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Indigenous Medicine Entry

Hi, I'm hoping to apply for medicine as an Indigenous student at UoN, UWS and UNSW but its very difficult to find information on what kind of marks are required, how many students apply and/or are accepted through Indigenous pathways and the like. Does anyone have anywhere I can go to find this all out?
 

DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
Hi, I'm hoping to apply for medicine as an Indigenous student at UoN, UWS and UNSW but its very difficult to find information on what kind of marks are required, how many students apply and/or are accepted through Indigenous pathways and the like. Does anyone have anywhere I can go to find this all out?

In general, it would seem that numbers are quite low (lower even than spaces on offer). Cut offs are generally much lower than for general applicants and even for rural applicants in some areas, likely a reflection of the recognised significant need for more indigenous doctors (and therefore medical students). We get almost no reports here at MSO, so it would be amazing if you could document some of your experiences as you go through this process.

Firstly, the unis do not require UMAT. But it does appear they require you to attend a pre-Medicine program (and in the case of UNSW, this is part of the selection process).

Applying as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander student

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Applicants for the MD | Western Sydney University

Indigenous Entry into Medicine | Rural Clinical School
 

Ammiecat

UoN MD Y4
Hey there!

I just wanted to also add that the Lime Network is a fantastic resource for other Indigenous medicine hopefuls too if they're reading, great to fill in and figure out what options are best for you:

(If URL isn't allowed just google Lime Network :))

Pathways - LIME Network
 

IndigMed

Lurker
I am just going to post here for any ATSI applicants sitting for an interview at Adelaide Uni for Med.
I know before I attended my interview last year I stalked this website and others but there wasn’t really any info on the ATSI interview process.

I won’t say much about the actual questions but I will say the things you should have a clear understanding of before you go to the interviews next week are the particulars of the medicine degree. For example, how long will the degree take to complete and what each year will entail (the three streams).

Read up about the disparities in indigenous health and try and reference statistics in areas that interest you, from memory I think I focused on mental health in remote communities. Also have a clear understanding of why it is you want to become a doctor and what that will mean for yourself and your community. Do you plan on working in a hospital setting in a city or do you plan on returning to country and helping your people? These are the things the panel want to know. The majority of the interview focused on who I am as a person. What lead me to this point of wanting to become a doctor and what I plan to do with this opportunity in the future.

Also don’t be discouraged if you feel the interview doesn’t seem to go well. I was so sure I did horribly in the interview, I remember thinking that the panel just didn’t like me. I later realised that they have to be hard to read. They have to present themselves in a certain way so that they don’t seem to be favouring anyone. It seemed like they didn’t like me and one person wouldn’t even look at me, she sort of looked at the wall beside me. I ended up being successful and received an offer via email and phone call the following month. I deferred for this year and will be starting in 2020.

Good luck to everyone, I hope this has helped.
 

DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
I am just going to post here for any ATSI applicants sitting for an interview at Adelaide Uni for Med.
I know before I attended my interview last year I stalked this website and others but there wasn’t really any info on the ATSI interview process.

I won’t say much about the actual questions but I will say the things you should have a clear understanding of before you go to the interviews next week are the particulars of the medicine degree. For example, how long will the degree take to complete and what each year will entail (the three streams).

Read up about the disparities in indigenous health and try and reference statistics in areas that interest you, from memory I think I focused on mental health in remote communities. Also have a clear understanding of why it is you want to become a doctor and what that will mean for yourself and your community. Do you plan on working in a hospital setting in a city or do you plan on returning to country and helping your people? These are the things the panel want to know. The majority of the interview focused on who I am as a person. What lead me to this point of wanting to become a doctor and what I plan to do with this opportunity in the future.

Also don’t be discouraged if you feel the interview doesn’t seem to go well. I was so sure I did horribly in the interview, I remember thinking that the panel just didn’t like me. I later realised that they have to be hard to read. They have to present themselves in a certain way so that they don’t seem to be favouring anyone. It seemed like they didn’t like me and one person wouldn’t even look at me, she sort of looked at the wall beside me. I ended up being successful and received an offer via email and phone call the following month. I deferred for this year and will be starting in 2020.

Good luck to everyone, I hope this has helped.

Thank you for this! It's great to be able to collate some information on this pathway, also.
 

Deboza

UNSW MD II
Has anyone had experience gaining admission to UoN or WSU as an Indigenous applicant? I'm a mature aged applicant who works in health-care (who wants a career change lol). There's not much info online that I can find that would be of use to me.
 

DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
Has anyone had experience gaining admission to UoN or WSU as an Indigenous applicant? I'm a mature aged applicant who works in health-care (who wants a career change lol). There's not much info online that I can find that would be of use to me.
There has been one previous user here at MSO that I’m aware of who is a current JMP student at UoN from an indigenous background. Ammiecat is the user, but she hasn’t been around for quite some time. Hopefully she gets this tag and has nothing better to do in lockdown than check it out for a few minutes!!
 

Deboza

UNSW MD II
There has been one previous user here at MSO that I’m aware of who is a current JMP student at UoN from an indigenous background. Ammiecat is the user, but she hasn’t been around for quite some time. Hopefully she gets this tag and has nothing better to do in lockdown than check it out for a few minutes!!
Thanks for replying LMG. I was aware of Ammiecat (I scoured her profile previously haha).

Both MSO and PD both lack much information wrt ATSI applicants. Whether that's a reflection on Indigenous students applying for med, idk.
 

DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
Thanks for replying LMG. I was aware of Ammiecat (I scoured her profile previously haha).

Both MSO and PD both lack much information wrt ATSI applicants. Whether that's a reflection on Indigenous students applying for med, idk.
Yeah, we don’t seem to get many posts on this topic. If you do end up pursuing Med, maybe you could share your experiences. I know we’d really appreciate that here.

Good luck, and hopefully Ammiecat hears our call!!
 

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Deboza

UNSW MD II
Yeah, we don’t seem to get many posts on this topic. If you do end up pursuing Med, maybe you could share your experiences. I know we’d really appreciate that here.

Good luck, and hopefully Ammiecat hears our call!!
Yeah for sure, I do plan on giving back :)
 

dotwingz

Google Enthusiast
Moderator
The LIME website is also a fantastic resource for ATSI applicants

edit: oop didnt realise its already been linked here, my bad

edit2: That being said, A good mate of mine went through that process at the end of 2019. He ended up declining his offer to study engineering, but I can ask him a few questions. What would you like to know.
 

Deboza

UNSW MD II
The LIME website is also a fantastic resource for ATSI applicants

edit: oop didnt realise its already been linked here, my bad

edit2: That being said, A good mate of mine went through that process at the end of 2019. He ended up declining his offer to study engineering, but I can ask him a few questions. What would you like to know.
Just the experience of the interview process, how he provided the required ID documents etc. Thanks for the offer dot!
 

dotwingz

Google Enthusiast
Moderator
I asked him about it and he said "yeah so basically you do a week long teaser to the course. i dont remember much but it was some year 12 sciences and some anatomy but it was all achievable. we also did these group work sessions where we worked through examples of what you would encounter on a day to day basis in the program. I do remember an interview component but i dont really remember what they asked us about. it was kinda interesting but thats what made me realise i didnt wanna do it"

I know he's been to like 4 of these ATSI university outreach programs so it seemed pretty stock standard to him but if you haven't been to one before you might find it a bit weird. I didnt ask him about proof of Aboriginality but I'm sure the Uni will be more than welcome to answer you in that regard. He was very involved in alot of those Aboriginal groups, so I think all it took was a letter from one of the organisations to prove who he was
 

Deboza

UNSW MD II
I asked him about it and he said "yeah so basically you do a week long teaser to the course. i dont remember much but it was some year 12 sciences and some anatomy but it was all achievable. we also did these group work sessions where we worked through examples of what you would encounter on a day to day basis in the program. I do remember an interview component but i dont really remember what they asked us about. it was kinda interesting but thats what made me realise i didnt wanna do it"

I know he's been to like 4 of these ATSI university outreach programs so it seemed pretty stock standard to him but if you haven't been to one before you might find it a bit weird. I didnt ask him about proof of Aboriginality but I'm sure the Uni will be more than welcome to answer you in that regard. He was very involved in alot of those Aboriginal groups, so I think all it took was a letter from one of the organisations to prove who he was
Woah thanks so much!

The week long group sessions sound he attended the Miroma Bunbilla (uon) and Nura Gilli (unsw) programs. Did he have much experience with WSU? That's the university that I am mainly applying for.

I've emailed the uni's and have also reached out to my family's local community org; hoping to hear back soon.
 

B.C

Lurker
Heyy!
I'm applying into undergrad medicine through the indigenous pathways. Any updates on the Newcastle Miroma Bunbilla program? It's stated that it's held from Nov 29-Dec 3 on the site but doesn't that run through HSC exams? Or am I looking at the wrong source??
 

dotwingz

Google Enthusiast
Moderator
Ooh interesting. I would suggest emailing the med fac and asking them what theyre plan is... at the very least it would make them think of one!
 

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Ammiecat

UoN MD Y4
I am so sorry!! Med school kept me more distracted than I thought. I do hope you got in, and if you did, send me a message! :D

If I get distracted again and other students are looking for advice, LMG! you have my full permission to give them my Facebook name haha.
 

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