Royal College Dublin

[arnath_2000]

I was selected for interview to get into a six year program in Dublin. What are my chances of getting in? What do they ask in the interview? If I get in can I come back and Internship here in US? Please help.

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[kimberlicox]

Originally posted by arnath_2000:
I was selected for interview to get into a six year program in Dublin. What are my chances of getting in? What do they ask in the interview? If I get in can I come back and Internship here in US? Please help.

The Royal College has a long and rich history of training physicians, many of whom are now (or have) practicing in the US.

I cannot answer your questions about the interview process but as a student at the RCPS you would be eligible for an ECFMG certification which would enable you to accept an internship position in the states.

To get ECFMG certification, you are required to have trained at a school listed in the WHO directory of medical schools (which the RCPS is), pass USMLE Steps 1 and 2, the CSA (an OSCE), the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language - yes, even as a native English speaker you must take it), and possess your diploma from the school. Many US residency programs will want to see evidence of having worked in US or Canadian hospitals so I would also advise using some of your final year electives to clerk in the US. See http://www.ecfmg.org for further details on getting into the US residency system.

There are no guarantees mind you - just because you have completed the required steps does not mean that you will automatically be awarded a residency position. This is particularly true in the more competitive specialties. However, with good USMLE scores, letters from US faculty and a degree from the RCPS (which is well known in the US) you will certainly stand a fighting chance.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Stephen Ewen]

You will have more than a fighting chance. You will by some be coveted.

I personally would prefer the RCSI slot to most any slot in the US, because of their curriculum structure, extended time given you to learn medicine, and diverse and international student body. I personally DO NOT feel four years is adequate for many to learn medicine and still remain human on their every level.

In other words, you can tell I like RCSI a lot. Though I do not know you and your particulars, I encorage most to literally leap at a slot if offered it.

 

[turtleboard]

Why is RCSI so great? I've heard good things about the school myself, but I personally would never consider it over a US spot despite the international student body, the more digestable curriculum, and the six years in an area that could put many parts of the US to shame (not New York, of course.

).

Isn't there a five-year program for US students?


Tim W. of N.Y.C.

 

[Stephen Ewen]

I am simply being personal, turtleboard.

And it is much just a simple issue of values.

I personally place greater value, as you said, upon an international student body and a more digestable curriculum, than upon other things--other things that others may just as legitimately value highly where I value them less.

I feel there are valid critiques of the US med edu system in general that find partial remedy in other med edu systems in other parts of the world, Republic of Ireland of course included.

Such critiques are legion. One that comes to mind in no particular order is the sometimes needless specialization that is required in an undergratuade area...at the expense of less time spent studying what will actually be done in the end: medicine.

But this is not to say that the US med edu system in general does not have one up to others in some areas. Of course they do.

It is to say, "Have a look at 'Comparative Medical Education.'"

And yes, there is RCSI 5 yr program, but not just for US students.

 

[arnath_2000]

Thank you very much for 'kimberlicox' and Steven Ewen for your encouraging remarks. I am a high school graduate and I have no idea what is expected of me during the interview. Would you please give me some suggestions. Thank you.

 

[kimberlicox]

While interview formats and questions vary from within and between programs, there are some things you should be prepared for, given the frequency with which they are asked.

Why medicine/why do you want to be a doctor?

Why Ireland/RCSI?

What do you see yourself doing in 10 yrs/after residency?

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Tell me about...(a less than stellar grade/MCAT scores, etc.)

Tell me about yourself (have a 30 sec-1 minute synopsis prepared).

What do you know about our program?

Do you have any questions (make sure you do)?

Some may try to fluster you with ethics/morality questions or "bad cop" interviews. The trick is to read as much as you can about the program and the country before you interview, try not to get upset or flustered (if you don't know an answer simply say so), and have answers to the common questions. I recommend taking a look at www.medschool.com as well as the SDN home page for additional common interview questions.

Best of luck!

 

[Joe Pre-Med]

I find that interesting that you've heard about interviews already in January. I didn't think the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland interviewed until June for fall of 2001. Are you a US high school graduate?

