The Realities of Studying and Practicing Medicine

[A1]

1) Not rural 2) VIC 3) Unlikely 4) Around 97-98 according to my careers counsellor (but this is at a very competitive high school where standards are high)

If around 97-98 you can forget about UNSW unless you get a very top UCAT. JCU is also little chance. Your best shots are with Monash/UTas/Adelaide or the ATAR-hurdle schools WSU & JMP. You need to achieve *at least* 90-91 %ile UCAT to get somewhere.

I'm happy to help if you have more questions. For now see this Criteria table first > [Undergrad] - (2019 Updated) Med schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards

 

[brownpanda69]

Thank you for your response!

There's always time to improve my grades.

But I was wondering, should I apply for med based on my motivation, as described in my OP?

 

[A1]

Thank you for your response!

There's always time to improve my grades.

But I was wondering, should I apply for med based on my motivation, as described in my OP?

Your motivation seems fine to me. Don't worry too much about your hand-eye coordination unless you want to apply for Dentistry.

As for social awkwardness I suggest you train yourself to overcome it. I don't know what is available in Melb, in Perth I joined the St John Ambulance first aid service. They gave me a comprehensive training course afterwards I volunteer my time to be attendant in their First aid van at sporting/concert/street market events. Working in a group with the paramedics plus dealing directly with the public teaches a lot of social skills. Get to see AFL finals & concerts for free too

 

[brownpanda69]

Your motivation seems fine to me. Don't worry too much about your hand-eye coordination unless you want to apply for Dentistry.

As for social awkwardness I suggest you train yourself to overcome it. I don't know what is available in Melb, in Perth I joined the St John Ambulance first aid service. They gave me a comprehensive training course afterwards I volunteer my time to be attendant in their First aid van at sporting/concert/street market events. Working in a group with the paramedics plus dealing directly with the public teaches a lot of social skills. Get to see AFL finals & concerts for free too

Thanks so much.

I'm part of St John already (joined for the reasons you outlined) and I think it's great. Just have to do my first aid course and then I can start going on duties

I guess the only thing that worries me about doing med is that there is compulsory surgery involved and as I suck at physical tasks (or at least I think I do - never been good at sports, handwriting, can be quite clumsy). I just don't want to harm anyone during the compulsory surgery because of my physical shortcomings.

Apologies for all the questions / complaints.

 

[A1]

I guess the only thing that worries me about doing med is that there is compulsory surgery involved and as I suck at physical tasks

I haven't got to that stage to advise, but I don't think surgery itself is a compulsory part of studying/practising medicine. You are required to do a surgery rotation in the med course but you are there merely as an observer. Afterwards when you practise I think you can choose from specialties that don't involve surgery.

 

[govpop]

“Surgery” as a medical student is limited to holding retractors for 3 hours and developing back pain. So I wouldn’t worry.

You will need to learn how to put in IV cannulas (cannulae?) and do basic suturing but this is just about repetition. If you can eat your breakfast without spilling it you have the necessary dexterity to learn these tasks.

 

[Cathay]

I guess the only thing that worries me about doing med is that there is compulsory surgery involved and as I suck at physical tasks (or at least I think I do - never been good at sports, handwriting, can be quite clumsy). I just don't want to harm anyone during the compulsory surgery because of my physical shortcomings.

You sound just like me! And I coped with "surgery" as a med student just fine - a lot of the time you're only observing and not "scrubbed in" (not in a sterile gown & gloves etc and therefore not allowed in the sterile field) anyways; and when you do get to scrub in and assist, it generally involves holding retractors, and you might get to hold the scope on laparoscopic surgery (but don't worry, if you turn out to be bad at it they'll swap you off the scope). You may get to do some suturing in relatively low-stakes settings (removing skin lesions from someone's back, suturing a cut on someone's arm/leg) after you've had a practical class on suturing. It's good to keep in mind that the doctors and surgeons supervising you also don't want any harm to come to anyone due to "med student ineptitude" so as a student you'll rarely (if ever) get to do anything that carries significant risk of harm; those will be activities you can only observe.

And as govpop mentioned, you'll get taught how to do bloods (venepuncture - obtaining specimens for blood tests) and IV lines (IV cannulation), and those are more "bread and butter" junior doctor tasks. They are more learned tasks that you'll get better at with practice.

PS: during our clinical years (years 4-6 at Otago, of which I only attended 4-5), only some sessions in the operating theatre were required (being caught up in the surgical fever, though, I went to a few more than I needed), and even when your attendance is required, "scrubbing in" (thorough handwashing followed by meticulous donning of sterile surgical gown and sterile gloves) is generally voluntary (for us it was offered at the surgeon's discretion and it was a perk that we eagerly took up for a better view of the action). I'd imagine there would be some faint-hearted med students who would prefer not to scrub in, and I've not heard of anyone getting in trouble for declining to scrub in as a student.

PPS: After graduation, House Officers (interns/residents for Aussies) attached to surgical teams generally stay on the wards and look after the ward patients, with minimal (if any) theatre time; and after that, you'd have to become a surgical or anaesthetics registrar to find yourself in theatre.

