The GAMSAT

A Biomed society presentation

Graduate Medical School Admission Test

• Comprised of 3 sections:- Reasoning in humanities and social sciences- Written Communication- Reasoning in biological and physical sciences

General advice• Don’t be an IDIOT!!!!• You have 2 attempts – use them• GAMSAT will get harder every year

• Not about finding the correct answer but finding the most logical answer

• Utilise your reading time

• Waste is bad - waste nothing

Section 1

• Reasoning in humanities and social sciences• Hardest section to study for

• 10 minutes reading + 100 minutes writing time for 75 questions

• 80 seconds per question!

Sample Question• The following passage is taken from William Shakespeare's

"Julius Caesar", Act III Scene 2.

• Romans, countrymen, and lovers! hear me for mycause, and be silent, that you may hear: believe mefor mine honour, and have respect to mine honour, thatyou may believe: censure me in your wisdom, andawake your senses, that you may the better judge.If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend ofCaesar's, to him I say, that Brutus' love to Caesarwas no less than his. If then that friend demandwhy Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer:--Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I lovedRome more. Had you rather Caesar were living anddie all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to liveall free men? As Caesar loved me, I weep for him;as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he wasvaliant, I honour him: but, as he was ambitious, Islew him. There is tears for his love; joy for hisfortune; honour for his valour; and death for hisambition. Who is here so base that would be abondman? If any, speak; for him have I offended.Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? Ifany, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here sovile that will not love his country? If any, speak;for him have I offended. I pause for a reply.

1) In this speech, given immediately after the assassination of Julius Caesar by Brutus and other conspirators, Brutus:A asks the Roman people to remember some of Caesar's good qualitiesB appeals to reason and emphasises civic dutyC explains why he (Brutus) is an honourable personD shows that no-one loved Caesar more than he2) Lines 18 and 19, 'Who is here so base that would be a bondman?' are intended by BrutusA to invite debate and discussion B to be subtly critical of the Roman people C to weed out supporters of Caesar D as a rhetorical question3) From this speech, the best way to summarise Brutus' justification for the assassination is thatA the state is more important than a single individual B even great leaders have significant flaws C true political power should always rest with the people D political unrest must be swiftly dealt with

4) The overall tone of this oration can most accurately be described asA regretful and measuredB passionate and reasonedC apologetic and articulateD patriotic and inflammatory

Should have answered all of those in 5 minutes and 20 seconds

• Answers are: - 1 – B - 2 – D - 3 – A - 4 – B

How to study for section 1?• Practice questions – both GAMSAT and MCAT verbal reasoning• Read!

- Paradise lost – John Milton- The Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie - Richard III – William Shakespeare- A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens- Animal Farm – George Orwell- The Outsider – Albert Camus- War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy- Kane and Abel – Jeffery Archer- Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen- The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck- The Gay Science – Friedrich Nietzsche

Section 2 - essays

• 2 essays in 60 minutes• Only 5 minutes of reading time• 5 prompts for every essay• Must respond to at least one prompt for every

essay• Usually one expository and one personal

reflective essay

Sample Prompts

Expository• Poverty is the failure of equity and

charity.

The world's poorest nations are those that have been torn apart by conflict.

No one asks to be born into poverty but they can ask to be removed from it through hard work and dedication.

Poverty can never be eradicated whilst humans have free will.

Poverty is the mother of crime and the daughter of upheaval.

Personal reflective• Home is more than a place of bricks

and mortar. It is solace, security, love.

Home is the place that, when you have to go there, they have to let you in.

Home is where the heart is.

Home is a word that belongs only to the loved.

Home is for the idle, the ill and the unimaginative.

How to study for section 2?

• Section 2 is the general knowledge section• They are assessing how much you know and

how well you write• Structure is very important – give evidence

but make sure you explain it and link it back to your topic

Things to knowPeople• Ronald Reagan• John Maynard Keynes• Friedrich Engels• Karl Marx• Ernst Rohm• Ernesto Guevara• Francisco Franco• Augusto Pinochet• Joseph Ratzinger • Pius XII• Leon Trotsky• Ayatollah Khomeini• Anwar Sadat• Margaret Thatcher• Vincent Lingiari• Gough Whitlam• Lyndon B. Johnson

Concepts• Affirmative action• Nanny State• Colonialism• Post-colonialism• Neo-colonialism• Imperialism• Nationalism• Zionism• Marxism• Socialism• Capitalism• Utilitarianism• Libertarianism• Totalitarianism• Autocracy• Regulation• Globalisation• Machiavellianism

More things to knowHistorical events

• Holocaust• Apartheid• Global Financial Crisis• Any revolutions• Watergate• Civil Rights act of 1964• Aboriginal land rights act• Freedom riders• De-Stalinization• Denazification• Warsaw Pact

Simple Quotes• Long is the way, and hard that out of hell leads up to light – John Milton,

Paradise Lost• Thus I clothe my naked villainy and seem a saint when most I play the Devil –

Shakespeare, Richard III• All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain

silent. - Thomas Jefferson• I would remind you that extremism in the defence of liberty is no vice. And let

me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue. – Cicero

• I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" - Evelyn Beatrice Hall

• Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. - Karl Marx

• Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves (matthew 10:16)

• What’s best for the nation isn’t always what the people want – John Howard

Further reading and watching

• Arguably – Christopher Hitchens• Orientalism – Edward Said

• Inside Job• Casino Jack and the Unites States of Money• Q and A

Section 3 – reasoning in biological and physical sciences

• 40% chemistry – 1st year bsc chemistry (CHM 1011 and CHM 1022) – only organic and physical

• 40% biology – up to and including 2nd year bms biology

• 20% physics – year 12 physics – equivalent of bms 1031 or phy 1031

• 110 questions in 170 minutes writing with 10 minutes reading time – about 90 seconds per question

Section 3 sample questions• In the human body the speed of blood through the

arterial pathway generally decreases with the distance from the heart.

• For questions where the acceleration is constant or approximately constant, the following equations may be helpful:-

• s = ut + at² • v = u + ½at² • v² = u² + 2as• Where s = distance from origin, u = initial velocity, v

= final velocity, a = acceleration, and t = time.• 4. The blood flow between the points B and C

slowed at a rate of• A 0.24m/s² C 0.04 m/s²

B 0.9m/s² D 0.45 m/s²• 5. The best of the following estimates of the time

that the blood took to travel between points B and C is

• A 0.5 secs C 2.5 secsB 1.5 secs D 3.5 secs

Questions continued• 6. Illustrated below are possible velocity vs. time graphs for the blood flow.

The shaded area is also given. Which of the graphs below most accurately describes the velocity of blood flow through the arterial pathway?

Answers

• Question 4 – A• Question 5 – B (remember v = u + at)• Question 6 - B

How to study for Section III

• Questions – find as much study material as possible (pagingdr and MCAT study material)

• Lecture notes• Text books• Checkpoints for physics (from year 12)• Past CHM 1011 and 1022 exams• Read!!!!!

Prep courses

• Many of them and very expensive• Ask around – some are a lot better than others• Can always buy the books second hand• Not the end of the world if you can’t afford it –

plenty of people do well without them

Final words

• Motivation and attitude is everything

• Start studying from the start of December – sacrifice summer

• Don’t overdo it – last thing you want is to burn out by May.

• All that hard work will make it all the more sweeter when you get your offer