Macquarie University’s Doctor of Medicine (MD) Overview

The Macquarie MD is designed for students with a high level of achievement in tertiary study, who engage in a variety of experiences and activities; have the interpersonal skills desirable in a medical student and doctor; and the resilience, commitment and desire to help improve the health of Australian and global communities.

Macquarie Medicine aim to prepare graduates for the predicted environments in which they will practice: as future leaders in healthcare, who are patient and safety focused, culturally responsive, globally aware and equipped to work within increasingly digital health systems.
The Macquarie University Doctor of Medicine MD:

• Teaches students in an environment where learning is fully integrated with outstanding patient-centred clinical care and active health and medical research. This environment is MQ Health, Australia’s first university-led and operated teaching hospital and academic health sciences centre
• Provides students with a quality-assured international education, which recognises the value of international study abroad for learners, society and the healthcare system
• Aims to graduate culturally responsive, engaged, globally aware medical professionals, who understand the health systems they work within; have respect for, and sensitivity towards, the cultural needs of diverse populations, including Indigenous Australian; and are aware of the impact of their own culture and values on their medical practice.

Macquarie’s program integrates four graduate capabilities – Scientist and Scholar, Clinical Practitioner, Engaged Global Citizen, and Professional – across the program. It aims to build within students the capacity to be ethical and reflective practitioners who are public health and systems-aware and are socially and culturally versatile; team workers who are patient-centered and safety-focused and are effective personal and digital communicators.

The Macquarie MD also builds the capacity for graduates to become scholars, research-informed practitioners and applied medical scientists.

MQ Health

MQ Health nurtures the lifecycle of aspiring and developing doctors. Underpinned by its core purpose Heal. Learn. Discover., it provides a fertile ground for medical education, research and training, with the full ecosystem of students, doctors and health professionals of varying levels of experience being trained, taught and mentored by active clinicians.

As Australia’s first fully integrated, university-led academic health sciences centre, MQ Health brings together world-class clinical care, teaching and research. With a focus on patients and an ultimate goal of improving lives, MQ Health sees true convergence of the continuous learning and research endeavors of Macquarie’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences with the clinical care provided in the Macquarie University Hospital, primary care and multi-specialty clinics.

Clinical learning from day one

MQ Health provides an opportunity for you to learn in a research-active clinical environment from your first day. You will learn from leading medical educators, researchers and clinicians who conduct their research and clinical activities on campus and have been actively involved in the curriculum development of the program.
Throughout your training, you will develop a holistic understanding of the patient and their needs. You will benefit from the unique opportunity to follow a patient from initial consultation through to treatment and discharge, and develop professional relationships with both patients and their families during the treatment journey.

Distinctly Different Program

The Macquarie MD has been developed to be a dynamic, future-focused program that produces competent professional graduates who put the patient at the centre of all they do while nurturing a passion for lifelong learning and fresh thinking about the challenging health issues of our time.

Macquarie University’s Doctor of Medicine MD program has been thoughtfully designed, enriching well-established approaches in medical education with current and emerging innovations. It aims to provide an innovative, high-quality, student-centred learning experience.

Early years of the program integrate clinical, scientific, professional and cultural learning around cases – placing patient-centred care as a central concept in all learning. Later years of the program provide rich clinical learning opportunities with our established clinical partners.

Diverse learning experiences

You will learn in a number of Australian and international environments, with a meaningful focus on inter-professional, comparative and digital learning in the medicine context.

Extended international experiences, especially in India, are optimised through online communities of practice across the globe to provide comparative learning opportunities that will help you:

• Apply public health thinking
• See the differences between health systems
• Discuss unique presentations and diseases, and
• Develop cultural responsiveness.

Patient safety focus

You will focus on patient safety and quality, an approach that is embedded across the program and has been developed in collaboration with Macquarie University’s research powerhouse, the Australian Institute of Health Innovation (AIHI).

Course Structure

Early years of the program integrate clinical, scientific, professional and cultural learning around cases, with patient-centred care central to all learning. Later years provide rich clinical learning opportunities with our Australian and international partners.
Each year of the Macquarie MD’s four-year Extended Masters program (AQF Level 9) builds on previous years but has a distinct focus.

Year 1

Foundations of medical practice

Year 1 equips you with foundational knowledge and skills that will be developed across the program.

• You’ll study applied medical sciences, which integrates key science disciplines and clinical practice. Learning is focused on foundation themes and body systems and consolidated through a weekly case-based colloquium.
• You’ll begin to develop your clinical and consultation skills using state-of-the-art simulation equipment.
• You’ll co-learn with Doctor of Physiotherapy students across two units. This invaluable interprofessional experience will focus on the social aspects of health, evidence-based practice, Indigenous health and professionalism.

