MEGAMERGE:Questions about careers in medicine? Post here

alanoc83 · 04-09-2007 2:28am #1

Hi Everyone,

First time starting a thread. I figured it would be the best thing to do seen as my family and my girlfriend are sick of hearing about me go on and on and trying to make a decision about the whole thing of getting into medicine! I figure getting other peoples advice on my dilemma would be a good plan!
I have an honours degree in Experimental Physics from UCD and I didn't do all that badly in it seen as i managed to wrangle myself a 2:1. My options are that I could go and spend the year either doing the leaving cert again and trying to get 600 points or do the GAMSAT's and try get in via the graduate way! The problem is is I cant decide which is the best way and the one with the higher probability of getting med!
From my understanding of it, from a financial position the grad way is more expensive at 12000E for 4 years as opposed to 5 years at approx. 8000E (UCD prices for mature EU student doing med). The problem arises when I look at what I need to do to get in!
For the leaving cert I could go and study maths, physics, applied maths, chemistry, biology and geography - all science based. In theory physics, maths and applied maths should be easy enough because of the nature of my degree and I have studied chem in leaving before and also in 1st year. Biology and geography would be new but I have heard they would be ok! Another advantage of the leaving is the fact that it is well structured and there is a clear syllabus. However, the idea of doing the leaving cert is a horrible thought and getting all A1s is a big deal no matter what my degree is in!
The GAMSAT's on the other hand aren't as long and I would be working under my own steam. But I have heard they are extremely difficult and from the sample exam and the questions I got they are really tough and random. I trip up on most of the questions in section 1 and 2 and most of the stuff in section 3 is from biology and organic chemistry which I haven't seen in a long time and a lot that I have never done before at all!
I was hoping to find more people out there that were thinking about this (if theres anyone) and to see if they have any new info that they could add or if they had any questions that maybe I could answer! Many heads are better than one! Is the GAMSAT as difficult as I have heard? Am I insane to be thinking about doing the leaving again to get it? Has anyone else thought about it?

Sorry about the long post....thanks for reading! and thanks for replyin if you do!

ella86 · 16-03-2008 3:57pm

Hi Alan,
I was just wondering if you sat the Gamsat yesterday or have you decided to repeat your leaving cert? I sat it yesterday but obviously it's too hard to tell how it went but if it didn't go to plan I might try to do medicine as an undergraduate when they bring in the aptitude test combined with 480 points in 2009.

Chunky Monkey · 16-03-2008 11:17pm

Hey Ella just want to warn you that I read the other day that they are planning not to allow previous LC points from 2009 because they fear there will be too many applicants. The article was from January and it said they hadn't decided on it yet but it looked like it was going that way. Sorry I can't find the article right now.

ella86 · 17-03-2008 12:01pm

oh my god are you serious???? I got 510 when I sat it in 2005 and thought I could just use that.... I guess it's not the end of the world, I sat the gamsat on saturday and if I didn't get it I still have next year because I'm in the third year of my degree... But thanks a million for the information, really appreciate it

Chunky Monkey · 17-03-2008 11:20pm

That's a really good result. Maybe they'll have a lower cut off for previous points. That would be the most fair thing. Though in all fairness if you could get that back then I'm sure getting 480+ would be a doddle for you

alanoc83 · 18-03-2008 4:10am

yeah i sat it on saturday. Was a bit mental wasnt it! after i posted that about the LC and the GAMSAT i ended up doin two weeks of the LC and figured the GAMSAT would be a better idea. Goin from the way college was taught to the way the leaving was taught was, eh, odd to say the least.

let me know what you thought of the exam.....dyin to hear how people got on!

Echani · 18-03-2008 11:29pm

Hey Chunky, did you sit the exam on Sat? I've been hearing mixed things about it.

Alan - this is a bit late, but still relevant I suppose - I'd honestly recommend the Gamsat for a few reasons. It gets you into a shorter course, slightly more expensive by your figures, but seeing as you'll be earning a year sooner you probably shouldn't consider that a decisive factor. Having done a science degree and all the basic sciences before, you'd be able to fly through the preparation once you have a good idea of what to cover if you need to resit. And if you do need to resit, you can do it again in September rather than waiting for a whole year.

