Ireland or Australia?

[psychoclops]

I gave applied to RCSI and UCD for the 2007 entry (havn't heard anything yet). I am also considering applying to Australia for the 2008 entry. I completed 4 years of udergrad in Canada and I am a Canadian permanent resident. My question is assuming I get accepted into a med school in one of these two countries, in which one do I have a better chance of getting an internship position and later on a job?

 

[pattycanuck]

I gave applied to RCSI and UCD for the 2007 entry (havn't heard anything yet). I am also considering applying to Australia for the 2008 entry. I completed 4 years of udergrad in Canada and I am a Canadian permanent resident. My question is assuming I get accepted into a med school in one of these two countries, in which one do I have a better chance of getting an internship position and later on a job?

Worked in both Ireland and Australia - Ireland for my intern year, Australia for 6/12 in Brisbane doing OBGYN, then back to Ireland doing OBGYN and related locums. Graduated from UCD in Ireland.

It is really hard to predict the status of what we as Canadians who go to either of these countries for training will receive as opportunities 5 years down the road (looks like 6 if you are just thinking about it now). As it stands, when I entered medical school, there were jobs galore (1998) for finishing students. In retrospect, when I graduated medical school in 2003 there were just an equal amount of intern spots to graduating spots for people so everyone got jobs. Every year after that, jobs got harder to come by and individuals from all 5 of the Irish schools who wanted to stay were competing for these intern spots. For allocation issues, some of these schools stuck to the EU law to the letter by indicating that "EU citizens must be sought after to fill these spots before going to a non-EU person".

When I worked in Australia in 2004, it looked like that if you were purely a graduate of an Australian or New Zealand school and wrote the AMC exams in final med, you had equal access to the most sought after jobs in either country (ie Sydney and Melbourne hospitals). I am not sure of the trends prior or after.

Relative double standard.

**The big point here is that 5 years is a long time and the demand for doctors is changing and the system in Ireland is changing relating to manpower (EU working time directive, etc.). So it is truly hard to predict what will be the eventual case.

Coming back direct might be tricky timewise as Australia ends in January and residencies generally start on July 1st.

Hope that helps a bit (but it might not). Jobs/the rest of your PGME timeline are totally different from each other and Canada also - topics all on their own.

PC

 

[applepark]

Wow, Pattycanuck.

Thanks for the great information!!!

 

[psychoclops]

Thanks for the info. Appreciate it 🙂