I don’t know what course to do :( (1 Viewer)

[Mazar97]

I really want to do medicine but unfortunately my UCAT marks weren’t high enough. So now I want to post grad med and I’m having problem choosing an under grad course to do.
After asking for advice, some people suggested I do medical or biomedical science as it is a good foundation for medicine and GAMSAT. However other people suggested I do a degree I am actually interested in as a back up plan in case medicine doesn’t work out.
The only other career I’m interested in is nursing.
So would it be a good idea to do nursing as an undergraduate before medicine or should I do medical science?

 

[Hithcock]

From what I’ve heard, don’t do medical science. I didn’t choose medical science based on the job prospects, because at the end of the day if I finished my degree and did not get into medicine, I would be stuck with no job. This might be different now but this is what people have told me. Happy to be corrected.

I did not get a good Ucat score either so I went with allied health - in particular, physiotherapy at ACU. I’m glad I made that choice- I’m even considering just doing that and not pursuing medicine! Nursing is a good program too if that’s what you are after.

 

[jenii14]

Ya don't do medical science most people I know regretted it lol

 

[Mazar97]

From what I’ve heard, don’t do medical science. I didn’t choose medical science based on the job prospects, because at the end of the day if I finished my degree and did not get into medicine, I would be stuck with no job. This might be different now but this is what people have told me. Happy to be corrected.

I did not get a good Ucat score either so I went with allied health - in particular, physiotherapy at ACU. I’m glad I made that choice- I’m even considering just doing that and not pursuing medicine! Nursing is a good program too if that’s what you are after.

Yeah the job prospect for medical science is still very low

 

[quickoats]

Single degree nursing is quite a good option - it's a short degree that should cover all the graduate medicine prerequisites, and it lends itself to a vocational job as an RN. If the hospital setting is what attracts you to medicine, then nursing is a great alternative.

It can be argued that medsci/clinsc/biomedsc/healthsc undergrad degrees are "better" as they have more science content and are "easier" to maintain a high GPA since you can pretty much rote learn all the theory. However, they lack 'good' employment opportunities - mostly in research roles, which may/may not be your cup of tea. If you're interested in medicine because of the technical and scientific aspect of it, medsci could be the thing for you - you can always further your study in a certain area of interest through a Masters or PhD. Just be aware of "pre-med" and "clinical science" degrees, as they offer a less solid scientific foundation (focusing on GAMSAT and interview prep) where it may be difficult to get into a research role.

Other degrees/vocations which might be of interest to you:
- Optometry if you'd prefer a more 'desky' job.
- Radiography if you'd like a skills based job with less patient interaction.
- Dentistry or podiatry if you enjoy the surgical and clinical aspect.
- Occupational therapy or speech pathology if you'd like to work with children.
- other allied health include, physio, pharmacy, paramedicine, orthoptics, nutrition/dietetics, exercise physiology
- Commerce for the money (seriously, it's possible to make a lot more cash in finance if that's what you're after)

There are some ways to get a "doctor-ish" role through these degrees. Nurses can become Nurse Practitioners, Podiatrists can become podiatric surgeons, and dentists can become dental surgeons/specialists. Of course, these all require extra years of study.

There are undergraduate medicine programs which don't require UCAT which you can also consider - JCU, Bond, Griffith, USyd (provisional) and UniMelb (provisional). They all require quite a high ATAR which you can work towards