Hi, I just wanted to hear where anyone going to UCC this September is from? Anybody from BC? Thanks!
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If you're interested I was at UCC from 2003-2008 and can answer general questions about Cork city, accommodation and the med school. Cheers,
M
PS: When you get there, go to the Tourism office and get the city map - it will make your life infinitely easier.
M
PS: When you get there, go to the Tourism office and get the city map - it will make your life infinitely easier.
I'm currently finishing up 1st year, so if you have any questions you can ask me as well.
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The only people who do the old 6 year course are some of the IMG students from Malaysia and the middle east who have government sponsored spots. Some of them don't have a higher qualification UCC wants so the do a sort of premedical year that used to be required of all the direct entry high school students. Now only a few IMG's do that year. The Irish high school leavers and most of the Malaysian and Middle Eastern students do the 5 year program, the graduate entry students and the North Americans do the 4 year program.
Cheers,
M
Thank you both for your responses.
Med2UCC, aren't North Americans also eligible for the 5 year course? What are the basic requirements for the this course as opposed to the graduate one? I seem to stumble upon the requirements for the 4 years but never really anything for the five.
Thanks for clarifying the details of the 6 year course; the site was confusing!
Thank you! I was wondering what you would recommend for accomodation for first year GEP? Do most people rent their own place? Also, just generally how your time there was? Thank you so much again for all your help!
It depends on what your preferences are. The majority of my North American classmates lived in the same post-graduate housing complex called Sheares Gate. They're pretty nice but they're not cheap, and you will have to live with 3 other people, usually other members of your class but you may live with upper years or Dentistry students as well. Also, they're not close to the city centre whatsoever and it's about a 40 minute walk to get there. They are pretty close to campus, and you can get to Brookfield (which is the Health Sciences building where you'll spend most of your time) in 5-10 minutes walking. Most of my classmates who lived there this year are bailing and finding houses for next year, as you're paying a lot for what you get (ie: no control over roommate selection, forced to live with 3 other people, far from town/restaurants/pubs/clubs/anything good).
Another option is Dennehy's Cross, which is also a post-graduate apartment complex. Personally, I think it's nicer than Sheares Gate, you will live with either 1 or 2 other roommates and it's about the same distance or shorter to Brookfield. Another handy thing is that it's located above a Tesco Express (Tesco is the major grocery store), so you can get a whole bunch of your groceries without going 10 feet from your apartment, and if there's anything the Tesco Express doesn't have, it's not a far walk to the big Tesco store or Cork University Hospital (where you will also be spending a significant amount of time). Cost to live at Dennehy's Cross works out to be about 500 euro a month on a 12 month lease, while Sheares is about 550 a month.
Option C is to find a house/apartment. This can get tricky since you likely won't know anyone to live with, leaving you to find a place on your own. I'm currently living on my own in the city centre, and it's definitely not cheap. A 2 bedroom apartment in the centre will run around 700-900 euro a month, excluding electricity (water is free...for now). However, it's really handy having everything around you, grocery stores are close, the market is a 5 minute walk, pubs are everywhere, you don't have to take a taxi home after a night out. The walk to campus is the only thing that's a pain, it's about 25 minutes walking fast, uphill, to Brookfield from my apartment, nearly an hour to the Cork University Hospital.
Personally if you know people coming with you, or someone who's already here, find a place in between campus and the city centre. It'll be cheaper and you'll know who you're living with. Option B is a toss-up between Dennehy's Cross and Sheares Gate. None of my North American classmates lived in Dennehy's Cross this year, just a few Irish but I will be moving there for next year, and there will be a couple more North Americans there as well. So if you want to live with people who have the same accent as you, go to Sheares Gate, if you don't have a preference, go to Dennehy's Cross.
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If you still decide to go with UCC, the best advice I can give you in terms of housing is to go on daft.ie. Lots of places pop up but they also are taken pretty fast if they're that good. There are LOTS of places that are available throughout the city but you just need to find a place that suits you best. I'd be cautious of signing a lease without ever seeing the place first. Photographs can be pretty deceptive and Irish buildings are not built quite like sturdy soundproof Canadian buildings (you can't tell this by the pictures). You can PM or message me if you have any questions, you probably have time just think things through before rushing into anything.
