Studying in Ireland or Northern Ireland

[Marike]

Hello everyone,

I'm a german medical student. I've done two years of studying in Germany. I would like to move to Ireland or Northern Ireland to do the rest of my study over there, because I would like to work in Ireland as a doctor later on.
Unfortunately I don't know too much about the study in your country.
- How many years is it? In Germany we have to do about six years.
- What about the tuition fees? Do they depend on the university? Could you give an example?
- Could you suggest an university?
- Do you have to do final exams at the end or do you have to do exams at the end of every term?
- When you have finished studies, do you have to specialise? How many years is it?

Okay, this have been enough questions
I would be happy to get some of them answered. Thanks a lot!

Marike

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[Fender]

I'm a german medical student. I've done two years of studying in Germany. I would like to move to Ireland or Northern Ireland to do the rest of my study over there, because I would like to work in Ireland as a doctor later on.
Unfortunately I don't know too much about the study in your country.
- How many years is it? In Germany we have to do about six years.
- What about the tuition fees? Do they depend on the university? Could you give an example?
- Could you suggest an university?
- Do you have to do final exams at the end or do you have to do exams at the end of every term?
- When you have finished studies, do you have to specialise? How many years is it?

Okay, this have been enough questions
I would be happy to get some of them answered. Thanks a lot!

I'll just say a few things about the Irish colleges.
1. Most are five yrs except ucd which can be either based on grades.
2. Tuition fees in the Republic are free if you are a citizen of the E.U living in the e.U for the last 3 years.However you have to pay 750 euro plus your student concil fees which are about 65 euro. In N.I you have to pay but it is means tested and I think there is a cap on it at about 2000 pounds sterling.
3 Any of them depends on what you're looking for. Historic and Internationally Recognised Trinity or Queens in Belfast. Ucd, UCG and UCC are also very good however they don't have the prestige of the other two. If you want a truely international expieriance with prestige chose RCSI - few Irish and you get an awarding from the Royal Collages . i.e a few extra initials after the course.
4. Depends on collage to collage.
5. You dont have to but most do.

 

[dr strangelove]

Any of them depends on what you're looking for. Historic and Internationally Recognised Trinity or Queens in Belfast. Ucd, UCG and UCC are also very good however they don't have the prestige of the other two. If you want a truely international expieriance with prestige chose RCSI - few Irish and you get an awarding from the Royal Collages . i.e a few extra initials after the course.

For historic reasons, Trinity is of course considered the Oxbridge of Ireland. Queens being ranked as more prestigious than UCD (by anyone outside of NI) for example is news to me however. QUB was founded at exactly the same time as NUIG and UCC as part of the Queen's University of Ireland; they were in effect sister colleges.

 

[dirtymac42]

Hello everyone,

I'm a german medical student. I've done two years of studying in Germany. I would like to move to Ireland or Northern Ireland to do the rest of my study over there, because I would like to work in Ireland as a doctor later on.
Unfortunately I don't know too much about the study in your country.
- How many years is it? In Germany we have to do about six years.
- What about the tuition fees? Do they depend on the university? Could you give an example?
- Could you suggest an university?
- Do you have to do final exams at the end or do you have to do exams at the end of every term?
- When you have finished studies, do you have to specialise? How many years is it?

Okay, this have been enough questions
I would be happy to get some of them answered. Thanks a lot!

Marike

To be honest with you, unless you are just DYING to transfer, i would stick it out in germany and complete your degree and then try to move to Ireland. I'm not even sure who you would contact about this. But try surfing to the following schools websites and emailing admissions about transferring:
www.ucd.ie
www.rcsi.ie
www.ucc.ie
www.nuig.ie
www.tcd.ie
www.qub.ie

Also, i am unsure that since you've done 2 years in Germany whether you'll be able to avail of the free fees scheme in the Republic of Ireland. This is an interesting question, let us know what you find out!


As far as postgraduate training:

The system is somewhat different in Ireland than in Germany, i am familiar with both.

