Which is the best irish medical school

[kim222]

Hello!

Was just wondering if anyone could give an idea of which medical school in Ireland is tops. As in reputation wise, quality of teaching ,quality of doctors that graduate ,career prospects and general quality of student life in the school. Or perhaps simply which med school has the most highly coveted places.

Would greatly appreciate any feedback from past or current students of irish med schools

Thanks!

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[Kaptain Krunch]

They're effectively the same quality wise. In terms of reputation, Trinity and RCSI are the best. This is because they are located in Dublin and obviously will be the best known. UCD is also in Dublin but doesn't have the same international reputation. UCC and UCG are both very good universities. Cork has an advantage in that its hospitals carry out more different types of procedure than Galway.

In summary
RCSI/Trinity=Good reputation+High living expenses+Good Hospitals+Higher entry requirements than other Irish universities
UCD=High living expenses+Good Hospitals
UCC=Medium living expenses+Good Hospitals
UCG=Medium Living expenses+Great city to live in

They're all equally good schools for teaching.

 

[13538]

All the medical schools in Ireland and their affliated hospitals are equally good in terms of teaching, quality and reputation. The only reason Trinity and RCSI are more widely known abroad is because they aggressively market themselves to prospective international medical students.

The Medical Council of Ireland, which regulates the medical profession in Ireland, recently published a report on it's accreditation of the 5 medical schools in Ireland:
http://www.medicalcouncil.ie/_fileupload/education/Report_to_Public_2003.pdf

It's worth reading if you want an idea of some of the challenges facing Irish medical schools and the changes currently taking place in medical education in Ireland today.

 

[kim222]

thanks appreciate the clear and concise feedback...the report was interesting but really worrying at points 😱
jus of pure curiosity, if one were given offers from trinity and rcsi...which med school would most choose?

 

[leorl]

There are two reasons why I didn't choose RCSI, having been accepted into TCD. 1) cost!! RCSI's tuition when I applied was a good 10,000 USD higher! Now with that, you get a laptop and a secure spot with accomodation for your first year, but...!
2) RCSI is a school solely devoted for health sciences, so you're surrounded by medics day in and day out. Trinity is much larger and offers arts/humanities courses as well, so you have the opportunity to meet a more diverse student population in terms of interests. One of my big things is sports, and Trinity has a wider range of clubs and within those clubs, I've met people I would never have had the chance to meet otherwise. It really depends on personal preference as to what kind of setting you're looking for.

None of the Irish schools are better than the others in terms of standard and quality of education. I wouldn't agree with Kaptain Krunch who says that UCD's reputation wouldn't be as good as Trinity and RCSI . UCD is quite well known in the US, and there are tons of UCD grads in the US. Trinity is a very old university and has had it's name built up because of all the famous authors and characters who have passed through the university.

Trin, glad to see ur taking micro studying as seriously as I am 🙂

 

[kim222]

thanks leorl!

 

[13538]

Trin, glad to see ur taking micro studying as seriously as I am 🙂

Eugh...it's mind numbingly boring!!!

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

O come on, everyone in Ireland think RCSI and Trinity are the best colleges. One has a fancy name with the word "Royal" in it, while Trinity sounds so much cooler than UCD. Superficial I know but that's how many people think.

I do not subscribe to that line of reasoning because UCC is obviously the best medical school in the country 😀 !

 

[leorl]

Hehe well that's only because Trinity requires more leaving cert points to get in. But in terms of international standing (like in the US) for people who have no idea about leaving cert and the fact that international students don't have to take it, they're all pretty much equal. Trinity's the prettiest anyway 🙂.

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

UCC has a better personality and her parents are nicer 🙂 .

 

[echostation]

how highly regarded are Irish schools such as UCC, UCD or RCSI for getting students into the US for residencies and eventual practice?? I mean is there any data showing or any stats showing how many north american graduates from irish medical schools such as cork or dublin or RCSI get back to the US for residencies?? Or is it really difficult and are the programs kind of looked down upon by the US??

 

[Choda]

The Atlantic Bridge program (www.atlanticbridge.com) handles all applications and administrative matters for north americans wishing to go to ireland for medical education. They boast that they help place something like 99% of north americans wishing to return for residencies. When you request an application, they give you this sheet with names of graduates and where they're starting residencies, but it doesn't give any numbers, or the particular schools from which they are graduating from.
You might want to contact atlantc bridge directly regarding this issue, I'm sure they would be willing to answer.

