Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on [email protected] for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact [email protected]

Studying medicine/dentistry/veterinary in Eastern Eurpope

  • 06-10-2009 2:47am
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,778 ✭✭✭


    I'll stick this thread up as a sticky. It seems a popular route for Irish people to take. So, I'll leave it here and see if anyone wants to chat about it. If not I'll unsticky it if it's not used.

    So, if you are, or if you're planning on, studying med,dentistry and veterinary in one of the Eastern European unis, feel free to discuss it here.


«13

Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 386 ✭✭mrmeindl


    I'm in Prague, 2nd year med, I know a few dentists out here too, If someone has any serious questions about studying here just go on ahead.

    If the questions are along the lines of "my uncles cousins dog trainer friend said that Prague is ****" I wont waste the time replying.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,778 ✭✭✭tallaght01


    What's the entrance process like?

    Do you know any people who've finished their training and got onto training schemes in Ireland?

    How do you find living there? Somewhere like prague must be pretty amazing to live in? What do you do for accommodation?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,141 ✭✭✭imported_guy


    mrmeindl wrote: »
    I'm in Prague, 2nd year med, I know a few dentists out here too, If someone has any serious questions about studying here just go on ahead.

    If the questions are along the lines of "my uncles cousins dog trainer friend said that Prague is ****" I wont waste the time replying.
    do we need to know their language for the clinicals? or can we transfer to somewhere like UCC UCD etc, or some carbien schools after the first 2 years?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,073 ✭✭✭sam34


    ok guys, we dont need jibes and sniping here.
    i've deleted a few posts, please keep the thread on topic from now on.


  • Registered Users Posts: 386 ✭✭mrmeindl


    tallaght01 wrote: »
    What's the entrance process like?

    Do you know any people who've finished their training and got onto training schemes in Ireland?

    How do you find living there? Somewhere like prague must be pretty amazing to live in? What do you do for accommodation?


    Entrance process for most of the facultys is mostly the same; Entrance exam at A level standard in Physics, Biology and Chemistry, sometimes there's an interview I believe, I didn't have one. They also look at your LC results, I dont think they really care. I repeated once back home, didn't get in and I was not interested in repeating again. Its (relatively) easy to get in but its sure as hell not easy to stay in. Attrition rate is very high, eg 64 in first year in 07-08 there's less than 30 in 3rd year now.

    There are 2 lads who did their GP training in the UK; one is doing the locum thing at the moment, not sure about the other. One lad graduated last year from the 1st Fac and is in FY1 in Scotland at the mo because of nepotism bull**** he couldn’t get a place for his internship back home. Hopefully I’ll manage to get an internship in Ireland, don’t really fancy spending 2 years in the UK.
    Prague itself is a deadly city; it’s a completely different experience to studying at home in Dublin. Most of the people in my faculty are Scandinavians so you get to know people all over the world and you end up with some pretty cool places to visit during the summer if you can. Nightclubs don’t close till around 6 on average, and drink is dirt cheap. Being that we don’t go out as much as our counterparts in the motherland because of the amount of tests/exams we have.
    We(all the paddys at least) rent apartments, rent is pretty similar to what a student back home will pay but the apartment will be a hell of a lot nicer than the student houses i’ve crashed in back home. I pay roughly €80-90 per week.

    do we need to know their language for the clinicals? or can we transfer to somewhere like UCC UCD etc, or some carbien schools after the first 2 years?

    You need to have sufficient czech by third year to be able to ask the patients questions. You have 2 czech classes a week in 1st thru 3rd year. I'm not aware of anyone who's transferred back to Ireland, there is a the odd transfer between the different facultys. People who fail tend to go transfer somewhere easier eg Poland.

    Aren't the carribean schools the joke places where the degree is only accepted in Zimbabwe?


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 608 ✭✭✭Anthony16


    mrmeindl wrote: »
    Entrance process for most of the facultys is mostly the same; Entrance exam at A level standard in Physics, Biology and Chemistry, sometimes there's an interview I believe, I didn't have one. They also look at your LC results, I dont think they really care. I repeated once back home, didn't get in and I was not interested in repeating again. Its (relatively) easy to get in but its sure as hell not easy to stay in. Attrition rate is very high, eg 64 in first year in 07-08 there's less than 30 in 3rd year now.

