Help For International Students Coming To Flinders

I am a medical student at flinders and don't mind helping some of you students coming from overseas. I did not get all the information I wish I had before I got here and now I want to hopefully start a trend of students truly helping students. I am from North America and please ask me anything. Also, as I answer your questions, I will try to add more information which may be useful to you... it was to me.

 

These are some general questions I answered for other people, I hope they help, and if you have anymore questions please feel free to ask.


PBL is interesting. I don't know if I like it much, but it does
have some attractive values. The work you do for PBL is a part of
your study time, since you get a sheet at the end of every case with the learning issues you should have covered in the case. So some of the research is very useful, but a lot of the time you go down the wrong track and don?t cover a lot of the necessary learning issues. The best thing about PBL is that it gives you a lot of time to study on your own for the USMLE, as I have already started doing. Also, it gives you a lot of free time when you are not close to exam periods. PBL hours out side of class vary a lot because it depends on how many learning issues your group comes with for that day. You will meet twice a week and three hours each time for PBL. There are really no assignments or projects that come with PBL or the course for that matter! The group will decide how they want to approach PBL and whether they want to divide up the learning issues. I don't recommend that since someone might get the most important issue and
you would lose out on learning it on your own. Lectures are awful for the most part. There are a few good ones but it is medical school and this many poor lectures isn?t not tolerable. But the best thing about it is that you will have time to study for the USMLE. By the way, PBL is mandatory attendance, which I find to be a joke considering we are adults in medical school, and should be able to decide what is best for us when it comes to learning.

2)The only time you might have an assignment or project is when you choose your elective, which is 3 units of any subject from a list of courses. (Biochem, Pharm, International Health, Pathology, etc. --You choose). But the electives are average at best and are quite disorganized. Once again you will have lots of leisure time, but you will get out of it what you put into it. Study smart and play hard!!!

3) The sports facilities are far below average. The weight room is not Gold's Gym. But they offer lots of sports clubs (sailing, aikido, wrestling, basketball, soccer, tae kwon do, fencing and much more) They are not free but are reasonably priced and the instructors are all licensed pros. I pay about 70 AUS dollars per year for the gym, basketball and squash courts. They do have aerobics. They do have a treadmill, cycle, and a versa-climber.

4) As far as how the ozzie students feel about us in their
classes.... well I am the wrong person to ask. There is a lot of animosity from them and they always make fun of americans, so if you are not from the US, then you will be okay. I knew the arabs hated the US but I never expected it from the ozzies. They seem to think that all foreigners got in just because they paid full price for their education. But if you ignore the students (I call them pseudo-intellectuals), you will be fine, because the locals here have no problems with us and are kind overall. Also, in fairness, not all the students are like that, as some are really great. But also, the instructors seem to make lots of anti-american comments often. Even though they recommend American text books, and American/Canadian websites for good study and research material. It is a love-have relationship. Mostly jealousy. But like I said, if you aren't American, you will be fine. Well I hope this helped. All, in all it is an ok school with lots of clinical experience, and that is what is most important when you start practicing one day. But don?t expect any help with the USMLE here. They offer no such thing. And the

5) Public transport is pretty shabby.
You could wait for some time depending on the distance
and where the stop is. there is no late bus transport so
if you study late at school, you will have to get a ride from
someone or catch a cab. But there are lots of places to
rent close to school. But there are lots of bicyclists
here, and biking around is okay. A car isn?t absolutely
necessary. But it is nice to have if you want a change of
scenery., which you will need after a semester of the
same old stuff day in and day out.

6) About car insurance. It is very expensive if you don't
get a letter from your insurance in Canada stating that
you are a good driver, and have no accidents, or major
tickets. Also, being under the age of 25 is a factor here.
that causes a major hike in your insurance rates. You
don't have to buy insurance here though since you get
third party liability when you register your car. That
means if the other person is injured when you hit them,
the government will pay for their medical bills. But you
still are responsible for loss of work, car damage to
theirs and yours. I have full coverage here with a letter
fro my insurance carrier and my rate is 300-350 per
year. But I am also over 25. I got it for peace of mind.
Parking on campus is about 70-90 dollars per year. All monetary amounts that I mention are in AUS dollars.
But Like I said, if you get here early enough, you can
find a place near campus, and walk.

7) There is very little culture in Adelaide. It is a
predominantly caucasian place and they seem to discriminate
toward aboriginals, and other cultures. But there are
Italian, Greek, and Asian communities, albeit very small.
We have a few aboriginals in our class but they are
1/16 aboriginal, or less and don?t look it at all. Our class
has some Indians(2), and Middle Easterners(3), but
that is it. Not very diverse for a class of 100+.

8) About work. Good luck. It isn?t easy to find work here unless you are young and are willing to do anything. They want the younger people sine they can pay them less. There is some sort of law here that entitles you to receive more pay the older you are. Good law in some aspects, but now the employers discriminate against older people.


Hope this helps.

 

Hello Stranger,

Long time no talk. You probably don't remember me.
I agree that there has to be some sort of control of PBL attendance, and I did agree to be a part of it when I applied for this course. Nevertheless, it leaves much to be desired. I did not try to come across as so negative, I am thankful to be here most of the time. I am sure that I will survive this place and make a good physician some day. On a positive note, the clinical experience is great and makes everthing bearable. The clinical exposure we get here during first and second year is definitely unparalleled in the US. I also agree that we shouldn't expect USMLE prep help here, but they do advertise that electives will help with USMLE prep, although they don't. I took the biochemistry elective and am currently enrolled in pathology and they both are totally disorganized, and of no help at all, except for the autopsies we get to observe. I do know that most american grads go on to do very well as you have, and I am thankful for that. I guess it is hard to be open minded when we get so much anti-american sentiment all the time, even from lecturers.

By the way, how is the Milton S. H. Medical Center treating you these days. Have you had a chance to meet any first year students from 2001?

take care of yourself

 

Hey Pill Counter,

That is pretty much the way it is. But I never say "That is they way we do it in the states". I know better than that and am old enough to realize that america is my home but it is not necessarily the greatest place on earth in most peoples eyes. But I never noticed anti-ozzie sentiment or anti-canadian sentiment or even anti-european sentiment in the US. They seem to love those places. It is just very sad.

 

Hey MD1088,

I think that you are confusing dry with poor. It is ok for a lecture to be dry, sometimes the topic demands that, but a poorly organized lecture by someone who only comes down from the bush once a year to teach is intolerable. And how about the repeatedly cancelled lectures, of which some are rescheduled, some a month or more later, and some are never made up. And lecture notes that are incomprehensible due to the format they are presented in, is unacceptable. And how about the lecturers who come in and ?power click? through power point slides so fast that only a video camera could keep, and on top of that, lecture notes are not even available for those lectures. You also speak of medical school as a restaurant. Good Service? How about good teaching! I am very good at self directed learning but I, as I am sure you do, expect good teaching. And some people need the guidance, so it is better to have it readily available and if an individual doesn?t need it then they can choose not to utilize it. But I absolutely do agree that many students do no preparation at all. And that will affect how much a person can extract from electives. People who don?t prepare regularly are not very serious about medicine, and realize in this type of course that they can get through with very little motivation and studying. I know that you have realized that by now. Nevertheless, you cannot learn medicine completely on your own without guidance, unless you want to turn it into a 10-12 year program. If that was true then medicine should be a CORRESPONDENCE COURSE. It would save lots of time and money for everyone. Skipping out on lectures in medical school is unacceptable. This is not college! This is where you will gain much of the knowledge you will need to serve and save lives some day. This is not organic chemistry in college. This is medicine, and you and I are privileged to be a part of it. It is not some fast food joint where you just decide to eat somewhere else. Also, much of the examination material comes from the lectures. The people who teach us have much more knowledge and experience than you or I ever will, and I attend lectures hoping that they would impart some of that knowledge to us. Sometimes they do, and other times they, unfortunately, miss the mark. When I said lectures were average at best, I meant overall. True there have been many good lectures, but ?exceptional" is a bit of a stretch. There also have been many more poor lectures. Except for an individual named Andy Macdowell. He was in a class of his own, and now he is gone. By the way, don?t blame that knucklehead, Pres. Bush for the problems we encounter here. There are many other reasons, and Bush did not create the American medical system that is continually attacked, day in and day out. Of course we are more sensitive to the anti-American sentiment. We are North Americans!?!?!?!?!? What kind of statement is that?

Adelaide is very pleasant in many regards, and Flinders is a good school. I can?t deny that. But a Taco Bell and a Starbucks would be nice.

As a side note, you said that you had the choice to attend a US medical school. Are you the person who did actually attend a US medical school for a semester, and then left and came here? If you are, then I never would have expected the type of response you gave considering you are so pro-USA. Or are you an Ozzie perpetrating as an American? Nevertheless, glad you are enjoying the course. Try to show it more often in school.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hey Kim, I meant at PSU.

