How to Become a Doctor in New Zealand and Australia
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Becoming a doctor requires commitment and determination but ultimately is one of the most worthwhile careers in the world and the road through medical school admission is no different.
The career path to becoming a doctor is filled with a diversity of experience that cannot be found elsewhere. At times, you are the beacon of light for a grieving family, and at others, a critical decision-maker for those at their most vulnerable, working alongside a team with a strong sense of collegiality and teamwork. For this reason, medicine is the most competitive tertiary education pathway in the world. The purpose of this blog post is to outline the pathways to becoming a doctor in New Zealand and Australia, and encourage students to appreciate the nuances of studying medicine and the complexities of the journey to becoming a doctor.
We’ll give you guidelines on the admission timeline and entrance exams, insider tips on building your extracurriculars, interview tricks, and the importance of high school grades. Enjoy this comprehensive breakdown!
Pathways - Australia
Undergraduate Medicine (~6 years)
This pathway is for high school-leavers and involves direct entry into a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS). This pathway represents about 40% of medicine admissions in Australia, and is offered to students who perform exceptionally well in school and the in UCAT exam.
Postgraduate Medicine (~7 years)
This pathway is open to those who have completed any undergraduate degree, and who meet subject prerequisites for some universities. This pathway requires applicants to have high results in both their GPA and the GAMSAT exam. These scores are combined to determine an applicant's eligibility for a medical interview. For this pathway, students can apply through GEMSAS - the graduate medical school consortium - as well as direct-to-institution for some universities.
Provisional Entry into Postgraduate Medicine (~7 years)
This pathway is a little more complex. It is open to school leavers who have performed exceptionally well. However, instead of granting students direct entry into undergraduate medicine they go into postgraduate medicine without sitting the GAMSAT. This means that students complete any undergraduate degree upon leaving school and transition seamlessly into postgraduate medicine. However in most cases, students must sit the UCAT and achieve a 99+ ATAR score.
Pathways - New Zealand
Only two universities in New Zealand offer medicine. (The University of Auckland and The University of Otago). These are both 6-year undergraduate MBBS degrees and the pathway requires a pre medicine year of a Biomedical Science or Health Science program, after which students will sit the UCAT exam. A student’s UCAT score and GPA are considered and determine their candidacy for an interview.
Check out our Pathways to Medicine Exclusive Video for more information on the pathways and requirements to Australia and New Zealand Medical Schools!
READY TO START YOUR JOURNEY?
High School Subjects
Early preparation begins with subject selection. The subjects that students take in high school (and how well they perform in them) is one of the many factors that will determine their success in gaining admission into medical school. While subjects such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and English may scale well in a student’s application to medical school, it is advisable that students choose subjects that they are passionate about.
In Australia, every student upon leaving school receives an ATAR score, which reflects a direct, scaled comparison of that student’s performance against that of every other student finishing in Australia in that same year. As such, a student’s ATAR is a percentile score, with the top score being 99.95. In the context of minimum ATAR requirements for medical school, there is no one answer.
A general rule for students to follow is that an ATAR exceeding 99.00 is likely to be a competitive score. However, it is at the discretion of each university to place as much weighting as they see fit, on the ATAR.
It is important that New Zealand students who want to apply for Australian universities consider the importance of their high school grades. In my opinion the best way to find out more about subject selection in high school is to book a free consultation!
BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION
GPA
For medical school entrance in New Zealand, not as much weighting is placed on high school grades, as students are required to complete one year of a pre medicine degree before applying to medical school.
At The University of Auckland there are two medical entry pathways:
- First Year Biomedical Science
- First Year Health Science
They are called overlapping first year one or OLY1 for short, because both course have 4 core papers and these 4 core papers determine your success into medical school. Three offered in first semester and one in second semester. Whereas The University of Otago only has one medical entry pathway:
- First Year Health Science
However, at Otago University there are 7 core papers which determine your success into medical school. Four offered in first semester and three offered in second semester.
