How to move into medicine from biomedical science

Studying a Bachelor of Biomedical Science can take you in all sorts of directions and it’s a degree that opens doors to many career opportunities, including becoming a doctor. 

If completing a postgraduate medical degree is what you’re aiming for, here’s how biomedical science can get you started on the right path.

The right stepping stone

With medical schools in Australia now requiring you complete an undergraduate degree before you are admitted, opting for a Bachelor of Biomedical Science first is a natural fit for aspiring doctors. 

“In our biomedical science degree, we cover chemistry, anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology,” explained ACU biomedical science senior lecturer and national course coordinator Dr Santha James. “As these are the subject areas that will all be expanded upon in a postgraduate medical degree, a solid background in biomedical science will help you develop the right skills and knowledge to get you started.”  

A good result is key

Achieving good grades in an undergraduate degree like the Bachelor of Biomedical Science is essential to getting through the door of a medical school. 

“Whether you make it into a graduate medicine program will depend on your GPA in your undergraduate degree, your Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) score, and how you do in your entrance interview,” said Dr James. 

“With medicine being a highly competitive discipline, students have to be focused and diligent. We always recommend checking the specific entry requirements for the medical school you are applying for too.”

Communication counts

What’s important to keep in mind is completing a medical degree requires more than a thorough understanding of science. Your oral and written communication skills still count and are important competencies to develop. 

“As part of our biomedical science degree, all of our students take part in a compulsory industry immersion unit, which will help you develop professional interview skills,” said Dr James. “This unit will prove particularly useful if you are selected for the interview that is required for entry into a medical program.”  

Angel Thomas, ACU biomedical science graduate

Student success

ACU biomedical science graduate Angel Thomas is one such student who used this degree as a pathway into medicine. She is now on her way to becoming a doctor and feels strongly that her biomedical science background gave her the leg-up she needed. 

“Studying biomedical science before starting my medical degree really worked for me, and it helped me settle on my future career as a doctor. The Bachelor of Biomedical Science at ACU gave me a lot of choices about what to do next and it gave me a real taste of what studying medicine would be like.”

The big picture

While Angel spent many hours in the lab and library during her biomedical science degree, she still feels like life outside of the classroom was equally important in helping her achieve her dream of studying to become a doctor. 

“Through my degree at ACU, I had volunteering and internship opportunities that helped me develop personally and professionally,” she said. “In the second year of my course I was given the opportunity to undertake an elective in Rome, and the experiences I had there and the people I met made it the most memorable part of my degree.”

Discover more about how a biomedical science degree can become a pathway to medicine.