Is law a reasonable pathway to medicine? (1 Viewer)

[T-R-O-L-O-L]

Hi everyone,

I am a current Year 12 student undertaking the HSC this year and would like to medicine. However, at the moment my marks do not look great enough. I really want to keep my options open with the intentions of eventually pursuing a degree in Medicine. Recently, it has crossed my mind to do a Law/Science degree as a pathway to Medicine. That is, complete the five year degree and the apply for post-graduate medicine. I know it may seem absurd, but any other options or opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
trolol

 

[turntaker]

No its not reasonable. Law and medicine are on the two different ends of the spectrum.
Also getting good marks in law is not easy and that's something you need in order to get into medicine.

I really don't know how someone would be interested in Law AND medicine at the same time.

Also do you really want to spend 13+ years studying? (And that's being optimistic)

What's the point of having a law degree and a medical degree?

 

[Parvee]

This is what happens if you study law and medicine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q60wHn1-rgE

 

[si2136]

Medical Science and transfer.

Or you can save your reputation and do something else, then post-grad med.

 

[T-R-O-L-O-L]

Thanks for the input everyone. I was just weighing out my options as I thought that a Law Science Degree would be suitable.

 

[T-R-O-L-O-L]

Would there be any benefit of having the two degrees in terms of career prospects? Or are there any other suggested degrees beside Law/Science?

Thanks again

 

[si2136]

You either want to focus on Law or you want to focus on Medicine.

If you want to pathway to medicine, don't do Law. You need to keep a high enough WAM to transfer. People wanting to transfer to Med go do Med Sci

 

[T-R-O-L-O-L]

You either want to focus on Law or you want to focus on Medicine.

If you want to pathway to medicine, don't do Law. You need to keep a high enough WAM to transfer. People wanting to transfer to Med go do Med Sci

Does optometry seem like a reasonable alternative to med sci?

 

[Medman]

Does optometry seem like a reasonable alternative to med sci?

It doesn't prepare you well for the GAMSAT. I still find it surprisingly you want to do law. I am curious about your reasons to wanting to do medicine.

 

[turntaker]

It doesn't prepare you well for the GAMSAT. I still find it surprisingly you want to do law. I am curious about your reasons to wanting to do medicine.

Probably parents are forcing him to be a lawyer or doctor or else he will fail in life.
[emoji14]

 

[T-R-O-L-O-L]

Probably parents are forcing him to be a lawyer or doctor or else he will fail in life.
[emoji14]

Not even close turntaker. Let me give you an insight into my situation. I was interested in the science aspect of medicine and the client approach of being a lawyer. At the moment, my results are not high enough to do medicine so I thought of the next most suitable degree which most suit my interest (which happened to be a science/law degree). By doing a law/science degree I hope that if I'm enjoying the law component, I will keep the double degree, however, if I dislike the law degree and realise that it isn't for me, I will only continue with a science degree and then pursue a post grad med degree. Thus, I would rather enter with a law/science degree and drop one of two if I don't like the other, instead of trying to pick up a degree and wondering if I'd like it. I assure you that there is minimal parental input in my decision.

 

[si2136]

Not even close turntaker. Let me give you an insight into my situation. I was interested in the science aspect of medicine and the client approach of being a lawyer. At the moment, my results are not high enough to do medicine so I thought of the next most suitable degree which most suit my interest (which happened to be a science/law degree). By doing a law/science degree I hope that if I'm enjoying the law component, I will keep the double degree, however, if I dislike the law degree and realise that it isn't for me, I will only continue with a science degree and then pursue a post grad med degree. Thus, I would rather enter with a law/science degree and drop one of two if I don't like the other, instead of trying to pick up a degree and wondering if I'd like it. I assure you that there is minimal parental input in my decision.

You should either be focused on making it to Law or Medicine. You can't do both. You have a better chance doing Med. Sci and getting HD, then transfering to Med than doing Sci/Law, getting HD and then transferring to Med.

 

[Queenroot]

Optom isn't easy either bruv

But if you like that then do it

 

[T-R-O-L-O-L]

You should either be focused on making it to Law or Medicine. You can't do both. You have a better chance doing Med. Sci and getting HD, then transfering to Med than doing Sci/Law, getting HD and then transferring to Med.

