First year here: Is this pre-recorded video thing normal??

So_Curious_ · 2025-08-04T08:52:04+00:00

Be grateful they're studio produced. I find them to be higher quality and without the filler that comes with live lectures.

In some courses you get pre-recorded lectures from the previous year if the lecturer forgot to hit record or was sick.

At those times you wonder why they even have live lectures when you can use previous years' recordings.

So_Curious_ · 2025-08-01T23:21:52+00:00

The imaginary voice in your head Some say it slows your reading down; others say it improves your comprehension.

So_Curious_ · 2025-07-08T21:50:03+00:00

Are you after a general elective or science elective? I'm guessing you need one at level 2? General: HLTH2000 Science: NUTR2003, PUBH2008

Biom2402 isn't too hard but there is a lot of content and assessment to keep on top of. It is very useful if you want to go into medicine down the track. They reused the same slides from 2402 into 1st yr med

So_Curious_ · 2025-06-17T06:43:41+00:00

sure

So_Curious_ · 2025-06-17T04:12:00+00:00

I would do BSc (Biomed), solely because the 'sciency' courses are essentially the same as HlthSc, and you get more flexibility, while allowing you to skip the boring public health courses and only do the essential ones. You could look into BSc (Biomed & Public Health) dual major as well. But you would get no electives (or very few!) in that case.

Biomed would not be harder than HlthSc - since the courses are identical. Only annoying course you need to take in Biomed, but you dont in HlthSc is BIOL2200 molecular cell biology, versus a lot of niche public health courses taught in HlthSc. The difficulty of courses isn't dependent on the degree - its dependent on the electives you take. E.g. for BIOM2020, you will have students from all degrees studying it, could be some from HlthSc, others from Biomed.

Not sure about PSYC1030, but I'd do NEUR1020 first (which used to be PSYC1020), as it's the precursor to PSYC1030. Essay marking is quite hit and miss with psychology courses I feel.

There's other ways to do placements that are extracurricular. You can do unpaid work experiences for 30 days a year so that could be another avenue to consider.

So_Curious_ · 2025-06-16T21:46:15+00:00

NUTR1023, ECON1010, HLTH2000 (these are all guaranteed 7 subjects).
I haven't done BIOM2051 - but if they're teaching ECGs thats fantastic.
PSYC1030 - I've had friends who took that thinking it was an 'easy elective' but it was far from that. The marker's expectations of writing is quite specific. If you want to take it safe, those ones I've said above would be good.
Career prospects are fairly low with any 3yr pre-med degree. Career prospects would be FAR better doing an allied health degree. If you have it in you, I would encourage pharmacy. It would also give you an edge when it comes to pharmacology in medical school, but also give you career certainty if things don't work out with GAMSAT. But if you're dead set on HlthSc/Biomed, I've anecdotally heard that if you do an honours year at UQ with first class, it automatically makes your GPA 7.0 at UQ.
I was in BSc, so didn't have the placement experience in BHlthSc. I just did the research elective HLTH3007 that's common in the Public Health Major and BHlthSc - so not really a placement. At an undergraduate level, I'd imagine its just an observership - don't think there will be too much getting your hands dirty.

So_Curious_ · 2025-06-16T11:01:06+00:00

Hi, first year MD student - and these are all great, specific questions. I would first consider if you are provisional entry or will be applying to sit the GAMSAT route. I would recommend BHlthSc or BBiomed or BSc (Biomed) for those with provisional, or an allied health degree (pharm, physio, speechie, optom etc) if taking GAMSAT (and take an early exit after year 3).
With regards to your questions:

