How to become a doctor in Australia
Medicine can be a rewarding career, but the path isn’t always easy. If it’s the career path you want to take, Dr Laura Gray of Deakin’s School of Medicine says you’ll need some key things: dedication to learning, great interpersonal skills and passion.
With these under your belt, you’re ready to embark on your journey to becoming a doctor. This is how to get there.
What undergraduate degree is the best to get into medicine at Deakin?
You might be keen to set yourself on the path to medicine by choosing a science-focused bachelor degree – and, for many students, that’s an excellent option.
But a science degree is not the only path into medicine. If your interests lie in a different discipline, Dr Gray says there’s no need to commit to a science degree just because you think it’s required.
‘You should be choosing an undergraduate degree that you’re really interested in and that you love doing. Because that’s what’s going to give you the strong academic performance that you need [to get accepted into medicine],’ she explains.
Whether your background is in science or another field, bringing knowledge, skills and perspectives from your undergraduate discipline into medicine can be a real asset – for both your studies and your future professional practice. Diverse academic and life experiences can help you understand different working environments and relate more effectively to future patients.
‘That’s a real strength,’ Dr Gray says. ‘Medicine is a really competitive program. We get a lot of applicants for a fairly small number of places. You need to choose a course that you’re interested in, because there’s no substitute for passion.’
Are you an international student?
Find out how to apply for a Doctor of Medicine course at Deakin as an international student. There are around 15 places per year reserved for international students.
What steps do I need to complete to become a doctor?
Unlike many other industries, it’s not finding a graduate job that’s tough: ‘Getting into the course, that’s hard,’ Dr Gray says.
For domestic students, the standard pathway of entry into medicine is based on your performance on the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT), the GPA from your undergraduate degree, and your performance during the Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) which are run on university campuses.
‘It’s the combination of those factors that determine whether a student is offered entry into the program,’ she explains.
What is the GAMSAT test and how do I prepare for it?
The GAMSAT is ‘designed to assess the capacity to undertake high-level intellectual studies in the medical and health professional programs’, according to the Australian Council for Educational Research.
It’s good to keep in mind that if you decide to pursue a non-science related undergraduate degree, you will still need a basic understanding of biology, chemistry and other related sciences to be successful in this test.
‘But it also tests more abstract reasoning skills and other skills that are really important too,’ Dr Gray explains. ‘There are sections that are focused on biology and chemistry and those foundational sciences, but there are other, broader aspects of the test.’
The best way to prepare is to head directly to the GAMSAT web page where you can register and read up on the best steps to take before sitting the test.
What are multiple mini interviews and why do they matter?
Getting a great result on your GAMSAT and having a stellar GPA doesn’t guarantee you a place in a medicine course, but the MMIs are a great opportunity to showcase your broader range of skills and passion for medicine.
‘There are quite a few different aspects of applicants skill sets that we try to explore through the MMIs,’ Dr Gray explains.
‘MMIs are quite structured and short. Each candidate will meet approximately 10 people and have a short conversation with those people about different scenarios, answering different questions, and they might be asked to complete a task.’
Rural and Indigenous entry schemes for medicine
Rural Training Stream
Deakin aims to help remove some of the barriers to entry that you may experience if you live rurally and want to study medicine. Each year, around 30 domestic places in the Doctor of Medicine are held for applicants applying through our Rural Training Stream. If you meet the criteria, you can apply through GEMSAS.
Indigenous Entry Stream
Deakin offers entry schemes exclusively for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to study a medicine, optometry, medical imaging or psychological science degree. Up to seven domestic places in Deakin's Doctor of Medicine course are held for Indigenous Australian applicants applying through this stream and eligible applicants aren't required to complete the GAMSAT.
I chose Deakin because I have always wanted to do medicine but have never lived in an area where it was possible to study it. Now we have this great facility right on our doorstep in Warrnambool.
Deakin Doctor of Medicine student
What's it like studying medicine at Deakin?
If your application is successful, your passion will assist you significantly during what Dr Gray describes as ‘a challenging course’.
‘We ask quite a lot of our students, but we also try to support them,’ she says.
Clinical placements
As well as the course work, a medicine degree requires you to complete a diverse range of placements in various settings right from the first year of the program.
‘Some of the early placements are with GPs, some of them are with hospitals, some of them are in allied health situations or community care,’ Dr Gray explains. They’re all quite short to give you a taste of what working in that particular area could be like.
When you reach your third and fourth years of medicine, you’ll get to spend most of your time in a particular clinical placement. ‘Many students work in hospitals, some of them work in rural general practices or rural healthcare providers, and they’ll experience different aspects of medicine throughout the year,’ Dr Gray says.
It’s an intense workload, but most students who enter the course are able to complete the requirements successfully. ‘I think that just reflects the fact that the people who want to do medicine come into it with their eyes open, and are really passionate about what they’re doing.’
Internships
A year-long internship is the next step on the path to becoming a medical professional, and during this time you’ll get to work and practise as a doctor – usually in a hospital – doing junior doctor tasks. ‘You are actually a clinical professional at that point, but you’re a junior so you’re supported and supervised,’ Dr Gray explains.
‘A lot of the time graduates will do their internships at one hospital and then move somewhere else after that.’
Completing an internship is a requisite to become eligible for general registration as a medical practitioner.
Specialisation and the role of lifelong learning
The process of formal learning doesn’t stop after graduation, regardless of whether you want to specialise or not. Dr Gray explains a dedication to lifelong learning is crucial to be successful in the field, as a large part of the role of being a doctor is ‘to keep abreast of new developments’.
‘You have to be able to know how to study, be adaptable and continue to learn even after graduation,’ she explains.
Before choosing whether to study a specialisation, Dr Gray says there are opportunities to experience many options first-hand. ‘Really, it gives people a good chance to get a sense of what it’s like to actually work in the system, and to learn a bit more about all the different specialties in order to make a good choice as to where they want to head.’
Then, depending on what your interests are, you can move into specialist training programs. The requirements of these vary quite a lot depending on the area you want to head towards, as does the length of the programs and where you’re able to do them. For example, some programs enable and encourage the trainees to work in a rural environment.
Medicine is something that's always been in the back of my mind – I love a challenge. If an opportunity does arise, I'd love to get into something like sports medicine or musculoskeletal medicine. For me the course is challenging, fascinating and enjoyable.
Deakin Doctor of Medicine student
Have a back-up plan in case you are not successful
Unfortunately, a challenging reality of this path is not everyone makes it into medicine. It’s a fact Dr Gray regretfully states: ‘We have 4500 to 5000 people applying [for medicine] each year, and the majority of those people won’t get in.
‘We always try and encourage people who are thinking of doing medicine to have a plan B.’
Having an alternative career option in the back of your mind help you to channel your passion into something else that excites you.
Dr Gray’s advice is to start thinking about your plan B in advance, and choose an undergraduate degree that allows you to follow that career path.
‘I think if people are really focused on only medicine, sometimes that worries me a little bit,’ she says. ‘I love the dedication, but at the same time they’ve got to be realistic and be aware that even with all the commitment in the world, their application may not be successful.’
But not being accepted the first time you apply doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to. And, if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.
‘It’s really common for people to apply more than once before they get in,’ Dr Gray says.
Ready for the challenges and rewards of studying medicine? Discover our Doctor of Medicine.
