If you’re going to the University of Queensland this coming semester and have completed student loan forms, then you’ll meet Louise Ballard on campus.
OzTREKK‘s Beth McNally interviews the UQ Financial Aid Officer, who outlines what you need to do to ensure your student loan process is a smooth one.
Learn more about the University of Queensland!
Just a quick reminder that OzTREKK educational services will be closed from Thursday, Dec. 24 to Sunday, Jan. 3.
We will reopen on Monday, Jan. 4, 2010.
If you need to contact OzTREKK, please e-mail us at info@oztrekk.com, as we plan to check that e-mail account throughout the Christmas break.
From all of us at OzTREKK, we wish you a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2010!
It’s no secret that the flight over to Australia will be a long one, which is why OzTREKK‘s Matt Miernik offers some tips on what to pack in your carry on bag.
From a loaded iPod to warm socks, these are some key points that you may not have thought about before boarding the plane.
Learn more about Bond University
Learn more about the Bond University Law School.
Formula 1 fans would have been proud of 50 Monash University students who recently took home the hardware in an Australasian championship last weekend.
The group competed in the Formula – Society of Automotive Engineers championships in Melbourne, and faced 20 other universities in the competition, where the groups from the Australia and Pacific region were to design, manufacture and race a small formula style prototype racing car.
The Monash University Motorsport team, made up of 50 students from various faculties at the University, placed first in five out of the seven categories and also took out the Overall Static Events Award and Overall Dynamic Events Award.
Team leader and third-year Monash University Engineering School student Rachel Mace said the team was pumped about the win.
“it was a fantastic weekend and we saw some awesome cars out on the track.” She says. “The team’s success at the weekend was the result of hundreds of hours by our members to build and fine tune our car. It is a credit to everyone who volunteered their time.”
The Monash University Motorsport team will take the car to Germany in August 2010 to compete against teams from European universities.
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Learn more about the Monash University Engineering School.
Learm more about Australian Engineering Schools.
Though OzTREKK works with students from all across Canada, and is partnered with Australian universities, we do take pride in our community connection as well.
OzTREKK is based in Perth, Ontario, and we were recently honoured as the Perth & District Chamber of Commerce’s Business of the Month. With nearly 400 business members, we were blushing when asked to be profiled as the organization’s business of the month.
Though we work on an international scale, OzTREKK staff do volunteer their time with the Chamber because we know how important it is to be local, and we feel lucky to operate the business in Perth, Ontario.
To read our coverage in the Perth Courier, click here.
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www.oztrekk.com
Internship availability for international students studying medicine in Queensland has been an ongoing topic of discussion, especially within the forum sphere.
Within Queensland, there’s a priority ranking system for the intern positions that all doctors need if they’re to become fully registered as medical practitioners. Queensland Health guarantees intern positions only for domestic graduates of the state’s four medical schools. Australians from interstate schools are next in line, ahead of international graduates of Queensland schools.
The ongoing fear is that internship positions will dry up prior to reaching the international resident pool, leaving overseas students with four years of medical studies and no place to train.
Enter Dr. David Wilkinson’s column.
The University of Queensland’s School of Medicine‘s Dean recently penned a column in the national newspaper, The Australian.
He called on the state government to open more internship spots, titling his opinion piece, “let overseas students stay”. He argued that over the course of their studies, their interest in staying in Australia to practise medicine actually increases.
“A survey of 190 overseas fee-paying medical students at UQ shows that among 78 per cent, interested in staying in Australia to work had increased during their study,” Wilkinson notes. “A remarkable 93 per cent reported being ‘very likely’ or ‘likely’ to stay in Australia to train and work if this opportunity existed.”
Wilkinson states that the state needs to see international medical students as an opportunity to become members of Australia’s future medical workforce, and as a part of the long-term solution to the workforce needs.
“Building a training system after graduation that delivers on this will be in all our best interests,” he states.
To read the full article, click here.
Learn more about the University of Queensland Medical School.
Learn more about Australian medical schools for Canadians.
“What about when I return home?”
A common question we receive from medical students has to do with accreditation and the route to practicing medicine back home.