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I've found that the quality of the education has varied depending on the subject. Physiology has been rather irritating in that it has been TOO in-depth on details that really have no relevance to us as future practitioners. Pathology has left something to be desired, as it felt really disjointed and nobody knew what was expected of us. Every lecture seemed to be taught by a different doctor who had no idea how much detail we needed to know, or what level we were at already. We finally got a textbook made for us with EVERYTHING we're expected to know, no surprises now so that's nice. Biochemistry has been pretty good. Anatomy lectures are rather useless, depending on who is teaching. One professor is quite good, while the other knows absolutely nothing and is lost without her powerpoint presentation...evidenced by when the computer shut down and she just stopped talking and didn't know what to do.
That's worrying because I was accepted there and looked forward to probably attending. If you don't mind me asking how many people from UCC went unmatched this year... out of the total? And was this worse or similar to the other irish schools? I read on another thread that UCC had only one unmatched person last year for North America.
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You have to be a little cautious because some people don't attempt the Canadian match because they know they don't have a shot (you'll have an idea when the time comes)...but you never say that to people. This year I don't know the total number who attempted the match, I just know there are unmatched individuals and I probably shouldn't say more than this. Anyway I don't want you to deter you from going to UCC, just understand that Canadian schools don't hold foreign MBBS on the same caliber as a US or Canadian MD. The Irish schools are sort of perceived as the school for Canadians as the Carribeans are for US med school rejects. There are a handful of people in Canada that may understand we are competent, but the vast majority don't and I hope that perception will change with time. A few doctors back home discouraged me from attending and told me it was more worthwhile reapplying to Canadian schools...the problem is I think they are being a little too optimistic and I may not get in to Canada anytime soon. Anyway, you have a lot of time before classes begin, take your time before you wire in that money because once its sent you can't get it back.
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There are some things to consider regarding this. You don't know what level of competency these people had, and therefore it may not be due to UCC whether they matched or not, as obviously the majority of the class did match. Also, the Graduate Program at UCC is only finishing it's 3rd year and thus hasn't put any of it's students through the match yet, so whether that will make any difference is impossible to tell as of now.
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Thanks for this post, really helpful actually. As you said, these two places are generally for post-grads. Would they consider a student with an undergrad degree who is entering the GEP med program as eligible for residence here? I'd prefer to stay in residence, but would rather be grouped with a higher concentration of people from my program than a wide mix of undergrad kids in general.
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Also, question for anyone, esp those starting at UCC this september. Have the dates for the following been set?
-registration (is it online, or in person, and when?)
-orientation (is this a general info session, a "frosh"-like event, or something else?)
-commencement of classes
Gotta plan my travel details soon, and any/all of this info is crucial. Emailed the UCC student coordinator buy she hasn't gotten back to me yet.
Cheers!
-registration (is it online, or in person, and when?)
-orientation (is this a general info session, a "frosh"-like event, or something else?)
-commencement of classes
Gotta plan my travel details soon, and any/all of this info is crucial. Emailed the UCC student coordinator buy she hasn't gotten back to me yet.
Cheers!
Yes you are eligible to live there if you are entering the GEP, and many North Americans do live there. Generally the people living in Sheares Gate or Dennehy's Cross are doing the GEP Medicine, Dentistry, or doing other post-graduate programs so you won't have to worry about the absolute messiness associated with undergrads...which you will see very quickly when you get here.
Registration (for myself this past year anyway) occurred on a Thursday before classes started on the following Monday. I'll assume that the starting date will be similar to what mine was so plan on having Registration/Orientation on the 18th and 19th of August. The Thursday involved only the North Americans, so we registered and just met everyone. The Friday we merged with the Irish and had a tour while they did their registration. After lunch we had a presentation by the faculty and some members of the 2nd year GEP. Then we had a wine and cheese thing with the faculty, then that night we all went out drinking for the first time...if your class is anything like ours is, prepare for a lot of parties!
