KOM Alumni talks about studying at Flinders Medical School

April 10, 2014
Posted in: Alumni, Australian Medical Schools in Australia, Flinders Medical School, Flinders University
Tags: Canadian application centre, Canadian Medical Schools, Doctor of Medicine, Flinders Medical School, Flinders University, graduate entry medical program, KOM alumni, KOM Consultants, medical schools in Australia, Problem Based Learning

Canadian KOM Alumni talks about studying at Flinder’s Medical School

Not sure if you want to apply to Medical Schools abroad?

Here is proof that it is worth the experience!

“Ever since the day I started my application to the Flinders Medical program, the school has been unbelievably welcoming and genuinely concerned about my successful transition to Flinders from Canada. I applied quite late to the program, and had about three weeks to prepare myself for the move before classes started. KOM Consultants were very helpful in checking in to make sure I completed all of the necessary steps I needed to do before moving. On the first day of school, one of the school’s administrators picked me up from my house and brought me to school, and then arranged for another international student to show me around on the first day so that I wouldn’t be disorientated since I had missed the initial orientation. In the first few weeks, the school administrators would seek me out to make sure that I was enjoying my time at Flinders and doing well living in another country. The school has showed a tremendous capacity to take care of their students and look out for their wellbeing.

Not only has the school made me feel like a valued member of the program, after completing my first year, I have learned a tremendous amount through their “problem based learning” style of teaching. In “problem based learning,” or PBL, the class is divided into groups of 7-8 students, and you work with tutors to go through hypothetical patient cases, which are focused on a specific theme such as cardiology or respiratory medicine. My tutors for PBL have all been retired faculty who have blown me away by their knowledge and devotion to our learning. For example, one of my tutors was a retired head of hematology at Flinders, and one was a retired lab supervisor. They come from different backgrounds, so you get a different perspective on working through the PBL patient cases when the tutors change every few weeks. PBL is based on “self-learning,” so it does require a lot of work on your own time to understand what is going on, but there are complementary lectures each week, which help to give you a base knowledge for the PBL cases. The lectures are given by clinicians, researches, and community members, depending on the topic of lecture, but are generally well related to the PBL case of the week.

To complement PBL, each week there are practical sessions where you work with a doctor, usually a GP, to learn basic clinical skills such as interviewing patients, doing physical exams, and taking vital signs. There is almost an unlimited opportunity to go into the hospital (which is attached to the school,) to interview real patients, and we are encouraged to do this on a regular basis. It gives you a chance to see what is going on in the hospital setting and how certain conditions affect the lives of patients. I was surprised at how much contact we had with real patients in our first year, but our ID badges essentially let us go into the hospital anytime we want to and talk to patients in the wards.

Not only has the formal learning aspect of the program been rewarding, but there are also many opportunities to become involved in medical school committees and many informative events that you can help to plan, and also attend.

I was getting very discouraged in Canada trying to apply to Canadian Medical schools and being unsuccessful despite what I thought was a competitive application. Going to Flinders is certainly expensive for internationals, but it is completely worth it if you are seriously interested in a career in medicine and cannot see yourself doing anything else. Flinders is also a great place to be during the “medical student tsunami,” because there are relatively few international graduates compared to other states, so there is less competition for those highly prized internships in Australia after graduation, if that is where you think you’d like to practice in the end. So if you are ready for an incredible journey of learning, getting involved, and meeting new challenges, my advice would be to go for it and apply to Flinders!”

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Mary
B.Sc. Honours Microbiology and Immunology, UBC

Flinders Medical School applications open for 2015

Flinders Medical School offers and undergraduate and postgraduate degree in Medicine.

Flinders Undergraduate Medical Program

Flinder’s University is excited to announce it is now offering a new international undergraduate pathway into it’s Medical program. The Bachelor of Clinical Sciences/Doctor of Medicine is six years in length. Ten places for international students are approved for international students for this double degree.

Make note that the undergraduate medical program application deadline is 30th April 2014.

Flinders Graduate Entry Medical Program

Flinders Medical School was the first in Australia to develop a 4 year graduate-entry Medical program, Doctor of Medicine, as an alternative to traditional 5-6 year courses for school leavers. This was an opportunity to rethink curriculum design and the way in which students are selected. Now about 17 years later, the majority of Medical School places in Australia are graduate-entry and as the Australian Medical Council noted in renewing the Flinders Medical School’s accreditation recently: “The curriculum is nationally and internationally recognised and has been adopted by other schools in Australia”.

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KOM Consultants is the Canadian Application Centre for Flinders Medical School and other Australian Medical Schools in Australia, including: