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The facts about medical degree selection

Wednesday, 16 January 2008

The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide occasionally receives questions from the public and the media about its entry procedures for Medicine and the number of places available in Medicine.

In the interests of raising awareness of these issues, the following frequently asked questions and answers have been prepared:

Q: Why has X, Y, Z top student not been able to get into Medicine at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide, even though they received full marks/almost full marks?

A: Entry into the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery program at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide is highly competitive, with 2071 applications received this year from all over ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥.

Demand far exceeds supply, so we cannot offer everyone a place. The average TER for successful applicants is over 99.

High marks alone do not always mean you'll make a great doctor. Many universities and professional bodies believe that other qualities are invaluable in potential doctors.
To make sure that the most suitable candidates are chosen, applicants for the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery program must satisfy specific admission requirements. These involve a three-stage selection process. Applicants are judged equally on their TER score and interview score (weighting of 40% each), with a 20% weighting given to the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ Medical Admission test (UMAT).

These requirements are different to entry into most other courses, which is usually based on TER (Tertiary Entrance Rank) scores alone.

Q: Is South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s selection process similar/different to other States?

A: The three-tiered entry system is used by most ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n medical schools.

Q: Who runs the UMAT tests?

A: The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n Council for Educational Research runs UMAT.

In 2007, more than 15,000 people sat for the test in ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ and overseas. Of those, 1013 were from South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥. From the 2071 applicants to the MBBS course at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide, 697 applicants were invited to the Oral Assessment interview.

The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide is pleased to be in such high demand for Medicine, both nationally and internationally, as it reflects the quality of our programs - a fact recognised by the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n Medical Council's full accreditation of our Medical School.

Q: How many ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n students will study Medicine at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide in 2008?

A: In 2008, 153 ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n students will study first year Medicine. These include the 11 places allocated to students under the State and Commonwealth Governments' Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship schemes, which requires students to practice medicine in a rural or remote setting for six years after graduation.

Q: Why can't the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide reserve places for South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ns?

A: This would be unconstitutional. By law, the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ must accept applications from all states and territories and cannot discriminate in favour of local students. Almost all candidates from interstate apply to more than one university but only about half of the South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ns who apply for entry into Medicine in Adelaide have applied elsewhere.

Q: Why can't the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ offer more places?

A: The Federal Government allocates the number of places all universities can take for medical students from ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥. The universities have no say in that number.

The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n Medical Workforce Advisory Committee regularly advises Government on the number of places, based on information about what is happening in the health sector. This has recently resulted in new medical schools being created in Victoria and NSW, aimed at increasing the number of medical graduates nationwide.

Q: Aren't overseas students taking places away from local students?

A: No. The number of overseas medical students has nothing to do with the allocation for ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n students provided by the Government.

The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ is allowed to accept students from overseas in addition to its ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n student allocation.

A total of 21 international students will be studying first year Medicine in 2008.

Q: Why do we take overseas students?

A: The numbers of overseas students and ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n students are determined separately. The actual numbers and the reasons for determining them have no correlation.

The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide has been accepting international students into Medicine for more than 50 years, and has done so proudly. We have trained whole generations of doctors who have gone on to become leaders in their respective fields in ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ and around the world.

Q: There are too few doctors in country areas - why doesn't the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ do something about it?

A: For many years now the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide has sought to increase the number of students accepted into Medicine from rural areas. The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ offers Rural Medical Scholarships to help country students offset the costs of studying Medicine and relocating to live in Adelaide.

For the first time in 2007, South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n Bonded Medical Scholarships were made available to support our future medical practitioners who, in turn, have committed themselves to work in rural areas of South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ when they graduate. The Commonwealth also funds Rural Bonded Scholarships for ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide graduates to work across ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ in areas of need.

The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ recognises that medical students who come from the country are much more likely to return to country areas when they have achieved their qualifications. However, the fact is that only a small number of rural South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n students apply for entry to Medicine at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide each year, despite a serious shortage of doctors in country areas.

There are many other programs and initiatives that the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ is involved in to improve the level of service to rural areas. These include research to better understand doctors' motivations for staying in the country, teaching programs that raise awareness among all medical students of practising in rural areas and rural clinical placements throughout the degree.

Q: What if I do not get a place in Medicine in the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide in 2008?

A: In 2008, up to 30 places have been made available under the Tertiary Transfer Scheme, whereby students in other undergraduate programs within the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ can apply to transfer to the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree. In the past, successful Tertiary Transfer applicants have come from such diverse fields as Commerce, Law, Mathematics, Science and Health Science.

Eight universities (ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Sydney, ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Melbourne, ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Queensland, Griffith ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥, Notre Dame ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ (WA), ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Western ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥, Flinders ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ and the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n National ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥) in ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ offer graduate entry courses in medicine. Applicants are encouraged to undertake the Bachelor of Health Science program as a pathway to one of these graduate entry medical programs.

The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s Faculty of Sciences also offers courses relevant to medicine within the Bachelor of Science and various named degrees, including the BSc (Biomedical Science), BSc (Molecular Biology) and BSc (Biotechnology). Graduates from these programs may also look to graduate entry medicine programs or pursue a career in medical research.

To apply for 2009 entry you will need to make fresh applications to SATAC and UMAT. The UMAT score is held for 2 years, however candidates are advised that the score leading to invitation to the Oral Assessment may vary from year-to-year.

More information about entry into the MBBS or Bachelor of Health Sciences programs at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide can be found here:

or:

More information about Science programs at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide:

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