Hey Hayden, I've seen you mention this a few times now.. What sources are you using to determine whether or not all Aussie schools teach the *same* thing in the end?
It's just that I think that sort of statement closes down discussion about pros/cons of Aussie med schools regarding their content. They don't seem to be equal to me.
From what I've seen, Aussie schools are more different from each other than schools in Canada/US are. For example, you've got Melbourne, Sydney, UQ, Flinders.. all of which are quite different in one way or another from a curriculum perspective.
I'm not trying to troll here or anything - I'm just a little taken aback when you suggest that the level of academic organization/content is the same regardless of where you are! It really doesn't seem to be so..
And yes, we all need to know everything in the end - it's just that at some schools, the information is more readily available and at others, well, you have to teach yourself.
That's a legitimate question!
Australian schools
are all equal in standard. It is very different to the US system.
This is because of the level of control that the AMC has over them.
We get AMC people come and inspect the school, its facilities, its curriculum, its teaching and its future direction, very frequently. The school must receive accreditation from the AMC in terms of its curriculum plan years in advance, and the AMC run through it with a fine tooth comb to ensure the cirriculum is to the correct standard. It also assesses the school's end-of-degree assessments and OSCEs to make sure students are being assessed on the same or similar standards when they are finishing their degree.
I can't provide a link unfortunately because I haven't done any internet research on it, I only know because of experience, I've seen the assessment process and seen how nervous the staff get while it happens!
🙂
I'll agree with you in the point that all schools are different, but only in the perspective of curriculum
structure. Standard and levels of knowledge reach a common end point.
There are pros and cons to Aussie schools in terms of content only in the context of some of the extra focuses that some schools have. E.g. James Cook University likes to offer electives and additional material in tropical medicine; Wollongong University offers a rural focus, Newcastle University tends to be very GP-oritented, especially in the early years. Also, the structure of the schools' teaching format (CBL, PLB, didactic, self-directed, whatever) will provide
personal pros and cons in terms of how easily you learn in different formats, but again, in order to pass, you have to get to that standard that the AMC dictates.
So Australian schools are all exceptional standard because if they drop below, the AMC snatches accreditation away from them.
Hope that helps or clarifies.