Anyway, hope the exam went well for you and that the info above is unnecessary

AlanSparrowhawk · 19-03-2008 12:15am

I did it on the 15th, first time. Found it incredibly difficult, definitely the toughest exam/puzzle I've ever done. I slightly underestimated the difficultly of it, I'd thought I'd be able to figure a lot of the stuff out on the day but found I had NO time to mess about. You genuinely have to be very bright and well drilled to do well in the Gamsat. I reckon I'll do it again in September if I can, the thoughts of another year to kill is .....

ella86 · 19-03-2008 1:49am

Hey Alan(s),
I sat it on Saturday too, I found it much tougher than I had expected. I thought the organic chemistry was much tougher than any of the acer sample papers.
I didn't like the way the English section II had two personal essays. I thought we might get one that had a little more substance (like religion vs science or something), but I guess they really wanted to test who could put up an argument and back it up effectively.
English section I was ok, although I was pushed for time at the end...
I think I'll start going over organic chemistry again for September... I hate being pessimistic

AlanSparrowhawk · 21-03-2008 8:55pm

I'll definitely do more OC and Chemistry in general study for the next one. I will aim to answer as many questions as possible from the book, rather than just trying to reabsorb the theory. I got some info from UL today and I just realised how regretful I am I won't be getting in next year.

:(:pac:

alanoc83 · 02-04-2008 3:06am

cheers man, you are right about the GAMSAT vs the LC. what was i thinkin. imagine having loads of LC papers comin up now and makin one mistake in them and then messing up your chances. hope you all did well in the exam guys. best of luck with the results in may.
i dont know if any of you did the GRADMED course (i did) but i would recommend it for anyone with or without science. even try get the notes off someone. they'll prob charge you for them seen as the intensive revision course cost 1500€. but the science notes are really condensed and they do cover a lot. also, the English section of the course seemed to throw a lot of people because the guy teaching it focused on the essays and how to write one rather than section 1. but that saved me! i havent written an essay in years and i was never good at it. but he basically gave you a good formula for writing an analytical essay which i thought was awesome.
and the sample science questions were pretty good.

Piste · 11-04-2008 5:14pm

Hi all! I'm a fifth year student and I'm seriously thinking of studying medicine, so the work starts now! I'm not 100% convinced of it though so Id like to ask the doctors on here some questions

Is medicine very difficult to study?
Is it posible to have a social life and study Medicine?
Is it possible to be a doctor and stil have a social life?
In general, how much on-call time do you have to work?
Are the working conditions really dreadful?
What are the chances of the health service improving by the time I become a doctor?
(is it actually totally different to what we see on tv?)

I'm sure I'll add more questions as I think of them, I'd be very grateful if anyone could answer them

DrIndy · 11-04-2008 6:36pm

The answer to every question you have is yes!

I work between 60-80 hours a week - always have so don't think much of it - but it cuts into your free time.

I have great craic with my friends and do have a great social life and I love my job. Thats the key thing - it doesn't matter what you do - you have to love your job.

It can be a bit daunting to go into a career path from which people rarely end up straying from once they are drawn into it - it does best to ask other doctors and have a chat about their experiences face to face to really get an understanding.

sportswear · 11-04-2008 6:59pm

Is medicine very difficult to study?

it is a difficult course, relative to any other(from what i can guage based on my friends). Not very difficult to scrape by but very difficult to do well in. The actual concepts are not very difficult to grasp but there is a LOT of information.

On the plus it is very interesting. The course is leaning more and more toward clinical knowledge. Some of the stuff you learn is extremely cool, obviously this depends heavily on what you find interesting. You'd want to like your science.

Is it posible to have a social life and study Medicine?

It is possible to have an excellent social life. i find that you end up having stints of going out followed by stints of study, generally when exams are looming or on a strict rotation.

Sometimes you can go out constantly for weeks on end then you are banged up in the library for 18 hour a day for 2 or 3 weeks. Some of the study sessions that have to be done are mind bending. I'm talking serious all nighters.

all in all its a good laugh.

I think the whole thing gives you a very interesting outlook on life.

Re the Tv - ha ha not from what I can see. Certainly not as glamorous!! You don't see too many rectal exams on ER!

I'm very glad im doing it and wouldn't want to do anything else.

Chunky Monkey · 11-04-2008 7:42pm

See what you need to do Piste is leave all your study til the last minute in sixth year and then pull your 'serious all nighters' (surviving on coffee and liquorice toffees) to get your A's, thus preparing yourself for college.

Disclaimer: I may not be the best person to take advice from

Fair play for trying to find out what could be in store for you. You could get a part time job as a care assistant to find out what working in a hospital environment is like. Definitely try to arrange some work experience which will give you some idea of what it's like, may provide you with some motivation for your studies and, if you consider applying through UCAS, is vital.

Good luck, and with all the studying going on, don't forget to have some fun. You won't be a fifth/sixth year again

tallaght01 · 12-04-2008 1:49pm

I think we should sticky this, so people can use it to ask questions about getting into med school, what med school entails, and what being a doc entails.

