All right, since the money is due this friday, who's going to UQ?? When is everyone planning on going over?

I paid a long time ago, because i couldn't stand the devaluation of canadian $ against AUD.

So, in a sense, I'm 100% going....I'm sending out my rez application tomorrow.


jack

Yah mon.

I'm guessing...Jan. 7.

Good on you for predicting a stronger greenback -- I just got spanked with 1.33 on the US dollar. Hasn't been this bad since 1996.

-pitman

Count me in!

I am trying to get my documents in order, I still have to get my passport updated to that it will cover the 4 yrs in Oz, then I will apply for the student visa. I will have some loose ends to tie up before I go so I will have to leave in late Jan giving myself a few days before classes start, pending if I get into on-campus housing. If not I will have to come a little earlier to sort out the living arrangements. I will see you all there, hopefully over some beers. We can find out if Oz beer holds up to Canuck?s beer, we all know that American beer doesn?t (ha ha)

Cheers

ps: markdc, which college did you apply for?

Oops, I meant to ask jackts with college you are applying for? However, the question is for everyone.

cheers

Hey kwikkik

I'm applying to Union college. What about you?

nice to know someone from Vancouver :clap:


jack

me too!!

I sent my app a few days ago. Hope it makes it in time for the Nov 30th dealine.

When you say college you are talking about residences right? I would rather have my own place. At least somewhere that I can relax and not worry about some dork pulling the fire alarm. Plus I don't know if I could eat cafeteria food for a full year.

BTW, out of those planning on going is anyone going to join any clubs??? Here is a list:

http://www.uqsport.uq.edu.au/home.html?page=7333&pid=7103

I'm thinking about this one and a few other watersports:
http://clubs.sport.uq.edu.au/boardriders/

I'm sure I'll pick up soccer again, certainly occasional scuba, probably rock-climbing (great cliffs on the river's edge downtown), and at some point maybe judo or jiujitsu (to gracefully fend off psychopath pts ;)).

-pitman

Remind me to meet up with some of you guys when you get here. I need some international friends ;-)

Oddly enough, my girlfriend was accepted in UQ's medical program when it was still undergraduate, declined and did a journalism degree with them instead.

David

I consider myself moderately active and I plan to join at least one club. I would love to join a bunch but my only concern is the time that one can devote to it. I?m considering a racquet sport (badminton or tennis) and karate or boxing. I guess I?ll just have to ship my gear down.

The boardriders club looks really cool. I don?t really surf (only 3 times in my life), but I plan to learn. I can?t live Australia, especially Brisbane, and not know how to surf. I think my friends would beat me if that were the case.

Soccer sounds fun?it has been awhile since I played it competitively.

DrBlaze -- you're a nursing student, right? What school?

-pitman

Pitmam-

I'm external with James Cook University, and I live in Brisbane.

UQ is actually starting a new nursing program next year where the majority of the teaching will be conducted at the hospitals, by the clinical educators in the hospitals who currently do a lot of the med school education. Looks quite innovative and provides a lot more clinical experience than other nursing degrees. I work full time, so it's no good to me at the moment.

David

Originally posted by markdc
[B]When you say college you are talking about residences right? I would rather have my own place. At least somewhere that I can relax and not worry about some dork pulling the fire alarm. Plus I don't know if I could eat cafeteria food for a full year.



yah I meant residencies. I'm sure you will save a lot of money if you live off campus anyway I'm not sure about the housing rate where you'll be living but I have a feeling it will still be less then living in college.

The only advantage I found about the college I was staying in was that the meals were all cooked for you so that meant you could save time by not cooking it yourself. Still not worth the hefty price tag in my opinion.

Originally posted by redshifteffect
yah I meant residencies. I'm sure you will save a lot of money if you live off campus anyway I'm not sure about the housing rate where you'll be living but I have a feeling it will still be less then living in college.

The only advantage I found about the college I was staying in was that the meals were all cooked for you so that meant you could save time by not cooking it yourself. Still not worth the hefty price tag in my opinion.

Not to mention the shoe box rooms they expect you to live in.

Hi guys,

which first aid course are you taking? I'm thinking of St. John, but i dont' know which level to go for...

jack

Pill Counter -- do the med students form any of their own sports teams (particularly interested in soccer), or do they all go through the normal uni route and get on mixed teams from all over?

-pitman

Originally posted by jackts
which first aid course are you taking?

I'll be taking American Red Cross, similar problem with picking one with equivalence to Aust., but chose one covering CPRx3+defib+First Aid. Has anyone asked UQ what's sufficient? Wish I'd kept my EMT cert current!

-pitman

Queensland Ambulance Service www.ambulance.qld.gov.au offer a variety of first aid courses. The most 'standard' one is the Senior First Aid certificate, and is accepted by most places of work and unis as a first aid qualification.

David

I have not checked back wit UQ regarding the first aid requirements.

I will be taking standard first aid from the Canadian Red Cross. This course covers CPR C and basic first Aid and is 16 hour (two 8 hour days) in length. This seemed to the only requirement for the first aid course from the letter that was sent when the offers were made. The letter states, ?[acceptable certificates] are awarded after 16-18 hours duration with an end point examination?certificates will only be accepted if they are issued by organizations holding a Registered Training Organization certificate.?

I remember speaking to someone at one of the schools and they were familiar with the St.John's Amb first aid course and that it was sufficient. In Canada I think there are minimum requirements for a first aid course so most are equivalent to the St John's course. Mine went over the period of 2 days. The quick 3 hour courses that are in the US may not be enough but I suspect they aren't going to look too closely...



Has anyone thought of sharing a house near campus?? Here is an example listing:

http://www.domain.com.au/listing.aspx?mode=RENT&id=3394950

I was hoping to arrange for a place early so that I can vacation before going over to Brisbane. Let me know if anyone has any other resources for finding a place in advance.

www.realestate.com.au

But the only problem with this is that you'll have to fill the places yourself with students once you get to campus...I doubt it will be hard to do though.

You can try the shared accomodation section...

I'm not familiar with how UQ run their medical program, but the medical school itself is located at Herston near the Royal Brisbane Hospital, not on the same campus with UQ at St Lucia.

For all I know though, you might do all the pharm/bio stuff at St Lucia as there are schools there for those disciplines. Just something you might want to look into.

David

First year is primarily at St. Lucia for the sciences, with clinical days spent at either Royal Brisbane (Herston) or the Southern clinical hospital (Princess Alexandra hospital, across the river from St. Lucia). Year two is spent primarily at the med school's main campus in Herston adjacent to Royal Bris.

-pitman

Groovy. Had me wondering actually.

David

Actually, second year is all over, lectures at RBH and PA, but clinical teaching could be anywhere, including the two previously mentioned, plus Mater, Greenslopes, Prince Charles, etc. My favourite mode of transport has been bumming rides.
Last exam tomorrow, woo hoo! Year 2 sucks asS. It's called the monster, even by the administration. Can't wait to enter the clinical years, and get into the good stuff. Good luck guys, probably meet you up at the May Ball - I expect drinks for my free advice. :D

Oh, and I highly recommend you take advantage of an opportunity to see Tasmania, as next year's AMSA convention in July is in Hobart. We hosted it this year, and it was a blast. Way crazy, loads of fun, and not half bad lectures and workshops. That goes to all prospective Aussie matriculaters, it'll be a good place to meet up with everyone.

Originally posted by The Pill Counter
Oh, and I highly recommend you take advantage of an opportunity to see Tasmania, as next year's AMSA convention in July is in Hobart. We hosted it this year, and it was a blast. Way crazy, loads of fun, and not half bad lectures and workshops. That goes to all prospective Aussie matriculaters, it'll be a good place to meet up with everyone.

if you guys have the time i'd be happy to show you around.

