn't a massive hierarchy above you scrabbling for the same chances - but you won't be "operating" so much as "assisting", regardless. It's also worth pointing out that "scut work" is an integral part of a surgical rotation (or any rotation), and that your responsibilities in surgery extend beyond the door of the operating theatres. In short, anyone who undervalues the importance of pre- and post-operative care is suffering from a massive, dangerous blind spot.
 
A1 said:
Actual gov funding is still around 25k/year. I remember reading in a document (too lazy to find it now) funding includes a special top-up amount of 6-7k/year for med students, which apparently you are not required to repay.
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Exams over I have time to waste today so searched for this gov doc^ and need to make a correction.

Quoted from page 11 > https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/ed17-0138_-_he_-_glossy_budget_report_acc.pdf

"A medical student who commences a six year course in 2018:
• The Government will provide $137,300 in subsidies through the CGS (Cmwth Grant Scheme)
• The Government also supports universities with a medical loading, worth $8500."

The top-up med loading is $8500 over 6 years, only 1.4k not 6-7k/year as in my poor memory.

Otoh CGS funding $137k over 6 years is almost $23k/year. Why they only want repayment of 18k/year? My suspicion is the gov deliberately makes it easier for BMPs to breach the contract haha.
 
A1 said:
My suspicion is the gov deliberately makes it easier for BMPs to breach the contract haha.
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Why do you suspect that? You’d think it’d be the opposite if they wanted the scheme to achieve its purpose.
 
Crow said:
Why do you suspect that? You’d think it’d be the opposite if they wanted the scheme to achieve its purpose.
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Greed most likely. The government makes far more money from them breaching it than the alternative of them completing their BMPs, so it seems like a great exploit for them. I agree with A1.

Edit: it seems Crow and I have been r/wooshed :(
 
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Reactions: A1
alexlipton said:
Greed most likely. The government makes infinitely more money from them breaching it then the alternative of them completing their BMPs, so it seems like a great exploit for them. I agree with A1.
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The government has to pay for the locum staff to work in the regions that are undersubscribed, though, don’t they? Lots more expensive doing that than having someone on a contract. Maybe I don’t understand the system well enough though.
 
Crow said:
Why do you suspect that? You’d think it’d be the opposite if they wanted the scheme to achieve its purpose.
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It's meant to be tongue-in-cheek Crow , considering how they only want 18k back from the 23-25k a year.
 
Hi, my friend was wondering if there have been any cases of getting upgraded at UTAS from a bonded offer to a non-bonded. It’s kind of weird because they’ve got a higher ATAR than myself who got a non bonded?
 
apk22 said:
Hi, my friend was wondering if there have been any cases of getting upgraded at UTAS from a bonded offer to a non-bonded. It’s kind of weird because they’ve got a higher ATAR than myself who got a non bonded?
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Yes, I believe so. Are you both from the same rural background? Ie. do you have a ‘more rural’ background? And is it true that there was no formal rural application this year (in previous years there’s been three questions needing several hundred word answers that were part of the process for determining rural eligibility, I note you’re a gap year student so you probably know what I’m talking about).
 
LMG! said:
Yes, I believe so. Are you both from the same rural background? Ie. do you have a ‘more rural’ background? And is it true that there was no formal rural application this year (in previous years there’s been three questions needing several hundred word answers that were part of the process for determining rural eligibility, I note you’re a gap year student so you probably know what I’m talking about).
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I think we are, we’ve grown up in the same city and went to the same school. If anything they’re ‘more rural’ than I am.
And that’s true, I remember when applying last year I had to do that form and was so confused when I didn’t have to do it this year
 
apk22 said:
I think we are, we’ve grown up in the same city and went to the same school. If anything they’re ‘more rural’ than I am.
And that’s true, I remember when applying last year I had to do that form and was so confused when I didn’t have to do it this year
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In that case, the only other thing would be UCAT. Did you have a higher UCAT raw score?
 
apk22 said:
I’m assuming that would be the only thing but I wouldn’t expect that to counteract the ATAR? I guess that explains it though
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Yeah, I wouldn’t either (particularly given UTAS’ own website says offers are based on ATAR after UCAT hurdle is met). But it wouldn’t be the first time something contradictory came up, and/or that rural applicants were under a different set of rules to those advertised.

I’d recommend they contact Med admissions specifically and ask for clarification of why BMP. They could also also lodge a freedom of information request for information on the process if the first option got them nowhere.
 
jebhank123 said:
Does anyone know if you choose where to work? Or if the government allocates regions for you to work in?
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You choose to work where you want, granted you can find a job in the place of your choosing (remember, there may not be positions or vacancies in a place you like). You are not prioritised for employment anywhere just on account of being bonded.
 
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