In Ireland, the training system goes like this:
After your medical years (6 years total after high school),
1) do 1 year as an intern
2) do at least 2 years as an SHO (doing basic medical or surgical training)
3) do 1 year as a research registrar* (maybe longer, maybe not at all depending on the field you want to work in)
4) do a few years as a specialist registrar
5) you're done... (you may need to wait for a consultancy post tho!)

Depending on the program, this whole process can take anywhere from 4 years (for general practice) to 12+ years (for orthopaedic surgery).

Ze germans are starting to invade ireland because of good doctors' wages, just remember, the cost of living in Dublin is VERY high. (no such thing as a €3 bottle of wine!)

 

[Fender]

Stanley's lovechild aka Dr Strangelove. Just read my comment then read yours , wait wait click- you got your mistake. Just take the time to read before you go off on a rant .

I said for prestige go to RCSI, you know they do have that chartery thingy with the extra letters after the name and all that that entails.
I said for an historic or internationally recognised college go to trinity or queens.

Hmmmmmm Queens and Trinity are the most famous and historic colleges each being on a different side of the border. A little hint he asked for info on Northern Ireland as well , and however much you may disagree with it but Queens is definately more well known around the world than U.C.D Dublin which had to change its name because of continually being mistake for other universities.

 

[dr strangelove]

Stanley's lovechild.

I don't get what you mean by this.

Just take the time to read before you go off on a rant.

I did take the time to read. If you notice I picked a specific part of your message. I was expressing my opinion. Please indicate where my use of language would give the impression of ranting.

I said for prestige go to RCSI, you know they do have that chartery thingy with the extra letters after the name and all that that entails.
I said for an historic or internationally recognised college go to trinity or queens.

What extra letters? Are you referring to the licentiate by any chance? If so this is simply a relic from the time when RCSI did not have the power to grant degrees. If you're looking for prestige forget about RCSI; just go to TCD period.

Hmmmmmm Queens and Trinity are the most famous and historic colleges each being on a different side of the border. A little hint he asked for info on Northern Ireland as well , and however much you may disagree with it but Queens is definately more well known around the world than U.C.D Dublin which had to change its name because of continually being mistake for other universities.

A little hint; I'm aware of that, hence why I mentioned NI in my reply. Did you read my post thoroughly? UCD is a member of Universitas 21, while AFAIK QUB isn't even in the Russell Group. It's rather strange that a world renowned university isn't even in the premiere association of British universities. What international research groups is it a member of?

UCD counts among its alumni: 4 (of 8) Irish Presidents: 5/6? (of 10) Irish Taoiseachs - including the current one, a President of India, James Joyce & Peter Sutherland. That's just who I can name off the top of my head. I guess we agree to disagree though.

About the UCD Dublin thing: it's ridiculous; a classic example of redundant acronym syndrome. There were many reasons given for changing it though; name confusion was low down on the list as to why. I think it's a stupid change myself.

 

[dirtymac42]

Enough of this which school is better business.

Here's my take on why you SHOULDN'T go to each school.

1. Trinit-ay. Too protestant. Oh, and full of cocks.
2. RCSI. Too expensive. Too small.
3. Galway. Too culchie.
4. Queen's. Belfast. 'Nuff said.
5. UCD. Too big. Full of cocks.
6. UCC. Too drunk.

 

[RRT2MD]

Enough of this which school is better business.

Here's my take on why you SHOULDN'T go to each school.

1. Trinit-ay. Too protestant. Oh, and full of cocks.
2. RCSI. Too expensive. Too small.
3. Galway. Too culchie.
4. Queen's. Belfast. 'Nuff said.
5. UCD. Too big. Full of cocks.
6. UCC. Too drunk.

Hey dirtymac42:

Sorry I'm just a mut New Englander. What is "culchie"?

If your arm was twisted would you recomend any of the 6?

Thnx.

 

[dr strangelove]

Enough of this which school is better business.

Here's my take on why you SHOULDN'T go to each school.