In this month’s edition of the OzTREKKER, we outline a new option for those who wish to return to Ontario to practise medicine following graduation from an accredited Australian medical school. We have also linked up a video in our newsletter from Health Force Ontario Marketing and Recruitment Agency’s Thea Watson, outlining their office’s drive to help Canadians studying medicine abroad who wish to return to Ontario.
Other great reads in the December edition of the OzTREKKER:
-A Christmas Carol: What makes Christmas in Australia from the Canadian celebrations? Think Frosty the Snowman…
-Community Campus: For students attending UQ this January, you’ll quickly learn that you won’t need to leave campus all day!
-Surf’s Up: Bond JD Student walks away a winner
OzTREKK makes every effort to ensure their students are knowledgeable about their Australian program of choice, and we know how important it is to be well informed about the Canadian accreditation process following graduation from an Australian medical school.
Earlier last week, OzTREKK was in contact with the HealthForceOntario Marketing and Recruitment Agency and we received news that on Nov. 19, the College of Family Physicians of Canada announced that it has determined that accredited family medicine training and certification completed in the U.S. and Australia meet its standard for certification in family medicine. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has agreed that individuals who obtain certification without examination from the CFPC will be eligible to apply for a certificate of registration to practice medicine in Ontario.
So what does this mean?
In other words, Australian University medical school graduates who complete their residency in Australia are eligible to apply for certification with the CFPC, and apply for licensure with the CPSO. In Australia, the residency time line to become eligible to apply as a registered general practitioner is two years, following the completion of an Australian Medical Council approved medical program.
Following successful completion of the residency, students have the option to write the CFPC board certification exams if they have also written the MCC or USMLE exams. If successful, they can apply for a licence to practise medicine through the CPSO.
Here’s how it works:
1. Completion of postgraduate medical training at an Australian Medical School
2. Complete the MCC or USMLE Exams
3. Complete the CFPC certification board exams
4. If approved, receive CPSO restricted license with a peer assessment at the end of the year
Alternatively, if a doctor has already been certified as a General Practitioner in Australia, and has written either the MCC’s or USMLEs then they could obtain CFPC certification without having to write any further exams, so long as they have met the following:
1. successfully graduated from accredited postgraduate training in family medicine in a jurisdiction where the standards for accreditation of postgraduate family medicine training and the criteria for certification are judged comparable and acceptable to the CFPC – which includes Australia;
2. achieved certification in that jurisdiction;
3. met all other requirements for Certification in the CFPC;
4. met all other requirements for licensure and apply for, or are granted, registration to practice in a Canadian province or territory.
CFPC will review their credentials, and if approved, the GP will be granted certification, and the CPSO will give a restricted license with a peer assessment at the end of the year.
This is yet another way that the CFPC is trying to reduce barriers for internationally trained medical graduates.
Health Force Ontario Marketing and Recruitment Agency’s Thea Watson says they will provide further information about these changes in the New Year. To see a video of Thea Watson explaining Health Force Ontario Marketing and Recruitment Agency’s Outreach Strategy to Canadians studying medicine abroad, click here.
For more information, submit your Australian medical school application to OzTREKK – we provide free services to Canadians who want to study medicine in Australia, and help you from the application to pre-departure stages, and this includes providing information about the accreditation process to return to Canada to practise medicine.
Apply now to an Australian Medical School.
Contact OzTREKK at 1-866-698-7355 or e-mail OzTREKK’s Australian Medical School Admissions Officer, Alison Simser at alison@oztrekk.com.
Are you an Australian medical school graduate who wishes to practise medicine in Canada?
Then the Health Force Ontario Marketing and Recruitment Agency wants to hear from you. Thea Watson, Strategic Coordinator for Strategic and Marketing with the Health Force Ontario Marketing and Recruitment Agency, explained to OzTREKK how the organization wants to hear from Canadian students studying medicine abroad, including in Australia.
In this Video, she explains the services provided by the outreach crew at the HFO Marketing and Recruitment Agency.
Learn more about Australian Medical Schools for Canadians.
Four of OzTREKK’s Australian university partners offer medical programs:
-University of Queensland Medical School
-James Cook University Medical School
-Monash University Medical School
-University of Melbourne Medical School