Pill Counter -- do the med students form any of their own sports teams (e.g., soccer), or do they all go through the normal uni route and get on mixed teams from all over?

-pitman

HI I am a Aust student who is definetely going to UQ next year. I am excited and would love to get into contact with other students who are also going. I will be arriving on the 18th of January and staying at Grace College. I have put down Royal Brisbane (not that that means anything).
I am from the central oast (halfway between sydney and newcastle in NSW) and know noone in QLD.

If anyone wants to contact me;be it to arrange to meet orwap life stories/information about UQ med to help each other get in and settle in to life at UQ; my email is kristy.mccarthy@uts.edu.au

Be goin' to med school with an Aussie surfer chick...think I'm in love :love:

Where are all the other aussie UQ students? UQ needs to point all future students to an internal forum like Flinders does. Hmm, add that to the master list.

Royal Brisbane is SWEET. I picked it after visiting a couple months ago. Modern, huge, well-equipped (except for the slow library PCs which I was told were being upgraded this year). There's a secret (shhh!) swimming pool behind one of the older adjacent buildings.

I'll be there around Jan 8-10, will be looking for a house to rent, preferably in Herston or St. Lucia.

I'll cc to your email.

-pitman

Hi all.

I'm not a med student, but my other half has just been accepted to Qld for next yr entry, so I guess he'll be together with all of you.

Just a question, are any of you bringing your spouses or other halves along? Seriously, I'm kinda floundered as to what to do there while he's studying and I've heard that it's pretty hard to find a job there.

Am glad that there's a "support group" here in these forums. It sure makes the move to Brisbane quite a bit easier!

Cheers!

Originally posted by misosoup
...Seriously, I'm kinda floundered as to what to do there while he's studying and I've heard that it's pretty hard to find a job there.

Surely not much help, but...within and beyond the med school there'll be many int'l significant others at UQ. Take up some new hobbies! Rock climb, surf, bushwalk, dive (if within your budget)...make your partner REALLY jealous.

-pitman

misosoup,
The job market is pretty good in Brisbane at the moment. What kind of work do you do at the moment, if I may ask?

David

Originally posted by pitman
Surely not much help, but...within and beyond the med school there'll be many int'l significant others at UQ. Take up some new hobbies! Rock climb, surf, bushwalk, dive (if within your budget)...make your partner REALLY jealous.

Pitman, just a question regarding diving. Do they allow shore dive lessons in Brisbane? Reason that I never took up diving before is that I get seasick and panicky on a very shaky bumboat. :)

DrBlaze, I'm currently working in a clinical measurement unit. Think ECGs, lung function, neurological tests, treadmills and whatnots. I'm not sure if there're vacancies (part-time probably as my dependent's visa would only allow 20hrs of work/week) in the hospitals/clinics for positions like that.

I do plan on doing something else, but that'll depend on several factors influencing my applications to UQ (where else?) in future.

Have a good day!

Originally posted by misosoup
Pitman, just a question regarding diving. Do they allow shore dive lessons in Brisbane? Reason that I never took up diving before is that I get seasick and panicky on a very shaky bumboat. :)

DrBlaze, I'm currently working in a clinical measurement unit. Think ECGs, lung function, neurological tests, treadmills and whatnots. I'm not sure if there're vacancies (part-time probably as my dependent's visa would only allow 20hrs of work/week) in the hospitals/clinics for positions like that.

I do plan on doing something else, but that'll depend on several factors influencing my applications to UQ (where else?) in future.

Have a good day!

Another thing to keep in mind is that during the summer the 20 hour work visa no longer applies and you are allowed to work for an Unlimited amount of hours.

You will be hard pressed to get any professional jobs as you're not an australian (unless you are...) but I think if you're just looking for part time work (even at McDonalds the pay is still $10/hour) you'll be alright.

