University of New South Wales (UNSW) – 6 years Bachelor of Medical Studies / Doctor of Medicine

University of New South Wales (UNSW) 6 years medicine degree program welcomes both bachelor degree holders and high school graduates.

Duration of program: 6 years & UCAT ANZ Situational Judgement Test (SJT) won’t be considered

• UNSW life science Foundation or other Group of 8 universities’ Foundation GPA of 9.0
• Non Group of 8 Foundation 1 year university studies
• Bachelor degree holders 5.5 or above based on a 7.0 GPA and doesn’t need to meet high school graduation requirements
• USA: SAT 1370
• IB: 40
• A level 17 (A* = 6, A = 5, B = 4, C = 3, D = 2)
• HKDSE Best 5 27
  • 5**=7 points, level 5*=6 points, level 5=5 points, level 4=4 points, level 3=3 points, level 2=2 points, level 1=1 point
  • For Citizenship and Social Development: Attained=2 points and will only be counted towards the aggregate if the 2 points ranks among the student’s best five scoring subjects.
  • M1 / M2 both can be counted

Admission Test: ISAT / UCAT ANZ

ISAT: 165

UCAT ANZ

Minimum Threshold: 1930

• Verbal 610
• Quantitative 660
• Decision Making 650

International Application Deadlines

You can take either ISAT or UCAT ANZ

If ISAT results aren’t satisfactory by end of May, you should register for UCAT ANZ

• ISAT registration deadline: mid April
• ISAT taking deadline: early May
• ISAT results: end of May

• Register for UCAT ANZ: March to May
• Take UCAT ANZ: July to early August

• University of New South Wales (UNSW) Medicine application starts: April
• University of New South Wales (UNSW) Medicine interview starts: May
• University of New South Wales (UNSW) Medicine application deadline: November

English Requirement

• IELTS overall 7 all band minimum 6
• TOEFL 94 23.0 in reading, 23.0 in listening, 23.0 in speaking and 25.0 in writing
• PTE 65 Min: 54.0 in listening, 54.0 in reading, 54.0 in speaking and 54.0 in writing

a. Where is it going to take place?

The clinical placement will be conducted in the main hospitals located in Sydney and located outside of Sydney and in rural New South Wales and Victoria:

• Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick
• St George Hospital, Kogarah
• St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst
• Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool
• Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick
• Royal Hospital for Women, Randwick
• Sutherland Hospital, Caringbah
• Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, Wagga Wagga
• Albury Base Hospital, Albury
• Wodonga Regional Health Service, Wodonga (Victoria)
• Port Macquarie Base Hospital, Port Macquarie
• Coffs Harbour Hospital, Coffs Harbour

b. What are the clinical placement sites like?

• Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick cares for more than 60,000 patients in our Emergency Department and have around 50,000 admissions to the inpatient units of our hospital each year. The hospital also has a busy outpatient service and rural outreach service and provide more than 900,000 occasions of non-admitted patient care each year.
• St George Hospital, Kogarah is not only the largest hospital within the Local Health District, but is among the leading centres for trauma and emergency management in the State. The hospital’s areas of special expertise also include cancer services, critical care, cardiothoracic surgery, mental health services and women’s and children’s health care.
• St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst houses several specialty training and research units that are internationally recognised as centres of excellence. These include heart and lung transplantation, bone marrow transplantation, cardiology, cancer care, HIV/AIDS, respiratory medicine, mental health, and drug and alcohol services.
• Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool is located approximately 50 minutes drive from the Sydney CBD. The Hospital is the major health service for south-western Sydney, providing services to the local government area of Liverpool City Council as well as district services to residents and visitors in the area. It also provides a range of statewide services in areas such as critical care and trauma, neonatal intensive care and brain injury rehabilitation.
• Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick is one of Australia’s leading specialist medical centres for children, caring for seriously ill and injured children from across NSW and beyond. It provides a complex and comprehensive range of services in paediatric and adolescent medicine and surgery, treating children with conditions including cancer, trauma, HIV/AIDS, congenital abnormalities, disabilities, heart disease and respiratory disorders.
• Royal Hospital for Women, Randwick has been one of Australia's foremost specialist hospitals for women and babies, since its early beginnings as New South Wales first 'lying-in' hospital for women in 1820. The main areas of specialisation include breast care, gynaecology, gynaecological oncology, maternity, maternal fetal medicine, menopause, newborn intensive care and reproductive medicine.
• Sutherland Hospital, Caringbah is located in the Sutherland Shire ('the Shire'), approximately half an hour drive south of Sydney. The hospital offers a comprehensive range of inpatient and outpatient healthcare services to the residents of the Sutherland Shire. Each year, the hospital cares for more than 50,000 patients in our Emergency Department and around 28,000 patients are admitted to the hospital.
• Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, Wagga Wagga provides services including critical care, medical, surgical, paediatric, obstetric, and rehabilitation care. We also provide mental health and community health services.
• Albury Base Hospital, Albury and Wodonga Regional Health Service, Wodonga (Victoria) belongs to Albury Wodonga Health (AWH) which is a leading regional health service and the only cross-border public health provider in Australia. AWH serves a catchment of approximately 300,000 people across Albury, Wodonga, Beechworth, Wangaratta, and surrounding communities.
• Port Macquarie Base Hospital, Port Macquarie provides a range of specialist services including intensive care, cardiology, geriatric, rheumatology, stroke, respiratory, oncology, renal dialysis, general medicine, orthopaedic, urology, vascular, general surgery, mental health, paediatrics and obstetrics.
• Coffs Harbour Hospital, Coffs Harbour is a leading regional facility focused on improving health outcomes for the population of approximately 81,000 it services. The hospital treats nearly 45,000 emergency presentations each year, including patients with a range of serious and life-threatening conditions such as burns and serious trauma.

c. How is clinical placement going to be for the students?