    There are 2 lads who did their GP training in the UK; one is doing the locum thing at the moment, not sure about the other. One lad graduated last year from the 1st Fac and is in FY1 in Scotland at the mo because of nepotism bull**** he couldn’t get a place for his internship back home. Hopefully I’ll manage to get an internship in Ireland, don’t really fancy spending 2 years in the UK.
    Prague itself is a deadly city; it’s a completely different experience to studying at home in Dublin. Most of the people in my faculty are Scandinavians so you get to know people all over the world and you end up with some pretty cool places to visit during the summer if you can. Nightclubs don’t close till around 6 on average, and drink is dirt cheap. Being that we don’t go out as much as our counterparts in the motherland because of the amount of tests/exams we have.
    We(all the paddys at least) rent apartments, rent is pretty similar to what a student back home will pay but the apartment will be a hell of a lot nicer than the student houses i’ve crashed in back home. I pay roughly €80-90 per week.




    You need to have sufficient czech by third year to be able to ask the patients questions. You have 2 czech classes a week in 1st thru 3rd year. I'm not aware of anyone who's transferred back to Ireland, there is a the odd transfer between the different facultys. People who fail tend to go transfer somewhere easier eg Poland.

    Aren't the carribean schools the joke places where the degree is only accepted in Zimbabwe?

    How many paddys are in your faculty?


  • Registered Users Posts: 386 ✭✭mrmeindl


    Anthony16 wrote: »
    How many paddys are in your faculty?


    9 and we have 1 or 2 people who come from Ireland but aren't Irish. There's roughly another 12 between the other 2 Fac's and dentists.


  • Registered Users Posts: 608 ✭✭✭Anthony16


    mrmeindl wrote: »
    9 and we have 1 or 2 people who come from Ireland but aren't Irish. There's roughly another 12 between the other 2 Fac's and dentists.

    And is the degree accepted in the US?Do you know of anyone who is doing residency there having completed medicine in prague?I ask this as irealise that if i do medicine in eastern europe i most likely wont be able to return to ireland or the uk


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4 src


    Anthony16 wrote: »
    And is the degree accepted in the US?Do you know of anyone who is doing residency there having completed medicine in prague?I ask this as irealise that if i do medicine in eastern europe i most likely wont be able to return to ireland or the uk

    I know that medical degrees from Hungary are accepted in Ireland, in the UK and in the US as well.

    Also, as far as I know, Norway now does not train medical doctors in Norway, but they send the students to Hungarian Medical Schools. (to Budapest and Debrecen)


  • Registered Users Posts: 608 ✭✭✭Anthony16


    src wrote: »
    I know that medical degrees from Hungary are accepted in Ireland, in the UK and in the US as well.

    Also, as far as I know, Norway now does not train medical doctors in Norway, but they send the students to Hungarian Medical Schools. (to Budapest and Debrecen)

    Where did you find this info?Are you in a foreign medical school?Thanks:)


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 234 ✭✭Sitric


    There are four medical schools in Norway: Oslo, Bergen, Tromso and Trondheim. There may be one in Stavanger too but i'm not sure.


  • Registered Users Posts: 386 ✭✭mrmeindl


    Anthony16 wrote: »
    And is the degree accepted in the US?

    Yes. You still have to do usmle's and the step 1&2, the same applies if you come from an irish college.
    Anthony16 wrote: »
    Do you know of anyone who is doing residency there having completed medicine in prague?

    Yes.

    Anthony16 wrote: »
    I ask this as irealise that if i do medicine in eastern europe i most likely wont be able to return to ireland or the uk
    I'm definitely coming home after, as are most of the paddys here. Its news to me that I wont be able to work in Ireland. I'm prepared to bring people to court for the sake of fairness if I'm not able to secure an internship in Ireland.


  • Registered Users Posts: 386 ✭✭mrmeindl


    src wrote: »
    I know that medical degrees from Hungary are accepted in Ireland, in the UK and in the US as well.

    They'd be accepted to the same level as any other degree from an EU country.
    src wrote: »
    Also, as far as I know, Norway now does not train medical doctors in Norway,

    100% incorrect
    src wrote: »
    but they send the students

    Wrong again. Norway does not "send" students abroad to study the students simply apply to whatever college that is recognised and they get the same amount of government support as their colleagues studying in Norway.
    src wrote: »
    to Hungarian Medical Schools. (to Budapest and Debrecen)
    There's a lot in Prague, Hradec Kralove, Brno, Plzen, and Poland too.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 622 ✭✭✭Pete4779


    mrmeindl wrote: »
    I'm definitely coming home after, as are most of the paddys here. Its news to me that I wont be able to work in Ireland. I'm prepared to bring people to court for the sake of fairness if I'm not able to secure an internship in Ireland.

