Medicine degrees and 3U maths? (1 Viewer)

[kwon0212]

Hi everyone
I'm currently in Yr 11, going into year 12 soon and I've been checking out the degrees that universities offer. Is getting an MD different to MBBS, MChD or a BMed? Will they all lead me to becoming a doctor or do I specifically need to get a certain degree? (I'm hoping to become an anesthetist or a surgeon if possible)

And is it possible to get into Medicine by doing Maths Extension 1? I've been talking to people near me who were accepted into medicine and they all seemed to have done Maths Ext 2.

Thank youuuu

 

[Schmeag]

Hi everyone
I'm currently in Yr 11, going into year 12 soon and I've been checking out the degrees that universities offer. Is getting an MD different to MBBS, MChD or a BMed? Will they all lead me to becoming a doctor or do I specifically need to get a certain degree? (I'm hoping to become an anesthetist or a surgeon if possible)

And is it possible to get into Medicine by doing Maths Extension 1? I've been talking to people near me who were accepted into medicine and they all seemed to have done Maths Ext 2.

Thank youuuu

I can answer the first question: broadly speaking, they are all the same (definitely MBBS/MD), but check the title of the degree first. I think BMed can mean Medicine or it could mean something like Medical Science depending on where you are. Typically, you would want something that says Bachelor of Medicine or Bachelor of Medicine/Surgery. It is always safer to check each university's course information.

I do not believe maths is a requirement, but I could be wrong since it has been a while. Usually there is a minimum English requirement +/- Chemistry depending on the degree.

Good luck, they are both excellent pathways (difficulty notwithstanding).

 

[redjnr]

On 3U maths: No undergraduate medicine courses that I know of have any math requirement, and in fact only Monash has a subject prerequisite (chemistry) other than English. Many Universities may have recommended studies but these are not required to be eligible for a place so you definitely do not need it - at UNSW roughly half of the people that I have asked did Extension I (3U) math and the other half Extension II (4U). There is maths in medicine but 3U is more than sufficient to understand it.

Having said that there are some reasons why 4U is desirable. Firstly it scales really well, you don't have to get a very high raw mark in the exam to get a competitive HSC mark. Hence many people who are good at math take it to maximise their ATAR but again its not necessary if you don't think you will do well. Also, 4U gives you 2 bonus marks for University of Queensland's combined MD program, meaning you effectively only need 97 ATAR to be considered.

Remember you can always drop a subject if you're finding it too difficult, so if you can make the cut at your school it's not a bad idea to try it. Whatever you end up choosing - all the best and good luck!

 

[medicinestudent]

MD (Doctor of Medicine)- is a masters degree -- which is why people chose to do this as a combine med course although it id highly competitive to get into
MBBS - bachelors degree
BMed - bachelors degree

These are only a starting pathway into becoming a trained surgeon/specialist/GP however. If you want to do surgery, some universities offer a separate surgery course. If you want to become a specialist/GP, you have to do another 4-10 year course, depending on what you want to specialise in, learning the field and all that. These qualifications (MD, MBBS etc.) do not give you the expertise you need to be a anaesthetist.

I did my own research into it since I'm passionate about getting into med too

 

[Oer]

MD (Doctor of Medicine)- is a masters degree -- which is why people chose to do this as a combine med course although it id highly competitive to get into
MBBS - bachelors degree
BMed - bachelors degree

You're right about the degree apart from people wanting to get into MD programs more

I'd say MBBS vs MD is a more minor issue for most people since they're usually practically equivalent

 

[Medman]

MD is better because it includes research and you might be published.

 

[Ello1234]

MD is better because it includes research and you might be published.

But is the MD more internationally recognised? Because apparently at UQ the rate of international students entering the program has increased since they changed it to MD. I don't know that's what they said at the open day.

 

[Oer]

MD is better because it includes research and you might be published.

Yep, that's an advantage if an MD if you plan on doing research. It's worth noting that any medical student can do research if they'd like to though, it's just easier to arrange in an MD program since it's compulsory. Being an in an MD program isn't a prerequisite to doing research, it just obligates you to do it.

But is the MD more internationally recognised? Because apparently at UQ the rate of international students entering the program has increased since they changed it to MD. I don't know that's what they said at the open day.

It's hard to know what international standards are like since there are so many countries out there. But theoretically more countries might recognise an MD. I wouldn't know where to find evidence of that though.

On the UQ point, the uni decides how many international students can enter the program. And they tend to have more applicants than spots. So if they have a higher rate ENTERING the program, it just means they're accepting more. Which doesn't say very much.
If they had more APPLICANTS, that might be significant. Did they mention that?

 

[Ello1234]

Yep, that's an advantage if an MD if you plan on doing research. It's worth noting that any medical student can do research if they'd like to though, it's just easier to arrange in an MD program since it's compulsory. Being an in an MD program isn't a prerequisite to doing research, it just obligates you to do it.




It's hard to know what international standards are like since there are so many countries out there. But theoretically more countries might recognise an MD. I wouldn't know where to find evidence of that though.

On the UQ point, the uni decides how many international students can enter the program. And they tend to have more applicants than spots. So if they have a higher rate ENTERING the program, it just means they're accepting more. Which doesn't say very much.
If they had more APPLICANTS, that might be significant. Did they mention that?

yes i think they meant more applicants mainly a lot of people from Canada.