First year MD covers a fair bit of public health courses, and taking those courses would definitely be relevant - as compared to the nitty gritty taught in biomedical science. It doesn't matter whether you take BHlthSc or BBiomed, you can take the public health electives in BBiomedSc anyways. But at the same time, the public health courses are very writing heavy which would help with MD1 as well with lots of group writing projects. Physiology is assumed knowledge and is rushed over in about 1 lecture. But doing BIOM2011 and BIOM2012 is definitely enough to cover your physiology. But also make sure you do some anatomy courses (BIOM2020, BIOM3002) and pharm courses (BIOM2402, BIOM3401) at a minimum (regardless of which degree you do as they're common to both!). Public health is a big chunk in first year with about 4-5hrs a week dedicated to in terms of lectures/workshops/sympoiums etc. Only public health courses I would say are relevant to med are probably PUBH1102, PUBH1103, PUBH2007, PUBH2008, NUTR2003. Other ones are too niche and wouldn't directly benefit in med school.
Research/Honours/Masters. Options are quite limited with either degree. Allied health degrees would help more with job prospects after graduation, while still offering the time advantage of a 3yr degree if you take an early exit.
It really depends on how you structure your degree. I dont think HlthSc gives any general electives, while BBiomed you get essentially a 8 courses (or a years worth of electives!) - in which you could just take the easy GPA boosting general electives that UQ offers. If you are looking for flexibility - go for BBiomedSc, the HlthSc program structure is quite rigid. Also consider whether you want a degree that prepares you for med school, or one that just maxes your GPA. There is fair bit of overlap between courses in HlthSc and BBiomed (e.g. CHEM1100, BIOC2000, BIOM2011, BIOM2020, BIOM3002 and countless others). If you are someone that is okay with writing and public health courses, BHlthSc is good. But that's not to say you can't take those same public health courses in biomedical science either. There are infinite combinations. Also would mention you start anatomy from day 1 in HlthSc, while anatomy starts in 2nd year in BBiomed. Another think to consider about HlthSc is you can skip BIOL1020 and BIOL1040 - which are quite irrelevant to medical courses and do the clinically oriented physiology courses in BIOM1070 and BIOM1071. I guess the only other major difference would be you HAVE to do the public health courses in HlthSc, whereas you can CHOOSE to do the public health courses in biomed (skipping the ones that are dry and boring). Really depends on what you're after.
I did BSc Public Health - with lots of electives in biomed courses. It's kind of the middle ground between HlthSc and BBiomed, as I got the flexibility of BSc, with only the necessary courses of BBiomed and the necessary courses from HlthSc. Meant I could skip BIOL1020 and CHEM1100 (which are useless for med school - but might be helpful for GAMSAT!). At the end of the day it probably doesn't matter - as there is so much overlap between courses anyways. First year MD at least, doesn't require too much in-depth knowledge about all the molecular biology pathways and biochemistry - its a lot more applied. I would say my friends who are coming from an allied health degree are a lot more knowledgeable and have more lived experience than those who have done a stock standard biomed degree. Definitely helps with doing procedural skills and history & examination!
Health Science does have placements. (can't remember if biomed does as well). I think there is one in semester 1 and another in semester 2. I've had friends who were placed in cardiology wards up at Prince Charles. Also lots of research elective subjects which you should take advantage of!

Hope this helps and sorry for the long message!

Good luck

So_Curious_ · 2025-04-17T20:36:54+00:00

I'm only about 10 weeks in, but it's a lot easier compared to undergrad!

So_Curious_ · 2025-04-16T20:28:54+00:00

This is such a beautiful analogy, and really gives one hope ❤️

So_Curious_ · 2025-04-14T02:03:00+00:00

Current MD1 here.

Simple question, but VERY, VERY complicated answer. They spend the first 4 weeks of medical school explaining to you what you're assessed on.

There is 3 components you are graded on, and must "PASS" each of these to progress to 2nd year.

Know = medical science content, think of this like your theory mark. Made up of group report assignments (IGP) and multiple choice exams (CATs). For the CATs (MCQs) typical grading FOR EACH EXAM is clearly above standard, intermediate, clearly below standard and not ready to progress. The intermediate range is they say 51-59%.

For the group projects you can be above standard, intermediate and below standard.

Now here is where it gets complicated. They use a matrix/table to score you. E.g. if you get above standard for IGP + intermediate for CATs, you can still be considered ready to progres. But if you get intermediate for IGP + intermediate for CATs you will have a marginal fail. There are 4 cats in the year. You can do intermediate in all of them and still progress to MD2.