The clinical placement will take place from Year 3 to Year 6 with its own focus as below:

• Year 3
  • spend three days per week in hospitals, practicing and applying the clinical skills
• Year 5 – Year 6
  • include a minimum of 4 weeks in a rural location
  • adopt the principles of clinical clerkship
  • focus on Internal Medicine, Surgery, Psychiatry, Primary Care, Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Children's Health (Paediatrics

d. What is the course structure?

The Bachelor of Medical Studies/Doctor of Medicine program is split into three phases, with two years in each phase:

• Phase 1 (Year 1 – Year 2)
  • Scenario-based learning
  • Basic medical sciences in relation to the human life cycle and social/ethical/legal issues related to healthcare
  • Clinical and communication skills training
• Phase 2 (Year 3 – Year 4)
  • Practice-based learning
  • Year 3: Clinical exposure in hospital placements
  • Year 4: Complete either the Independent Learning Project (ILP) or the Medicine Honours Program
• Phase 3 (Year 5 – Year 6)
  • Clinical Placements

e. What is the teaching style in University of New South Wales (UNSW)?

Collaborative learning and teamwork are cornerstones of this program. Within each phase, vertical integration occurs, where the students will collaborate with students from different years. For example, first and second year students are combined in Phase One in the second half of the year. This means the students will play the roles of both learner and mentor as you progress through phases one, two and three.

The following teaching methods are adopted in the course:

• Lectures
• Small Group Work
• Tutorials
• Practical Classes
• Scenario-based Learning
• Practice-based learning
• Independent Learning Project
• Clinical Placement

f. Can the students study for an intercalated degree at University of New South Wales (UNSW)?

The students are allowed to complete either an Independent Learning Project (ILP) or honours year on a topic of their choice in Year 4. Students wishing to undertake a full year of research may be able to enrol in the BSc (Med) Honours program 3831 subject to the approval from the Honours Committee. These students will be exempt from undertaking the Independent Learning Project.

For international applicants, the interviews are conducted online using Zoom with a panel of two interviewers. The interview covers a wide range of relevant issues to determine your suitability for study at UNSW Medicine. The interviewer assesses multiple factors of the applicants, such as their skill, experience, motivation, attitude, interpersonal skills and fit into the company’s values and culture.

• Standard & Open-Ended Questions

When preparing for standard and open-ended questions, it is important to consider aligning the answers to the requirement of the position based on selection criteria.

It is encouraged to consider what your top 3-4 selling points are to differentiate yourself from other candidates.

1. Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself?
2. What do you see yourself doing in five years from now?
3. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
4. What motivates you?
5. What are your career aspirations?
6. What can you bring or contribute to our organisation / team?
7. What have been your main achievements?
8. Do you prefer to work independently or in a group?
9. What sorts of people do you find difficult to work with and why?
10. What was your worst mistake and what did you learn from it?
11. How do you feel about working long hours and weekends from time to time?
12. What does (skill or attribute - e.g., leadership) mean to you?
13. Why would you like to study medicine at the University of New South Wales?
14. What was the biggest obstacle you overcame to get where you are today?
15. What sorts of things cause you pressure at work? Or most stressful aspect?
16. What strategies do you apply to manage stress?

• Behavioural Questions

When answering behavioural questions, the STAR approach is an effective framework to use. Describe the Situation (where were you, what was the project or your position), the Task (the problem or challenge), the Action (how you solved or overcame it), and the Result (the effectiveness of your action).

1. Describe a time you have effectively demonstrated organisational skills.
2. Describe your personal experiences with the healthcare system due to your own, or a family member’s, or close friend’s illness. Analyse the standard of healthcare you saw them experience? How has this experience shaped what is important to patient care and the type of doctor you want to be?
3. How have your voluntary experiences affected your perception of Medicine and how will these experiences make you a better health professional?
4. Describe how you like to be managed. Why?
5. Tell me about a time where you experienced failure.
6. Tell me about a time you worked in a team.
7. Tell me one of your achievements that have given you major satisfaction.
8. How have you demonstrated teamwork?
9. What hobbies do you have that have allowed you to demonstrate leadership? How will these experiences improve you as a future doctor?
10. Describe a situation in which you had to persuade people to accept an idea.
11. Do you think it is ever ok to break the rules? Describe a time when you did.
12. Describe how you have collaborated effectively with an interdisciplinary team.

• Situational Questions

When answering situational questions, you can make assumptions when describing your course of action. For example, “Assuming A, this is what I would do and why. However, if A were to change then my response to the problem would change in this way”. Most of your points will be gained through the reasoning. It is therefore important that you explain “Why?” and “What?” you would do.

1. You are managing a team of four. One of your team members is frequently missing the reports’ deadlines. What steps will you take to address this situation?
2. What would you do if you had 2 competing deadlines to meet by the end of this week?
3. What would you do if a report you sent to a patient was found to have errors?
4. You notice a colleague breaches an ethical/OHS policy. What would you do?