1. Trinit-ay. Too protestant. Oh, and full of cocks.
2. RCSI. Too expensive. Too small.
3. Galway. Too culchie.
4. Queen's. Belfast. 'Nuff said.
5. UCD. Too big. Full of cocks.
6. UCC. Too drunk.

Sorry, I have to disagree. 'Too drunk' should be applied to all the schools, not just UCC. Add ' too foreign' to RCSI. Drop 'Full of cocks' from TCD and UCD; seriously, they're not that bad.

RRT2MD, a culchie is someone from the country, as opposed to a townie, who are from the city. Some Dubliners take this to extremes though and view anyone not from Dublin as a culchie, Dublin being the only real city in Ireland in their eyes. Having a lot of culchies is not a bad thing, being one myself. We bring a certain rough and tumble attitude to the medical schools due to our agrarian upbringing.

 

[mconnell]

Hey dirtymac42:

If your arm was twisted would you recomend any of the 6?

Thnx.

I am from the US and was wondering if the money was worth me moving my family to Ireland for med school. I know that RCSI is very expensive but what about the rest of them? What about cost of living for an American?
Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

[RRT2MD]

I am from the US and was wondering if the money was worth me moving my family to Ireland for med school. I know that RCSI is very expensive but what about the rest of them? What about cost of living for an American?
Thanks for any info you can provide!

mconnell:

This is a great thred to start.

There are numerous students attending as well as past graduates who could fill us in on this topic.

RRT

 

[dirtymac42]

Sorry, I have to disagree.

I would refute this but it's a joke, explanation ruins it.

Perhaps i would add to UCC: too jealous of Dublin.

 

[dirtymac42]

Ok well. Obviously i'm biased because I go to RCSI. But, if you are from an urban North American area (and you like that), then i'd recommend a Dublin school. If not, then pick Cork or Galway. Both are fun fun places (much more than Belfast, it's like a ghost town there at night). Galway is somewhat smaller than Cork so just depends on you.

So now, i'm down to trinity, ucd and rcsi.

Trinity is nice because it's centrally located so commuting is easy (most buses go there). It's also big in comparison to its neighbour down the street, RCSI. That means that student activities will be more organised generally. But, the student population is definitely much younger than RCSI although both places have quite a few foreign students (whether doing a whole degree or just junior year abroad, "Erasmus").

So, if u have a family of your own, you might feel a bit more out of place in Trinity. I'm 26 and it strikes me as a very young campus compared to RCSI. UCD would have a similar profile but with a much more Irish make up -- in general -- than either of the two other schools.

Now, UCD and RCSI both have a large group of malaysians in the pre-clinical years (1,2). So that adds to the international aspect. And certainly RCSI would have the most int'l class make-up and likely the most mature as well.

From the clinical side, UCD is affliated with Vincents hospital and the Mater (cardio surgery) hospital. Both BIG BIG hospitals where you can potentially learn a lot from a wide range of patients. Also, the Mater is likely to be the site for the new Paediatrics superhospital for Ireland.

RCSI is affliated with Beaumont Hospital which is a big surgical hospital (neurosurgery and the only renal transplant doctor in the country) and with Blanchardstown, a smaller but state-of-the-art community hospital.

Trin is assoc'd with James' Hospital with a very busy A&E and a wide variety of patients from the south central dublin area and with Tallaght Hospital. Again, trinity wins from the commuting aspect because both these hospitals are on the light rail (Luas) line.


Don't know if that was the info you were looking for....


Oh, cost of living: pricey!

Rents are lower compared to NYC and about the same as Toronto.
Check www.daft.ie for some info. But, prices to buy homes are just about inattainable with an average semi-detached house near the city not going for much less than 1 million US$.

Food is very pricey. Although you can get many of the things that we take for granted in NAmerica, you'll pay for them!

Phone calls are also quite expensive. No such thing as "unlimited evening and weekend" calls for your cell phone.

Airfare to NY, Boston, Philly is reasonable as it is to the rest of Europe.

Ok, i've got a headache... enuf for now....