    You will be able to work in Ireland but finding a job may be another issue.

    http://www.medicalcouncil.ie/registration/firsttime2_internship.asp#2

    It's pretty straightforward from above to register for Intern on the new Trainee Specialist register. That is *only* valid for Internship. As you can see, they have different procedures from Irish medical schools and EU/EEA schools. There are far more graduates from the five schools than places. If you are planning on returning to Ireland I would recommend doing observerships, etc., here as much as possible.

    As such, there is no "right" to internship and so you will be suing no-one :). Basically, you will be competing for spots against local graduates who will have relevant local experience. This makes it similar to the US and why people in Carribean schools do electives, etc., in the US to improve their CV.

    If you get fully registered in another EU state however, you could then look to transfer that to Ireland if you get a place on a speciality training scheme. The new Medical Practitioners Act has made things much more ....comprehensive....(!) then before, and registration will be much more regulated, and for what purpose, etc., .


  • Registered Users Posts: 386 ✭✭mrmeindl


    Pete4779 wrote: »
    You will be able to work in Ireland but finding a job may be another issue.

    http://www.medicalcouncil.ie/registration/firsttime2_internship.asp#2

    It's pretty straightforward from above to register for Intern on the new Trainee Specialist register. That is *only* valid for Internship. As you can see, they have different procedures from Irish medical schools and EU/EEA schools. There are far more graduates from the five schools than places. If you are planning on returning to Ireland I would recommend doing observerships, etc., here as much as possible.

    I have to do certain amount to practices in the summer between the years eg in 4th-5h I have 2 weeks surgery and 3 weeks of something else so I'll have built up a bit of experience in Irish hospitals so it wont be entirely Czech Republic on my CV,
    Pete4779 wrote: »
    As such, there is no "right" to internship and so you will be suing no-one :). Basically, you will be competing for spots against local graduates who will have relevant local experience.

    I'd just be suing if I got the slightest hint that nepotism was involved :D

    Pete4779 wrote: »
    If you get fully registered in another EU state however, you could then look to transfer that to Ireland if you get a place on a speciality training scheme.

    I've thought about that, Its a long way off and it all depends on what I want to do, however GP looks most likely at the mo so I'd much rather do that in Ireland. However I haven't done/seen much stuff so far so god knows where I'll end up or what I'll be doing...one plan is to learn norwegian and to move to norway with a blonde aryan!


  • Registered Users Posts: 148 ✭✭briankirby


    Hi!
    I was just wondering if its possible for graduates to apply to charles?Do they still have to do the same entrance exam and same amount of years?
    Also,is it possible to do your roatations in the US and uk in 6th year in prague?I know you have to pay for this but is it possible??
    And,if u dont mind me askin,were you a 550+er first time round in the leavin?The reason i ask is becos the attrition rate is so high and im wondering what standard of student would be required for med there.Thank you:)


  • Registered Users Posts: 386 ✭✭mrmeindl


    briankirby wrote: »
    Hi!
    I was just wondering if its possible for graduates to apply to charles? Do they still have to do the same entrance exam and same amount of years?

    Yes you do the entrance exam like everyone else, if you studied a something like pharmacy/science before you might get a waiver for some subjects.

    briankirby wrote: »
    Also,is it possible to do your roatations in the US and uk in 6th year in prague?I know you have to pay for this but is it possible??


    Yes to both however it is very expensive to do them in the US...we're talking 5k for a few weeks! The UK dont charge (Well they didn't charge a 5th year for 5 weeks of it this summer after 4th year) Irish hospitals charge too but we're talking hundreds of euro not thousands. If you're not an EU citizen I presume it gets expensive.
    briankirby wrote: »
    And,if u dont mind me askin,were you a 550+er first time round in the leavin?The reason i ask is becos the attrition rate is so high and im wondering what standard of student would be required for med there.Thank you:)

    Yes I was narrowly off the points when I did the LC for the second time, couldn't be bothered to repeat again. Another example, one lad got 600 points deferred RCSI and decided to stay and give up his place in ireland.

    There's a lot of reasons why the attrition rate is so high, very difficult exams that decide if you can go into the next year, some of which luck is a important factor because if you get the wrong examiners/nasty questions it can really ruin your day(you do get multiple attempts but it depends on when you take it..ie take one of the last dates and you only get one chance) There's also the factor that people get homesick/realise medicine isn't for them and drop out. If you got 550 points you'll manage fine as long as you put the work in. There's people with less points than that who are getting on fine and there's people with more.