 

[leorl]

echostation, not aware of specific stats although will try looking something up when I have time. But word of mouth seems to say that while we are FMGs, Irish grads are "safe" in terms of stigma. The Irish schools are very well reputed and respected, and supposedly they respect our ability to diagnose without batteries of expensive tests and presentation of histories when compared with US grads. But of course, in the long run deficiencies in either country are mellowed out and everyone eventually gains the same kind of skills. There are lots of Irish grads in the states with good positions, so I don't think stigma or too much discrimination is something to worry about. Still though, I'd hold off on thinking that we'd be able to compete for the most competitive specialties, just because we're FMGs.

 

[Ghost]

do you go to trinity and used to live with moira and sofi?

 

[leorl]

Yeah!! How the heck did you know that!

 

[echostation]

hey thanks for all your info and thoughts guys... just wanted to find and out know... I plan on contacting Atlantic Bridge soon and finding out more in detail

 

[Ghost]

Yeah!! How the heck did you know that!

haha.....moira is my cousin. she told me about you when i was thinking of applying over there. my mom is from there and so are my dad's parents. i have spent a lot of time over there and i love it. going to school there would be awsome. who knows, i may still end up there down the road. do you still live with sofi or did she go back to sweeden?

 

[leorl]

Cool! SMALL WORLD. Moira's living it up in Chicago now eh? Think she likes the states! I still want her to teach me how to horse ride. Yeah, hop on over! Step away from the Texans... 🙂 . Sofi's back in Sweden. Don't think she liked it here much and the nightmare with the landlord didn't help any. Now living with an American from Chicago actually, but she's not a med student. She's doing a Masters in Irish literature or something like that (?!?!?!). It's good being here 😉.

 

[Ghost]

yeah, i think moira definatley likes the states! she's up in new york right now, i think the chicago thing fell through. but you should definatley get her or james to teach you to ride.........they are both really good. i was actually just there back in april........mmmmm.......guinness gooooood...🙂 not quite the same over here. you're right, this smiley is awsome...

 

[shortch]

Hi, I'm applying this June to the US med schools, however, I'm also interested in applying to the Irish schools. I've lived abroad in the past for a previous career and love the idea of going back. My issue is my status as a post-bac 'older' (35) student. It's quite acceptable in the US, so, I don't have any qualms about it. I'm wondering if the Irish schools are open to the post-pac/older students applying....

Thanks for your input!

 

[leorl]

I think they're fine with it. Admittedly, there's not that many. But in my class we have a North American who's 33, and in final year now there's a North American who's at late 30s if not 40s. I also know a past graduate who was 33 when he entered. This is at Trinity, but I'm sure the others are the same. (they're called "mature students" here)

Oh, and although some of the kids will only be 18, the older ones are integrated just fine 🙂.

 

[shortch]

Thanks for your reply leorl! Good luck to you at Trinity!

 

[mamorcy]

Hi just joined! what are the admission requirements for the 4 year MD course? what are the fees for eu citizens? my premed is in biology
thanks!

 

[leorl]

The four year MD course won't be available til 2007. At the moment, you could enter as a direct entrant, although with some curriculum changes, this isn't available. At Trinity, the fees for EU students for 2003-2004 was 5,822 euro. However, this will probably go up as all things do, plus it might be different when medicine becomes a post-graduate degree here (current M.D. fees seems to be about 2800).
http://www.tcd.ie/Treasurers_Office/fees15.htm

However, I think to avail of EU fees, you have to have been living in the EU for a certain period of time before entering college. Again, don't know how this will change when it becomes a post-graduate degree.

 

[13538]

It's highly unlikely that entry to med will change to post-grad only in Ireland. A more likely scenario is that post-graduate entry will complement the current entry system.

The M.D. fees of 2,800 refers to the postgraduate Doctor in Medicine research degree. EU fees for the medical degree stand at about 6,000 rising by about 10% each year.

 

[leorl]

Trin, u going to the Pav Wednesday night?

 

[13538]

Trin, u going to the Pav Wednesday night?

Not sure what my schedule is like on Wednesday but I might pop over for a pint... 😀