Australia’s medical schools are among the most recognised institutions among the Commonwealth nations for its undergraduate, postgraduate and higher research programs.
Study medicine in Australia
Higher-education institutions in Australia offer medicine, nursing and health sciences programs for international students interested in pursuing a career in the healthcare sector.
Australian universities offer a combined Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree programs where international students are required to have completed the Year 12 or its equivalent such as the GCE A levels or International Baccalaureate. Strong spoken and written English, together with science subjects such as biology and chemistry, are also prerequisites for studying medicine in Australia.
A MBBS program in Australia takes between six to eight years to complete; of which a year is dedicated to a supervised internship where medical students undertake clinical practice and work within a hospital system.
Medical students can also opt to take on specialisation such as neurology, gynecology or oncology. Once a pre-medicine student has completed the necessary clinical internship and residency, then he will be able to register as a licensed medical practitioner with the relevant Medical board in his state, or country.
Where to study medicine in Australia
Renowned universities offering medicine programs such as the University of Adelaide, University of Western Australia, University of New South Wales, University of Melbourne and Monash University see a competitive pool of domestic and international applicants each academic year. To maximise your opportunity in clinching a placement in a medicine program, it’s advisable to apply across the many medical schools in Australia.
What you should know
Clinical internships offer essential and practical lessons for medical students. However, according to a survey conducted by the Australian Medical Association (AMA) released in January 2011, international students studying medicine in Australia are given the lowest priority in clinching internship positions within Australia.
Based on an earlier AMA’s survey, there were only 2,243 clinical internships available in 2009 for the 3,500 doctors required to meet the doctor shortages in 2013. Presently, the Australia’s National Health Workforce Taskforce estimates that there’s a shortage of 4,500 doctors. This figure does not account for the other shortages in the nursing and allied healthcare professionals.
To combat the lack of clinical internships within Australia, pre-medicine students can opt to undertake their clinical internships in their countries, or in overseas hospitals where the medical training is recognised by their medical schools.