 

All right, I am back with a vengeance.... Not really

I am sorry to all of those who wanted info on Flinders, and ended up getting other stuff. Anti-Americanism is a touchy issue. I am sorry to have brought it up. Before I actually give some more useful info for you gals, and guys who are coming here, I just want to clear some things up.

First of all:
XXXXX Kim
I could not agree with you more. We have much more similarities than differences with the ozzies. And contrary to to what MD1088 says, people here are hooked on American TV, music, etc. Just run down to Marion Shopping center and see what the hottest sellers are in the music shop here. Last Time I checked, EMINEM was at the top. Not my personal preference but hey "different strokes for different folks". By the way I got my hands on some of your typed notes from CVS. They say "prepared lovingly for you by Kim Cox? Good notes.... thanks.
I hope mine are passed along, long after I am gone.

XXXX Also Crepitus said that USMLE prep was fair here, not good. In some aspects I agree, but opinions vary on this and most say that except for physiology, prep is poor. But as I said before, they don't have to have USMLE prep for us since most students are not taking it here. After all, it is an international medical school. By the way USMLE prep matches up poorly with the cardiovascular lock (No arrhythmias, no myopathies, no vascular stuff, just heart, and almost every case had LVH)

XXXXX Sorry treesap, I did not mean to come across as not enjoying it. I am. As I sad before the clinical exposure here is awesome and we definitely would not be getting that in the U.S. this early. But as for diversity, the last time I checked, cultural diversity was not determined by a person's education, and employment background.

XXXXX Crepitus, thanks for the post on the pros and cons regarding when to take the boards.

XXXXXX Now on to some other tips that I thought of recently.

0) First of all, you should all read "BRS Physiology" by Linda Costanzo to get you ready for HH (Human Homeostasis), which is the first 8 week block you will encounter. It will give you all a good background and review for that.
Also, I strongly recommend buying a book called "Clinical Microbiology made ridiculously simple" by Gladwin. It is very expensive here, and almost impossible to get, and only costs $30 in the U.S. It will give you a good base for IMD(Identity, Microbes & Defense) which is the second block.

1) Buy "First Aid for the USMLE- Step 1" immediately and use it as you go along in the course. It will help with mnemonics, and high yield information for the course & USMLE. PLus it will give you a jump start for the USMLE.
2) Don?t bother bringing notebooks or folders with you. They don't use the 8.5 x 11 sheets as you do there. It is called A4 here and will stick out of the top of your folders. Also they don't use the good old fashioned three-hole punch. They use a two-hole punch and unless you want holes up and down the sides of your papers and notes, just buy school supplies here.
-->Yes, these are just minor things, but I know some of you wanted to stock up on folders and things as I did (they are collecting dust now). Pens are okay to bring, they don't write backwards here.
3) If you plan to buy a laptop, don't do it here, electronics are very expensive. Bring it with you. I bought one and brought it, and customs did not ask me a word about it. (No import tax)
4) If you have time and want to review other things, Biochemistry is good since it is covered pretty heavily in the HH block, and never again. Look over the stuff in First Aid as a review. My text of choice for that part of the course was "Biochemistry" by Champe & Harvey. Or BRS is also ok. Just don't buy the recommended text unless someone is selling it at a heavily reduced price. I got no use out of it. But heyy, it does make my bookshelf look nice.
5) Also, get "Pharmacology" by Mycek, Harvey & Champe. You won't get much Pharm here and that book will help with HH and IMD.
6) If you are weak on your Immunology, I recommend Lange's "Microbiology & Immunology" by Levinson & Jawetz. It is important and covered in IMD.
By the way, you can purchase all of these textbooks here, prices are better than U.S, for the most part, except for the book I mentioned above.
7) The Merck Manual is a very good reference book to have, and I always refer to it.
8) I also have Harrison?s Principles of Internal Medicine on CD Rom and will give a copy to anyone who needs it. Just supply me with the blank CD once you get here. And other medical stuff on CD. We can trade if you have anything. But if you don't I will still help anyone out. We are all in this together here.

If there is anything else you all need please let me know. I am sorry for coming across as so negative, but I needed to vent, and thanks to you all for being there to listen. There are lots of benefits to being here as I said before.

Take care all. or as treesap said "Good on You" . That means "Right on" in ozzie'ese

 

Yes, exactly what Crepitus said.

It was the vegemite talking. If anyone needs clarification just e-mail me.