UCAT
The UCAT is a two-hour standardised, computer-based exam, designed to assess the suitability of candidates to study undergraduate or provisional entry postgraduate medicine. Suitability is measured by this exam through an assessment of a student’s critical thinking capacity, emotional intelligence and non-verbal reasoning.
The sections of the exam are Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning and Situational Judgement. Performance is measured by a student’s percentile score, that is, how many questions they answer correctly relative to all other candidates. The fundamental pillar of preparation for this exam is consistency of exposure to a diverse range of questions over a long period of time. As this is an exam is psychometric, study needs to be consistently build over a long period of time. I recommend speaking to an Academic Advisor to find out how to best prepare!
MMI
The medical interview is your last step towards achieving your goal of becoming a doctor. During the MMI, each student spends between eight to ten minutes at each station, of which there are eight. Students have two minutes of reading time per station, with the remaining six to eight allocated as interview time.
While the interviewers are judging you from a holistic perspective, there are some key skills and characteristics they are looking for, including:
- Communication
- Quality of argument
- Critical thinking
- Creativity
- Social responsibility
- Cultural safety
- Awareness of health issues
- Moral reasoning
- Self-awareness
- Empathy
- Conflict resolution
- Career choice
- Teamwork
- Self-care
Each mini interview will assess you on two to three of these qualities.
The most difficult part about the MMI is not just answering the questions - although that’s hard too - it’s about making your answer stand out. You have to have your own personal reason that you know the interviewer will resonate with and remember. Try doing that for 8 stations in a row! When it comes to crafting those 5-star MMI answers, there’s no better source than MedView experts who have passed the MMI and currently study at whichever university you are targeting. Each MMI is different and the best way to prepare is to get targeted support for all of the universities which offer you an Interview!
BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION
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The UCAT
The UCAT, or the University Clinical Aptitude Test is the medical school admission test required for many universities in Australia and New Zealand. The UCAT is designed to assess applicants for the aptitude, attitudes and beliefs required of a doctor. In order to defeat the UCAT - we should understand what it is. First off, it’s a two hour computer based exam. There are 5 separately timed subtests - Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning and Situational Judgement. In this blog we break down each of the sections and offer guidance on how to prepare for this important exam.
Verbal Reasoning
Verbal Reasoning is meant to assess your ability to read something and draw appropriate conclusions. You can see why this would be important to a doctor - you’re part of a multidisciplinary team and will have to communicate effectively. In addition, doctors have to keep current with new research and draw reasonable conclusions from published findings. Decision making involves 11 text excerpts with 4 questions each, meaning this section has 44 questions in 21 minutes - that means an average of 29 seconds per question. That doesn’t even take reading the stem into account!
Decision Making
Decision Making is essentially data interpretation from graphs, tables, text and charts. You don’t need to have background knowledge on any subject, because part of what they’re testing is your ability to understand new information. Can you think of a time a doctor might have to do the same? This section has 29 questions in 31 minutes - an average of 64 seconds per question. Compare the timing of section to verbal reasoning, it’s more than double. Consider the length of time per question as an indication of how much the test writers want you to analyse.
Quantitative Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning is a straightforward mathematics section - there are nine scenarios each with four questions. You’ll have access to an on screen calculator - which is functional but pretty clunky! You’ll have to strike a balance between using mental maths to be quick, and keeping your wits about you, and staying accurate. This section has 36 questions in 24 minutes - an average of 40 seconds per question. It’s not a lot of time to question your maths abilities!
Abstract Reasoning
Abstract Reasoning is used to evaluate your ability to locate patterns and understand logic, separate from your language abilities. If you’ve seen the guides online with pictures asking you to find a pattern - that’s abstract reasoning. This section is sometimes hard for students to grasp, because it’s such a different set of skills. It’s also probably the biggest struggle with time management. This section has 55 questions in 13 minutes - that’s only 14 seconds per question. Don’t even think about going into this section unprepared!
