Why the University of Sydney is a good program

[driedcaribou]

Just so you all don't think I completely hate the University of Sydney Medical Program, this thread is just to highlight some of the strengths of the program.

- early clinical exposure
- access to excellent clinicians
- supports teaching the clinical reasoning process
- good patient history and physical exam skills ( dependant on tutors but in
the program )
- develop good patient doctor relationships ( your mileage varies on who you are - i.e. if you're a jerk, you'll always be a jerk )
- awareness of public health issues
- good emphasis on evidence based medicine
- good team building
- lots of free time in the first two years

- some say that it teaches you to learn what's important but I disagree because that's just an insult to all of your former education - surely you must have learned this to do well in your first undergraduate degree or earlier

- active changes to the curriculum (i.e. program is attempting to improve its weaknesses) - I mean all programs do this but they are doing it more quickly at the moment

- located in a great city


Anyways, that's it for now- I'm busy on elective with limited Internet.

Later!

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[BlueToothHunter]

Oh, and don't forget for all you single guys - I'll spell it, H O T girls!

 

[UofTGradStudent]

Ditto to both posts.

Hey Dried, why the sudden change of heart? Just curious.

Quick Q for you sir: you mentioned USyd is flexible with internationals as far as elective placements. Now, as I understand, any placements in US/Canada are called 'electives' in US/Canada, however, how does it equate with USyd when substituting these electives for clinical rotations or PRINT? In other words, do the electives in the US/Canada = elective/clinical rotation/PRINT in USyd?

Thanks a bunch and g'luck on the elective.

 

[driedcaribou]

Hey Dried, why the sudden change of heart? Just curious.

Quick Q for you sir: you mentioned USyd is flexible with internationals as far as elective placements. Now, as I understand, any placements in US/Canada are called 'electives' in US/Canada, however, how does it equate with USyd when substituting these electives for clinical rotations or PRINT? In other words, do the electives in the US/Canada = elective/clinical rotation/PRINT in USyd?

It's not a change of heart- I made this post because people are continuously misinterpreting my concerns about the program. Just because I criticise the program doesn't mean I hate it.

I would be irresponsible if I said that coming to Sydney would mean you'd have no problem going back to North America.

You can substitute one clinical rotation for an 8 week placement in your home country (though you could probably convince them otherwise - only International students get this privilege) and PRINT can be done pretty much in the country of your choice as an Int'l.

So 1 rotation in Sydney can = 8 weeks overseas
8 weeks PRINT = 8 weeks overseas
11-12 weeks of electives = 12 weeks overseas

So if you plan ahead, you may be able to work this to your advantage.

If the new program scheduling is approved, you could potentially spend 7 months back in your home country and never return to Sydney....

 

[UofTGradStudent]

It's not a change of heart- I made this post because people are continuously misinterpreting my concerns about the program. Just because I criticise the program doesn't mean I hate it.

I would be irresponsible if I said that coming to Sydney would mean you'd have no problem going back to North America.

You can substitute one clinical rotation for an 8 week placement in your home country (though you could probably convince them otherwise - only International students get this privilege) and PRINT can be done pretty much in the country of your choice as an Int'l.

So 1 rotation in Sydney can = 8 weeks overseas
8 weeks PRINT = 8 weeks overseas
11-12 weeks of electives = 12 weeks overseas

So if you plan ahead, you may be able to work this to your advantage.

If the new program scheduling is approved, you could potentially spend 7 months back in your home country and never return to Sydney....

Thanks for the info. I really like this fact of the program, seeing that it's hard enough to get back. Getting valuable LORs during a 7-month stint in the US/Canada is extremely critical for residency apps.

I think it's qualified to say the minute you step out of NA, your chances of coming back for residency in NA hospitals decreases substantially. It doesn't matter if you go to a UK, Irish, Aussie or Carib school, you'll never be exactly on par with native grads, when one comes to apply for US residencies. In Canada, the situation is bleak...but improving.

Sorry to add another qualifier, but my exact question was when one comes to apply for overseas rotations, are they termed 'electives' or 'clinical rotations'? In Canada, international students from other med schools can only do electives in Canadian hospitals. I was wondering if these could still satisfy as 'clinical rotations' and PRINT terms using USyd definitions.

Thanks a bunch.

 

[driedcaribou]

Sorry to add another qualifier, but my exact question was when one comes to apply for overseas rotations, are they termed 'electives' or 'clinical rotations'? In Canada, international students from other med schools can only do electives in Canadian hospitals. I was wondering if these could still satisfy as 'clinical rotations' and PRINT terms using USyd definitions.

Not much time to post but the titles are all semantics. Duration of your visit is more important.