(chilled music)
- Hey there, my name's Will Slaferski,
I'm from Melbourne.
I'm studying medicine in my
third year at Monash University.
And this year I'm placed
at the Alfred Hospital.
So, we're at Tall Timber cafe,
which is one of my favorite
cafes near the Alfred hospital
where I'm placed this year.
Yeah, it's a really a good place to come
if you've got a half an
hour spare on the wards
or you're waiting for a
tube or something like that.
I ordered a turmeric latte today,
as you can see it's very orange.
Actually, I've never got
one of these before so.
It's very tumeric-y.
So, I guess I chose Monash University
for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, it's in my hometown of Melbourne.
I wasn't opposed to moving away from home,
but I do really love this city
and it sort of fits with my lifestyle of
rocking eccentric coffees and
generally enjoying everything
that Melbourne has to offer.
The other reason I really
like Monash is that it's the
only undergraduate medical
course in Victoria.
Which means that you don't
have to do another degree
before you go into medicine.
So, straight out of high school,
once you've sat the UMAT
and you've done your VCE
or your IBE you can go
straight into medicine.
It's a five year degree,
which is quite nice compared
to six or seven years
if you were to do, say,
a post-graduate course.
Things I really like about Monash.
I guess, when you're in
your pre-clinical years,
so the first two years of university,
you're in Clayton.
Which is actually quite
a way out from the city.
But, it's actually really nice because
people don't just sort of
disappear after lectures
or when they've got a break,
everyone's forced to
hang out with each other.
And so, you develop really,
really good friends.
The med cohort is quite, I guess, insular,
and everyone gets to know
each other really quickly.
So you do feel very like you're
in a place where you belong.
But, I also have plenty of
friends who go to Monash
who don't do medicine,
and I get to see them on
a regular basis as well,
which is really cool.
In terms of what you get exposed to,
the first two years of medicine
really covers a whole load of theory
across a range of disciplines.
So it could be everything
from immunology to cardiology,
or biochemistry and
biophysics which I hated.
But, it is actually really
important and relevant.
And now that I'm in my clinical years
I can see why we have to
know about that stuff.
But you essentially learn all
the theory behind this stuff
in lecture format, tutorial format.
A lot of the lecturers are doctors,
which is really, really cool.
So these people have first-hand experience
of what it's like to treat
patients on a day-to-day basis,
and they can tell you stuff
that you can't actually
get out of a textbook.
On the nuances of particular conditions
and how people present to hospital
and the challenges they face,
and that kind of thing.
So, having that first-hand experience
from people who do this every single day
and are experts in their
field is really, really cool.
So, I think if you're
thinking about medicine
and it's something that you're considering
I'd highly recommend it.
Obviously I'm biased
because it's always been
my dream career path,
and I'm really, really happy
with what I'm studying.
But I think it's unrealistic
for people to expect
year 12 students to know
exactly what they wanna do.
Because, the fact is, you
just haven't been exposed
to so many of the different
jobs and vocations out there.
And if you think you might
have an interest in medicine
I'd encourage you to go
and be really proactive
in terms of figuring out if
it's the right thing for you.
So, talk to people who
are studying the course,
if you know any,
try and talk to any
doctors you might know,
chat to your GP.
If you can, do some work experience,
try and spend a day in the
hospital or shadowing a GP
or a doctor or something
and actually see what it
involves on a day-to-day basis.
Because I think, until you've done that,
you have an idea that
you're making diagnoses
and you're treating patients,
and you might end up like Dr House or
someone off Grey's Anatomy oneday,
but the realities of day-to-day medicine
can be quite different to how
it's portrayed in the media
and that sort of thing.
So, yeah, definitely go and seek that out.
And I'd encourage like anyone to do that
about any potential career
path they're interested in,
not just medicine.
With regards to what it's
like being a medical student,
I think medicine gets a rap for being
a lot more difficult than it is,
and a lot more intense than it is.
And certainly, I think,
in the later years,
that's probably true.
Talk to me next year and
I'll probably give you
a very different answer.
But, I've actually found
the first three years
really, really enjoyable.
The only time I've ever been stressed is
during exam or assignment season.
And that's usually 'cause
I've left something
to the last minute.
Not because the course is
inherently overwhelming
or anything like that.
I have this theory that the
people who go into medicine
are sort of Type A stress heads,
and the reality is that whatever
course they'd be studying
you'd ask them, "How's medicine going?"
And they're like, "Ah, I'm so stressed.
I have all these assignments
and I have to wake up
at this time, and this,
and this, and this."
But, in actual fact, it's a
really, really enjoyable degree.
I've found I've been able to
have a really good social life
with all my friends,
have a part-time job on the side,
play sport, make time for
all the things I love.
So, yeah, it's been good.
So I wouldn't be discouraged
if you think it's gonna be too much work.
This is the Alfred Hospital
where I'm placed this year.
It is located in South Yarra,
right next to Fortonpark
which we have behind us.
Really pretty.
They have some good coffee places around.
Over there you can
probably see the writing
saying Trauma Center.
It's one of the biggest
trauma centers in Australia.
So, the Alfred is my
home site for third year,
which means I spend the
majority of my time here.
But I also rotate round
to other hospitals.
I probably spend four or five
days a week in the hospital.
Usually around eight until
one, eight 'til three,
depending on the day.
So, I got really lucky
being placed in the Alfred
for third year.
Because, not only does it have
the biggest trauma center,
but it's also really, really specialized.
So you get to see stuff here that you just
would never see at other hospitals.
Cardiothoracic surgery with
open heart transplants.
It's a really fascinating place to be
and you get exposure to a huge
amount of really cool stuff
that you don't necessarily
get at other hospitals.
So, I guess I studied medicine
for a couple of reasons.
I was always really interested
in science and the human body
even from a very young age.
But, throughout school I was interested in
a whole lot of stuff like economics
and politics and that kind of thing.
So, what really sort of changed my mind
was, I guess, the fact that you have that
human element to it as well.
You're dealing with
people every single day
and interacting with them,
hearing their stories and
learning about their lives.
And you essentially have an opportunity
to make a positive impact
in someone else's life
every single day at work,
which is really cool.
The other thing about
medicine is there's just
so many opportunities and
things you can do with it.
From getting involved
in research that can,
potentially, change the way your treat
a whole lot of conditions for
millions and millions of people,
to working on public health measures.
You can do private practice or public.
You can choose to specialize in
a whole range of different areas.
You might become a GP or
you might become a surgeon,
or you might become a physician.
So, just the opportunities
are really limitless.
I guess that kind of appealed to me
when I was in year 12 and
thinking about these things,
'cause I didn't necessarily wanna
lock myself into one thing when I
still didn't really know
what my working life
was gonna look like or what
I wanted it to look like.
So, just the general
feeling about medicine
of being a degree that
was really fascinating
and constantly changing and evolving,
but also so much opportunity
to have a positive impact
on people's lives is what drew me to it.
(jazz music)
Hey guys, thanks for watching.
I hope you enjoyed the video.
If you're interested in studying medicine
and want to find out more
you can click the link below
or visit us at www.crimsoneducation.org.
