Residenct Match

[gmacpac]

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I have been told by various people that many Irish grads secure residencies in Institutions like Mayo Clinic/Cleveland Clinic/Harvard.

I have seen some posts confirming the above match profiles.
Just wanted to ask opinions of former grads, and current Irish med students if the above trend is more commonly seen, or are these matches exception to the general student body?
To this day, I have not found any concrete document on residency match profiles for Irish graduates, and unfortunately ABP is not so helpful in the above matter.

lastly, is it just I, or are there other people here who feel that ABP simply ignores their questions, and in some cases give incomplete answers?
I find this rather odd, because should they not be a little courteous considering we are a potential "customer" ? (sorry for using the word "customer".....but the fact is, we are bringing $300 k to their plate, they dont sound as eager as some other offshore schools in following up on their prospective applicants questions/concerns)

Best,
GMACPAC

 

[leorl]

Sorry you've had bad experiences with AB...but remember, they get asked the same sort of questions every day. I'm sure they're tired of it. Especially as there are resources like SDN where if people did a little searching for themselves, they wouldn't have to answer those Qs all the time. I personally haven't contacted them for much, but when I did, they've been more than helpful. And they've replied to my emails in a timely fashion.

As far as the residencies...it's not the norm, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's an exception either. Most people I know who Match do Match to a problem they like. If not their number 1 choice, then one of their other choices. There are two Trinity grads at Cleveland Clinic now, doing IM (they were in the same year, one started the year after the other because he stayed an intern year in Ireland). Others I've talked to seem happy with their matches.

Also, Big names aren't prestigious in all fields. Most people go to strong programs in their chosen fields (ie. Mayo is oriented more for surgery, so you might not necessarily choose to go to Mayo if you want PM&R or peds. But if you wanted PM&R, you might choose Univ. of Washington or something like that).

 

[Mr. McDuck]

I asked a few pretty general questions, and I got good responses to them within a day, usually the same day; however, I also asked these questions a mere couple of days after the applications were made available. So, perhaps now they are too swamped to give detailed answers to individual questions.

 

[Rasmustown]

QUOTE=leorl;4469131] I personally haven't contacted them for much, but when I did, they've been more than helpful. And they've replied to my emails in a timely fashion.

Same here. I'm a big fan of the people at AB. I must have been a pain in the *** for them but they answered every one of my questions/emails promptly. I wouldn't be in medical school right now without them and they got me through a financial aid nightmare.

Unlike the Caribbean schools which, some would say, are businesses first and medical schools second, the Irish schools do not see you as a "potential customer". St. Georges, etc. have marketing departments which spend a lot of time and $$$ compiling lists of electives and residencies which they use to sell their product (medical education) to their customers (mostly Americans). On the other hand, University College Dublin (my school), for example, has approx. 14,000 students but only admits about 20 North American medical students a year, at least half of whom are Canadian. There is no reason for UCD to spend time, money, manpower and other resources compiling such lists for a minute number of American medical students. They do so for Irish students because they are there to educate Irish students....not Americans. If you absolutely need lists of electives and lists of residencies and lists of this and lists of that in order to choose between Ireland and the Caribbean, then the Caribbean may be a better choice for you because you certainly won't get them in Ireland. That is just the reality of the situation. I don't mean to discourage you but, as someone who is in medical school over here, the Irish schools do NOT, I repeat NOT, cater to American students.

If you don't mind some friendly advice.......don't worry about electives and residencies at this stage in the game. Put your efforts into getting accepted first. Irish medical grads are very well received at home. The Irish medical schools have high admission standards. They're not easy to get into. If you're good enough to be admitted to one of them you'll have no problem with elective or residency opportunities. Don't sweat the small stuff right now and good luck with your application.

Amy

 

[pattycanuck]

But why do they have to cater to Americans or anyone else anyway? They are not a feeder system into the American market unlike the ethos of the Carribean schools. Also, they have a rich and glorified medical history pioneering many things in modern western medicine ... 😕

 

[gmacpac]

I retrieve my earlier negative statements about ABP.

One of the Physicians I worked with sent ABP a letter of recommendation in support of my application, and immediatly after I recieved an e-mail from ABP answering some of my questions I had asked them before.

Not bad.....all it needed was initiation of application process from my side.

 

[Rasmustown]

But why do they have to cater to Americans or anyone else anyway? They are not a feeder system into the American market unlike the ethos of the Carribean schools. Also, they have a rich and glorified medical history pioneering many things in modern western medicine ... 😕

EXACTLY. And furthermore, they're NOT "offshore schools". I believe the schools, their students (me included) and their graduates, would be insulted by that misnomer.

Amy

 

[leorl]

now, lets not play into any of the stigma. We recognize that some Carib schools have stigma, but doesn't mean that it's right. Also, IMG in general get some stigma and that's the category we fall into, so can't say it doesn't hurt us either. Some places in the US will not even look at an IMG application and in some fields, they will consider all US applications before ours. So...we're not above this.