  • Registered Users Posts: 608 ✭✭✭Anthony16


    mrmeindl wrote: »
    Yes you do the entrance exam like everyone else, if you studied a something like pharmacy/science before you might get a waiver for some subjects.





    Yes to both however it is very expensive to do them in the US...we're talking 5k for a few weeks! The UK dont charge (Well they didn't charge a 5th year for 5 weeks of it this summer after 4th year) Irish hospitals charge too but we're talking hundreds of euro not thousands. If you're not an EU citizen I presume it gets expensive.



    Yes I was narrowly off the points when I did the LC for the second time, couldn't be bothered to repeat again. Another example, one lad got 600 points deferred RCSI and decided to stay and give up his place in ireland.

    There's a lot of reasons why the attrition rate is so high, very difficult exams that decide if you can go into the next year, some of which luck is a important factor because if you get the wrong examiners/nasty questions it can really ruin your day(you do get multiple attempts but it depends on when you take it..ie take one of the last dates and you only get one chance) There's also the factor that people get homesick/realise medicine isn't for them and drop out. If you got 550 points you'll manage fine as long as you put the work in. There's people with less points than that who are getting on fine and there's people with more.



    Wow,i never knew the US colleges wanted that much.Its pretty steep!Uk seems a more viable option but have people graduating fom eastern europe found it difficult to get onto training schemes there?Getting onto a training scheme after graduatin is the only thing thats stopping me from going abroad:(


  • Registered Users Posts: 386 ✭✭mrmeindl


    Anthony16 wrote: »
    Wow,i never knew the US colleges wanted that much.Its pretty steep!Uk seems a more viable option but have people graduating fom eastern europe found it difficult to get onto training schemes there?Getting onto a training scheme after graduatin is the only thing thats stopping me from going abroad:(

    If medicine is definitely what you want if would definitely say go to the czech republic if you can afford it. Fees are around 10-13k a year depending on which faculty because the fees are set in euros/czech crowns/dollars in each one. The main problem you'll have after graduation is securing an internship to get your foot in the door, if ireland being the way it is closes the door there's always the UK. If you really want to study in ireland and are willing to be in the seemingly endless loop of repeating(I dont know much about the new sytem for medicine) fair enough, I just wanted to study medicine so I went out here.

    Dont you just love college...friday night in with a physiology book peridoically interupped by internetting!


  • Registered Users Posts: 608 ✭✭✭Anthony16


    mrmeindl wrote: »
    If medicine is definitely what you want if would definitely say go to the czech republic if you can afford it. Fees are around 10-13k a year depending on which faculty because the fees are set in euros/czech crowns/dollars in each one. The main problem you'll have after graduation is securing an internship to get your foot in the door, if ireland being the way it is closes the door there's always the UK. If you really want to study in ireland and are willing to be in the seemingly endless loop of repeating(I dont know much about the new sytem for medicine) fair enough, I just wanted to study medicine so I went out here.

    Dont you just love college...friday night in with a physiology book peridoically interupped by internetting!

    Ha,im in a similar situation tonight!:pac:
    Yeah,my parents can affoard it but i just want to be sure i can pay them back.Theyv already put a lot of effort into turning me from a dosser into a serious student,so i i want to be able to pay them bk for the fees(gettin onto a training scheme)
    Ahh,choices choices choices...............


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,778 ✭✭✭tallaght01


    Anthony16 wrote: »
    Ha,im in a similar situation tonight!:pac:
    Yeah,my parents can affoard it but i just want to be sure i can pay them back.Theyv already put a lot of effort into turning me from a dosser into a serious student,so i i want to be able to pay them bk for the fees(gettin onto a training scheme)
    Ahh,choices choices choices...............

    It is PURELY out of date anecdote....but when I worked in the UK, one of the other docs had 3 mates who graduated from Prague. He told me they couldn't get on training schemes. Now, a lot of people don't get on training schemes, in fairness, plus it was a few years ago, so hard to know.

    It should be easy enough to find out of there are any Eastern European graduates on surgical/paeds/medical specialty training schemes.

    I would say you will face some barriers, but they are unlikely to be insurmountable. A lot of people feel the standards in med school, and of entry to med school, are falling, so a traditional hardcore non-PBL degree with a high attrition rate might be attractive to some employers.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 111 ✭✭Tevez101


    tallaght01 wrote: »
    I'll stick this thread up as a sticky. It seems a popular route for Irish people to take. So, I'll leave it here and see if anyone wants to chat about it. If not I'll unsticky it if it's not used.

