VICTORIAN universities hold Open Days each August to give high school students a chance to visit, explore tertiary education options and get a feel for what might be the next chapter in their life.
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Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of being involved in the running of many Open Days, both at Monash University (with the Biomedical Science Faculty) and now at the University of Melbourne (with Melbourne Medical School).
My favourite part about Open Day is the excitement of the 60,000 plus young people in attendance.
They really represent the future of medicine, law, engineering, business, and many other fields.
My role this year was to answer questions from my personal experiences about studying medicine.
Just in case you couldn’t join us at the Melbourne Medical School booth this University of Melbourne Open Day, I’ve summarised what I think is the most important information that we as current medical students shared on the day.
1 - Getting into medicine (or not getting into medicine this time around) isn’t the end of the world!
Never forget that there are plenty of valuable things to do and experience that are completely unrelated to medical school.
Embracing these external opportunities (whether you’ve been accepted into medical school or whether you will be trying again next year) will only enhance your ability to be a good doctor, not deter from it.
2 - Take VCE subjects that you enjoy.
If you like what you’re studying you’ll do well, and if you do well you’ll have a better chance of getting into the course of your choice.
There are medical students who have previously studied everything from science to arts, who have been actors, chefs and worked in various other careers, so don’t limit yourself just because the subjects you like are not 'medical'.
The exception is of course pre-requisite subjects; sadly even if you don’t like those, you still have to take them.
3 - Believe in yourself!
A number of rural-background students in attendance at Open Day expressed that they weren’t sure they were 'good enough' to compete with the many Melbourne private school students who also have their sights set on becoming a doctor.
Certainly a number of my peers grew up in Melbourne and many did attend private schools, but there are also a growing number of students from regional and rural Victoria in medical school at the University of Melbourne and there is no reason you can’t be one of those students.
4 - Go regional/rural/remote if you have the opportunity!
Studying at Bendigo Health this year has been an amazing experience, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
Students are often anxious about whether choosing medical school placements outside the large inner metropolitan teaching hospitals will be to the detriment of their career, but that is definitely an old wives tale.
Regional health centres offer supportive learning environments with plenty of opportunities for hands-on experience – in other words they’re the perfect place to learn the basics!
I wish all VCE students applying for any university course in 2015 the best of luck, and hope to see some of you at the University of Melbourne very soon!
Editor's note: Skye Kinder's Skye's The Limit column appears fortnightly in the Wednesday print edition of the Bendigo Advertiser and online at our www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au website.
