Hello, I'm a healthsci student who is trying to get into med this year -or I hoped I would get in-, but after seeing my results for my poplhlth111 test a couple of weeks ago(I didn't pass) I am heartbroken and I feel like absolute shit and I don't know if I even want to apply now just out of embarrassment, because I didn't get a good grade for biosci107 either I don't know what to do..
Hey <3 I was in exactly the same boat as you about 5 years ago now. It was the first POPLHLTH test that got me down too, and it was incredibly hard to stay motivated for everything else. For me, I didn’t end up recovering from that low. I was still trying hard, but had trouble focusing cause I no longer saw any point if I’d already messed up (my grades ranged from A to C+). Constant comparison with my friends didn’t do me any good either, and the low self-esteem would take away any motivation I had left. My advice is the most cliche thing, but it’s so important to remain optimistic. These were just the first tests, and it is still possible to make a comeback from them. Find out what others are doing and what resources they’re using eg. past papers, office hours, someone’s pre-made flashcards online? Studying with friends can actually be so effective when you all agree on a common goal (eg. everyone will understand this difficult concept by the end of the session). It gets you talking with each other and pick up on things you would’ve missed if you were studying alone. Ultimately, it still might be that you don’t end up with the grades you want by the end of the year. This is perfectly ok. I, myself, didn’t end up applying after my first year as my GPA just wasn’t good enough. It’s a devastating feeling, but if medicine is something you really want, there are several other pathways. In fact, I can even say that I’m proud of myself for even making it through that incredibly tough first year. Just because you don’t see yourself applying at the end of this year, doesn’t mean you have to feel or do poorly for the rest of the year. (Remember, if you want to apply for Otago or some of the Australian unis as a postgrad, they do count your first year’s GPA for a small portion of your final weighting- use that as motivation if you have to!) Keep trying; one foot in front of the other. Most importantly, it may seem impossible in a highly competitive environment, but enjoy yourself. I didn’t expect to study for 4 years prior to starting med, but I was always fascinated and felt privileged to be learning what I was learning. I wouldn’t change a thing about the path I took x
HI I'm doing health sci first year and basically I did really bad in test 1. I feel really discouraged because I worked so hard but didn't do half as well as I expected my self to :( I feel like it'll be almost impossible for me to get my desired grades at this point :( I'm willing to change my study habits and do whatever it takes to do better but I don't know how :( If you could share what you found most effective in terms of studying that would be awesome!
Hey I’m incredibly sorry about the late reply. I’ve been so busy but also, at a complete loss as to how to answer this. Truth is, I hardly get the desired grades that I want, anymore. Yes, I’m passing and I’m told that that is enough, but this year especially, I keep getting grades that are below average. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve found the most efficient way to study yet, myself. Whatever I was doing worked for my previous degree, but it sure as hell isn’t for med. However, things that I do believe are helpful are:-making sure you understand the content early on (go through the lecture again once ASAP). I know that if I’ve understood it once before, I’ll understand it again in no time when we’re closer to the exam date.BEWARE: don’t become complacent with having understood the content, that you don’t leave yourself enough time to memorise the information (this is an ongoing mistake of mine)-FLOW DIAGRAMS and MIND MAPS to give yourself an overall snapshot of the complex concepts or the lecture as a whole-study with other people (sometimes). They’ll introduce you to details you missed or different ways of studying-all the ‘smart’ classmates seem to use ANKI cards to memorise information. I personally don’t have the patience to sit at the computer making flashcards for everything (I haaaate typing out info as opposed to writing it out), but it might work for you!
It’s super hard trying to stay motivated when you feel like you’ve messed up, but remember that each day you can start afresh. I’m sorry if this reply isn’t as helpful as you’d wanted it to be <3
10/11/17
I’d been asked by several people to write about med school interview questions I’d received, and this is me finally getting around to it as the Multiple-Mini-Interview (MMI) offers for Auckland are slowly starting to roll out!
I’ve given general advice and info on how I prepared for interviews, which can be found under the “UMAT/GAMSAT/MED INTERVIEWS” section of the blog. The most helpful post might be this one:
https://chooliastudies.tumblr.com/post/157546997339/how-did-you-practice-for-the-umat-and-the
I’ve attended three (omg three) med school interviews, so I’ll just give a run-down on what was asked in each. Do note that these were about one or two years ago now, so my memory’s a bit fuzzy and I’m paraphrasing these hell out of the questions. If you’re really struggling to think of ways to answer some of them, feel free to flick me a msg and I’ll try and recall how I answered. Some of the questions are kinda personal, so if you want yours answered privately, let me know! (I can’t promise that I’ll always reply as I have a busy few weeks ahead of me, and the way I answered the question might not necessarily be the ideal or ‘best’ answer!)
