Please help - a few questions regarding Aus med programs

[Inkabellous]

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Hello everyone,

I have a couple of questions regarding med programs in Australia. Hope someone could give me the answers/info. Background: I am a US citizen finishing up my undergrad degree in Biology. If things go according to plan, I will have finished my degree by the end of this year. I am looking into Australian med programs (4 years) and would like to get some information.

1) Which med grad program has the best records for placing students in US residency programs? Is it Flinders?

2) Where can I get information about deadlines and application process? Do all programs start at the same time?

3) Are all med schools eligible for Stafford loans? Is it true that subsidized and unsubsidized loans are all that needed to pay for a 4-year program? Do I need a private loan as well?

4) How big is the PBL in terms of overall curriculum? Is it 50/50 for PBL and basic science (lectures and such)? Which program has the least PBL?

5) Any program that has connection with US hospitals? Is it really difficult to set up rotations in the US?

Thanks for the answers. I really appreciate any inputs. By the way, if you think there's a thread or link that I should read, please tell me so. I would like to get as much information as possible. Thanks again, guys.

 

[Ezekiel20]

Hi there,

I can only help with some of your questions.

2) Information on the admission process can be easily found from the relevant schools' websites. Unlike the US, there are only a handful of graduate medical programs in Australia, so it shouldn't be too difficult to visit each website. I do remember getting a booklet from ACER (the body that runs the GAMSAT exams), but that was only when the GAMSAT results came out, and I'm not sure if it's available at other times. Ask at www.acer.edu.au

4) Most graduate programs have similar curricula, and are heavily reliant on PBL. Basically each PBL case of the week introduces a disease process, and all the learning is based on it (eg lectures, labs, tutorials). UMelb runs a 6yr undergrad program alongside the 4.5yr graduate program (in the same class, the difference being graduate students skip some of the earlier semesters), and may have less PBL.

5) USyd has 'some' connection with limited numbers of American medical schools. Each year, a few students get to do a fee-free rotation in the US (Columbia Uni is one I've heard about). But numbers are very limited, and most students who do electives in the US arrange it independently. In the years above me, I've met a student (now a resident in the US) who did a term in dermatology at the Mayo Clinic, and there is one in my year (local student) who is liasing with Yale. But whether setting up a US rotation is difficult, I have no idea so hopefully someone else can help you here.


Good luck,

 

[MD1088]

Hi. I graduated from Flinders 2 years ago. I had no problems setting up electives in the US. Flinders has formal exchange with COlumbia and New Mexico however, most students doing US electives went elsewhere. You will need Step 1 done before applying for the electives. Stafford loans were no problem, neither were private loans. PBL is about 50% of the course with plenty of lectures and labs. Great clinical teaching and Adelaide is nice. Only problem might be is its getting really hard to get in as they have opened up most of the full fee spots (previously for Intl applicants) to local full fee paying locals. I also think they give preference to Canadians. Check the website, they have all this info and more. I had no problem getting interviews or offers for IM after graduation. Good Luck.

 

[Inkabellous]

Thanks for the replies, Ezekiel20 and MD1088. I really appreciate your inputs.

 

[Winged Scapula]

1) Which med grad program has the best records for placing students in US residency programs? Is it Flinders?

Aussies aren't into "the best" and rankings, so you won't find any published data about which programs tend to get more students into US residencies. Besides, its really of limited interest to most of the students down-under (foreign students going to the US for residency being a minority). But Flinders has the longest history of doing so.

2) Where can I get information about deadlines and application process? Do all programs start at the same time?

See ACER as noted above. Most programs start late January/early Feb although it will vary with the year. The dates are program/university specific and will vary.

3) Are all med schools eligible for Stafford loans? Is it true that subsidized and unsubsidized loans are all that needed to pay for a 4-year program? Do I need a private loan as well?

Most of them are. It is not true that the goverment loans are all you need; you will need private loans as well to pay for living expenses. Its much more expensive there now than when I studied there so am not sure if the students are having trouble getting 100% financing.

4) How big is the PBL in terms of overall curriculum? Is it 50/50 for PBL and basic science (lectures and such)? Which program has the least PBL?

Again, hard to say as there is no nationalized database, even one as wonky as USNWR, to compare the medical schools. I thought I'd love PBL - I ended up hating it because it was misused for many specialties which needed more lecture based teaching, IMHO. Each school would have to tell you about their curriculum.

5) Any program that has connection with US hospitals? Is it really difficult to set up rotations in the US?

As noted above, Flinders and some of the other schools do have formal agreements with several US schools (Flinders has more than just Columbia and Univ of NM) but there is no reason to limit yourself to those programs. The only place I had a problem was at UVA - I wanted to do Ortho there and you were required to have a faculty sponsor. None of the orthopods there ever answered my queries...I had no such problem with their Plastics department. Its a fair bit of work and follow-up, especially riding the administrative types to send out documendation for the elective, but its certainly doable.

 

[Inkabellous]

Thanks alot Kimberli, your inputs are much appreciated. If most programs start in Jan or Feb, I think I might not be able to make it for the next year class and I'm pretty sure I don't want to wait another year.

 

[driedcaribou]

Hello everyone,

1) Which med grad program has the best records for placing students in US residency programs? Is it Flinders?

There was a studying being done on the goals of international students and where they end up afterwards.... I don't think the results are released yet.

But your question is a bit irrelevant because the Australian med schools train their medical students to become Australian interns and not American interns (and rightly so).

This question would make more sense if you were going to a pure for-profit medical school. i.e. the Carribean.

Question 2 and 3 answered well by Ezekiel20

4) How big is the PBL in terms of overall curriculum? Is it 50/50 for PBL and basic science (lectures and such)? Which program has the least PBL?

Not really a relevant question - are you implying that more or less PBL will make a better or worse program? Even that will not tell you if you learn 'more' or learn 'better'. It's all dependent on what you put into a course and what you're trying to learn. If you're aiming to do well on something like the USMLE, then you need a course that teaches you what the US curriculum teaches in 2 years rather than 4-6 years like other programs.

Thanks for the answers. I really appreciate any inputs. By the way, if you think there's a thread or link that I should read, please tell me so. I would like to get as much information as possible. Thanks again, guys.

I don't know what you're looking for in particular but if you search the forum you will find a lot of valuable information.