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I have to jump in here...
I graduated from UCC in 2010 and am currently in a Family Medicine residency program in Saskatchewan (great program; first choice). I will readily acknowledge that my Irish education was different but I would be very cautious in labeling it "sub-par" to Canadian medical education. I have consistently felt myself to be well-prepared through my first year of residency and to be well "up-to-par" with my Canadian grad fellow residents. The sole exception is the deficit Irish grads come with in terms of hands-on management experience but this is a well-known deficit that reflects the very different nature of clinical training here versus there. Like everyone, I mad up that deficit staedily on the wards within 3-5 months and feel zero gap now. Ireland prepared me VERY well for general Hx and Exam which continue to be the core of my practice. And I have a very thorough knowledge base upon which I add my clinical/management experience as I develop it.
I wasn't "taught" particularly well in Ireland in terms of the systematic and organized clinical curriculum that Canadian schools provide. I was, however, taught brilliantly by many individual clinicians who I sought out and emulated in Ireland. And in the end, I was examined until I was purple, which seems not to be the case in Canadian clinical years. For my final two years, I read like crazy, always alert to the potential grilling I'd get from Irish consultants-- well-meaning but rigorous and directed. I felt that I always needed to be on my game, to have common-sense and well-thought-out responses to a full range of potential questions (ranging from pathophys to management et al). And then I had to learn everything countless times, final exams notwithstanding. And those finals (!). To be examined so rigorously at the end to earn your degree-- something like a dozen finals with all the 3 hour writtens and all the clinics. Makes final year (or even final 2 years) in Canada look like a picnic. In the end, I taught myself most things, punctuated by some terrific individual clinical teaching-- generally because of the background pressure and expectation that was always there. But I learned it nonetheless so who cares how... In the end, I'm "up-to-par."
And one more point on the IMG/Irish degree. Maybe it's different in the privileged east and west but I feel very well-received here and expectations/perceptions on my Irish degree seem at least as high or higher than what I think would be expected from average Canadian grads. And remember that so many attendings are IMGs or Europe-trained themselves and look favorably on Irish/UK training. I can easily recognize an Irish/UK style in clinical practice and I see it as a valuable difference. There isn't a day that goes by when I don't reflect on some small aspect of my Irish training that is (oddly) but constructively different. I, for one, have no regrets in my choices.
The match IS getting tougher for IMGs, though and nothing is secure. The numbers continue to be brutal (900+ applicants for the 10 or so FM spots here in Regina, for example) so plan early, do your homework, do electives in your potential destination program etc.
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Thanks again, asd979 for your help! Just wanted to clarify.... I think you meant September 18-19th (as opposed to August), i hope? Most of the start dates that I saw for courses at UCC were September, which I hope it is as I want my summer to stretch as long as possible!
Also, another question for anyone who might have some insight on this.... A lot of people are talking about difficulty in matching, either back through canada or the US. Does anybody know whether Irish, and specifically UCC, medical grads are generally (1) scoring lower on the MCCEE or USMLE's? In which case they feel that the Irish curriculum is not as oriented towards these exams as North American schools... Or is it rather that they are (2) finding trouble when matching for residency spots that a degree/background from an Irish school is the stumbling point vs. a North American MD program, even when they have comparable exam scores to a North American graduate.
I'm seeing a lot of mindless banter on some of the other boards, but I think the issue just whittles down to these 2 things. I'm not even sure if anyone would have any insights or experience with this question, but if you do, please share!
Cheers
It wasn't a typo, sorry to burst your bubble. You will be starting in August so start preparing for a shorter summer. You can't go by what the other courses are at UCC, most other degrees start near the end of September, get an entire month off to study for exams (I wish) and are done by the end of May. The libraries have been graveyards for over a week now.
The Irish curriculum isn't really geared to the USMLE, a lot of the topics are covered but sometimes nowhere near the level required for the exam. My classmate lives with 3 other guys who wrote the USMLE this past year and scored well but they put a significant amount of time into it, as you should. Unfortunately some residency programs just aren't going to accept an IMG, and that's just their policy. You may have better scores but it won't matter. Other programs you won't be first choice because of being an IMG. And finally some programs won't care as long as you have the scores among other things.