The University of Auckland (MMI) -December 2015
1) Homelessness in Auckland is rising. Why do you think this happens? Is it a health issue? What can be done?
2) Climate change is a huge issue now. What steps can we take (personally and collectively) to lower the effects of climate change? Should doctors care about the issue? Why/ why not?
3) Acting station: You work for a company that produces standardised tests for high school students (similar to ACER for UMAT exams, but it’s totally not ACER hahaha). Your friend who works for a tutoring company asks if she could have a copy of some of the exam questions for the students to study off of. What do you do?
4) You are a pharmacist and a girl comes up to the counter to buy laxatives, which you know are used by some people to lose weight. You recognise the girl, as you’ve seen her come in to buy the same medications multiple times before. What do you do? Do you sell her the medication?
5) Some people see themselves as a more objective person, while others see themselves as more subjective. Where do you see yourself along this spectrum? Where do you think the study of medicine/ pharmacy/ nursing lie along this spectrum?
6) What is a weakness of yours? How do you work to overcome it?
7) When was a time you felt you had been judged unfairly or critically? How did you respond?
8) can’t remember for the life of me :(
Questions from the other two interviews are posted below
Australian National University (Panel interview + MMI) -September 2016
At ANU, there was a 15 minute panel interview first, where I was interviewed by the same 2 people. Afterwards there was an MMI of 6 or 8 stations (I can’t remember if there were only 6 or I’ve just forgotten about the other 2), but the stations were about 2 minutes longer than the Auckland MMI ones, and you weren’t given any reading time beforehand.
Panel
More personal questions than what you’re asked at MMI stations eg.
-Briefly introduce yourself.
-Why medicine?
-How will you balance family and work life?
-How do you normally deal with trauma?
-Why ANU?
-What can you contribute to ANU?
There were also other specific and odd questions, like
-What do you think of doctors who want to do research instead of practising?
-Are you comfortable around dead bodies? How do you know? (I actually gave the most ridiculous response to this question, which you can read all about here: https://chooliastudies.tumblr.com/post/155516177904/med-school-interview-was-going-smoothly-until )
MMI
1) After hearing that you’ve almost graduated, your aunt keeps asking you for medical advice and for you to perform medical examinations on her. What would you do?
2) A couple comes into see you. A woman is in need of treatment from a life-threatening condition, but she does not want it. Her husband continues to push her and ask you to convince her that she needs treatment. What are some of the ethical issues here? Why might the woman not want treatment? What do you do?
3) At this station, I was given some information about how vitamin D (?) levels varied depending on different groups of populations. The information said that Vitamin D (?) levels were significantly associated with the level of physical activity, socio-economic status and some other factors I can’t remember. I was asked to formulate a research question/ hypothesis to investigate this topic. Then I was asked to suggest any other factors that I thought might affect Vitamin D levels.
4) Before entering the room for this station, there was a note on the door saying that this wasn’t an ‘acting station’ that tested my ability to show empathy etc. Rather, it was there to test logical problem solving skills or something. I read that I was going to face an actor who was distressed as he couldn’t find his car keys (or remember where he’d parked his car?). When I went in and talked to him, he kept mentioning that he urgently needed to get home to his son who needed his medication, but couldn’t drive home.
5) FROGS! I entered a room with the interviewer sitting with a board-game in front of them. It was like a puzzle similar to checkers, where you place the little frog pieces in certain positions. A frog jumping over another frog would allow you to remove the frog piece that was jumped, and the aim of the game is to have one frog left or something... The twist was that I already knew the answer to the puzzle (it was written on a card that I was given) and I had to verbally instruct the interviewer on the other side the steps they had to take in order win the game. (Basically testing the ability to read instructions yourself, and also clearly instruct someone else).
6) It’s left my memory :(
The University of Auckland (MMI) -November 2016
1) I was given some statistics from Guy Fawke’s day for the previous year. The general trend was that there was an increase in injuries, hospitalisations, and calls to the fire brigade around Guy Fawke’s. The interviewer asked what I thought about it, and whether I thought fireworks should be banned etc.
2) Acting: You live in a rad apartment with a state of the art gymnasium (now wouldn’t that be nice). Your friend (the actor) is a busy, single dad who can’t afford to sign up to a gym, but he’s trying his best to stay healthy. He knows that the gym can be accessed if you know the combination to the keypad and since he lives super close to you and your building, he asks you for it.
3) A claaaassic one where a member of the team for a group project isn’t pulling their weight. What do you do?
4) What do you think about water fluoridation? How is it beneficial to people’s health? Should it be DHBs or local councils that have the right to decide whether to fluoridate their water?
5) More and more people are buying medications over the internet, instead of via prescription. What are the potential issues this may cause, if any? Why might people be buying meds over the internet?
