Medical Education in Australia - Medical School

Medical School

Various models of medical education exist in Australia. Undergraduate-entry program typically last 5–6 years, and permit entry from secondary school matriculation. Applicants are usually assessed by a combination of high school leaving certificate performance, UMAT (Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test) score and interview. Graduate medical programs typically last 4 years, and require the entrant to have attained a previous bachelor degree qualification at a certain level of achievement in addition to aptitude tests and interviews. The most common selection test used is the GAMSAT (Graduate Australian Medical Schools Admission Test).

In early years, theoretical domains of study predominate, with increasing clinical focus during the program. However, early clinical exposure — in which students commence clinical skills from very early in the course, concurrently with theoretical study — is a component of many degrees, most notably the graduate medical programs. In recent years medical school learning and teaching in Australia has taken on a new direction. At most universities there has been a move away from the more traditional methods of teaching with a shift towards the Problem Based Learning (PBL) pedagogy including the use of Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs).

Depending on the program undertaken, students graduate as Bachelor of Medicine / Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), (BMBS), or an equivalent Bachelor of Medicine (BMed), in addition to any other degrees attained during study.

Student life is well-catered for at medical schools in Australia, with medical students generally running one of the most active societies on campus. There is also a national medical students society, AMSA (Australian Medical Students' Society), responsible for student advocacy on a national level. AMSA also runs the AMSA Convention.