I'm horribly confused

[DrL]

I was reading the thread on US vs. Australian med schools, and I'm making a tough decision. I finish my bacehlors in may in the US, and I'm trying to decide whether or not to go home for med school or stay here (I moved to the US at 15, and I will have dual citizenship soon).

I'm sorry if some of this has been posted before, but I looked at a lot of things and it just added to my confusion, besides, i'm to lazy to go and look all this stuff up

I was in Australia over christmas, and I looked at the UQ campus (both at St Lucia and Herston). Is most of the "classroom teaching" ( 1st year or two) done at St Lucia or Herston?

In the US vs Aus thread there were mentions of an antaomy course equivalent of some kind. Does anyone know what that entails exactly?

I know residency is done differently than in the US, with a random draw, but if you want to go into a competitive specialty, how does the selection process go? Is it all a random draw, or does how you perform during the intern years detemine the kind of choices you have?

PBL - How does it work exactly? I'm sorry if this is an ignorant question, but how can you solve medical problems if you haven't had basic science courses? (This is a genuine question, I'm not having a go at PBL or Aussie med schools)

HECS - Iknow it pays for tuition, but is there any type of financial aid outside that tho help with living expenses while in med school?

Any help's appreciated
Thanks

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[pitman]

I was in Australia over christmas, and I looked at the UQ campus (both at St Lucia and Herston). Is most of the "classroom teaching" ( 1st year or two) done at St Lucia or Herston?

1st year most the time is spent in St. Lucia (where most the lectures and labs are), with clinical time either at Princess Alexander Hospital or Herston. 2nd year lectures are both at Herston and the PA.

In the US vs Aus thread there were mentions of an antaomy course equivalent of some kind. Does anyone know what that entails exactly?

have no idea what you're talking about here.

I know residency is done differently than in the US, with a random draw, but if you want to go into a competitive specialty, how does the selection process go? Is it all a random draw, or does how you perform during the intern years detemine the kind of choices you have?

only intern year is random ballot in queensland. after that there's a year or two of medical officer, then you apply to a college for specialty. not sure what criteria they use at that point, but it's definitely merit-based.

PBL - How does it work exactly? I'm sorry if this is an ignorant question, but how can you solve medical problems if you haven't had basic science courses? (This is a genuine question, I'm not having a go at PBL or Aussie med schools)

some ppl have this issue with pbl. but i think it works. first week we covered a first-aid case, studied homeostasis. pretty basic stuff. plus students look important stuff up in the pbl meeting. next week i think was cardio, so we studied the heart, not too compicated, building on homeostasis. and so on. the first few weeks' topics were returned to more than others later in the year, e.g., heart came back twice more. ppl don't know all that's exposed in the first pbl meeting of the week, but by the end of the week you get a pretty good handle on the medical condition w/ the relevant science. 1st year does cases that cover the various systems, mostly normal functionality. 2nd year covers them again w/ far more path. the repetition and spiral nature allows it to work me thinks. but most students do certainly get overwhelmed the first couple weeks, chiefly with trying to figure out how much depth is needed.

HECS - Iknow it pays for tuition, but is there any type of financial aid outside that tho help with living expenses while in med school?

if you get dual citizenship(!) i guess you could do Stafford loans. not sure about australian loans, but i've 'heard' they don't really exist. then again with all the new full-fee domestic spots opening up, maybe a new market? i'll let an australian try to answer this one better.

sorry to rush...need sleep.

-pitman

 

[DrL]

Thanks a lot for the help Pitman.

I have a got a couple more questions if you wouldn't mind.

How long does one spend in the classroom at UQ? (i.e when do you get into the hospital - after a semester, a year, 2 years?)

What are the clinical options, i.e how many different locations are available?
I tried to find this on the website but I had no luck. Obviously there's Herston, but is it a good possibility I'll end up in the bush somewhere for clinincal training if I attend UQ?

Any light you could shed on the matter would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Purifyer]

I'm almost certain Australian citizens/PR get a government loan to cover living costs

 

[pitman]

I'm almost certain Australian citizens/PR get a government loan to cover living costs

Indirectly they get a loan -- they get HECS, which means they get to defer payment of tuition for years. But otherwise, from what I've been told, no $ comes in as a loan, i.e., for living expenses. I could be wrong, but I've asked a few paupers here in Brisbane and they haven't heard of such loans.

-pitman

 

[pitman]

How long does one spend in the classroom at UQ? (i.e when do you get into the hospital - after a semester, a year, 2 years?)

What are the clinical options, i.e how many different locations are available?
I tried to find this on the website but I had no luck. Obviously there's Herston, but is it a good possibility I'll end up in the bush somewhere for clinincal training if I attend UQ?

Any light you could shed on the matter would be appreciated.
Thanks

Classroom lectures for 2 years. But clinical training starts early in semester 1, with at least one clinical visit per week.

There are two main clinical locations in year 1 and 2 -- central and southern. There's also northern and i think western for later years. But each is just a region, encompassing more than one hospital. For Central and Southern there are two main hospitals each, with some smaller satellites, which is plenty for these core years. Third year ppl go all over the place, and although a certain percentage of Australians are forced to go rural in year 3, there is no such requirement for int'l students. But the option is there. Or to Brunei for a rotation or for the whole third year (by the time you'd be in year 3).

-pitman

 

[pitman]

I'm almost certain Australian citizens/PR get a government loan to cover living costs

Looked more into it, Purifyer was close: on top of HECS (deferring all tuition until they make real $), many Australian students can get CentreLink need-dependent grants of up to $350 per fortnight (depending on criteria like family income and/or independence). Also, bank loans (currently around 7-8%, accruing while in school) are available, with Commonwealth offering up to $5k (total for med).

I guess if you don't qualify for centrelink, then you have to go for the bank loan. Unfortunately, 7% is HUGE now compared to U.S. current Stafford rate of something like 2%, and subsidized.

-pitman