 

[Cal]

Sorry if this isn’t in the correct thread, but do residents/interns have to work all those crazy 24-26 hour call shifts that we see from those youtubers? Or is that not something that happens in Australia? Are the working hours more humane in reality?

From the people I know; there most definitely is crazy hours; someone I know once worked an 18 hour straight shift no breaks (not on call even). It is a little insane.

 

[govpop]

24 hour call shifts are not as commonplace in Australia/NZ as they are in the states where such a practice is widespread. However you still might do 24 hour call shifts in a small city as a surgical or obstetric trainee.

Keep in mind that a 24 call shift in a small place where admissions are few and you get some time for reprieve is not necessarily harder than a 14 hour on call shift in a bigger place where you sometimes barely have time to take a piss and are admitting from start to finish.

 

[chinaski]

Sorry if this isn’t in the correct thread, but do residents/interns have to work all those crazy 24-26 hour call shifts that we see from those youtubers?

Probably one huge misconception YouTube and TV seems to have engendered is that intern and RMO are the hardest years you'll work. The opposite is true.

 

[REGULAR JOE]

As a family doctor/gp, what are the normal working hours/days? Is it 5 days a week, 8 hours a day? And is it possible to earn 200k salary with that work shedule?

 

[chinaski]

GPs work in the private sector, so they can call their hours to a certain extent. But bear in mind, their income is also contingent on their billing - so succinctly, the more patients they see (and the more complex their billing), the more money they make.

 

[chinaski]

It's not a 9-5 M-F job, ever. Whilst the long physical on-site shifts tend to go away after you get your fellowship, your time is still eaten into by way of on call work, weekend and after-hours cover, meetings that occur "off the clock", as well as the fact that your normal work day will rarely run a predictable "I will start at xx time and finish at yy time" course with much guarantee.

 

[govpop]

So, is it true that medicine really does entail of crazy long hours ALWAYS? Is it just the first few years post graduation, or only for specific specialties? I really want to know what I'm getting myself into.

Yes. At least until 8 years post graduation. Then may ease off. Or not in particular specialties.

 

[chinaski]

Or does the 8 years include the vocational training for specialisation?

It takes into account post graduate (vocational) training. Eight years is a rough estimate. Some pathways take less, others take more.

 

[REGULAR JOE]

Just wondering how long it would take after completing the degree to become a family doctor/gp? Also like I Can't Hear U said, is it harder to become a family doctor in some states?

 

[chinaski]

Look at the RACGP website for insight into the training programme.

 

[DNA]

Just wondering how long it would take after completing the degree to become a family doctor/gp? Also like I Can't Hear U said, is it harder to become a family doctor in some states?

1 year intership + 3 years fellowship through RACGP or 4 years fellowship through ACRRM. So 4-5 years in total.

 

[CoolBeans]

Really interested in becoming a GP, but not certain on the path to become one. Could you guys clarify the process (including the exams in between internships and residencies and the final exam for FRACGP)? I'll post what I know so far:

- Go through 4-6 years of Med school
- 1 year of internship going through various rotations in various 'fields' in order for students to see what they like? I've heard internships are the most stressful process in the road to becoming a GP, is this true?
- Do you then apply for RACGP training which I believe is for 3 years? I heard there's GP placements and hospital training within these 3 years; what exactly does the hospital training cover? I've also heard there's some sort of extra 'extended skills' program, again; what does this cover?
- Do you then sit an exam at the end and if you pass, you become a qualified GP? If you fail, do you get to sit it again?
- Once you're qualified, I assume you can start working in clinics or do you have to continue work in hospitals?
- Once you're a GP, do you still maintain that stressful life as you did in the last 7-10 years or is this more of a constant 9-5pm job with more flexibility on your hands?

Also, what's the difference between an intern, registrar and a resident? What stages are these at (ik interns are PGY1's but that's all I know).

The second part of this thread is about what life is like as a Med Student/Intern/GP.
- How did you find Med school? Was it as stressful as it seems and did you have time for other activities such as a sport or much time for socialising with friends and family?
- How was internship like? I've been watching videos on interns in the UK and their lives seem very chaotic and stressful?
- If you are a GP or in the 3 year RACGP training, what's it like? Is it less stressful or does it get worse from internships?
- Any regrets?

I'm interested in becoming a GP, I'm just intimidated by the huge amounts of workload and constant pressure as everyone says it is. Would appreciate your responses. Thanks in advance.

 

[Crow]

Hi CoolBeans, welcome to MSO

This is the link to the RACGP website where you should find answers to all your questions about the pathway to becoming a GP:RACGP - The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners

How did you find Med school? Was it as stressful as it seems

All degrees can be stressful at some point, but the short answer is no.

and did you have time for other activities such as a sport or much time for socialising with friends and family?

Yes.

How was internship like? I've been watching videos on interns in the UK and their lives seem very chaotic and stressful?

In this thread some users have shared their experiences about their years as junior doctors: Days in the life of an intern/resident/registrar

Ultimately learning about experiences from interns in the NHS probably won’t be particularly helpful for you if you want to learn more about what it’s like practicing in Australia.

In short, internship will likely be one of the least stressful years in your career post-graduation.

Also, what's the difference between an intern, registrar and a resident? What stages are these at (ik interns are PGY1's but that's all I know).

How to become a doctor

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