clerkship in Irish schools

[canucker]

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Hi, I have a couple of questions regarding clerkship in Ireland:

As I understand it, the last two years (5 and 6) are clerkship years. How is it set up, ie. are all the core rotations done first and then electives? How much time can be spent doing elective rotations? Can they only be done during the summers?

Also, in regards to Step 2: I remember reading previous threads that stated that material tested on Step 2 wasn't covered until the final year and that it would be better to write the test after graduation; otherwise students could study it on their own and write it beforehand. Is this what most students who write Step 2 do? I'd imagine it would be tougher to go the latter route but it would save a year. Thanks in advance.

Cheers, canucker

 

[leorl]

Actually, at Trinity anyway, the "electives" come first in 4th year, then the cores are done in 5th year. 6th year is an examination year, and although possibly attached to rotations, most of the time is spent just practicing for exams, taking patients from any ward/department. If you're an Irish student, most do them the summers of 4th and 5th year. Some people have gotten away with skipping some of the Irish rotations assigned and doing electives in the US, but that isn't an approved thing to do...
Some north american students also have been able to set up clerkships in summers of 2nd/3rd year, but they would not necessarily count as electives.

That's probably correct regarding Step 2. It depends what clinical things you've achieved during 5th year, which can be determined by the 5th year schedule you happen to be assigned. Some students take it summer of 5th year, some wait until after graduation.