Hey hey Canadians and US med students think that i am going to have a ball for the next four years... just wish that decent surf was not more that 45 mins away from the campus! :(

I am fairly dissapointed that SDN is not really all that well known in OZ.. from what i understand it is very well known in the us/canada. It would be great if UQ would recommend a forum for anxious and entertaining people like myself to meet and greet others. :clap:

introduce yourself on the 'to all those going to UQ' forum... i have been getting a great response from both '100% UQ' and 'all those going to UQ'.

Surf has been fantastic, and a balmy 28-31oC (in NSW)... have to enjoy it while i can!+pity+

Originally posted by misosoup
Pitman, just a question regarding diving. Do they allow shore dive lessons in Brisbane? Reason that I never took up diving before is that I get seasick and panicky on a very shaky bumboat. :)


I'm sure at least some outfits do this, as it's cheaper for them. Most your training will be classroom and in a swimming pool. The end "test" is doing several open water dives (for the standard "open water" license), and it may be that PADI *requires* the tests to be shore dives when licensing (for safety reasons) -- mine way back when certainly were.

-pitman

Kit just gave me this...have I been the only ignoramus not aware of this very useful site??!?!

http://www.uqms.org.au/

-pitman

misosoup,
Well, I don't know if you could find work as a clinical measurements scientist (though, we do have them...), as it's a slightly obscure profession here.

I don't know anything about your visa, but you could always just sign up wth a few temp agencies, specify what work you like and see what happens?

David

Originally posted by redshifteffect
Another thing to keep in mind is that during the summer the 20 hour work visa no longer applies and you are allowed to work for an Unlimited amount of hours.

You will be hard pressed to get any professional jobs as you're not an australian (unless you are...) but I think if you're just looking for part time work (even at McDonalds the pay is still $10/hour) you'll be alright.

Redshifteffect,
Nope, not an australian, you're right about that. I didn't know about the unlimited hours during summer. Does that apply only during summer vacations? or throughout summer itself?

Pitman,
As far as I know, most Padi/SSI divers in Asia don't take shore dives at all as most nice underwater scenery lies futher out in the sea. Geographical reasons behind it, I guess. If they do have shore dives available in Brisbane or surrounding areas, I may probably just go ahead and get my certificate as my spouse quite enjoys diving.

DrBlaze,
I was wondering if there were similar positions as a brief search through Australian job websites didn't turn up anything like a clinical measurement tech. Will give the temp agencies a try, though I have a feeling that being a foreigner severely limits my opportunites. Thanks for the tip!

To all entering UQ in 2004, have you all done your basic First Aid course yet? Oh and another issue, have you all settled your accomodation yet (non-QLD residents)?

Cheers~

Originally posted by misosoup
Pitman,
As far as I know, most Padi/SSI divers in Asia don't take shore dives at all as most nice underwater scenery lies futher out in the sea. Geographical reasons behind it, I guess. If they do have shore dives available in Brisbane or surrounding areas, I may probably just go ahead and get my certificate as my spouse quite enjoys diving.


I understand this, but what I meant was for *certification* you need to do 2 open water dives. THOSE can be shore dives, indeed it *may* be that PADI requires them to be.

-pitman

Just wanted to remind everybody who were recently sent the immunization forms that they're not due back until March or April. And even then, the last of the hepatitis series isn't expected to be done, so there's no problem with postponing them until you get to Bris (I certainly will, as it will be cheaper for me to do them there).

I just got my first aid done, am now trying to resolve some visa issues (seems the embassy lost my med forms!), but generally...progress!

-pitman

Hey all, typical of things: been a UQ student for many a year now, and only just find these forums a month or so before starting the MBBS :) Anyways, a general heya and welcome to all who will be travelling to Aus to study here.

BTW, don't know what the weather's like where you are all coming from, but at the moments it?s around 33 degrees (91 Fahrenheit) here, and expected to get even hotter as the weeks progress. So much for the notion of a white Christmas (not that there has really been one in most of Australia)

Cheers