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Hi there, I'm from Virginia and will be starting at UCC in September! I'm very excited about it! I have been looking in to single apartments as wellas Sheare's Gate and other similar ones, and it seems to me that the single apartments really aren't that much more expensive.
I'd definitely recommend getting an apartment if that's what you want. The only issue is that it's difficult securing a place without actually seeing it in person, and things often don't look as good once you actually get to see it in person. My advice is to arrive a week or more in advance so you can get over the jet lag and not be under tons of pressure to find a place. I made the mistake of arriving only 2 days before orientation and finding a place in that time while trying to deal with jet lag was a nightmare.
Thanks for all the helpful posts guys. I was also wondering if the people that attend UCC are mostly white or are there minorities as well? For example would an asian/brown/black etc person fit in or would it be difficult. I can't imagine the students would be negative but what about the attitude around the city?
There are some minorities at UCC, though most of the ones you see will be in your program. The vast majority of UCC students are white Irish, though the Health Sciences building is segregated from the main campus and thus you will have minimal interaction with them.
There are asians and brown people in my class and they don't seem to have too much issue. However, immigrants have only begun arriving in Ireland relatively recently compared to Canada/US, and thus there is a racist element still around. For the most part it is hidden and you don't see it, but classmates of mine have said that kids have yelled things at them because they were asian. But people are generally accepting for the most part.
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Kids yell things at people everywhere. I'm white, and I have been called racist names in Canada. When I lived in Halifax a bunch of black kids hanging out of a window called me a wooley pig
I laughed.
That being said, about 1/2 the class was non-white when I was a UCC and no one seemed to have any trouble because of colour. About 1/4 of the class was Malaysian, but there were also black, Middle Eastern and Indian people. Cork City is predominantly white and Irish, but there are some people of other origins working there, a lot in the health care field but also in other businesses, and people in general seemed pretty accepting. I got asked what part of America I was from a lot, but no one seemed to think I should go back from whence I came (and they generally apologised when I politely pointed out I was from the part that's called Canada). Cheers,
M
I laughed.That being said, about 1/2 the class was non-white when I was a UCC and no one seemed to have any trouble because of colour. About 1/4 of the class was Malaysian, but there were also black, Middle Eastern and Indian people. Cork City is predominantly white and Irish, but there are some people of other origins working there, a lot in the health care field but also in other businesses, and people in general seemed pretty accepting. I got asked what part of America I was from a lot, but no one seemed to think I should go back from whence I came (and they generally apologised when I politely pointed out I was from the part that's called Canada). Cheers,
M
Don't get me wrong, most people in Cork are just fine but there is a bit of the racism still there. But minorities shouldn't have any problem, provided they don't have any "knacker" run-ins. Come to think of it, it doesn't matter what ethnicity you are when you run into the knackers.
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A traveller...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Traveller
Usually living in caravans on the side of the road. Just dont call them knackers to their face!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Traveller
Usually living in caravans on the side of the road. Just dont call them knackers to their face!
There's a difference between the knackers and the travellers. The travellers are essentially gypsies, and are also known as the pikeys in England. Just watch Snatch, Brad Pitt is a Pikey/Irish Traveller.
Knackers are the Irish equivalent of the English chavs. They all wear full tracksuits everyday, have stupid buzzed haircuts (sometimes with mullets), fake diamond studs in their ears, fake chains, and generally just cause trouble. Drinking in the street in the middle of the day, being rowdy, stuff like that.
Knackers are the Irish equivalent of the English chavs. They all wear full tracksuits everyday, have stupid buzzed haircuts (sometimes with mullets), fake diamond studs in their ears, fake chains, and generally just cause trouble. Drinking in the street in the middle of the day, being rowdy, stuff like that.
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No, thats skanger. Knacker is an Irish traveller. Big difference. You're obviously using the terms the wrong way, raciest as they are.
