I thought I'd post this excerpt from a Medical School Guide for US students in Trinity which was on studyingmedicine.com (which seems to be down at the moment). It's about the cultural differences in Trinity and the "do it yourself" attitude towards tertiary education in Ireland. It's fairly accurate (and applicable to the other med schools in Ireland as well) and worth a read if you're coming here this October or thinking about it for next year....
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You have to do it yourself. That?s the biggest difference many students notice at Trinity (and in all of Ireland). You can get a fine education, but you have to expend more effort. The fact that you were willing to come to Ireland to pursue your education is a good sign that you are independent, motivated and mature enough to succeed here.
Things have improved in the past 5 years since Trinity began admitting larger groups of North American students, both in the quality of the course and the administration?s awareness of our needs. You will quickly find, however, that life in Ireland has a different pace from life in North America. For example, you won?t have a course schedule or syllabus until classes start (whereas you are probably used to having one two weeks before the semester started back home). Dates of final exams will often be announced as the exams approach, not at the beginning of the year. Don?t push ? people get offended and more walls go up. Be polite and ask questions, and your needs will be met.
You may also find that you are given only as much attention as any ?undergraduate? course at Trinity. Lecturers in the preclinical years are busy and sometimes preoccupied with research. You will feel at times that the courses lack focus and direction, or that you don?t know exactly what you are supposed to be reading. The Irish refer to this lack of attention as ?not being spoon fed?. Call it what you like, but realize you have to take the initiative to get things done. This is not, however, a reason to be discouraged about the quality of medical training here. The other side of this coin is that you will do particularly well in your courses if you put some extra effort into understanding the material and picking up more information than what is given in lecture. To be positive about it, this is good practice for a career that requires lifelong independent learning. Just as with any experience, you will get out of it exactly what you put into it.
Nose to the Grindstone? Do you remember your sophomore year in college? Well, your Irish classmates are experiencing that now. Going straight from high school to medical school means that many students in the Second Medical Year are determined to enjoy college life as well as learn medicine. ?Going for a pint? is as much a part of the accepted medical student routine as any lecture or lab time. Irish students are used to relaxing all year, then cramming (?swotting?) for two weeks before finals, and acing exams that way.
Given their eagerness to enjoy college and their variable study habits, they may be surprised to find out that you were studying on a Tuesday night with no exam for two months. Everyone has their own approach, but the best plan is to do 4-5 hours of work per night, and 5 or 6 hours on Saturday or Sunday, all year long. For most people, this is enough time to keep up with all the lecture material and still have time to take off one night and one weekend day each week to hit the pubs or relax. This approach is much less stressful and more effective than trying to cram eight months worth of anatomy, biochemistry and physiology into the last two weeks in May.
How competitive is the course? Irish universities have a strictly merit-based admissions policy, and medicine is the most desired subject in the country. This means that Irish medical students are typically highly intelligent, and their high school science courses prepare them for medical school in a way that U.S. high schools can only envy. Despite their fine high school background, this is their first college experience. Your distinct advantage over here is that you have already finished a college degree and have learned how to study efficiently. Use it!
Despite the demands on your time, it?s also extremely helpful to join a college club or society to meet people and maintain balance. Don?t sacrifice every bit of your personal life to the Altar of Medicine; you are expected to be a human being as well as a future physician. Those who integrate into life in Ireland have a great time. Those who do not integrate can have a miserable five years. (Don?t take this too far though; you won?t get into a residency by saying, ?At least I had a good time.?)
The year ahead: Trinity College has a reputation for good clinical instruction. From what we have experienced so far, each year seems to be better than the last. Throughout the course, Trinity strongly emphasizes self-directed learning, meaning you are required to do a lot of independent reading without the safety net of a highly detailed syllabus. The medical school also seems to operate on a sort of ?inverse care law? ? those who are the most hapless (1st, 2nd and 3rd Meds), receive the least resources and guidance. However, do not be discouraged. Third Med begins to seem clinically relevant and even enjoyable. By 4th Med you will be treated like (and feel like) medical students rather than undergraduates, and by 5th Med most of us were impressed with the personalized instruction we received. The Final (6th) Medical Year is an excellent system of clinical training, and it will make a qualified, competent physician out of you when you finally get there.
The biggest advantage to studying medicine in Ireland, however, is the Irish people themselves. The Irish medical school environment is much less ?cut-throat? than those you might find in other countries. While there is some personal and national pride at stake when grades come out, cooperation and camaraderie are the norm. During the clinical years, you?ll find that Irish patients love talking to students (sometimes for longer than you would like) and are almost always willing to let you ?practice medicine? on them. This translates into endless opportunities to perfect your skills of history taking and physical examination, which will give you a valuable foundation for your future career.
