The career path to becoming a doctor is filled with a diversity of experiences that cannot be found elsewhere. At times, you are the beacon of light for a grieving family, and at others, a critical decision-maker for those at their most vulnerable, working alongside a team with a strong sense of collegiality and teamwork. For this reason, medicine is the most competitive tertiary education pathway in the world.
The process of applying to Australian medical schools is not only complex but highly competitive, with acceptance rates to top medical schools growing each year it is important to build a strong profile in all areas. The purpose of this article is to outline the pathways to becoming a doctor in Australia and encourage students to appreciate the nuances of studying medicine and the complexities of the journey to becoming a doctor.
Enjoy this comprehensive breakdown!
Pathways – Australia
Undergraduate Medicine (~6 years)
This pathway is for high school leavers and involves direct entry into a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS). This pathway represents about 40% of medical admissions in Australia and is offered to students who perform exceptionally well in school and the UCAT exam.
Postgraduate Medicine (~7 years)
This pathway is open to those who have completed an undergraduate degree, and who meet subject prerequisites for some universities. This pathway requires applicants to have high results in both their GPA and the GAMSAT exam. These scores are combined to determine an applicant’s eligibility for a medical interview. For this pathway, students can apply through GEMSAS – the graduate medical school consortium – as well as direct-to-institution for some universities. For more information on the GAMSAT, check out this blog!
Provisional Entry into Postgraduate Medicine (~7 years)
This pathway is a little more complex. It is open to school leavers who have performed exceptionally well. However, instead of granting students direct entry into undergraduate medicine, they go into postgraduate medicine without sitting the GAMSAT. This means that students complete an undergraduate degree upon leaving school and transition seamlessly into postgraduate medicine. However, in most cases, students must sit the UCAT and achieve a 99+ ATAR score.
CTA: READY TO START YOUR JOURNEY
High School Subjects
Early preparation begins with subject selection. The subjects that students take in high school (and how well they perform in them) is one of the many factors that will determine their success in gaining admission into medical school. While subjects such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and English may scale well in a student’s application to medical school, it is advisable that students choose subjects that they are passionate about.
In Australia, every student upon leaving school receives an ATAR score, which reflects a direct, scaled comparison of that student’s performance against that of every other student finishing in Australia in that same year. As such, a student’s ATAR is a percentile score, with the top score being 99.95. In the context of minimum ATAR requirements for medical school, there is no one answer.
A general rule for students to follow is that an ATAR exceeding 99.00 is likely to be a competitive score. However, it is at the discretion of each university to place as much weighting as they see fit, on the ATAR.
UCAT
The UCAT is a two-hour standardised, computer-based exam, designed to assess the suitability of candidates to study undergraduate or provisional entry postgraduate medicine. Suitability is measured by this exam through an assessment of a student’s critical thinking capacity, emotional intelligence and non-verbal reasoning.
The sections of the exam are Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning and Situational Judgement. Performance is measured by a student’s percentile score, that is, how many questions they answer correctly relative to all other candidates. The fundamental pillar of preparation for this exam is the consistency of exposure to a diverse range of questions over a long period of time. As this is an exam is psychometric, study needs to be consistently built over a long period of time. I recommend speaking to an Academic Advisor to find out how to best prepare!
MMI
The medical interview is your last step towards achieving your goal of becoming a doctor. During the MMI, each student spends between eight to ten minutes at each station, of which there are eight. Students have two minutes of reading time per station, with the remaining six to eight allocated as interview time.
While the interviewers are judging you from a holistic perspective, there are some key skills and characteristics they are looking for, including:
- Communication
- Quality of argument
- Critical thinking
- Creativity
- Social responsibility
- Cultural safety
- Awareness of health issues
- Moral reasoning
- Self-awareness
- Empathy
- Conflict resolution
- Career choice
- Teamwork
- Self-care
Each mini interview will assess you on two to three of these qualities.
The most difficult part about the MMI is not just answering the questions – although that’s hard too – it’s about making your answer stand out. You have to have your own personal reason that you know the interviewer will resonate with and remember. Try doing that for 8 stations in a row! When it comes to crafting those 5-star MMI answers, there’s no better source than MedView experts who have passed the MMI and currently study at whichever university you are targeting. Each MMI is different and the best way to prepare is to get targeted support for all of the universities which offer you an Interview!
MedView is the leading medical school preparation organisation in Australasia, with a proven record of success.
We believe in a holistic approach to medical school admissions, meaning we surround the student with a team of experts to help develop their candidacy and skills in all pillars of the journey to medical school.
Our students’ disproportionately high rate of success is due to our unique model which teams students with doctors, current medical students & mentors who work with them 1:1 to perfect every part of the admissions process.
If your child is interested in studying medicine in Australia, New Zealand or the UK, have a chat with Medview. The first step in your MedView journey is the initial consultation, where you’ll have the chance to discuss your goals and aspirations to see if you’re on track.
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