Oh they're definitely racist. Unless terms are different here in Cork or I've been misinformed by my Irish friends. I've never heard of skanger being used in Cork though.
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Haha yeah those Cork folks are always trying to be different! Mad, I thought skanger was an all-over-Ireland type of thing. You learn something new everyday
Hello. I've finally been able to look into the details a bit more and was just wondering if you could tell me a bit about what the professors/lecturers are like, the labs, tutorials, etc. My parents went to medical school in Ireland and told me that the lecturers can be pretty harsh at times. Do they like to put you on the spot? Also, what was your first year timetable like? Was it generally 9 to 5 or were some days shorter? Sorry for the huge list of questions but any advice you can give me I truly appreciate it! Thanks!
The professors for the basic sciences, except pathology, weren't doctors so they rarely put you on the spot. I found the teaching here to be hit or miss, some were good, some were absolutely awful. You'll learn very quickly which ones are poor and which lectures are not worth attending. Pathology was very poor this year, with lectures being cancelled, the lecturing doctors being the most anti-social awkward people to listen to. I found many of the consultants to be rude and generally unhelpful. Some were great, though there were some where I would rather put an ice pick through my skull than to have them teach me.
Timetable wise, everyday was different. Some days were long, others were extremely short which was annoying because in the last term the lectures were very much end-loaded while the beginning was very light. They can easily fill up all the empty slots in the timetable and let us have a longer summer.
Well there were only 50 students so large isn't quite the right word. But that is generally the idea. We did have some lectures and case studies in the hospital itself, but actually seeing patients in the hospital only occurred twice all year for me. In second year, we are in the hospital every friday, then starting in January we begin our rotations.
I'm also hearing word that you GEM1's are beginning later this year. Lucky, I certainly could have done with an extra week or two at home last August. Also, I believe your class size has been increased to 70, with none of the 20 being Irish students. Massive cash grab by UCC there, and it's only to the detriment of the students. Anatomy Lab for you guys is going to be an absolute mess, since there are the same number of instructors for 20 more students. It was barely functional with the 50 in my class.
Luckily we don't start until the 29th this time around, so we get two full months off. No worries, I think if I didn't take breaks to post here I would have gone insane. Word of warning, this week of exams I just finished was by far the worst experience of my life. It doesn't matter how far in advance you start studying, since when you get bombarded with an exam day after day after day, you start to forget stuff you've studied. Also since there's no gap between exams, you just can't get through all the material in time, which would be fine if they didn't ask extremely specific questions on an end of year exam. But it's over now, I'm chilling out, waiting to go home in 3 days and enjoying a summer in actual sun and heat.
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That's an really long school year August to end of June
. The UCD schedule I got was beg September to third week of May. I hope it's not going to be more stressful than UCC since we have the same material (I assume) in less amount of time...That's an really long school year August to end of June
Tell me about it. Watching the direct entry students party in mid-May when they finished was pretty painful, and it's only going to be more of the same next year. It's only in 3rd year that we finish at the end of May.
Damn
I agree - I don't see Anatomy dissecting room (or others) being able to cope adequately with a 40% increase in class size.
Not to mention the administrative nightmare that's going to cause. Phew!
My class rep spoke to the Anatomy coordinator so this is where this information is coming from. There is little money in the Anatomy department, and thus they can't afford to have more people teaching. Also, there is limited dissecting room time and thus it is highly unlikely that there will be two sections. You guys are really getting the short end of the stick. I guess my class lucked out before UCC went for the cash grab. The anatomy coordinator (his name is Dr. O'Keefe, fantastic professor by the way) is concerned about how this is going to work out, since he recognizes the way the Anatomy Lab is taught is not the best, even without the additional 20 students coming in. It really was a mess this year, really not happy about it since I took Anatomy before coming to medical school and the way they teach it sucks. 5 people crowding around a body while the TA goes through every structure for that week rapid-fire in twenty minutes. 2 minutes in you're already lost. You need to actually find things yourself to learn it, which doesn't happen here unfortunately.
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