by Dilini
Dilini is in her 3rd year of Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (BMBS) at the Flinders University, South Australia. She will be graduating in 2012. Dilini shares her experience of the application process, studying Medicine and living in Australia.
MEDICAL SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS:
In which school did you study for your Advanced Levels and what subjects did you study?
I did my London A/Ls at the British School in Colombo over a period of 18 months. My subjects were Biology, Chemistry and Physics at A2 and Mathematics with Statistics at A/S level. My undergraduate studies were at Monash University in Melbourne, where I completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science degree with honours in Immunology. I graduated from Monash in 2008 and entered Flinders University for Medicine in 2009. I hope to graduate from Flinders in 2012 with my MBBS.
Why did you decide to go to Flinders University? What factors did you consider when selecting medical schools?
My decision to go to Flinders was quite a spur of the moment. You have a vast array of options when applying for medicine as an international student in Australia. You may apply to any number of universities that offer an MBBS, depending on your GPA.
In Australia there are two options for students who want to do medicine. Students can do medicine as an undergraduate degree in universities like Adelaide, or they can do medicine as a postgraduate degree (by graduate entry) in universities like Flinders and Melbourne. Some universities like University of Queensland and Monash offer both streams.
In my experience, it is very difficult to get into an undergraduate medicine program as an international student, especially if you have not done the Australian high school exams. Flinders was the first university to call me for an interview and the second university to send me an offer. I think the fact that Flinders was the first university in Australia to offer a postgraduate degree in medicine weighed heavily in its favour. Plus, Adelaide (where Flinders is located) is known for being a quiet and settled city. After spending four years in Melbourne doing an undergraduate degree, I was ready for a calm and quiet city where I could get into my studies with minimal distractions.
What was the application process like?
The application process spanned almost one year. I applied to do the GAMSAT (an aptitude test for graduate medical, dental and pharmacy degrees - www.gamsat.acer.edu.au) towards the end of my third year of bachelors and sat for the exam in March of my fourth year. The results were release around June and depending on them and my projected GPA, I selected my medical schools.
As an international student I was given the liberty of applying to as many schools as I liked. I sent out applications to four schools by the end of July and got my first call for an interview from Flinders University in September. While I was waiting for a response from Flinders, I got an offer from University of Queensland. In early October I got an offer from Flinders as well and after weighing between the two schools I opted for Flinders. Exactly one year after I had made my decision to do medicine, I was enrolled in a program.
What requirements did you need to apply?
The GAMSAT score played a big part in the application. GPA from the final three years of the bachelors degree were counted as well. If these made the cut, the school calls for an interview and selection depends on these three aspects – GPA, GAMSAT score and the interview. A high GPA is the best way to ensure getting called for an interview. Different universities have different standards of requirement. The high ranking universities, including Flinders, require at least 6.0 on a scale of 7.0.
What was the interview like?
As an international student I got an option of having my interview in Melbourne. However, I selected the interview process that local students go through, which involves visiting Flinders University and facing a panel of three interviewers. The interview starts with general questions such as "why do you want to do medicine?" and "what are your plans after graduating?" After this, there was an assessment where I was given a scenario to work through. It is an exercise where the panel gives you an unexpected situation and observes your thought process and how you approach the problem. This helps them assess how a student will handle the Problem Based Learning (PBL) process, which is an important learning tool in medical school.
What is the cost of the application process?
The GAMSAT costs 374 Australian dollars (AUD) as of October 2011. Each university has an application fee of its own which can be up to 100 AUD.
Do you need a visa? How much does it cost and how do you get it?
I started the course as an international student on a student visa. The costs and other details about the visa can be found at www.immi.gov.au.
MEDICAL SCHOOL EXPERIENCE:
How difficult and competitive were the courses? How big are the classes?
The program is as difficult and competitive as you expect any medical program to be. Given that we have only 4 years to do what most others do in 6 years (since the program at Flinders is graduate entry), the work load is quite large. In addition, the academic year is longer than usual with only 6 weeks of holidays per year. Flinders takes in 100 to 150 students per year, but other universities have much bigger class sizes. University of Queensland, for instance, has about 300 students per year, which I feel takes away from the one on one learning time. In my batch at Flinders, there are 20 international students, 11 of them Canadian.
How many courses did you have to take and how long did it take before you graduated?
The graduate medical degree is four years in duration and most students can finish it in that time frame. The final exam of the program is at the end of the 3rd year and the 4th year is more of a training for your internship.
How were the Professors? Were they helpful?
All teachers are helpful and enjoy teaching. It must be noted that in this context "teachers" include anyone who will teach and this ranges from senior medical students to doctors. Professors are doctors or non medical academics who have attained that status through research and other merits. Consultants (also known as specialists in USA) are doctors in a certain speciality who have done the qualifying specialist exams and are heads of teams and departments. They are basically the top of the medical feeding chain. All the teachers I came across, doctors and non-doctors, were eager to teach and very helpful at all times.