I understand the advantages associated with this option and that you have suggested to me three times in this thread, but at the moment I'm unsure about what career is suitable for me so I don't want to immediately choose medical science. Also, I've read about the competitiveness of medical science at some universities like unsw.

 

[Medman]

Not even close turntaker. Let me give you an insight into my situation. I was interested in the science aspect of medicine and the client approach of being a lawyer. At the moment, my results are not high enough to do medicine so I thought of the next most suitable degree which most suit my interest (which happened to be a science/law degree). By doing a law/science degree I hope that if I'm enjoying the law component, I will keep the double degree, however, if I dislike the law degree and realise that it isn't for me, I will only continue with a science degree and then pursue a post grad med degree. Thus, I would rather enter with a law/science degree and drop one of two if I don't like the other, instead of trying to pick up a degree and wondering if I'd like it. I assure you that there is minimal parental input in my decision.

I think this is appropriate however, you have to realise the values between a lawyer and doctor are similar yet different and the structure of the fields are almost completely different. Just because you have an interest in one thing doesn't guarantee you will like the job itself because the job itself entails more than just that aspect. I can tell you from personal experience medicine is much better from an outsider's perspective.

 

[Schmeag]

It sounds like you want to keep your options open, which is reasonable, but it will mean that you will be less committed to the idea of medicine in the next few years (by diluting your experience with law). Broad experience is not bad experience if you use it well.

I can tell you from personal experience medicine is much better from an outsider's perspective.

As mentioned, this is Medman's experience. I do notice an increased proportion of jaded medicos online rather than offline.

 

[Medman]

I don't try to hide anything online or offline. If you do it offline you risk the issue of not getting a job in the future. I do enjoy diagnosing and treating patients but there is a significant portion of my time dedicated to going WTF at the system and certain patients. It is a far cry from the old system given that our time is filled with paperwork and our benefits stripped with barely any increase in remuneration. You work harder and longer and the benefits are no longer there. I do question if it is really worth the personal sacrifice and I have known a few 99.95/100 UAI/ATAR graduates going to GP practice for that reason (Which really surprised me given they could literally pick any other specialty).

 

[Queenroot]

I don't try to hide anything online or offline. If you do it offline you risk the issue of not getting a job in the future. I do enjoy diagnosing and treating patients but there is a significant portion of my time dedicated to going WTF at the system and certain patients. It is a far cry from the old system given that our time is filled with paperwork and our benefits stripped with barely any increase in remuneration. You work harder and longer and the benefits are no longer there. I do question if it is really worth the personal sacrifice and I have known a few 99.95/100 UAI/ATAR graduates going to GP practice for that reason (Which really surprised me given they could literally pick any other specialty).

How long do people hang about for a specialisation before resorting to becoming a GP

 

[Schmeag]

I don't try to hide anything online or offline. If you do it offline you risk the issue of not getting a job in the future. I do enjoy diagnosing and treating patients but there is a significant portion of my time dedicated to going WTF at the system and certain patients. It is a far cry from the old system given that our time is filled with paperwork and our benefits stripped with barely any increase in remuneration. You work harder and longer and the benefits are no longer there. I do question if it is really worth the personal sacrifice and I have known a few 99.95/100 UAI/ATAR graduates going to GP practice for that reason (Which really surprised me given they could literally pick any other specialty).

In the end, it's each to their own. Certainly, people do end up falling by the wayside or being disenchanted by the profession. The same happens in other professions, but perhaps the feeling is greater with medicine due to higher expectations placed on its ability to deliver job satisfaction?

I doubt a high ATAR correlates with successful entry into competitive specialties, or even post-graduate performance.

By the way, did you end up going corporate?

How long do people hang about for a specialisation before resorting to becoming a GP

GP isn't really the fall-back specialisation it used to be. You still need to go through various exams and a selection process, which is becoming less forgiving. Many people choose it for a number of reasons other than as a fall-back: variety, flexibility/work-life balance, patient contact, business-minded. When people change specialties it usually is a case of changing priorities. For this reason, some people also leave medicine altogether.

 

[T-R-O-L-O-L]

Are there still too many graduates in Medicine for the jobs/placements available similar to what happened with law?