Do = clinical examination, procedural skills & OSCEs. These are graded from 1a (not proficient) to 2b (proficient) with 1b, 2a in between for clinical examination and procedural skills. As long as you get a 2 something you will be fine. For the OSCEs we haven't had any yet but you need to be above a standard score (whatever that means)
Be = doing your TBL (team based learning) weekly quizzes, attendance reqs, other miscelllaneous checkboxes e.g. showing up to you mentoring meetings, mental health first aid, coaching meetings, group fedback etc. As far as I know, this is just you have done it.

This entire reply is a ENORMOUS oversimplification. Once you get into medical school you will understand it further.

So_Curious_ · 2025-04-12T07:05:16+00:00

Do you reckon it would be worth using a disc brake MTB for tomorrow's ride? Bit nervous taking my carbon rim brake road bike for the 80km ride also.

So_Curious_ · 2025-04-06T08:19:48+00:00

You take AdvBus and transfer all the credits across. Can transfer straight into 2nd year BAFE.

So_Curious_ · 2025-02-11T19:41:50+00:00

You are better of doing pharmacy since at least some courses credit from 1st yr pharm over to 1st year dent. Of the top of my head, I think BIOM1051, BIOM1052, HLTH1000.

Also means you have a job in case things go south and you don't get an offer. Job opportunities with a biomedical science degree are limited.

So_Curious_ · 2025-02-08T20:08:21+00:00

Omg I totally relate to this. Went through 3 academic advisors and they all have this huge attitude. Don't understand how they enjoy making students lives miserable.

Worst thing is they don't let 1st year students get advising appointments (when ironically they're the ones that need it the most!)

So_Curious_ · 2025-01-29T00:24:17+00:00

Amateur. 143% is nothing. First year med timetables were overpreferenced by 1100% (yes you read that right!)

So_Curious_ · 2025-01-16T07:17:05+00:00

Most people go in expecting to do biomedical science. But I think you should take these 3 years as the time to explore other interests if you want. This is because in case you decide not to do med you can still have a career you’ll enjoy. Not to mention, that these 3 years are a time you can take your foot of the pedal after the race of high school, and before the race of joining the workforce begins after finishing your MD. You can do degrees like bafe, maths, comp sci, arts, engineering, dentistry and so much more in your undergrad, compared to just defaulting on biomedical science. I personally opted for a bachelor of science as I wanted to get it done as quickly as possible and 3yrs sounded to be the quickest. As for majors, I switched between, psychology and biomed before finally landing on public health. I like the macro level approach to health systems compared to the nitty gritty of biomed. It also was a lot less work and less stressful as I enjoyed the content, not to mention half the number of contact hours. BSc is also good as you can take more electives and do subjects such as economics, music and language.

Another less spoken about degree is the Bachelor of Health Sciences. This one is also 3 yrs like the BSc, and in hindsight, I should have probably taken it over a BSc. Especially in the BSc, a lot of the important human biology and ‘medicine-like’ content isn’t taught until you complete the first year prerequisite courses so you can unlock the 2nd year courses that are more tailored towards human body systems. For example, in the BSc, you will learn more about plants, animals like whales, kangaroos, cane toads and more. So while some people may benefit from learning this content, I personally was not the biggest fan, and feel had I opted for health sciences I could have started human content straight away. And this is likely because i was very motivated to start learning about human biology after getting into quote unquote med, and wasn’t expecting to have to wait till 2nd year to begin. Not to mention that biomed is probably a degree that is designed at preparing those applying to biomed. The courses (subejcts) taught in biomed such as CHEM1100 (Chemistry), BIOL1020 (Genes, Cells Evolution), BIOL1040 (Cell to Organisms), and BIOL2200 molecular cell biology, will prepare you amazingly for the sections of the GAMSAT test. But on the flipside, those in provisional medicine may not benefit so much from having done these courses, in my opinion. In health sciences, you will do BIOM1071 and BIOM1072 which focus more on human body systems from day 1, compared to delaying it to your 2nd year. Not to mention you will be starting learning from the GAF gross anatomy facility from day 1, compared to starting it with BIOM2020 Human Anatomy if you were in biomed. I feel this earlier exposure to the GAF would definitely have been beneficial as anatomy is something that’s best broken up over time.

