Studying medicine is a huge commitment, as is studying for the GAMSAT exam. Not only are you studying a significant number of hours per week, a lot of the time you are also expected to attend clinical placements. This means finding a job is quite tricky, which results in an over-indulgence of 2-minute noodles on a daily basis to make ends meet. One of the things that you can do in medical school is apply for as many scholarships as you can, in order to give you some tax-free money to help with all of your bills (and textbook costs!). A lot of the time, these scholarships will award you for work that you’ve already done, or that you’re doing, and they don’t typically require an extensive application process. There are many more scholarships available than what is detailed here, but this will be an excellent starting point to help you find the awards that you deserve:
- Summer Research Scholarships: These are basically periods of research whereby the student will undertake a ‘project’, typically over a 4-10 week period, where they will be involved in various aspects of the research process. This may include ethics writing, literature reviews, laboratory work, or clinical measurement. Payment for this ranges between $100 to $300 a week, and the time commitment over the summer holidays can be a few days a week or full-time, depending on the institution. There is also the chance that you could get a published article from your work in these scholarships. Some example institutions that offer these include:
- Australian National University (ANU)
- Griffith University (Institute of Glycomics)
- University of Queensland
- Cancer Council South Australia
- University of Western Sydney
- University of Sydney
- University of Western Australia
- Kidney Health Australia
- Cancer Council Western Australia
- Children’s Cancer Institute of Australia
- Essay/Writing Competitions: Do you have a particular topic that you are deeply passionate about? A great range of competitions exist where you can write about a topic of interest and win some great prizes! Sometimes, this can even be the form of an assignment that you’ve already completed at university, and you’re simply re-submitting it for a competition! Prizes vary from cash, all the way towards having a trip to present your work at an international conference fully funded for. Some examples include:
- Cancer Council Australia’s International Summer School Essay Competition
- John Snow Scholarship
- Work Scholarships: In medical school, a vast majority (usually all) of your placements are not remunerated at all, and you run at a fairly hefty loss on a daily basis attending clinical attachments. However, sometimes there are opportunities for students to undertake working placements in medicine and related areas where a small remuneration is given. This usually includes accommodation, and remuneration can sometimes be up on $500 a week. Some examples are:
- John Flynn Placement Program
- Quota International South Pacific Area
- Conference Scholarships: At a vast majority of universities, scholarships exist to help students pay for expenses when going to a research conference. These can sometimes be available from the university themselves, the medical society, or the student union. This is very institution-dependent, and you will have to enquire how to access these (for example, at my university, I’ve been able to access a (maximum) $5,000 scholarship yearly to attend conferences around the world).
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