    So, if you are, or if you're planning on, studying med,dentistry and veterinary in one of the Eastern European unis, feel free to discuss it here.

    Hi, my friend got 460 in his leaving, and got a B1 in Chemistry and a B3 in Physics...

    He's wondering if he would be eligble to study medecine over in budapest?


  • Registered Users Posts: 608 ✭✭✭Anthony16


    Tevez101 wrote: »
    Hi, my friend got 460 in his leaving, and got a B1 in Chemistry and a B3 in Physics...

    He's wondering if he would be eligble to study medecine over in budapest?

    I think you need at least 500 pts for med in budapest and the entrance exam consists of biology and chem but try contactin tim o leary who is their rep in ireland.
    Hope this helps


  • Registered Users Posts: 148 ✭✭briankirby


    mrmeindl wrote: »
    Yes you do the entrance exam like everyone else, if you studied a something like pharmacy/science before you might get a waiver for some subjects.





    Yes to both however it is very expensive to do them in the US...we're talking 5k for a few weeks! The UK dont charge (Well they didn't charge a 5th year for 5 weeks of it this summer after 4th year) Irish hospitals charge too but we're talking hundreds of euro not thousands. If you're not an EU citizen I presume it gets expensive.



    Yes I was narrowly off the points when I did the LC for the second time, couldn't be bothered to repeat again. Another example, one lad got 600 points deferred RCSI and decided to stay and give up his place in ireland.

    There's a lot of reasons why the attrition rate is so high, very difficult exams that decide if you can go into the next year, some of which luck is a important factor because if you get the wrong examiners/nasty questions it can really ruin your day(you do get multiple attempts but it depends on when you take it..ie take one of the last dates and you only get one chance) There's also the factor that people get homesick/realise medicine isn't for them and drop out. If you got 550 points you'll manage fine as long as you put the work in. There's people with less points than that who are getting on fine and there's people with more.


    Is the degree from charles a 1st class honours degree,so since a pass is 70% or is it given the same status as any other medicine degree??


  • Registered Users Posts: 386 ✭✭mrmeindl


    briankirby wrote: »
    Is the degree from charles a 1st class honours degree,so since a pass is 70% or is it given the same status as any other medicine degree??

    We dont have 1st/2nd class honours, only distinctions and a pass.
    13.A student shall graduate with distinctions if:
    ▪ the average mark from the 1st to the 5th year of study did not drop below 1.2,
    ▪ no part of her/his state examination was resat,
    ▪ he received no “dobře” (good) grades, [= B]
    ▪ the overall result of her/his State Examination was “excellent” (1).
    If the student received a “good” grade in one subject from the 1st to the 5th year of study, the Dean may allow a resit upon the student’s request.”

    The minimum pass for all subjects is always 70%, sometimes its higher, eg. in first year we had to get 87 to pass genetics.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 31 heywood100


    Anthony16 wrote: »
    I think you need at least 500 pts for med in budapest and the entrance exam consists of biology and chem but try contactin tim o leary who is their rep in ireland.
    Hope this helps

    do you or anyone else have contact details for Tim O'Leary?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 106 ✭✭Don Keypunch


    International programmes in English in a range of professional qualification are also available at Budapest University. Enquiries to Mr. T. J. O'Leary, MVB MRCVS, at ‘Fastnet View House', Gubbeen, Schull, Co. Cork, tel: 028-28197. Website address:

    http://www.farmersjournal.ie/2004/0501/ruralliving/countrylifestyle/careerprofiles.shtml


  • Registered Users Posts: 148 ✭✭briankirby


    heywood100 wrote: »
    do you or anyone else have contact details for Tim O'Leary?

    Are u considering med or vet there?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 467 ✭✭etymon


    My Dad has some apartments in Sczezcin, Poland (quite possibly the incorrect spelling!) and he rents to Scandinavian students who go to the med school there. Not sure what its calibre is but it's a nice little city near Berlin with good nightlife and DIRT CHEAP to live in.
    Just in case anyone is unaware of it.

    EDIT: link to some conversation about the school http://www.valuemd.com/pomeranian-medical-university/128908-pomerania-medical-university-szczecin-poland.html


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 102 ✭✭EducationFinder


    Are the points any different in places like Eastern Europe


Advertisement