If anyone wants to start a thread about any other medical/biology professions, I'll be happy to stickie them too.

To give my answers to your questions, Piste....

I thought medicine was very hard. Not insurmountable, but I had much less free time than my friends at uni doing other degrees.

But it's definitely possible to have a social life. It's just impossible in the run up to exams. It also becomes more difficult in your latter years to go out boozing midweek, as you will usually have 9-5 commitments in hospital monday-friday during the last 2 years at least.

is it possible to be a doctor and have a social life? My social life has suffered a LOT since I graduated. I have found it very hard to combine the two, but others do, so it's not impossible. Some specialties have less time commitment, and are less physically demanding than others, though.

On-call time will be much different now than when you qualify. Soon, docs won't be allowed to work more than 48 hours a week. You'll still do a bit more than that, you just won't get paid for it. But it should help things, and will help to maintain a social life, too!

I've found the working conditions pretty dreadful, by and large. I'm not sure that changes much around the world, either, although Oz is so far not bad. But I think that working long hours in crap conditions is the big problem. If you only have to spend about 48 hours a week in crap conditions, then it will, I'm sure become more bearable.

I think it's going to take a LONG time for the health service to improve. But bear in mind that peoples's expectations change, along with improvements. In New Zealand, for eg, where things are abit better for patients, I've had parents storming out of A+E in disgust because it was going to take 2 hours for me to see their very well baby. Sick people will often be angry, and their doc/nurse is any easy target. So, regardless of how good things are in hospital, people will get annoyed at you. You just develop a thick skin.

And, no, it's nothing like TV. Us male docs are WAY hotter than Dr. McDreamy

It would be good if anyone with any future questions about careers in medicine could use this thread, so we can keep any useful advice in one place.

Thanks guys.

Aoibheann · 12-04-2008 2:19pm

Ok, only being in first med, I've no idea of what's coming next, but I'll answer the questions on what it's like so far!! So basically, that's the first two..

1. Is medicine very difficult to study? Difficult? I wouldn't say it is so far. For me right now, the problem is more the sheer bulk of information rather than it being anyway difficult. Then again, if you find it interesting, it's easier to learn I guess!! But I'm well aware that it will only get more difficult, I just choose to ignore that right now!! Ahh no, the more difficult stuff sounds fascinating anyway so it might make it that little bit better..

2. Is it posible to have a social life and study Medicine? In first med, definitely (I only have about 18 hours a week - let's not think about how much I'm expected to do outside that!). Actually, in my college, everyone seems to have a fantastic social life.. Work hard and play hard I guess!! I reckon it's because our social lives will suffer when we do finally get out of here, but hey, for the moment I'll enjoy it!

It's a lot of work, but it's a lot of fun so far too. If you're prepared to put the work in (going into medicine as a coaster is a shock to the system though. You cannot coast!!), it's really worth it.

Feel free to chuck any questions about course content at me too!!

Oh, and put RCSI first on the CAO!

Piste · 12-04-2008 9:41pm

Cool thanks guys, that's made me a lot more happy now that I know I wont be spending 5/6 years with my nose in a book and no friends! Also good to know that the hours will be reduced.

Aoibheann: Yeah everyone tells me RCSI is the best, but still, Trinners for winners

Chunky Monkey · 12-04-2008 10:05pm

Piste wrote: »

Aoibheann: Yeah everyone tells me RCSI is the best, but still, Trinners for winners

Oh man no! Just no.

Speaking of McDreamy did anyone see that recent picture of him in The Enquirer pouring water over his head?

PS I don't read the enquirer it happened to be sitting in the staff room...honest

Piste do you think you or anyone would be interested if I posted a thread going through the UCAS application system?

Piste · 12-04-2008 11:41pm

Well I don't think I'd really be interested as there's no way I'm gonna spend 5/6 years studying all on my own in a foregin country! But sure there may be others who are interested so fire ahead!

tallaght01 · 13-04-2008 10:32am

Chunky Monkey wrote: »

Piste do you think you or anyone would be interested if I posted a thread going through the UCAS application system?

Chunky, I studied in the UK. I fwent through UCAS too long ago to be of any use to anyone now. But I know at the time it would have been useful. So post away.

Maybe try and do it in this thread,though, rather than starting a new one, just so we can keep all the medical careers info in one place, if that's ok with you.

jc2008 · 13-04-2008 10:37am

I'm in 3rd year now. What Leaving Cert subjects should I choose to do to do Medicine? (My favourite science is physics but I don't mind taking on more. I'm also good at languages so keeping a modern language on isn't a problem)

Also, when do you choose your specialty?

