Medical Program student profiles
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| Matt Spargo | Tim Gilbey | Jane Zahiri |
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| Briana Thomas | Sara Wahlroos | Lucian Roseverne |
Matt completed a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne. He worked for Goldman Sachs JB Were before entering the course. After completing his degree in 2003, he travelled through America and Europe for a couple of years. Matt soon learnt that he was not going to be happy pursuing a career in finance, so he switched to medicine and has never looked back.
“I chose to study medicine at the University of Sydney because it has always had an excellent reputation. I would highly recommend the course. It is certainly a challenging course due to the work load, but the reward from the knowledge gained far outweighs the hefty burden. The Problem-Based Learning (PBL) sessions are another fantastic component of the course. I love learning about the body and the various ways that it interacts with the environment. Knowing the disease process and the way in which an individual is affected, enables you to intervene with modifying
processes to combat the illness. The transition from the classroom to the hospital allows you to understand this fundamental concept.
The teaching staff and the Clinical Schools are all leaders in their respective fields, so we are extremely lucky to have them teaching us. The content is interesting due to the theoretical/practical nature of the course. I have already alluded to the demands of the schedule that is placed upon the students.”
Tim, from Wagga Wagga, completed a Bachelor of Physics while working 30 hours a week to support himself. Tim was lucky enough to be awarded the Orana Scholarship for indigenous students, thanks to a donation from a remarkable and generous donor.
“Studying at the University of Sydney has prepared me for any field, due to the clinical and basic science knowledge that is in the curriculum. They also encourage the use of evidence to support treatments, and include sessions on how to find and evaluate the quality of evidence.
"In terms of Aboriginal health specifically, there are Problem-Based Learning (PBL) cases that deal with issues surrounding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health (ATSI), such as cultural and statistical differences. This is important, as it is surprising how many people have never previously had any significant interaction with any members of the ATSI community. There are also plans for a large Aboriginal health centre that will be affiliated with the University of Sydney, due for completion by the time I graduate. That is exciting as it vastly enhances the potential for exposure to ATSI health to all medical students.
I think my rural background contributes to my experience of the Medical Program because when the PBL problem is set in a rural town, it’s the people from a rural background that realise the patient can’t just go for an Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).”
Indonesian by birth, Jane completed her high school education in Singapore and her first degree in the United States. “I was interested in medicine at school, but I wasn’t confident that my chemistry was good enough so I decided to do take a science-type degree and chose Electrical Engineering instead.” Following her first degree, she worked in a car company for three years but medicine was still on her mind. She decided to move to Los Angeles and pursue it.
Jane prepared for her medical school entrance test by taking preparatory courses at the University of California Los Angeles in chemistry, biology, biochemistry and physics. During her time in Los Angeles, she also volunteered at a cancer hospital for a year.
“I talked to doctors and they invited me to operations and other sessions and it was then I knew - chemistry or no chemistry – medicine was for me.”
“I chose Sydney because it had a long and prestigious history, it was a 4-year graduate-entry program and because it was close to Indonesia. I applied to three Australian universities, but Sydney was my first preference.”
Jane is still considering her options but is drawn to emergency medicine. “My Clinical School is Nepean and they allowed me to shadow an Emergency Medicine team and the bug has bitten.” Jane’s ambition has been a long time coming and taken her all over the world to get here - soon she’ll be back in Indonesia practising as a doctor.
Briana moved from Melbourne where she worked as a physiotherapist, to undertake medicine at the University of Sydney. She worked for a year after her first degree, and in that year sat the GAMSAT. Brie has found that being a physiotherapist really complements her study and studying medicine is helping in her part-time work as a physiotherapist.
"The Sydney Medical Program course starts at the beginning, to cater for the students’ varying levels of medical exposure and understanding. Don’t be too concerned about your knowledge base – it all pans out. Everyone comes from different fields. The Problem-Based Learning format means you get to benefit from everyone else’s experience and background.
"The best thing is the motivation of the students. Everyone in the course wants to be here. We’ve all worked really hard to get here, and for us, studying medicine is a choice. It’s not like an automatic process of getting because you have the right marks."
Brie likes the way first year medical students are in the hospital environment from the very start of the course. The clinical tutors are very supportive and willing to teach, which makes for a great learning environment.
Brie has a particular interest in surgery and transplant medicine but is finding every specialty fascinating.
Sara comes from Stockholm and is one of Sydney’s international students. She lived in Russia for a year and then moved to Adelaide to complete her Science degree, majoring in pharmacology. Sara then went on to do honours in obesity and gastric-banding.
"I chose Sydney because it’s the best, especially for international students looking at working back in their home country. No matter where I go in the world, they’ll know the University of Sydney.
"It’s such a great campus – it’s huge and green and there are places everywhere to relax and chill-out. Living here is great - I love it. I live in Randwick, 15 minutes walk from the beach.
"I really like the Problem-Based Learning style (PBL). We learn why we have to know the lecture content. It puts everything into context, making you remember it. We share the learning topics around, then come back and explain what we’ve learnt. And having the lectures online is great. I wouldn’t be able to work otherwise. I currently have a job as a research assistant at an obesity/weight loss clinic, so I listen to the lectures after work. I have the added benefit of being able to stop and start the lecture whenever I want; going over the phrases I miss the first time."
Sarah like most students, likes the hospital days the best.
"Our hospital day helps balance the week with our other textbook study and lectures. It helps everything make sense – it puts it into perspective. It’s hands-on, and makes learning fun and you get the ‘reward’ of working with people straight away. Being able to do medicine is such a wonderful opportunity!"
Lucian is an Arts graduate who did a double major in history and government public administration. He did his honours in history then completed a short computing course.
Coming from a non-science background Lucian prepared for the GAMSAT exam by reading 1st yr science textbooks. He also completed two summer school courses – physics and chemistry.
"I actually like exams so I found GAMSAT fun but I am sure not everyone would feel the same way – it's challenging but you can do it.
"Clinical days are so practical, and you can immediately put into practice what you’ve learnt in lectures. You get to see patients every week, which reinforces why you chose medicine as a career.
"The learning process is similar for all degrees; you just need to sit down and do the study. Don’t tell yourself you can’t do it. Give yourself time to relax into the course. You work out pretty quickly what’s the best way of studying for you.
"There are so many different areas to specialise in… you can be sure that whatever the case of the week is, that’s what I’ll want to specialise in. I really like x-rays, so maybe radiology. We’ll see!"