pharmacy or radiation therapy?

whadabouchasir

I've always wanted to do medicine but because of the abnormally high points required im wondering what i should i do if i dont get the points.I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about either pharmacy or radiation therapy?

Fad

whadabouchasir wrote: »

I've always wanted to do medicine but because of the abnormally high points required im wondering what i should i do if i dont get the points.I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about either pharmacy or radiation therapy?

Probably more jobs to be gotten out of Pharmacy!

sunnyjim

Both jobs seem to always have a vacancy on publicjobs.ie.

WaldenByThoreua

Well Pharmacy isn't a whole lot less than med...aim for Pharm and do well and you'll have a good chance of getting med....Pharmacy job prospects are also nowhere near as rosy as they once were...cant comment on Rad Ther (no knowledge of it at all)...Pharmacy is aslo pretty damn tough in college

whadabouchasir

thanks for that although im not going to choose my college course based on current job prospects as many perople do . I would prefer to pick a course that i might actually like and be good at.

Awayindahils

whadabouchasir wrote: »

thanks for that although im not going to choose my college course based on current job prospects as many perople do . I would prefer to pick a course that i might actually like and be good at.

Ah I remember such sentiments. Now I think I might like it if I were able to get a job that isn't accounting.

whadabouchasir

well in all fairness what i mean is i wont choose a course that i am totally unsuited to just because i want a well paid job or because mammy wants me to , as many do.

puppydoggrowl

Dont do radiation therapy unless you love physics (and a crazy timetable). Theres plenty of jobs in it but the course is awful...believe me. The class is small (about 25) and from second year on you're banished to St James so it dosent feel like college anymore.
you have to be really sure that you want to do it because it is a lot tougher than it appears.

rolypolymoly

Pharmacy is pretty tough too im not gonna lie! Tough timetable(with some painfully boring subjects..but it depends on your interests i suppose) and ALOT of exams The most frustrating thing, I find, is that lots of the coursework is completely unrelated to the job (med seems to be better in that aspect). On the plus side my class has the nicest people in it and you get to know people in all four yearsy reall and trinity is a great fun! but if you really want medicine maybe you should look up the option of doing abroad(slovenia or bulgaria etc..) because some peeps in my class who originally wanted to do medicine are now faced with the prospect of doing postgrads to get in (another 4years that 9 years of study)!! If you really want it put medicine down first on the cao...ya might just surprise yourself!

REPSOC1916

Make sure you know and like Biology going into Pharmacy. We've Biology and Physiology in first year and we're examined in Physiology on the 10th of March. Both are painful if you've not much interest in Biology and prefer the Chemistry.

Besides that the course is good enough and Dublin's a lovely old town (in moderation).

whadabouchasir

Well i really want to do medicine because i like chemistry and i love working with people i just want to find out if there are any courses that are very similar to medicine also i dont do biology but i do physics and chemistry

Kurtosis

Just to point out Chemistry is the only science subject in the LC that you need to do as a requirement for pharmacy.

The course does involve quite a bit of chemistry (mainly organic chemistry). Of the 5 main subject areas: one is all chemistry (Pharmaceutical Chemistry); one is a mix of chemistry and biology/botany (Pharmacognosy, study of plant derived drug substances, covers analysing different compounds and there's a good bit on the chemistry of the actual active compunds themselves); one has a lot of physics in it (Pharmaceutics, mainly interested in dosage form); one is mainly biology (Pharmacology, looking at how a drug molecule exerts its effect in the body) and the last one is less science based (Practice of Pharmacy, covers the practicalities of working as a pharmacist, patient care, communication skills).

In addition to these, Physiology, Biology and Biochemistry are taken in first year and Microbiology in second year. This link gives a list of the modules.

farreller24

hey there, as a graduate from radiation therapy i have to say its an excellent course and job. The classes are small though usually around the 30 mark initially and then with the usual dropouts u culd be left with anything from 20-25. In past years there are mostly females in the course. Often there are many students who like you, wanted med and didnt get the points. Those who were serious about med left and went to UK or got papers rechecked etc and left to pursue med via different paths.

It helps to be good at and/or enjoy physics, and chemistry. I didnt study either for the LC but i got through fine with the help of some grinds in chemistry in first year and biochem in 2nd year. the course itself starts to focus more on cancer medicine a bit in 2nd but mainly 3rd and 4th year. Thats when it starts to get interesting. You also have to do lots of placement throughout the course which involves going to various hospitals and basically following the radiation therapist around, see what they do, and after observing you get to have a go yourself! More will be required of you as you progress from 1st - 4th yr at which stage you should have the skills to act as a part of the team and function as a qualified radiation therapist.

Personally i find there is a lot of job satisfaction with regard to treating the patients, most are so grateful and lovely lovely people. You get to see the patients daily for up to 7 weeks so you really get to know them and it is sad sometimes when the nice patients finish up their treatment!!!

My housemate is a pharmacist and she also really enjoys that career,there can however be a lot of paperwork and it is a very science heavy course. You dont get as much patient contact with pharmacy and can be just doling out prescriptions whether you work in a hospital or local pharmacy.

anyway any questions about RT just ASK!!!:)

whadabouchasir

Thanks a lot. I was also wondering if the work could be a bit repetitive as this would seriously put me off doing a course.

farreller24

well no more repetitive than any other job. Personally i like it as you meet different people from all walks of life, some sad cases, and some people who you get a great laugh out of. Also you work in a team and can have a bit of craic with your colleagues too. There are always students in learning, and i like that aspect too, as i had an interest in teaching. Technology is continually advancing as are treatment techniques and regimes, and you receive training on new techniques etc when they are being introduced. There is a big area for research aswell and most centres have research radiation therapists who organise and conduct clinical trials etc if thats something you might find yourself interested in.

A normal day in work could involve treating patients, taking images of the treatment areas (inside the body kinda like xrays and ct) and comparing them to the planning images, you could be in the mould room which involves making immobilisation devices to keep patients still during treatment, or you could be working in the simulator (planning the treatment) or the planning department (creating a computerised plan based on the ct image of the patients tumour and body size/shape). You consult with doctors/nurses re the patient. There is a small element of paperwork. If there are students in you may also work with them doing assessments etc. It really has many aspects so i dont find it boring. Most departments also rotate staff so that you might work on one specific treatment unit for 3-4 months and after that everyone moves again. This means you are constantly learning different treatment techniques and are skilled in all areas not just one. Also you get to work with different people all the time which can be fun!