Put your passion for healing into action

Medicine is intellectually rewarding, challenging and inspiring. It requires critical problem-solving, teamwork and integrity.

Medical practitioners are passionately interested in wellbeing, and work to protect and promote the health of individuals and communities. They are dedicated to alleviating pain and suffering, and caring for vulnerable people.

What will you do?

Our Bachelor of Medical Studies provides the foundation knowledge and skills needed to excel in health care. Learning in partnership with outstanding clinicians in our state-of-the-art Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences building, you will:

• work in small groups to address scenario-based problems relating to common and important individual, community, Indigenous and global health issues
• gain valuable exposure to real-world clinical practice and develop your own safe and effective clinical skills in cutting-edge simulation facilities
• investigate the social determinants of health and health behaviours
• learn to evaluate the health status of individuals and populations
• acquire a solid foundation in research skills and evidence-based care
• learn collaboratively in interprofessional teams.

You will also gain a deep understanding of how our health care system works. This includes from the ‘consumer’ perspective; how patients interact with various health services and providers.

Where could it take you?

This is the first part of our medicine program; upon successful completion, you’ll gain direct entry into our Doctor of Medicine. Together, these degrees will qualify you to practise medicine anywhere in Australia and throughout most of the world. The Bachelor of Medical Studies functions as an exit pathway only for students who do not go on to complete the entire six-year program.

The Medical program at the University of Adelaide has a six-year full-time duration which leads to the awards of Bachelor of Medical Studies and Doctor of Medicine.  Entry to the Doctor of Medicine is based on completion of the Bachelor of Medical Studies at the University of Adelaide.

The Bachelor of Medical Studies and Doctor of Medicine is an integrated program. Combined, these degrees will equip you with the knowledge, skills and attributes that will enable you to practice as a medical doctor safely and effectively. The integrated medical program is aligned with the Australian Medical Council accreditation standards including science and scholarship, clinical practice, professionalism and leadership, and health and society.

Throughout all six years, there is a strong emphasis on scenario-based learning, evidence-based decision making and professional practice. You will learn in South Australia’s premier health education precinct, the Adelaide BioMed City, situated next door to the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and the new Royal Adelaide Hospital. You will be part of the eco-system of education, research and clinical care working together to create better health outcomes for individuals and communities.

You will practice and refine your skills in our world-leading simulation facilities, the only facilities in Australasia with accreditation by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare for excellence in learning and teaching. You will be taught by practising clinicians who are leaders in their field and learn from the best in their fields.

The first three years of the medical program is the Bachelor of Medical Studies which provides the foundation of medical science and practice. The emphasis on these early years is on integrated learning, learning and building clinical skills and developing your understanding of the role of a doctor. A major emphasis is placed on professionalism, communication and clinical reasoning, as well as the practise of evidence-based and preventative medicine. Small-group Scenario-Based Learning (SBL) is a key part of learning the early years of the curriculum. Lectures in the medical disciplines such as pathology, anatomy, physiology and pharmacology are carefully staged throughout the clinical cases of the most commonly encountered and socially significant diseases.

In year 1, you will learn fundamental knowledge of biomedical science and how the health care system works. To build this knowledge you will begin to have patient contact by having the opportunity to experience the health care system from the ‘consumer’ perspective. The use of SBL will introduce you to underlying mechanisms and concepts from a real-world perspective.

In year 2, you will continue to learn about clinical problems through clinically based scenarios which explore the science of medicine. You will continue to develop clinical skills in diagnosis and management, and be introduced to the public health and professional aspects of becoming a medical practitioner.

In year 3, the focus is on preparing you for full-time clinical studies within the Doctor of Medicine. You will undertake your first clinical placements, and begin to learn research skills with the completion of a research proposal and critical appraisal. You will understand research methodology and have the skills required to ensure as you move into the clinical years of the program you can use research to ensure you make evidence-based decisions to ultimately guide clinical practice towards treatment modalities and therapies that improve patient outcomes. Alongside this, you will have increased clinical exposure with experiences in primary and hospital care settings. This will be supported by scenario-based learning which will focus on clinical management

The Bachelor of Medical Studies functions as an exit pathway only for students who do not go on to complete the entire six-year program. At the end of the six-year program, you will be awarded both the Bachelor of Medical Studies and Doctor of Medicine degrees.   

For more details regarding years 4 to 6 of the medical program, visit Doctor of Medicine.
 

Academic Program Rules

The Calendar is a comprehensive handbook of the University's academic program rules.

See here for the academic program rules for the Bachelor of Medical Studies

Upon completion of the Bachelor of Medical Studies and Doctor of Medicine, graduates are required to apply for provisional registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Provisional registration is required to undertake a 12 month internship which provides supervised clinical experience in an approved hospital.

After successful completion of the internship, graduates are eligible to apply to APHRA for general registration, allowing them to practise in Australia and New Zealand.

Internships are separate from the medical degree and the University of Adelaide does not facilitate the internship placements. It is current practice that SA Health guarantees an intern placement for South Australian commonwealth-supported medical graduates. International medical graduates may need to complete an intern placement in their home country. Further information regarding internship allocations can be found on the SA Health Careers  and SA Medical Education and Training  website.

Adelaide Medical School graduates are well regarded in the industry for their knowledge and experience, and are in demand for positions in public hospitals, private practice, public health, teaching, clinical research, aid organisations, the defence forces and more. The full, wide range of medical career paths and options become apparent as students’ progress through the degree.

The University of Adelaide Careers Service prepares, inspires and empowers students to achieve successful career transitions and connect with industry.

Industry Placement

In the Bachelor of Medical Studies, you will have patient contact in a variety of settings from year one—this will orientate you towards your career of becoming a doctor. By year 3, you will undertake clinical placement two days per week in a hospital or community setting.

Students who undertake clinical placements, internships and research projects involving children, or people who are ill, elderly or vulnerable, must obtain the following clearances before attending clinical placement:
 

• AHPRA student registration (undertaken on the student's behalf)
• criminal history clearance and a national police clearance
• immunisation 
• prescribed communicable infections screening
• tuberculosis screening.

Please see the clinical placements page for more information. Students who do not meet the above requirements are at risk of not completing the degree, as placements are a compulsory component of the degree. For further information, visit: Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.

Professional Accreditation

The Bachelor of Medical Studies and Doctor of Medicine have been accredited under the existing accreditation of the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery by the Australian Medical Council (AMC).

Potential careers

Graduates of this program have gone on to roles such as:

Health Educator;  Health Officer;  Laboratory Manager;  Medical Scientist;  Medical Technician

Successful completion of an Australian year 12 qualification with a minimum pass in an accepted English language subject

IELTS: Overall 7.0 (Reading 7, Listening 7, Speaking 7, Writing 7); TOEFL: Internet-based: Total score of 94 with a minimum of 27 in Writing, 23 in Speaking and 24 in Reading and Listening; TOEFL Paper-based: Total score of 577 with a minimum of 4.5 in the Test of Written English (TWE); Pearsons: Overall 65 (Reading 65, Listening 65, Speaking 65, Writing 65); Cambridge: Overall 185 (Reading 185, Listening 185, Speaking 185, Writing 185).

Application deadline is Jun 30.