Irish Healthcare System?

[Gunny]

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Out of curiosity, what's the healthcare system like in Ireland? As far as I remember it's partly socialised: anyone like to confirm?

Also, is the standard of care better or worse or just plain different over there? I've heard Irish grads do very well over here because they're not as reliant on CTs and Labs etc. to make a diagnosis, i.e. they have excellent clincial skills. Is this just hype?

 

[deleted21609]

Out of curiosity, what's the healthcare system like in Ireland? As far as I remember it's partly socialised: anyone like to confirm?

Also, is the standard of care better or worse or just plain different over there? I've heard Irish grads do very well over here because they're not as reliant on CTs and Labs etc. to make a diagnosis, i.e. they have excellent clincial skills. Is this just hype?

Heathcare is socialized for the old, young, and extremely poor. For most of the population though it's through private insurance. BTW, your teachers don't like you to see their private patients which sucks.

Just hype. Not being exposed to CTs and labs will in no way improve your physical exam skills. The two are completely unrelated. The only result of not getting CTs and labs is that you don't learn to interpret CTs and labs. Most diagnosis is made from the history anyway. Physical exam and labs just confirm. Doc's in the US get more labs partly because they can afford to and partly (esp in ER) to keep the scumbags/lawyers away. I wouldn't think for a second that just because one guy gets a CT that that means he got any less information from his physical exam than another guy who doesn't get a CT.

 

[Sage880]

I started shadowing one of the Interns here in Ireland. After reading stuff on this board, I was expecting to never see things like CT's or other expensive tests.

But I've seen a couple of CT's every day. I guess in America they do one for every patient no matter what? But it wasn't as bad as people made it out to be. I have limited experience here so I guess I'm asking what the real difference in tests are between America and Ireland.

The only thing that I thought was stupid is that doctors here have to spend 20+ min fetching and queuing for anything from the radiology department. Things like that and other stuff seems really ineffecient but besides that, is the lack of tests and CT's really as bad as people are making it out?

 

[r3boot]

I hear ya, interns spend most of their time doing paper work and nagging radiology/ heam/micro for stuff.

 

[13538]

The only thing that I thought was stupid is that doctors here have to spend 20+ min fetching and queuing for anything from the radiology department. Things like that and other stuff seems really ineffecient but besides that, is the lack of tests and CT's really as bad as people are making it out?

Thank god in AMNCH in Tallaght they have the PACS system and all the x-ray films and other imaging studies are all digital and accessible at any of the terminals in the hospital...so there's no fetching 🙂

 

[leorl]

Yeah but not in James's... and then the files go missing. If SJH got PACS like Tallaght, like ...40% of the inefficiency would be cut! But implementing PACS in SJH would take like another 5 years. Still, SJH is the more fun place 🙂.

 

[Sage880]

What I can't believe is how ordering tests work in the hospitals here.

A consultant tells the intern he wants a head CT for a patient. Then the intern goes down to radiography and tells a reg and explains why they need it. Sometimes the reg doesn't want to do it and tells him no. Then the consultant gets all annoyed because he wants it done.

So basically, your job as an intern is to queue for crap and justify tests that consultants order. Oh, and file the blood results and put in IV's. I'm going with an intern on call this week so maybe my opinion will change after that!

 

[leorl]

I think it's like that everywhere. Interns are scutmonkeys, that's it. Welcome to life after med school 🙂.

 

[Sage880]

I think it's like that everywhere. Interns are scutmonkeys, that's it. Welcome to life after med school 🙂.

I've shadowed an intern back home. They work very hard and do lots of scut but not quite the crazy low level of scut.

Here interns spend 90% of their time doing jobs that a porter does back home. At least it seems that way to me after following a guy around for a week. Maybe not enough to get a 100% accurate opinion about what it's like but what I saw was kind of disheartening.