The Guru Method GAMSAT Preparation Blog

Heya Ashen

I've been free lancing for the Prep Genie group for the last 3 months. They pay me to write content, review questions and then....drum roll....sit their exams to comment on whether they're up to GAMSAT standard....if you thought sitting the GAMSAT once was bad, try it 4 times in a month!!

I must say that the material I've been involved in writing/reviewing has actually been excellent. I can attest that they've invested a lot of time, energy and money developing some really good content. There's a link for some free sample materials somewhere on their website (I also linked to it on my blog recently). It's worth a look.

www.emergency-one.blogspot.com

Good luck with your preparations!!

PS I don't receive any commision, kick back or inducement for writing the above, other than the financial interest declared (ie freelance payment for service)

Hey, first post, hope I'm not doing anything wrong...
but yeah, I'm doing Science this year at UoM instead of Biomed 'cause I'm not wholly convinced I want a career in the Health Sciences, but I still want the option of doing Med after my 3 years if I decide I really wanna do it

But yeah, would anyone know which subjects at UoM would cover the content of the GAMSAT?

I'm doing Biology of Cells and Organisms, Genetics and Evolution of Life, Chemistry 1 and Chemistry 2, Physics 1: Fundamentals anyway, should I choose any other subjects?

Do I require 2 semesters of Physics? Or will the physics subject I'm doing now be enough?
Thanks

You will find lots of reviews in threads below about their practice exams.

Of course it's important to get and thoroughly review all of ACER's practice materials.

And, my biased opinion (!), you should consider getting the free practice test here: www.gamsat-prep.com/free-GAMSAT-practice-test

Good luck.
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Helpful links:
GAMSAT courses: Aust/IRL/UK
GAMSAT Preparation study materials
Medical School Interviews YouTube

I'm thinking about buying pregenie gamsat preparation material. has anyone used them before ? are they any good ?

I can see some of the authors of GAMSAT courses are doctors. Thank goodness for these excellent authors, they make studying for GAMSAT easier and more structured. But just out of curiosity again,

What doctors are they? Are they medical doctors or are they PhD or both?

If medical, what type of medical doctor? MD, MBBS, DO are a good start for they explain the authors completed their basic medical degree. Which medical school did they graduate from? Furthermore, did this person go on to obtain further medical qualification after they graduated from med school? If so, what further qualifications?

If their doctorate is of PhD, then what kind of PhD did they do? At what institute and what research topic did they work on?

I guess at the end of the day if the material is useful, the material is useful without doubt. A bit more detail about the authors doing all the hard work for us would be something nice know.
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http://www.gpLand.org
A forum for doctors, students, or anyone in the process of working towards becoming a doctor to share ideas casually and anonymously.

Hello,

I don't need to sit for GAMSAT but just out of curiosity, of ALLLLLL these many GAMSAT preparatory packages each costing a fortune, which one has the biggest bank of practice questions? (referring to your sciences and maybe also humanities sections). And I don't mean just questions. Got to have answers at the back ofcourse.
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http://www.gpLand.org
A forum for doctors, students, or anyone in the process of working towards becoming a doctor to share ideas casually and anonymously.

Wow..... having your first at the start of Med would have been a rather rude awakening. I guess the best part is that you never had a chance to get settles 'pre-children' and as such all of your study practices would have been geared from the start with children in mind.

I'm just about to start 4th year..... and I worked out the other day that I only have 9 months left as a student! I should be excited, but I rather enjoy the freedom of being a student , and realistically, graduating Medical school is just another hurdle in a very very long race.

Regarding clinical vs pre clinical years, I think the hours are FAR greater in clinical years.... hence the increased time management pressures. I guess part of that comes down to how long you want to stay on the wards, and how much you go to (tutorials wise). Unlike yourself, I don't have a health background, so I start early, and finish late a lot of the time..... hoping to soak up as much as I can.
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"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.... Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad"

Hi Lovebite

I actually totally agree, I think prioritizing work load is the key. The concept you're describing is actually a well known concept in ecconomics called the Peretto principle, namely that 20% of your input will account for 80% of your output.

Oddly though, I found my science years really difficult and my clinical years really easy (mind you my background was nursing, so my science was pretty poor and my clinical skills were pretty good).

I took 4 weeks off of my regular life for the very reason that it's difficult to study and be everything else that you normally are on a daily basis. It also needs to be said that my first son was born on the first day of class.....so the first year was tough for a whole lot of reasons anyway, how far through your studies are you?

I'd argue that I was probably busier when preparing for GAMSAT than I was in first year med (Clinical years are an entirely different prospect).

The tough part of GAMSAT prep is that for most of us, it has to happen in tandem with or regular lives.... work, and kids primarily. Once you get into medicine, you restructure your life to support your studies, and in doing that, I found that I had far more time.

I think that is one of the beautiful (yet often overlooked) aspects of GAMSAT, in that it demands so much of you, above and beyond your everyday life, and it is a great litmus test for the trials and pressures of Medical school.

I worked full time, and studied full time during GAMSAT, knowing that if I couldn't maintain that tempo for 3 months, I'd be unlikely to survive Medicine...... now I work part time, and study full time (and then some), so the workload isn't too different.

I think GAMSAT prep, like medicine, is a game of prioritisation. You have to decide what things are important to learn RIGHT NOW, what things CAN WAIT, and what things you can just look up if you need it. You have to be really clever to assign the time you have to the really vital stuff, and maximise your possibilities around that.

Good luck!
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"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.... Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad"

Hi guys!

I'm a GP in Australia. Locally trained.

I went through the undergrad medical course (UNSW) some time back, so probably can't help you out on actual GAMSAT too much.

Feel free to message/post me if any wishes to discuss anything general eg. which textbook is good for what subject in uni, general hints and tips about internship, hospital residency etc. Anything I know I'd be glad to answer.

Please check out also my forum (gpland . org) if you got time. Non-commercial. Just a fun forum for doctors or people who want to become doctors to talk about anything casually, plus a chatroom and some multiplayer games if you get too bored in the library.
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http://www.gpLand.org
A forum for doctors, students, or anyone in the process of working towards becoming a doctor to share ideas casually and anonymously.