OUM - my thoughts now from this perspective

Hi Guys,

Well, here are my thoughts on OUM now I'm in my final year.

I'm actually a LOT more positive about the course than in previous years. Probably because I'm not as stressed, isolated, and full of self-doubt as in the beginning. Those were all things only I could control, but I believe there are steps current and future students can take to help alleviate some of the symptoms of being a distance student in a non-traditional med school. Her are some quick tips:

• meet a least one other student face-to-face and become their "buddy/wingman" during the course
• phone other students to chat (vent) privately one-on-one
• participate in the student union and fb groups
• don't get sucked into the negativity - its all too easy when you're stressed
• remember why you started the degree in the first place
• remember no medical degree is perfect: if in doubt, find someone from another, traditional med school and ask
• remember why you chose OUM in the first place (and own it)
• keep your eye on the prize

It also helps to be able to talk to faculty members to get word straight from the horse's mouth. 

To recap, these were my reasons for studying at OUM:

• I didn't want to relocate to another state and my grades were never going to be good enough for the local university
• When I did the cold, hard maths, OUM was cheaper than the place I was offered interstate
• I was a brand-new paramedic and wanted on-road experience before changing career trajectory
• I wasn't really sure I wanted to become a doctor as I loved paramedicine so much. This way, I could keep my job and simply drop-out of med school if I changed my mind
• I didn't want to stop working full-time and go back to living off two-minute noodles and share housing. I REALLY didn't want to do that for another 4 years
• Getting medical degree was more about learning medicine and challenging myself than it was about where I got my degree from
• My intentions were to work as a doctor overseas in areas of extreme poverty, thus where I went to medical school was relatively irrelevant 
• My studying-style is more suited to distance learning. I can read a textbook and retain the information MUCH faster than I can sitting in lectures
• I like to be different

Hope this helps some of you xxx