Otago Medical School
[h1]MEDICINE AT OTAGO UNIVERSITY[/h1]
The University of Otago is New Zealand's oldest university (founded 1869), and currently is the ranked highest out of the New Zealand universities for research quality (according to the New Zealand government performance-based research fund). The medical school at Otago University is an important part of the university, historically and presently. Opened in 1875, it is the oldest medical school in New Zealand and in Australia only Melbourne is older.
The Otago MB ChB is a 6 year course with an undergraduate and graduate intake (see admissions). Years 1-3 take place at the main Otago campus in Dunedin. The class is then evenly split between campuses in Dunedin, Christchurch, and Wellington for years 4-6.
[h2]Course Structure[/h2]
[h3]Year 1 - Health Sciences First Year (HSFY)[/h3]
Refer to admissions.
[h3]Years 2 and 3 - Early Learning in Medicine (ELM)[/h3]
Years 2 and 3 of the course are integrated together into one programme - the early learning in medicine (or ELM) programme, which consists of 4 components:
1 - Medical Science
By far the largest component of ELM, this teaches the basic science that underpins clinical medicine. Teaching is via lectures, labs, and tutorials with a strong expectation that independent learning will also occur outside of this. The content is divided into block modules and vertical modules. Block modules are taught sequentially, 1 at time, with a total of 11 modules covered across the 2 years of ELM (behavioural medicine, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, metabolism and nutrition, endocrine, renal, nervous, reproduction, development and ageing, regional and clinical anatomy). Vertical modules cover the content that cannot be grouped into a single block module and so are taught as continuous threads throughout ELM. They do however, where possible, relate to other content being taught (across the whole curriculum) at the time. There are 12 vertical modules (bioethics, blood, cancer, evidence-based practice, genetics, hauora Maori, infection and immunity, pathology, pharmacology, professional development, psychological medicine, public health).
2 - Clinical Skills
This teaches basic interviewing and examination skills, with the aim of allowing the student to transition smoothly into 4th year, where regular patient contact begins (see ALM). Teaching is via one 2 hour tutorial every week for the duration of ELM. There are 10-11 students in each tutorial group with a dedicated tutor present for the whole tutorial. Generally students practice on each other during these tutorials (and so gain familiarity with what is "normal"), but occasionally there are opportunities to practice on volunteer patients from the community.
3 - Healthcare in the Community (HIC)
This aims to put doctoring in context. It explicitly refrains from teaching medical science and clinical skills and rather aims to give the student an appreciation of the patient as a person and therefore gain awareness of the context in which medicine occurs. Teaching is via one 2 hour tutorial every week. There are 10-11 students in each tutorial group with a dedicated tutor present for the whole tutorial. However, HIC focuses on experiential learning - often instead of a tutorial students will partake in some learning opportunity outside the classroom (e.g. acting as assistant caregivers at aged care facilities) and be expected to independently and actively reflect on the experience.
4 - Integrated Cases
The foundation of ELM is case-based learning, and the integrated cases are the most important components of this. Throughout ELM students work on a variety of cases (one per fortnight) that are designed to integrate material from across the curriculum in the context of a patient (real or simulated). There is one 2 hour tutorial every week (a total of 2 tutorials per case) which involve working through tasks relating to the case at hand. There is a strong expectation to prepare for case tutorials, and independent learning tasks are given to complete between the 2 tutorials. Across the tutorials there is a gradual transition from tutor-guided to student-guided learning, with tasks becoming more broad and the tutorials transitioning from the tutor being present for the full 2 hours to only being present half the time (so each tutorial becomes 1 hour without a tutor followed by 1 hour with a tutor).
Assessment
There are exams at the end of 2nd year and the end of 3rd year which must be passed to progress in the course:
3 x Short answer exams - each of these is a 3 hour case-based examination which can cover any content in the course. These 3 exams are marked as a whole to give one mark, and must be passed in order to progress to the next year.
OSCE - a 4 station OSCE (with the potential for another 4 stations if necessary) covering the material taught in clinical skills. This must be passed in order to progress to the next year.
OSPE - a laboratory-based exam covering anatomy and pathology that must be passed in order to progress to the next year.
There are additional tests and assignments throughout the year, but these are all formative (they are designed to check your progress and give feedback, but they do not influence your final grade). In order to be eligible to sit the final exams however, you must have completed all formative assessments and have demonstrated satisfactory attendance and professional attitudes throughout the year.
The final mark for the year is reported as fail, pass, or pass with distinction.
An extensive summary of the ELM programme is available here: (link - 1.7MB)
[h3]Years 4 and 5 - Advanced Learning in Medicine (ALM)[/h3]
These years are clinically focussed, with students rotating around attachments in a variety of areas. The exact content and style of teaching varies depending on whether students are based in Dunedin, Christchurch, or Wellington.
Assessment
Students must perform satisfactorily in all rotations, as determined by assessment within that rotation (which varies) in order to pass the year.
