Dream comes true for student

Medicine

Mount Gambier's McCusker family won't have to wait too long to welcome another medical doctor into the fold.

In a perfect case of like father, like son, Robert McCusker is following in his father Dr Barney McCusker's footsteps by studying Medicine at the University of Adelaide. And the rural community of Mount Gambier will no doubt be hoping that on completion of his studies, Robert will return home to practise, where Dr McCusker is now a highly respected orthopaedic surgeon.

For Robert, this is a dream come true. On receiving his offer from the university's Medical School, the Mount Gambier High School graduate said he always wanted to study medicine and practise in the country.

"My first reaction was one of disbelief. After completing the admissions process and seeing all the exceptionally smart kids applying, I had my doubts," he said. "I'm extremely excited and I cannot wait to get started."

Robert will be joined in Adelaide by twin brother Doug, who will be undertaking a Bachelor of Design Studies.
In doing Year 12 over two years, Robert achieved a Tertiary Entrance Ranking (TER) of 98.7. He was among the growing number of the nation's top students who applied to study medicine in Adelaide. This year, the Medical School attracted applications from a record 2038 school leavers from across Australia.

"Our national program is highly regarded and this is evidenced by the increasing number of applications from across the country each year," said Professor Derek Frewin, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Of those who received first-round offers, 10 had perfect scores while the overall average TER was 99. Medicine remains a popular profession among females, who occupied 60% of the applicant pool.

Story by Howard Salkow