If you are only a high school graduate then you will have to go through the whole six year program as I understand it. If you were a college graduate you could apply for the five year program.

I personally would go to the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland right out of high school. I would put a degree from there on par with a many US medical schools. Would you rather have a MB BCh BAO from there or would you rather have a BS from some random university in the United States? If only I had known. I wouldn't have wasted time with undergraduate studies in the US.

If you are in doubt why don't you call up a couple of residency programs and ask them what they think? They are the final customer right. Don't listen to our uninformed ramblings. There are a ton of MBs from foreign medical schools practicing in the US. I think Poland, Hungary, and the Carribean are all a joke. Ireland is a sold EU country. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in my opinion is the way to go.

 

[futureDOc?!?]

Hey I just saw ur posting....u said u got accepted into royal college dublin...what kind of high school marks did you have? Did you have to go through an interview? If so, what kind of questions did they ask?

 

[arnath_2000]

Originally posted by futureDOc?!?:
Hey I just saw ur posting....u said u got accepted into royal college dublin...what kind of high school marks did you have? Did you have to go through an interview? If so, what kind of questions did they ask?

I am going for an interview in New York. I hope I will be accepted. My high school GPA is 3.9 with AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Calculus, AP Physics and AP English.

 

[futureDOc?!?]

arnath_2000 when did you apply to the schools? was it through the ATLANTIC BRIDGE PROGRAM?
is it possible you could email me with your responses?....it would be great to speak to someone who is actually in the process of going to Ireland...my email address is

[email protected]

Thanks!

Originally posted by arnath_2000:
I am going for an interview in New York. I hope I will be accepted. My high school GPA is 3.9 with AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Calculus, AP Physics and AP English.

 

[gower]

There is some confusion in this thread.

European and European style educational systems are not like the US system. The academic level reached in those systems by those going on to university or medical school is on a separate track from the others. A high school graduate in that system has an education approximately equal to the first two years of an American college. (In the British system, they must pass at least 5 A-level exams to be eligible to start university or medical school).

The Atlantic Bridge program for US students takes US college graduates (BS/BA) who have completed the standard US premed requirements. They exempt the first two of the six years that an Irish/European student would take and so complete to the medical degree in four years. I am not sure (because I don't have the brochure handy) whether they are awarded the MD degree; English medical schools award a Bachelor of Medicine=
US MD)

Graduates from any ANY non-US/non-Canadian medical school have to go through the ECFMG(Educational Council on Foreign Medical Graduates), have their credentials certified and take and pass FOUR exams before US licensure (one more than US/Canadian grads) and, of course, do the standard years of residency training before licensure. Those four exams are the USLME exams which US grads take while going through medical school)+ a hands-on exam not required of US/Canadian grads.

Medical schools in several European nations have been recruiting US college graduates who applied and were not accepted to medical school. US students, who do not have a college degree and US premedical requirements, may also be accepted to those
same schools, but then go through six years of an education.

Thus, it is somehat misleading to believe that you really shorten the time needed to the medical degree. US high school graduates are hardly ever at the level that European high school grads are when they begin medical school. Also, foreign medical graduates usually do not get a first crack at the most sought after residency positions.
Many end up in general practice, psychiatry, etc, not cardio-vascular surgery.

Personally, I think there is nothing to cheer about being accepted to a foreign medical school that bypasses college.
Dublin may be a nice place to spend time in, but there is a down-side as well.

Think about it!

 

[roo]

For Dublin:
-There is a *very small* number of the students who come from America or Canada that are straight out high school that are accepted into Irish medical school. Also, mayhap 1 every few years that is part way through a degree and wants to jump the gun into medicine. The BSc degree is what mostly they have (there is about 17 or so in our class of 180), though some have a Masters also. From what I gather, you pretty well need to be a minor superstar highschool student to get a place from highschool without a degree. For Irish students though it is from high school usually though there is a tiny number that have already done a degree.

-Weedout is Ireland doesn't really occur. The standard is a 4 strike policy, namely: if fail the exam/paper/oral combination for a course, required to take exam again in summer. If fail that, need to repeat year and take the exam. If fail, have to write the summer. I only know of one person that failed all 4 times (and he wanted to be an engineer and his dad wouldn't let him so he promptly failed all his courses so he could do what he wants). I can't offer any advice on what weedout is like in the UK, though some helpful others have given some good descriptions in a similar thread.

