St.Andrews UK vs. NUI Galway Ireland

[futuredoc91]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hello fellow members,

I am an international Canadian applicant and I have been accepted to both the Univ of St.Andrews (3 yrs in st.andrews + 3 in Manchester) and NUI GALWAY (5 yr course) and am grateful for both offers. However, I am currently not sure as to which of the two offers to accept as in St.Andrews the total number of yrs until i officially become a doc would be 8 (6 + 2 foundation yrs) however in Ireland its a total of 6 ( 5 + 1 internship) so in Ireland i would become a doc 2 yrs earlier. And I am planning to continue my residency in USA or Canada after graduating.

Which of the two univ would u advice me on in terms of education, prospect of being accepted in USA or Canada after graduation and is it worth the 2 extra years in the UK as I've heard that a UK degree is better than irish

...the costs overall are similar and I love both cities.

I know this is a long post but I'm in desperate need of help and would appreciate any kind of advice...THANK YOU

 

[Scottish Chap]

Hello fellow members,

I am an international Canadian applicant and I have been accepted to both the Univ of St.Andrews (3 yrs in st.andrews + 3 in Manchester) and NUI GALWAY (5 yr course) and am grateful for both offers. However, I am currently not sure as to which of the two offers to accept as in St.Andrews the total number of yrs until i officially become a doc would be 8 (6 + 2 foundation yrs) however in Ireland its a total of 6 ( 5 + 1 internship) so in Ireland i would become a doc 2 yrs earlier. And I am planning to continue my residency in USA or Canada after graduating.

Which of the two univ would u advice me on in terms of education, prospect of being accepted in USA or Canada after graduation and is it worth the 2 extra years in the UK as I've heard that a UK degree is better than irish

...the costs overall are similar and I love both cities.

I know this is a long post but I'm in desperate need of help and would appreciate any kind of advice...THANK YOU

Firstly, congratulations on TWO offers of admission to medical school! I think if you intend to practice in North America, you are wasting your time doing an internship or foundation years. They are not going to count for much (in the U.S.), and you will start again as in intern. Based on this logic alone, returning to North America after five years in Galway is the fastest and cheapest route.

 

[bambi]

You are a doctor after the 6 years at St Andrews/Manc or 5 years in Ireland! You only have preliminary registration with the GMC until after the 1st foundation year but you are still a doctor!

No idea what it's like in Ireland but I know lots of people from St Andrews and I'm a 3rd year at Manchester so if you have specific questions about St A/Manc I could try and answer them.

 

[Dancinman]

.

 

[futuredoc91]

hey thank you for your replies...

I am a bit confused at the moment...I thought North America will not accept you there unless you have done your full medical degree and foundation years (internships) or that is what i heard 😕...
And isn't residency (USA) the "specialization" part of someone's career? ...based on this logic I do not think USA or Canada would accept someone into residency directly after graduation with minimal or no clinical experiences.

Thanks again for your advice 🙂

 

[Scottish Chap]

hey thank you for your replies...

I am a bit confused at the moment...I thought North America will not accept you there unless you have done your full medical degree and foundation years (internships) or that is what i heard 😕...
And isn't residency (USA) the "specialization" part of someone's career? ...based on this logic I do not think USA or Canada would accept someone into residency directly after graduation with minimal or no clinical experiences.

Thanks again for your advice 🙂

I can speak for the U.S. You will be acceptable to U.S. residency programs with a medical degree from overseas and passage of the USMLE Step 1 and Step 2. An internship is not required. I'm not sure who is advising you that it is but, if you have the time and money to waste, by all means, you should do so. There is no benefit to it if you do not want to stay in the U.K. or Ireland.

 

[alexc]

scottishchap is correct. You apply to residency in the US after you finish and have taken usmle step 1 and 2. No need for internship, only if you want to be certified in europe and think you might want to practice there, then you would need the one year internship in Ireland.

 

[pattycanuck]

foundation yrs) however in Ireland its a total of 6 ( 5 + 1 internship) so in Ireland i would become a doc 2 yrs earlier. And I am planning to continue my residency in USA or Canada after graduating.

Congrats on the two offers! 5 years in Galway - you can transfer back to Ireland after final med - you do not need your intern year. As of late, they've started to cap the number of intern spots due to the European Working Time Directive and cash/budget so as a non-European, you'd be hard pressed to get a position anyway.

BTW, at Queen's University at least there are many more Irish grads than UK grads (I think 8:3) who have been accepted to all programs over the past few years, but the quality of both systems in regard to getting an education is obviously great. There are a number of Irish and UK staff (born and raised as well as C-IMG) in Kingston as well - now I can include me 🙂 .