How come no one talks about Flinders?

[mcat_taker]

I'm an American and I applied there a few weeks ago but haven't heard anything yet. Does anyone know the stats that would be competitive there? How many North Americans generally attend? Any other general thoughts about the school? Do they have any affiliations with U.S. hospitals?

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[flyawaybird89]

I applied to Flinders. I really liked the program from what I've read, however I withdrew my application because I have been accepted at Wollongong. I really feel Wollongong is a perfect fit for me.

I unfortunately do not know what numbers are competitive there, but I have a feeling that like other Australian schools you need at least a 24 MCAT and a 5.5 GPA (not sure what the North American equivalent is exactly). I believe the GPA is weighted more towards your last years of study.

Also, as with many Australian medical schools alot of the North American cohort will be from Canada. As for U.S. hospital affiliations, I don't recall them listing any, but they have had successful alumni that have made it to the States. Some are members here on SDN.

On their MD webpage there is a recent graduate highlighted (Felicia Hui) who is now at Greenwich Hospital.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, but hopefully other more knowledgeable people chime in.

Cheers!

 

[giraffedom]

they dont have many places ... like for aussies interstate theres 28 places for 1080 or so applicants, i didnt even get an interview with gamsat 64 gpa 6.42

 

[celling]

I'm a US citizen and I graduated from Flinders about 9.5 years ago. At the time, there were no affiliations with US hospitals (don't know if that has changed). There were about 20 North Americans in my class, 9 were american. 2 dropped out during school, 5 came back to the US to train, and 2 stayed in Australia.

The education is comparable to the other Australian med schools. You'll have to do extra studying on your own for the USMLEs. It's hard to get a residency position in the US coming from a foreign country. So, you'll have to do very well on these exams and be prepared to do 1-2 preliminary years before getting into a categorical residency position.

 

[qldking]

Flinders is a pretty ****ty school. The graduates have almost no theoretical nor clinical ability.

I think it's the lack of assessment because the graduates from there seem to have almost no medical ability at all but are great with the menial tasks involved in being a junior doctor.

 

[pitman]

Setting aside the absurd generalization you just made, do you realize that one of the SDN mods is a Flinders grad? Maybe you would like to rephrase?

 

[mcat_taker]

Seriously though. They've had my app since March and I still haven't heard anything from them.

 

[qldking]

Setting aside the absurd generalization you just made, do you realize that one of the SDN mods is a Flinders grad? Maybe you would like to rephrase?

No, why should it matter? Whats the point of this site if you can't express your opinions? I've worked with a fair amount of Flinders grads over the years and this is my honest assessment. For all the faults of UQ, one thing you cannot dismiss is that it produces graduates with solid medical chops. The same can't be said for Flinders. And as I said above, I think it's because there's minimal assessment in the course there.

 

[bashwell]

I've worked with Flinders grads. Seemed fine to me. Not sure whose anecdotal experience trumps whose.

 

[qldking]

I've worked with Flinders grads. Seemed fine to me. Not sure whose anecdotal experience trumps whose.

Yes, I mean their on-the-job ability is fine, but their medical knowledge is mediocre

 

[bashwell]

Yes, I mean their on-the-job ability is fine, but their medical knowledge is mediocre

Just to clarify, I wasn't strictly limiting what I said to their "on-the-job ability". I was speaking in terms of their entire person.

Also, I've met a lot of people from various Aussie med schools whose "medical knowledge" could be said to be "mediocre". But I've also met a lot of people from various Aussie med schools whose "medical knowledge" could be said to be quite competent. At least if we're speaking anecdotally, I don't think it depends on medical school. I think it's more "person dependent".

Not to mention there are variables such as what stage of training they are (e.g. intern, resident, registrar), the assessor's field vs the assessed's field (e.g. if you're a paeds registrar and they're an emergency registrar, odds are you're going to know a lot more about paediatric focussed topics than they will know about paediatric focussed topics), etc.

 

[celling]

Flinders is a pretty ****ty school. The graduates have almost no theoretical nor clinical ability.

I think it's the lack of assessment because the graduates from there seem to have almost no medical ability at all but are great with the menial tasks involved in being a junior doctor.

First off, this is a generalization. And in my opinion, is complete horsesh-t. The Flinders graduates that I have worked with have very strong clinical skills. Their theoretical knowledge may not be up to par compared to the US grads, but their clinical skills are stronger.

As for me, I went into a US general surgery residency, in St Louis, after graduating from Flinders and was told by many of my senior residents, during my intern year, that I was one of the best interns they had worked with. After graduating from general surgery residency, I got into CT surgery Fellowship at the Texas Heart Institute. I was one of 4 people, in the world, accepted to this position. You don't get into a prestigious training program like this by not being extremely strong in clinical and basic science knowledge as well as being technically strong.

 

[UncomfortablyNumb]

Seriously though. They've had my app since March and I still haven't heard anything from them.

I received an interview invite July 8th. Applied 5/26.

 

[mcat_taker]

I received an interview invite July 8th. Applied 5/26.

Oh nice! Let me know how it goes. I should email them. My mcat was kind of low when I applied but I'm retaking on friday. So Ill just forward them new better scores hopefully if my app is still pending in a month. Was it a Skype interview?

 

[zikitee]

I received an interview invitation as well (applied 22nd May). Scheduled for 3rd August (I chose Skype).