6) There were a few statements about Maori people written on the question card I got before I entered the room. I was asked if I agreed with any of them. What are some other assumptions about Maori people and their health status that the general public may have?
7) What do you think your communication skills are like? How did you acquire them? How do you think you can improve them? Why is it important? What are different methods of communication? What are the most important aspects of communication?
8) What is one challenge you foresee yourself encountering as a future health professional? How will you deal with this?
I noticed some people with lower grades and UMAT results got into med compared to A+ students with 80-10 percentile. This must mean interviews are what really establish whether you can get in or not don't you think?
Most of us don’t have a clue how they actually make the final calculations. But we’ve been told that applicants’ final rank score is weighted 60% on GPA, 15% on raw UMAT score and 25% on interview. I think that’s pretty reflective of what really goes down.A 25% weighting on interviews may not seem like much compared to 60% for GPA, but if you think about it, it counts for a whole quarter of the final rank score. Let’s say-Candidate A has a perfect 9.0 GPA but they do below average on their interviews. They’ll get:a high score on their 60% weighting but a minimum score on their 25% interview weightingCandidate B has a lower GPA but performs outstandingly in their interviews. They’ll get:not perfect, but a decent score for the 60% GPA weighting but a high score on their 25% interview weightingYou can see how candidate B could end up with a higher rank score here than candidate A. So yes, interviews can really establish whether you get in or not!
If you don't mind me asking, how "smart" were you in high school? Did you always get E endorsed? Did you multilevel? Were you top scholar? How many E credits did you have each year if you remember? I'm just doubting if I'm smart enough for pre-med next year...
Ooh, if I’m remembering correctly, I endorsed Level 1 and 2 NCEA with excellence, and level 3 with merit. I left high school at the end of 2012 so I can’t remember the exact number of credits and I’m not sure what multilevel is, sorry! I definitely was no top scholar.I remember feeling really intimidated before starting pre-med year, but I found that it’s really not about how ‘smart’ you were in high school. It’s just that people who do well in high school, tend to have already practiced the discipline and study habits to get them through the incredibly tough year. But it will all eventually come down to how you do at uni, which is a very different environment to high school. I know people who didn’t always achieve E endorsed, but were accepted into med after really giving it their all in pre-med year. People who won scholarship prizes in high school didn’t always gain entry into med either.You don’t get anything you don’t work hard for, and sometimes even the hard work isn’t always enough. Having a strong work ethic will go a long way regardless of how you did in high school, so never doubt yourself but make sure to give it your all so you can finish the year with no regrets. I’ll also add that it’s not only about studying hard, but studying smart (and this may include tactics like time efficiency and finding others to work/ share resources with).Good luck x
Hii!! First off congrats on getting into medicine :) I'm starting bhsc fy and I wondering how did you study for BIOSCI 107, POPLHLTH 111/101 and CHEM 110? As in, did you just study from the course guides provided to us or did you collate notes from the textbook and lecture slides as well? Thanks :)
Hey, thanks so much! :) In first year I studied mainly from the course guides and added in the notes from the lecture slides (if they were missing from the course guides). I did also take brief notes from the textbook while doing the pre-readings and for areas I was unsure about xx
can you please link other health science bio med blogs from auckland
Hey, I only know of @jwstudying and @m-otivationstation and I believe they are both health sciences students (I hope they don’t mind being tagged).I wish I knew more, but all the other asks I’ve gotten have been anonymous x
do you recommend typing notes in lectures or writing them out and for which first year classes?
I have only ever written out my notes during lectures. so I’m a bit biased when I say that I prefer/ recommend writing. Here are my own pros and cons of each, but you should see what works for you.WritingPros:-a notebook on the desk takes up less room than a laptop (desks in lecture theatres aren’t very spacious)-better for slow typers-easier to draw diagrams (especially for the science subjects)Cons:-if you’re in a rush to get things down, you might not be able to read your own writing later (speaking from personal experience)-can’t write everything that’s said fast enough (in saying that, most of your lectures will be recorded for you to refer back to later)TypingPros:-digital files mean you can transfer notes easily from one place to another eg. copying and pasting into different docs saves a lot of time, can email them to yourself so they’re always available online-you can easily format or edit your notes if you need to-can type directly onto your downloaded lecture slides-better for fast typersCons:-for classes like CHEM, BIOSCI or MEDSCI where you fill out a course guide during your lecture, it might be harder to quickly switch from writing notes in your guides to typing on your laptop-typing is noisy and may annoy other classmates?? (speaking from personal experience)-can be a distraction during lectures (I’ve sat behind someone who played the 2048 game throughout a whole lecture before)Others should reply if they can think of anything else to add!