Year 2

Integrated clinical learning

Year 2 introduces you to real clinical experiences within MQ Health. Your learning will focus on seven clinical programs: Bone and Joint, Cancer, Cardiovascular and Respiratory, Critical Care and Anaesthetics, Neurosciences, Primary Care, Wellbeing and Diagnostics, and Surgery and Gastrointestinal

• Weekly cases and scenarios provide the basis for more advanced clinical skill development and a context for the integrated learning of applied clinical, medical and social sciences.
• You’ll study patient safety and quality, within the context of critical care.
• You’ll develop key research skills and finalise the selection of your research project. Your research project will be focused on health systems, patient safety and quality, clinical research or public health.

Year 3

Core clinical placements

Year 3 focuses on clinical experience and training.

• As part of your clinical training, you’ll spend 24 weeks of the year engaged in clinical placements in Australia and a 21 week block of clinical placements in India. Australian clinical placements will be completed at MQ Health, MindSpot Clinic and public hospitals within the Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD). Indian clinical placements will be completed in Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad, India.
• In both countries, you’ll complete placements in medicine, surgery, primary care, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology. Additionally, you’ll complete a four-week placement in mental health in Australia.
• You’ll discuss and compare your experience with peers in Australia and India through an online ‘community of practice’ and learn about different cultures, diseases and health systems.
• You’ll work on your research project throughout the year, focusing on an aspect of health systems, patient safety and quality, clinical research or public health.

Year 4

Advanced clinical placements

Year 4 consolidates your learning and offers you choice and flexibility.

• You’ll have the opportunity to complete a number of selective clinical placements and an emergency medicine placement. Your student-initiated elective placement can be within a rural or urban setting anywhere in the world.
• Selective and elective clinical placements are longer than those in Year 3, adding depth and breadth to your clinical training. Four weeks of built-in breaks can be used for additional student-initiated elective(s) in Australian or international settings or for travel or assessment preparation.
• Your final year allows you to reflect on your learning across the program and consolidate your knowledge as you prepare for the internship.

Entry requirements

Applications for 2023 intake are closed. Please contact KOM for information on 2024 intake

• Bachelor Degree with minimum weighted GPA of 5 out of 7 (entry is competitive, therefore it’s likely a higher GPA will be required to progress to interview stage).
• All applicants must have completed, or be in the final year, of a Bachelor or Honours degree. For those in the final year of study, satisfactory completion of the degree by 31 December in the year of application will be a condition of entry. Note that if you cannot complete and provide evidence of completion of your degree by the date specified in the offer, the offer may be withdrawn.
• MCAT Minimum total score of 500, minimum 125 in each of the four sections, completion less than two years of intended enrolment

PREREQUISITES

Applicants to the Macquarie MD at Macquarie University must have successfully completed approved prerequisite tertiary units (or groups of units) in:

• Human Anatomy
• Human Physiology

Prerequisite Checker:  if the units you have completed are not listed in the prerequisite checker, you can submit units for assessment with the application (ie: course syllabus)

INTERVIEWS

The interview is designed to assess qualities considered by Macquarie University to be associated with success in both the study of medicine and later practice, and is conducted by trained interviewers. Academic performance is not discussed at the interview.

Applicants who are successful in receiving an interview place will be invited to participate in a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI). Interviews may be conducted face-to-face or via Skype (or a similar platform).  Interview invitations are offered on a rolling basis.

Applicants are selected for interview based the following criteria:

• Performance in a qualifying degree (as indicated by GPA)
• Performance in MCAT
• Performance in the Personal Statement
• Meeting English language requirements

Macquarie University uses the Personal Statement as a hurdle, then ranks applicants based on a selection rank derived from a 50 / 50 combination of weighted GPA and overall MCAT score.

Selected applicants receive an invitation to interview via email. Evidence of interview selection and identity, such as a valid passport, will be required for identification purposes.

Applicants must meet all expenses associated with attending the interview.

Professional Recognition in Canada

Macquarie University’s Doctor of Medicine is accredited by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) and approved by the Medical Board of Australia (MBA).

In Canada, provincial and territorial medical regulatory authorities have the responsibility to confer licences to physicians. The Medical Council of Canada plays an important role in the assessment of potential physicians in Canada. This assessment includes national qualifying examinations and satisfactory completion of acceptable postgraduate training. It is the responsibility of the medical school graduate to contact the provincial body for regulations and requirements.