A set of common exams (the same for all students across Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington) at the end of 5th year must be passed to progress to 6th year and consist of an OSCE, essay-based exam, and 2 EMCQ exams.
[h3]Year 6 - Trainee Intern[/h3]
This capstone year is a feature of the Otago MB ChB that is not found in many other medical school curricula. This year designs to prepare the student for internship by allowing them to complete a series of rotations and a 3 month elective as paid employees of a hospital while still under the supervision of the university. There are no end of year examinations, but performance in all rotations must be satisfactory, as determined by staff involved in those rotations.
Further information on the Otago MBChB curriculum can be found at the faculty medical education website (link).
[h2]Honours[/h2]
An honours year can be taken, most commonly between 3rd and 4th year, but there is also the option of doing so between 5th and 6th year. This would be a year of research additional to the 6 years required for the MB ChB (so you would be studying for 7 years in total), but would lead to the conferment of an extra degree - BMedSci(Hons). This year is entirely thesis-based, working under a supervisor in Dunedin, Christchurch, or Wellington.
[h2]Hospitals and Clinical Schools[/h2]
Dunedin public hospital/Dunedin school of medicine
Christchurch public hospital/Christchurch school of medicine
Wellington public hospital/Wellington school of medicine
Rural locations - a range of rural locations available for a portion of training, under the rural medical immersion programme (RMIP).
[h2]Gallery[/h2]
Click on thumbnail to enlarge:
[h2]What's special about Otago?[/h2]
As a medical student at Otago, you have the privilege of studying at a prestigious medical school with a rich history, and you have the privilege of studying at a university that values its medical school highly - both because of its historical importance (there was a time when there as many medical students as there were arts and science students) and because of its current contribution to the university. You also have the privilege of studying in top-notch facilities, with a mix of beautiful heritage buildings and modern world-class clinical teaching facilities, and of studying with fantastic teachers in a great teacher:student ratio. Furthermore, the class size of 250 works really well.
Perhaps the biggest drawcard though is the experience of being a student in Dunedin - widely regarded as the "university city" of New Zealand. With over 20 000 students in a city with a population of 120 000, the city has a very strong student culture, particularly in North Dunedin where the main campus is located. 75% of Otago students come from outside of Dunedin to experience the famous student culture.
Otago University is also a very good option for Australian students who, for whatever reason, fell through the cracks when it came to undergraduate entry into the Australian universities. Everyone gets a fresh chance to apply for undergraduate entry, regardless of school performance (provided it was enough to gain entry to a BSc), and Australian citizens are classified as domestic students. See admissions for more information on this.
[h1]ENTRY INTO MEDICINE[/h1]
There are 3 pathways for entry into medicine at Otago - undergraduate, competitive graduate, and other. In 2010 the 2nd year med class had 250 students - 234 domestic (including Australian students) and 16 international, of which 180 came via the undergraduate pathway (out of roughly 1200 students enrolling in HSFY). The proportion of spaces allocated to each entry pathway varies by year depending on the relative performances of students applying via each pathway.
[h2]Undergraduate[/h2]
Undergraduate entry into medicine at Otago is into 2nd year, following the completion of Health Sciences First Year (HSFY), which forms both the first year of the MB ChB and the means of ranking students academically. All students applying for undergraduate entry into medicine must complete HSFY and must do so in their first year of university-level study (though exemptions are granted if previous university study is no more than 1 year and doesn't replicate any of the HSFY material). Entry to HSFY is guaranteed to anyone who fulfills at least one of the following requirements:
It is still possible to do HSFY if you do not fulfill these requirements, but your place is no longer guaranteed.
HSFY consists of 7 compulsory papers, and the option to study an 8th paper from an approved list. The 7 compulsory papers are:
HSFY also serves as the first year of the BDS (bachelor of dental surgery), BPharm (bachelor of pharmacy), BPhty (bachelor of physiotherapy), and BMLSc (bachelor of medical laboratory science) and so can be used to apply for undergraduate entry to any of these courses as well. It also serves as a good basis to apply for a bachelor of health sciences endorsed in oral health or medical radiation therapy, or to apply for a BDentTech (bachelor of dental technology). Additionally, HSFY can quite easily lead to a BBiomedSc (bachelor of biomedical science) or BSc. It can also be used to gain some credit towards almost any degree at Otago.
In other words, HSFY is a very open year that can lead to a huge variety of degrees apart from just the MB ChB!
All applicants wishing to apply for undergraduate entry into medicine must sit the UMAT - this can be done in year 13 (Australian year 12) and/or during HSFY. If the UMAT is sat in year 13 and during HSFY then the better of the two scores obtained will count.
In order to be eligible for undergraduate entry into 2nd year medicine, applicants must pass all HSFY papers with at least a B (70%). If this is the case, then all applicants are ranked by:
Average mark across best 7 papers in HSFY (which means that an 8th paper, if taken, can knock out the worst HSFY mark) - 67% weighting
UMAT score (sections 1, 2 and 3 weighted 45:45:10 respectively) - 33% weighting
Note that for UMAT it is the score that is used, NOT the percentile.
