Graduate Entry Medicine Question

owenk

Just wondered if there were any medical students or dr's on here to help me out on somethin?
Im 29 yrs old and work as a radiographer. While I am very well paid for my job and only every work on-call once fortnight!, my job bores me to death!.
The highlight of my month is my week rotation in MRI!!!!:eek:
I feel very unfulfilled and and would like something with a bit more resposnibility and excitement! I was considering graduate entry medicine.
I met a locum radiographer over the summer in our dept who had just complete his 1st yr grad medicine and the prospect appealed to me even more. However, i do remember RTE's "junior dr's" programme last yr and they seemed to work on excess of 100hrs a week!

Just wanted to know, how enjoyable a career it is, how tough is it?
Do you always work 100+ hrs?. Also, what is the course like itself?
Do u think it would be possible for me to work part-time, ie wends, or a few 6-12pm shifts during the week, to support myself financially???
Is 29yrs too old to go onto medicine , if I was accepted?
What are the clinical yrs like as a student? When i was training to be a radiographer, we worked 9-5, is this the case for a medical student??
Thank you in advance. Owen

Traumadoc

Its like anything - some people regret ever doing it - others love everymoment - even others find it boring. The hours are long and stressful- untill you get to be a consultant - then the stress is the worst thing. The hours are a bit easier- you still do call- I was in untill 5 am on Monday night back again at 8 am. full working day followed.. most junior docs will do about 70 hours a week -but you get 6 weeks holidays per year.

I know of another radiographer who did medicine - she used to do odd weekends/summer work while a medical student.

There was a 40 year old mature student a few years below me so 29 is not too old.

Clinical years tend to be 9-5 but more interesting than the non-clinical years.

Swanmedic

Hey!
Im a first year med student in Wales on a graduate entry programme. So my experience is only really aimed at your questions about the pre-clinical stuff. First of all if you really want to do medicine then take the plunge and go for it. 29 is just above the average age of the people on my course. 39 is the eldest with 21 being the youngest. So I wouldnt worry about being 29 and wanting to retrain. The graduate course that Im on is fantastic and Ive never regreted applying. The course is very focused and from the first week you're applying material to the clinical setting. It is hard work, especially if you havent done science before but you can still get onto these courses if you're from a non-science background.
A big consideration is whether to study in Ireland or not. The courses in Ireland are very limited (RCSI and UCD are definites at the minute but other unis havent introduced them yet). And they are expensive....RCSI charged38,000euro just for tuition fees last year. Obviously you have to consider living expenses on top of that especially if you're living in dublin. The last I heard UCD were charging 15,000e per year but that wasnt for certain.
In england the fees for EU students is 3,000 pounds and Wales are meant to be introducing a similiar fee for the next academic year as it is 1,200 pounds at present. It is fairly clear to see that Uk and Ireland are poles apart as regards tuition fees.
These courses tend to be very competitive to get onto but previous experience in a health care environment is very beneficial and reflects very well.
I thinkthe closing dates for Ireland are very soon (with UCD I think its the same time as CAO) while the applications for UK have to be in by Oct 15th of the year before you tend to start.
For most grad medic programmes you have to complete a test (eg. Gamsat or equivalent). Last year UCD used the results of the Gamsat as the selection criteria (but you had to have 2:1 in previous degree and at least 450 points in your Leving cert). RSCI interviewed their applicants as far as Im aware.
It is a long process but making the decision to do it and getting onto the course are the hardest parts of it. Personally Im loving every minute so far.
If you would like any more info on applying through UCAS then drop me a post. Best of luck with deciding!

RM

hi swanmedic, ive applied for graduate entry medicine in the UK and I was wondering if you know if the NHS bursary that covers tuition fees for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year graduate entry medicine applies to irish students? cant find it out anywhere! thanks!

eth0_

It doesn't cover you until 4th year. You have to be resident in the UK three years before they'll give you a bursary.

N8

owenk wrote:

Just wondered if there were any medical students or dr's on here to help me out on somethin?
Im 29 yrs old and work as a radiographer. While I am very well paid for my job and only every work on-call once fortnight!, my job bores me to death!.
The highlight of my month is my week rotation in MRI!!!!:eek:
I feel very unfulfilled and and would like something with a bit more resposnibility and excitement! I was considering graduate entry medicine.
I met a locum radiographer over the summer in our dept who had just complete his 1st yr grad medicine and the prospect appealed to me even more. However, i do remember RTE's "junior dr's" programme last yr and they seemed to work on excess of 100hrs a week!

Just wanted to know, how enjoyable a career it is, how tough is it?
Do you always work 100+ hrs?. Also, what is the course like itself?
Do u think it would be possible for me to work part-time, ie wends, or a few 6-12pm shifts during the week, to support myself financially???
Is 29yrs too old to go onto medicine , if I was accepted?
What are the clinical yrs like as a student? When i was training to be a radiographer, we worked 9-5, is this the case for a medical student??
Thank you in advance. Owen

why just consider medicine? Other health care disciplines use x-ray and MRI for example chiropractors. What aboutsetting up an independent X-Ray and MRI centre?

RM

thanks swanmedic!