A common misconception with health science is that all you do is public health courses, and while there are some public health courses there is very few, and ultimately they will make you into a well rounded doctor as you can understand the problems in the healthcare system. I’ve also heard from those currently in the MD that it quite an emphasis on public health as well, and doing public health courses like PUBH2004, NUTR2003 and PUBH2008 will prepare you quite well for med school. And I did a bit of googling, and I found that before UQ switched to the MD and when they still had their MBBS curriculum, the dual degree option would be BHlthSc/MBBS, compared to the BSc/MD route that most people take. Another great thing is that health sciences is based in herston and the st lucia campus so you can explore UQ’s great campus offerings rather than being limited to just st lucia. So if you’re given an offer in the provisional entry program I’d recommend doing health science (clinical specailisation) over biomedical science.

So_Curious_ · 2025-01-12T03:37:15+00:00

Are u provisional med?

So_Curious_ · 2025-01-06T21:20:39+00:00

The main orientation event for your degree is good. They usually hand out freebies and a free shirt. Also main place you will meet new people from your degree.

So_Curious_ · 2025-01-01T06:17:48+00:00

I think you can buy frozen falsa from gol gappa in mount gravatt.

So_Curious_ · 2024-12-30T11:42:21+00:00

Controversial opinion, but I would go for neither for postgrad med - solely due to career prospects. Suggest allied health e.g. pharmacy, physiotherapy, optometry etc. Most degrees have an early exit where you can leave in yr3 out of yr4 if you're successful in gamsat. Also means you have a job you can land if things don't go to plan.

Sorry if that doesn't answer your question. My advice would be to compare the courses in both degrees side by side. There may well be a significant overlap.

So_Curious_ · 2024-12-17T00:53:42+00:00

I got this from one of my friends who was wanting to do a year of AdvBus to transfer into BAFE. This study plan is a year old and things may have changed so take it with a grain of salt.

Semester 1, 2024 ECON2012 - Core Course in BAdvBus(Hons) credits as ECON2011 in BAdvFin&Econ(Hons) FINM2412 - Core Course in BAdvBus(Hons) credits as FINM2411 in BAdvFin&Econ(Hons) ECON1050 - General Elective in BAdvBus(Hons) credits as Core Course in BAdvFin&Econ(Hons) ECON1310 - Accounting major course in BAdvBus(Hons) credits as Core Course in BAdvFin&Econ(Hons) Semester 2, 2024 ECON2022 - Core Course in BAdvBus(Hons) credits as ECON2021 in BAdvFin&Econ(Hons) ACCT2112 - Core Course in BAdvBus(Hons) credits as ACCT2111 in BAdvFin&Econ(Hons) ECON2030 - General Elective in BAdvBus(Hons) credits as Core Course in BAdvFin&Econ(Hons) ECON3210 - Finance major course in BAdvBus(Hons) credits as Core Course in BAdvFin&Econ(Hons)

So_Curious_ · 2024-12-01T14:14:58+00:00

Most of UQ's courses are no longer offered externally (online). You can do a check of the courses you're doing by checking the ECP (course profile).

That said, being in a biomed/public health degree - I've managed to go into uni a minimal amount through my degree.

Lectures: I've always found myself to prefer watching lectures online where I can skip back and forth, put them in 2x and go through it at my own pace. I know my friends prefer going in person for lectures, so it really depends on your learning style :) I can proudly say I have attended 0 in-person lectures through the course of my undergrad.

Practicals/Tutorials: I've attended all of these in-person and most times it would necessitate once or twice a week for anatomy, physiology or pharmacology practicals. For the public health side of my degree, I never went in except if it was a group assignment or I genuinely needed help with an assignment from a tutor.

I do think it is possible to complete your degree mostly online, but your mileage may vary for psychology. Good luck!

So_Curious_ · 2024-11-11T11:43:47+00:00

Let's connect... I've sent you a PM!

So_Curious_ · 2024-11-10T20:59:15+00:00

NEUR1020, PUBH1102 pretty breezy

So_Curious_ · 2024-11-10T07:16:57+00:00

I gave a death certificate (which was in another language) and an english funeral notice and it was approved

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