Hi,
I am currently looking into the possibility of studying Medicine - and as part of that, looking at sitting the GAMSAT.
I am from a non-science background (I completed a Bachelor of Business at QUT Brisbane in mid-2005) and having reviewed the GAMSAT site it says a science background is not essential and that "academic excellence in the humanities and social sciences is encouraged and recognised" and that "succes in GAMSAT is unlikely without knowledge and ability in the biological and physical sciences, however this is acquired."
I was wondering:
> has anyone on here completed the GAMSAT without having come from a science background, and
> what are people aware of by way of "bridging courses" (either through the University system, TAFE or otherwise)?
I have spoken to NSW TAFE and also Griffith University, but struggling to get out of them any solid advice and good leads/info to follow-up on. I thought before continuing too much further I'd see if anyone had any leads or suggested starting points.
Thanks,
Benignus
Gday Benignus,
I came from a commerce background a few years ago and am now halfway through my final year in medicine at Sydeny Uni. It can certainly be done, although getting through the GAMSAT is challenging. Having said that, once you're in you never look back. It's a great course and I haven't missed a day of my career in finance really.
My personal approach was pretty single-minded. I took 3 months off work to learn basic year 12 physics, chemistry and biology and then attended pretty much all the courses I could such as the medprep and des o'neill ones that give a good outline of what needs to be done (look into those). You need to have done the lead up work beforehand though, as those courses move pretty quickly. Do you have any mates that are high school science teachers - they come in very handy! I also spent some time going to 1st year uni science lectures as well, you can just rock up and attend and no one really cares much.
Apart from that my best advice is to start as early as you can. I started in November for the gamsat the following march and I felt that was a pretty good length of time. Do as many past exams under conditions as you can - my first GAMSAT results were as low as 20% and you will find the practice gets you very well prepared for what is a tiring day. Make sure you check the GPA requirements at the various unis before you start. Hopefully your GPA is sufficiently high, but it's worth working that out beforehand as it can have some bearing on where you might ultimately like to go to med school.
All the best - let me know if you need any additional advice
Cheers
Jeremy
Hey Benignus,
I think you'd benefit from a look through this forum: http://pagingdr.proboards61.com. It's a forum for medical students and doctors with an emphasis on graduate medicine and admission.
Regards,
Matt
hello Jonathan! Im new to the website and I thought i should introduce myself. Im Melanie, a 2nd year international medical student from the U.S. Im currently studying in the Philippines but recently, I've heard about opportunities for clerkship or an actual medical career in Australia but I am still sorting out my options. The website has been useful in encouraging the job opportunities and I hope learn more about it. Looking forward to being a part of the community! :-)