GAMSAT: “Why Are The Questions So Structured?”
Why does a medical entrance test like GAMSAT contain questions on Humanities and Social Sciences? Has this thought ever bothered you? After all, the most important thing when you become a doctor is to be able to identify diseases and be able to find a cure for them. But think again … is this the only job of a good doctor? Well no, the job of a good doctor goes beyond these narrow definitions. Understanding the patient is of foremost importance to the doctor. This may sound very obvious but the doctor has to communicate with his patients to be able to find the ailment and then its cure. Â GAMSAT seeks to test these very skills of the candidates and hence its structure. It is for this same reason why GAMSAT constitutes of questions based on Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences and Written Communication and UMAT (Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test) comprises of questions based on Understanding People.
In a recent conference at the Melbourne University, the career counsellors made it clear that a career in medicine is something more than just a job. Are you interested in people and are willing to commit yourself to a life-long process of learning? Do you think that your interest in Biological Sciences is unsurpassed? If your answer is yes, then becoming a doctor is the best career option for you. Now you must be thinking what are the indications for not becoming a doctor or sitting for GAMSAT. Well, if you want to become a doctor just because your family wants you to or because you want to be rich, then you are surely on the wrong path!
Medical institutions are on the lookout for candidates who possess academic flair along with correct perception. These are the two ingredients that go on to make a good and successful doctor. It is for this same reason why you can take the GAMSAT even if you are from a non-science background. GAMSAT contains questions that will test your aptitude in the basic concepts. If you have problems in understanding the basics then chances are that you will not make the GAMSAT cut-off!
Another aspect that GAMSAT seeks to test is your tenacity to carry on with a course which will last for more than four years. Very often there are students who fail to carry on with the trials of such a rigorous course. So the examiners look for candidates who are motivated from within.
If you feel that your wish to become a doctor can surpass all the hurdles then you are at the right place. Take the GAMSAT and find the key to achieve something that you have been yearning for so long.