UQ med school's Dr Schafer chats with OzTREKK
This week so far has been very busy for UQ School of Medicine Program Director Dr. Jennifer Schafer.
From Monday, May 4 to Wednesday, May 6, she met with dozens of UQ MD applicants in Toronto to find out more about our brilliant Canadian students! Today, she meets with students from Calgary, and tomorrow, Vancouver.
Dr Schafer regularly commented on the exceptional quality and seriousness of the students who came in to see her in Toronto, and said she enjoyed the chance to hear a little more from the students about their backgrounds, passions, and intentions.
When asked how she feels about Canadian students, Dr Schafer has nothing but praise: “We love our Canadian students. We find that the Canadians and the Australians have a natural synchronicity. I think it’s because we have similar social values.
“We come from similarly populated countries, and most importantly of all, I think we have very similar senses of humour. When we make a joke, the Canadians laugh, and when they make a joke, we laugh. So, they blend right in,” she says.
Are you worried you might not fit in with the Australian cohort in the UQ Doctor of Medicine program? Don’t be. Dr Schafer has noticed that Canadians are great at meeting new people!
“One of the things I’ve observed is when they first arrive, obviously everyone’s looking around at each other, but very quickly they just disperse and are integrated with the Australians and form lifelong friendships quite often, which is a lovely outcome of the medical program.”
If you’ve applied to UQ Medical School and have had your in-person consultation with Dr Schafer (or are about to), we know you’re looking for advice. What’s the medical school and the program like? How should you prepare yourself? What are they looking for in prospective students?
“My advice for the Canadian students is first, welcome to UQ! We love having you around,” Dr Schafer says.
“The MD program is intense and hard work. But I want you to make sure that you look after yourself. So eat well, get enough sleep, get enough exercise. Secondly, I would like you to adopt a long Australian tradition of respect for leisure, and particularly travel,” she says, adding that she would like students to make the time to enjoy all the wonderful things Australia has to offer.
OzTREKK’s Jaime Notman was also on hand to meet the prospective UQ MD students and noted that “lots of students had done really unique research that was widely varying,” like orthopedics, reproduction, breast cancer, marine ecology, and more.
“I think it would make for a very diverse and interesting cohort!” Jaime says.
The world is an amazing place. If you’re an OzTREKKer, you already know this! Australians are generally well travelled and love to meet new people and try new things. Even in Toronto, Dr Schafer exemplified the typical Australian “no worries” persona, and encouraged Jaime to try something new—just like all of us at OzTREKK encourage our students to go for their dreams!
“I learned that I actually quite like sardines!” Jaime jokes, commenting on how Dr Schafer recommended she try them.
Funny how life’s like that.
UQ MD Consultation Schedule
Calgary: Thursday, May 7
Vancouver: Friday, May 8 & Saturday, May 9
Couldn’t fit these in-person consultations into your schedule? No worries! Email OzTREKK’s Australian Medical Schools Admissions Officer Sarah Bridson at sarah@oztrekk.com for more info about these consultations.
About the UQ Medical School Program
The UQ Medical School conducts a four-year, graduate-entry medical program, the Doctor of Medicine (MD). The UQ MD is a professional entry extended masters medical training program, which replaced the MBBS program in 2015.
Program: Doctor of Medicine
Location: Brisbane, Queensland
Semester intake: January
Duration: 4 years
Application deadline: Applications are assessed on a rolling admissions (first come, first served) basis. It is recommended that applicants apply as early as possible to increase their chances of timely assessment. This program can fill quickly!
Entry Requirements for the UQ Medical Program
1. Performance in a key degree within the last 10 years. The GPA will be based on the student’s most recently completed key degree. A key degree is a bachelor’s degree, honours degree, master’s degree (coursework or research) or a PhD. Applications must meet a minimum average to be eligible. For the 2016 intake, an applicant must have a minimum average of 5.0 on UQ’s scale of 7.0 (65%) to apply.
2. Performance in the North American Medical College Admission Test (MCAT or GAMSAT). Applications must meet a minimum of 8/8/8 or 8/8/M/8 on the MCAT to be eligible. UQ will accept MCAT scores with one ‘7’ score, as long as there’s no more than one ‘7’, nothing less than a ‘7’, and meets the total requirement of 24 or 24M.
No deadline has been set for the final MCAT sitting eligible for assessment; however, students must be aware that only completed applications (including MCAT results) will be assessed. By sitting the MCAT sooner, you are potentially increasing your chances of program spots being available when your application is complete.
3. Compulsory consultative meeting with the UQ School of Medicine program director, in person, in Canada. Consultations will be one-on-one meetings with the UQ Medical School program director to determine your suitability for the program and motivations for practicing medicine. You will have the opportunity to ask questions about the UQ medical program, clinicals, opportunities in Canada, licensing, internships in Australia, etc.
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