Situational Judgement
Situational Judgement assesses your judgement and character in different situations - the situations are usually clinical or education based. Either situations you’ve likely been in, or a situation you could be involved in future. Then you’ll have to evaluate the appropriateness, importance or consequences of the situation. It’s one way for universities to evaluate the characteristics that are important for future doctors! Situational Judgement has 69 questions in 26 minutes - an average of 25 seconds per question.
With so much to do - how can I set myself up for success?
Prepare
This sounds like a no brainer, but preparation is the most important thing you can do if you want to succeed on the UCAT. Going over questions is one thing but the most effective thing you can do is to practice under exam conditions. That means doing computer based exams - so when you get to test day, you know what to expect. Luckily MedView has a bank of questions.
Identify Your Strengths and Weaknesses
Time is a precious resource when you’re preparing for medical school admissions - you have to continue doing well in your studies, prepare yourself for an interview, and master a new exam. There’s not infinite time - so you have to learn how to study smarter, not just harder. So many students waste their time by continuing to drill skills that they’ve already mastered. It’s important to identify the weak points that need more TLC.
Learn Skills
Each type of question requires a specific psychometric approach to understand and answer so quickly. Skills and strategies to identify the problem and solve the challenging question are essential for success. MedView has a range of 1:1 tutoring, group workshops, practice exams and questions alongside our spiral learning curriculum to help students develop the skills necessary to succeed in time conditions. Our UCAT students are 5x more likely to receive an interview offer.
Sitting full-length practice exams under simulated conditions is the most effective preparation for developing UCAT skills. As this will familiarise yourself with the extreme time pressures, as well as allowing you to practise concentrating on psychometric skills for two hours. It is also important to practice using the computer-based platform that will be used when you sit UCAT as well.
Seek Help
Find friends that have taken the test before and ask for their experience. Better yet, schedule a free Academic Assessment with MedView today! When you start your journey as a MedView student, you are allocated an Education Coordinator who has experience helping hundreds of students get into med school. They’ll help you stay on track with your goals, offer you support, and help you succeed on your path to medical school.
Next Steps
The UCAT is an important exam that is key to medical school admission for undergraduates. We recommend starting your UCAT preparation early and integrating it into your study load to give yourself the best opportunity to succeed. If you’d like to learn more about the UCAT or how to get into Medical School, check out our free eBooks and blogs!
- What is the UCAT?
- How Universities use your UCAT Results
- A Quick Guide to Australia Medicine eBook
- A Quick Guide to New Zealand Medicine eBook
- How to Prepare for the UCAT
- What UCAT scores will get me into med?
MedView offers a range of UCAT preparation courses as well as personalised 1:1 tutoring with our expert team. If you would like to know more about the UCAT and how MedView can help, get in touch today.
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What can you do before the year starts?
Before the year starts, it is vital that you understand that the journey to becoming a doctor is a long and arduous process. Medicine is a life-long commitment whose pathway extends beyond the 6 years of study. It includes a progression from a house officer to a registrar, and application onto training schemes if you opt for the surgical pathway.
The vast majority of people who apply for medicine, do not have a clear picture of what they want to do in the future. This uncertainty is not something to worry about now – you have plenty of time to figure out exactly what you want to do. There is something in medicine for everyone. If you are still uncertain about the medical pathway beyond the 6 years of study, I would recommend doing further research.
Another thing you can do over the summer break is to identify your motivation to become a doctor. If it’s for the money, you may not be in the correct profession - it will be at least 10-12 years until you start earning the big bucks that all doctors are known for! If you have an inherent nature to help people and seek to make our society healthier, then you are on the right track.
Once your head is in the right place, enjoy your summer! The year will belong, and you will have to make social sacrifices to make your studies a priority. Make the most of the time you have by seeing friends and family, as you will inevitably see less of them throughout the year. You are likely to experience burnout sometime during the year, so optimising your rest now is important.