-U2 is apparently closing their tour at Moydrum Castle (Unforgettable Fire) on August 25th.

Best wishes,
roo

[This message has been edited by roo (edited 01-28-2001).]

 

[cjw0918]

I have an interview on Feb 12 in NYC with the RCSI. I have an undergrad in occupational therapy and I just completed the pre-med requirements and took the MCAT in Aug. I applied to the 5-year program through the Atlantic Bridge Program. I already have an acceptance in my home state of Texas, and I do not consider the RCSI as a school for Americans who cannot get into US med schools. It has a fantastic curriculum and excellent residency placement in the US, with several graduates securing places at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic. As for heading to med school straight out of high school, I think that is a big mistake. College is a fantastic time of growth and change, and I do not think any 18 year-old is capable of choosing a life-long career without having lived a bit more. Medicine is a huge committment. Go to college and pursue medicine there if you wish, but give yourself a chance to grow a bit- you'll be surprised how much college changes you.
Take care and peace to all...

 

[turtleboard]

How do RCSI students do in the match?

Tim W. of N.Y.C.

 

[cjw0918]

Tim,
In the information that I received from RCSI, it seems that most of their US and Canadian graduates do not go through the Match- they are recruited directly from residency programs before the Match. However, the info goes on to say that North American RCSI graduates are eligible to participate in the Match. It also says that North American RCSI graduates use ERAS to apply to the residency programs.
So, it sounds like securing a US residency is not a problem. What troubles me, however, is shelling out $135,000 MORE for med school. State med schools in Texas are cheap! Take care...

 

[Stephen Ewen]

See some more of why I like RCSI a lot?

(Except, of course,

the price.)

I feel some students are indeed ready for med school at 18. Some, more so after 4 yrs. of undergrad. Some more still are not even after 4 yrs. of undergrad. I will not even venture any percentage guesses in all this.

I myself am and have always been the late blooming type.

But overall, my opinion is that the MB BS to MS to MD system--an Undergraduate to Masters to Doctoral medical education system--is much superior to the one that makes the medical degree a doctoral degree (med school) then a doctoral degree (residency) then sometimes even another doctoral degree (sub specialty, fellowship).

In this later 11+ year long process, too much of some peoples' humanity can tend to get so very, very lost.

I am not so convinced that this issue is as large in those who made their BA or BS an MB BS instead.

At any rate, those around you know you best. If you are 18 and considering an MB BS, you will do very well to ask for their frank input as to whether this is your next best move, and consider carefully what they say.

Best wishes.

[This message has been edited by Stephen Ewen (edited 01-30-2001).]

 

[mojo md]

en Ewen for your encouraging remarks. I am a high school graduate and I have no idea what is expected of me during the interview. Would you please give me some suggestions.
i am a premed student at rcsi and the best advice i can give your for the interview is be your self. The person who gives you the interview has heard every anser in the book . Do not and i mean DO NOT go into the interview coached. They will know!!!!!! And what ever you do remain calm. After my interview i was freaking out (why did i not say this and what was i thinking when i said that?)
But during the interview i tryied my hardest at remaing calm. I freaked out afterwards. Best of luck and be your self!!

 

[arnath_2000]

Hi Everybody, I started thread a few weeks ago and I mentioned that I had applied to RCSI six year program. I am glad to say that I have got accepted. Many thanks to Stehen Ewen and Kimberliclox. Their information of very helpful.

 

[BPK2001]

When did you hear from them? Has anyone else heard from RCSI after the interview?

 

[skelly99]

Still waiting here...

Did you hear by mail or email?

 

[arnath_2000]

I received it by mail today. I received a large package from the Atlantic Bridge Program. They want me to reply and pay the deposit by March 12.

 

[skelly99]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by arnath_2000:
I received it by mail today. I received a large package from the Atlantic Bridge Program. They want me to reply and pay the deposit by March 12.•

How much is the deposit?