This can be viewed as a score calculated by the following formula:
The cut-off score for entry into the 2010 2nd year class through a first round offer (i.e. not off the waiting list) was somewhere between 77.2 and 77.5, which can approximately translate to one of the following:
There is no interview for undergraduate entry into medicine.
Each student may apply only once through HSFY.
For the selection methods used by the other health science professional courses that also require HSFY for undergraduate entry (dentistry, pharmacy, physiotherapy, medical laboratory science), refer to the division of health sciences website. (
http://healthsci.otago.ac.nz)
Enrolments for HSFY 2011 close on the 10th of December 2010. Applications for 2nd year medicine will be open throughout September for HSFY students wishing to apply, and close 1st October 2010. Late entries will not be accepted.
[h3]Not getting in...[/h3]
Should you be unlucky enough to miss out on a place in medicine after applying through HSFY, have a look at this page: [wiki]If you don't get in through HSFY..[/wiki](link)
[h2]Competitive Graduate[/h2]
This category is open to students who meet all of the following requirements:
-Graduated with their first university degree at most 3 years ago.
-Completed that degree in the minimum possible academic time.
-Gained that degree from a New Zealand university.
-Have a valid UMAT result.
If all 4 of the above requirements are met then the student is eligible, regardless of what they studied in their degree (there are no subject prerequisites).
The UMAT is used as a threshold - historically this was at least 25th percentile in all 3 sections, but now the threshold is "set annually by the medical admissions committee". If your UMAT is below the threshold then your application will be denied. If your UMAT is above the threshold then you proceed to the next stage and your UMAT score no longer matters.
Applicants are then ranked for admission on their GPA from their degree. Only the best 126 points from each year of the degree are used, and only the last 3 years of their degree are considered, with these 3 years weighted 0.5, 1, 1.5 progressively. From 2011 (for entry into 2012), this will change so that in 3rd year only those papers at 200-level or above will be looked at.
For entry into the 2010 med class a weighted GPA of 7.86 was sufficient to gain entry (but off the waiting list).
There is no interview for competitive graduate entry to medicine.
Each student may apply only once for medicine through the competitive graduate category.
If the applicant is successful in gaining admission then the content covered in their degree will be looked at. If they have studied all the HSFY papers, or covered equivalent content, in the course of their degree, then they will be admitted directly into 2nd year medicine. If not, then they will be given a year to complete any required HSFY papers to at least a 70% average before progressing into 2nd year medicine.
[h2]Other Category[/h2]
This category is open to graduates of any university (including non-NZ universities) who do not meet the criteria for graduate entry and allied health professionals. Entry via this pathway is highly competitive due to the small number of places available (generally 10-15) and involves a range of factors - applicants are required to provide:
-Curriculum vitae
-Transcripts of secondary school examination results (year 11-13)
-Academic transcripts of all university study completed to date
-Academic records of training from any schools of nursing or polytechnics
-A statement outlining reasons for wanting to study medicine
-Details of 3 people who may be contacted for references
There is also an interview for applicants wishing to enter via this pathway.
The process used to rank applicants and the relative importance of each component of selection remains unclear.
Each applicant may apply only once for admission via this pathway.
[h2]Maori/Pacific Island and Rural[/h2]
Across all 3 admissions pathways there are allowances made for Maori/Pacific Island and Rural students to ensure that enough of these students enter the medical class. Generally this means that any cut-offs are lower for those students who choose to apply under these categories (for example, although the cutoff was unknown, candidates were successful in gaining admission for 2010 through the rural category with an 86% average and 36th percentile UMAT). There are no bonding expectations, so rural students are not expected to work in a rural area upon graduation, however students who apply under the rural sub-category may be required to work in a rural placement during 5th year if there are not enough volunteers.
[h2]International[/h2]
A small number of places in the medical class is available to international students (16 in 2010), however this number is likely to decrease. International students without sponsorship from their home governments should not apply at Otago because it is almost guaranteed that they won't get in (due to the improbability of any spaces for such students being made available). This does NOT apply to Australian students (who are counted as domestic).
[h1]ACCOMMODATION[/h1]
The university runs an excellent accommodation service, and information can be accessed at the website here:
www.otago.ac.nz/about/accommodation
As a brief guide, most students stay in one of the 13 halls of residence during first year (which collectively accommodate 3500 students). While these are expensive ($290 per week in 2010), they provide all meals, power, internet, and other amenities, along with academic support.
Following this, most students will go flatting or stay in studio rooms for the remainder of their studies. Rents for flats in Dunedin generally range from $90 to $125 per person per week.
[h1]FURTHER INFORMATION[/h1]
For further information on medicine at Otago University, feel free to send a private message to greenglacier, or check out the Otago section of the MSO forum (link).
The latest official information can be found through the links below:
Faculty of medicine website
Division of health sciences website (contains information on admissions)
Otago University website