Chunky Monkey · 13-04-2008 8:28pm

Coolio

JC if your favourite is physics then stick with it! Then again JC physics and leaving cert is very different in terms of difficulty so see if you can borrow the textbook from a senior student to have an idea of whether you will like it or not. Make sure you do chemistry as well and pass your Irish

Check out the prospectuses for special grade requirements.

Regarding the language I think I heard something recently about some of the colleges getting rid of that requirement though I'm not sure so better check it out. But if you're good at it and enjoy it then yeah you should keep that on too.

Aoibheann · 13-04-2008 11:51pm

Piste wrote: »

Cool thanks guys, that's made me a lot more happy now that I know I wont be spending 5/6 years with my nose in a book and no friends! Also good to know that the hours will be reduced.

Aoibheann: Yeah everyone tells me RCSI is the best, but still, Trinners for winners

I swear, get yourself to RCSI or there will be repercussions!!

jc2008 · 14-04-2008 8:01pm

What about keeping all sciences on? Is this better than just one or two?

Chunky Monkey · 14-04-2008 9:36pm

Well having two will allow you to do the five year course, rather than the six year course at RCSI. Having all three will mean you can apply to Cardiff unversity.

tallaght01 · 15-04-2008 12:26am

Chunky Monkey wrote: »

. Having all three will mean you can apply to Cardiff unversity.

lol that's the most random piece of advice I've ever heard, chunky

seraphimvc · 15-04-2008 2:01am

well ,i am here just to point out that,the most hardcore i can imagine in degree course is Theorical Physics.tbh,i dont even need to compare any science courses to med...they are just different.

imagine you are expert in chemistry,dare a general doctor challenge you in chemistry?vice versa.that's why people are called professional .

but from my point of view to med(i know lots of med friends too) ,they are rather have a broad knowledge on stuffs compare to us need to dig in a specific science hole .They have to ,cause' they are gonna be practice on patients!you have to know pretty everything related to human body but in many stuffs you dont need to go into that detail ,and that's where us science courses people kick in.

med people will spend more time on the course than us(obviously 5/6 years vs 4 years),cause' they need more time on broader knowledges(studies stuffs you get that) and practices on patient before they are 'qualified'.

so in fairness ,med people win my respect by showing me their constant effort on their course.man ,imagine many extra hours than us(we need to suffer 4 years but no matter how meds one or two year more than us).however ,that doesnt mean med course hard.while specialist of med into specific area of course is a completely different story ,definitely will salute to any ,say ,cardio/neuro surgeon when i see them:D

hope i wont see any more 'i am doing med ,we are the almighty people on earth sh!te'...maybe you can do that on art/business people ,but dont forget law/engineering/actuary etc famous hard courses .like i said courses are just different ,easy or not mainly depends on your interest and effort.any person with standard IQ will be able to do a passed degree:rolleyes:

myself have been fighting a long time for CAO to do a med or science,but finally chose my path,never regrets it:)rather than learning hell lot of names on a book in many area ,i prefer into those small mechanisms ,why/how they do in different ways etc .

ZorbaTehZ · 15-04-2008 1:53pm

seraphimvc wrote: »

well ,i am here just to point out that,the most hardcore i can imagine in degree course is Theorical Physics.tbh,i dont even need to compare any science courses to med...they are just different.

Yup, I've heard that TP is quite a shellshock in terms of the workload. Though, methinks that's slightly off-topic

worksucks · 17-04-2008 1:57am

Hi looking for a bit of advice. I work as a physio and have done for 3 years now. I have always thought about doing medicine because I would love to be a GP.
I was just wondering if anyone knows the quickest way I could do medicine even if outside Ireland and if fees are more expensive. I wouldn't mind having less time to study etc.
It's just that I was planning to start a family in the next few years so the sooner I get the studying done the better.

charlieroot · 17-04-2008 11:37am

worksucks wrote: »

Hi looking for a bit of advice. I work as a physio and have done for 3 years now. I have always thought about doing medicine because I would love to be a GP.
I was just wondering if anyone knows the quickest way I could do medicine even if outside Ireland and if fees are more expensive. I wouldn't mind having less time to study etc.
It's just that I was planning to start a family in the next few years so the sooner I get the studying done the better.

Within Ireland the quickest route for you would probably be graduate entry (RCSI and UL have courses). Its a 4 year course open to graduates (of any degree with a 2.1 or higher). Entry is based on competition in the GAMSAT exam. Fees are about 13k a year.

MEGAMERGE:Questions about careers in medicine? Post here

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