Contact with consultants and professors mostly happens in the clinical years (3rd and 4th) and given their time constraints they are not always the first point of contact for students, but there are tutors and other doctors at a teaching hospital who are mostly involved in teaching. Consultants and professors are firstly hospital employees and secondly university employees. They are our teachers by virtue of being employed at a teaching hospital. So they are helpful but students should also make it a point to sought them out. Teaching at Flinders (and most other postgraduate medical schools), is very self directed and not as didactic as in the 6 year undergrad courses.
What is the final degree you get?
The final degree is Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (BMBS is what appears on the degree certificate).
How recognized is your degree around the world? Are there students who went to other countries to practice medicine or applied for higher education/other jobs?
Flinders BMBS is as recognised as any MBBS/BMBS around the world and upon completion you are eligible for registration and internship in Australia. If you want to do your internship in another county, you will need to take their registration test (Act 16 in Sri Lanka). This applies for any medical degree from an Australian university. Upon completion, like any other medical degree, an intern year has to be completed for you to be granted full registration as a doctor.
What is the procedure to practice medicine in Sri Lanka and how well did your university education prepare you for it?
I have not yet taken the Act 16, but the general opinion is that it is not very difficult if you had just finished the degree. That said, not many people I know want to practice medicine in Sri Lanka directly after graduation. Mostly students want to at least specialise in Australia before practicing in Sri Lanka.
What is the total cost of the program?
The current tuition fee is about AUD 42,000 per year and this increases a little every year. Rent would range from AUD 150 to 250 dollars a week. Adding in the cost of food, transportation, books (although many are now available in PDF), equipment, etc, the total cost will add up to about AUD 300,000 for the four years.
Are there any scholarships available?
Not if you are an international student. But it is best to enquire from individual universities as there are bursaries and awards available during the course in different universities.
What was the overall experience of studying like?
For me, given my background of biomedical science, the first two years were not too hectic. It was mostly remembering and relearning my undergraduate subjects. The clinical approach to the subject matter was new to me and needed some getting used to. I did join a study group which served to help me study as well as make great friends. The medical school was helpful when ever we wanted access to study rooms or the anatomy lab out of class hours. Flinders School of Medicine encourages self directed learning and although it took a while to come to terms with it, three years on, I can confidently say it has worked out very well.
Given that the four year course still expects students to learn everything that undergraduate students will learn in 6 years, there is definitely a lot of work to be done in a short time. But it is not impossible and having a group of friends to accompany you through it all makes it a much easier journey.
LIFE IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA:
Can you describe the first few weeks of settling down?
I applied for student housing as soon as I confirmed the offer in November of the year before because it is always hard to get on-campus housing. I arrived in Adelaide on the hottest day recorded in a decade and settling in that kind of weather was very difficult. Since I had already lived in Australia for 4 years it wasn't too hard to get used to things. I paid about 300 AUD for a fortnight as rent (including utilities) may have been about 150 AUD a week. Adelaide is comparatively cheaper than Melbourne in my experience although it depends on your lifestyle
Where did you hang out the most?
The first week I was in Adelaide was the international student orientation week and the week after, classes started. Graduate medicine, although it is a shorter course, has a much longer academic year. So I spent most of my time either in class at the hospital or out with new friends. There is a great medical library in the medical school which is on hospital premises. There is also a central library on campus but I hardly ever needed to go there. The security on and around campus is very good and I always felt very safe even after dark. Adelaide in general is a good place for studying in my opinion and Flinders is quite isolated from the busy city hubs so concentration was never a problem.
How big is the Sri Lankan community?
The Sri lankan community at Flinders was very small when I started here and even smaller at the medical school. Since then it has gotten bigger. The Adelaide university has a Sri Lankan student club which organises events that all are welcome to. New Year is always a time for get togethers and so is Wesak.
Any advice for other students thinking of applying?
Medicine as a graduate course is virtually unheard of in Sri Lanka and I think this may discourage people from considering it as a possible pathway. But I feel I made the best choice by completing one degree before starting medicine. I feel I have more conviction in what I am doing and have more direction in my conduct thanks to my life before medicine.
If a student is passionate about studying medicine, my advice is to go for it. Medicine is not an easy subject to study and if you are not passionate and ready to put in the hard work, it can be a painful 4 years. You should be ready to commit yourself to eat, breathe and live on text books during this time. I would also highly recommend that you get involved in student life and make new friends while in medical school. These things will help you get through the hard times.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely that of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of SL2College.
Date of publication in the Sunday Observer: January 08 and 15, 2012 (in 2 parts)
SL2College would like to thank Dilini for sharing her experience and wishes her the very best in her future endeavours. This and other related articles are available on www.sl2college.org, under the resources section. Please post your queries on the forum at www.sl2college.org or email info@sl2college.org.
