Within the current medical training landscape we're feeling the pressure earlier and earlier to choose a speciality. A junior doctor reflects on some useful approaches to help us decide.Medical training is a well-oiled machine that aims to chute undifferentiated...

Unfortunately, with older patients we encounter at the hospital, we are often too stretched to really connect with them on a personal level. But when we do, there's a great deal we can learn from their wisdom and experience."I don't want to spend the rest of my life...

2020 has stretched and challenged us in ways we couldn’t imagine. From the catastrophic bushfires to the global pandemic, an economic recession and the Black Lives Matter uprisings. In many ways, it has changed the way we approach, understand and practice medicine. ...

It was the end of October, I’m in the final weeks of my anaesthetics rotation, waiting in line at the hospital cafe to pick up the theatre team’s coffee order—my job as the most junior team member. My phone vibrated in my pocket, there was a new email from the...

For the past forty years, with over 2 million copies sold, The House of God has become almost a rite of passage for med students, but a MD3 student questions if it's deserving of its cult following.  About 6 weeks out from end of year exams, I was in a rut. The year...

Breaking bad news is never easy. A patient and oncologist share their thoughts on helpful approaches to life limiting diagnoses and care.“When I first heard the news it was shock more than anything… and then disappointment... But I guess I'm a little bit odd in a way...

“So, what specialty are you going to choose, or do you think you’ll become a GP?” Speak to any medical student or junior doctor and they will have heard this question, and many of us (including myself), struggle to find an answer. Do I want to become a GP? Growing up...

It’s the bane of any medical student, the nightmares haunting their dreams, it lurks, it preys, it’s the boogie man – it’s the supplemental exam.  But like the archetypal horror story, those who see it, never seem to tell of it. Until now.  A couple of weeks ago, I...

Dr Lucy Desmond is passionate about pushing for more inclusive and diverse medical education. Dr Desmond is a resident at Western Health in Victoria and an educator at the University of Melbourne. She has structured her career around a love for learning and the core...

Jerusha Mather is a PhD candidate in biomedical science at Victoria University and an inaugural member of the Australian Academy of Science’s group of twelve STEM Women Changemakers.  Ever since she was a teenager she’s had the ambition to become a medical doctor....

An Australian medical student discusses the dangers of underrepresenting and misrepresenting people of colour in medical education. Growing up, I was accustomed to watching TV shows with characters that looked nothing like me—blue eyes, white skin and straight hair....

A new medical student daunted by the prospect of switching careers as well juggling med school and family life asks someone who's been there, and graduated with flying colours.Ever since I can remember I’ve had two passions - theatre and medicine. I don’t mean theatre...

Burnout is as common in medical students as perfectionism is to… well medical students. While a multitude of suggestions have been offered as a cure of this all-consuming plague, perhaps this new addition, or rather archaic one, will make all the difference - The...

Getting into medical school is a dream come true for so many of us. Unfortunately, though, the elation is short-lived when you’re suddenly hit with the financial burden of having to move out of home, pay rent and bills, buy groceries, and study full-time for 5  years...

A fourth year medical student reflects on the mistakes he's made and how to reconcile these experiences for reflection and growth.“That’s a shit answer.” Ouch. There was an abruptness to the admonishment that made it doubly jarring. I hadn’t quite braced myself for a...