The single most effective way to distance yourself from your competitors is to start early and hard. After you have rested throughout December and into the new year, it is time to get started and get ahead. The Flying Start Course offered by MedView was my ticket to success. It is a highly intensive programme starting in late January that covers the first 6 weeks of content for the three core papers in the first semester. The advantages of this course are numerous:
- The most valuable aspect of Flying Start is the content covered. As the first semester contains 3 out of the 4 core papers, it is so important to get a good start. An early lapse within the first few weeks can completely derail your entire year. Being exposed to similar content ahead of time builds your confidence and gives you the opportunity to begin learning before others.
- There is a radically different teaching style from high school to university. Flying Start emulates the style you are accustomed to, while simultaneously teaching university material. This eases your transition and places students into a more comfortable and familiar environment.
- You can meet other motivated people. You may have heard the horror stories of people sabotaging each other, taking their notes and hiding their bags. While these are mostly exaggerated, there will still be those who resort to other measures to gain an advantage. The people doing Flying Start will be motivated just like you, and eager to get ahead. Working together and building these strong relationships before the year starts means that you have a better support group in place. I have met several bright individuals who were passionate and together, we were able to navigate the difficult year and succeed as a group!
MedView believes in a holistic approach to medical school admissions, meaning we surround the student with a team of experts to help develop their candidacy and skills in all three major pillars in their journey to medical school, and now it’s even more accessible with the MedView Hub App!
Over the last decade there’s been a mass adoption of smartphones and a shift in the way people behave online and communicate. Australians are spending more time online, often using multiple screens, and consuming vast amounts of content each day. And it’s only going up!
Recent figures show that almost eight out of ten Australians use social media, and 87% of them use their mobile phones to access it. Fifty-nine percent of Australians access social media everyday or most days, and over a third of people check social media more than five times per day.
We often go online to chat with friends and family, share photos, or be entertained by cat videos. But the very same platforms we use to socialise can also be used to gather knowledge that we can apply in our offline lives. One of the areas where users can reap the benefits is online communities. MedView prides themselves on finding the best tutor, strategist or consultant for each student whether they be in Australia, New Zealand or the United Kingdom and having an online community platform allows even more core benefits for our students in a shorter amount of time. Now students can access over 320 tutors, strategists and consultants and get answers to their Synapse questions, interact in exclusive workshops, and most importantly make friends. The meaningful relationships with other members of the community increases knowledge and collective wisdom.
The MedView Hub App is our own online community platform for students, parents, tutors, and alumni to create a network of opportunities to participate in smart, focused conversation on specific medical school admissions topics (unlike the Instagram and Facebook chatter).
Over the last decade there’s been a mass adoption of smartphones and a shift in the way people behave online and communicate. Australians are spending more time online, often using multiple screens, and consuming vast amounts of content each day. And it’s only going up!
Recent figures show that almost eight out of ten Australians use social media, and 87% of them use their mobile phones to access it. Fifty-nine percent of Australians access social media everyday or most days, and over a third of people check social media more than five times per day.
We often go online to chat with friends and family, share photos, or be entertained by cat videos. But the very same platforms we use to socialise can also be used to gather knowledge that we can apply in our offline lives. One of the areas where users can reap the benefits is online communities. MedView prides themselves on finding the best tutor, strategist or consultant for each student whether they be in Australia, New Zealand or the United Kingdom and having an online community platform allows even more core benefits for our students in a shorter amount of time. Now students can access over 320 tutors, strategists and consultants and get answers to their Synapse questions, interact in exclusive workshops, and most importantly make friends. The meaningful relationships with other members of the community increases knowledge and collective wisdom.
The MedView Hub App is our own online community platform for students, parents, tutors, and alumni to create a network of opportunities to participate in smart, focused conversation on specific medical school admissions topics (unlike the Instagram and Facebook chatter).
Find out more and begin your journey to medical school by speaking with a MedView Academic Advisor for free today!
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