Medicine course thread

Allie79

I figured as much, nice to have it confirmed!

Abby19

Allie79 wrote: »

Hey guys, one of our lecturers told us today that we should all have a bunch of equipment already for neuro exams as well as an opthalmoscope and put up a a slide showing the 20 things we needed to run out and buy (!). Any thoughts? Obviously most of us have a stethoscope by now and Talley and O'Connor but little else given we're only 2nd Meds. If there are things we do need to buy, any advice on brands/ models etc?

blubloblu wrote: »

You don't. Tendon hammers are cheap if you feel the need to buy something.

You can get a fairly cheap student set here. There is a Facebook discount as well. Email them and they should give you details. Only thing not included really is the monofilament.

http://www.medisave.co.uk/medisave-student-bundle-kit.html

hangover14

Hey everyone,

The thread has been dead for a while so I thought I'd give it a bump. I'm an American entering Medicine as a 21 year old after finishing my degree.

I'm fired up to be coming to Dublin! Any advice in general regarding Dublin, 1st med, etc...? Cheers.

AndrewJD

hangover14 wrote: »

Hey everyone,

The thread has been dead for a while so I thought I'd give it a bump. I'm an American entering Medicine as a 21 year old after finishing my degree.

I'm fired up to be coming to Dublin! Any advice in general regarding Dublin, 1st med, etc...? Cheers.

Well apparently Dublin is the 8th best student city in the world so I think you'll do fine. My advice would be to travel around Europe as much as you can during the first couple of years, I'm not from the US myself but that's a sentiment echoed a lot around my north american classmates. It may seem like there's a high workload but it's not too bad compared with some other years later on.

It's great fun though, good luck!

Abby19

hangover14 wrote: »

Hey everyone,

The thread has been dead for a while so I thought I'd give it a bump. I'm an American entering Medicine as a 21 year old after finishing my degree.

I'm fired up to be coming to Dublin! Any advice in general regarding Dublin, 1st med, etc...? Cheers.

There is a Facebook group for your class https://www.facebook.com/groups/590067244360709/members/
Though at the moment it is probably just higher years, and a few overseas students, such as yourself. The Irish schoolleavers sit their school leaving exams in June and are allocated places in mid-August.

hangover14

Just saw that the page was created- thanks.

And thanks everyone for your input!

Kez1

So, third year here we go! Any advice? I've heard some bad things about the workload but are they just exaggerations?

Also what books are essential? I want one book only for each subject, can't afford multiple ones for each.

Any advice for rotations and balancing study time?

Thanks!

A Neurotic

Kez1 wrote: »

So, third year here we go! Any advice? I've heard some bad things about the workload but are they just exaggerations?

Also what books are essential? I want one book only for each subject, can't afford multiple ones for each.

Any advice for rotations and balancing study time?

Thanks!

Third year seems to be a very mixed bag. Some rotations will feature people who are eager to teach, and expect you to always be present for ward rounds and clinics. On some rotations, you may be invisible. I definitely had more experience of the latter (although my own laziness is of course an equally important factor there - on many rotations it's very easy to go home early or take days off and I did so often).

The workload in terms of lectures etc. is considerable (LabMed is a beast of a module) but a certain lecturer is traditionally very good at indicating what areas to focus on shortly before the exam. An example might be "oh, you might want to look over hepatology", or more accurately "the exact titles of the essay questions are as follows and also the external examiner has a special interest in X so take it from that angle and also here are almost half of the short answer questions on the paper".

I'd recommend getting a good pathology book, several of which are available in the library. I used Muir's because I found it nice and concise; the majority did well with Robbin's and Rubin's, both of which are behemoths and all you could ever need.

For pharm, I'd strongly recommend A Textbook of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. It was on the top of the suggested reading list and an awful lot of the lectures were clearly lifted from it, so I think it's a good choice.

Kez1

Thanks A Neurotic!

A Neurotic wrote: »

The workload in terms of lectures etc. is considerable (LabMed is a beast of a module) but a certain lecturer is traditionally very good at indicating what areas to focus on shortly before the exam. An example might be "oh, you might want to look over hepatology", or more accurately "the exact titles of the essay questions are as follows and also the external examiner has a special interest in X so take it from that angle and also here are almost half of the short answer questions on the paper".

Do we need a book for that? And have you any tips on how to stay on top of lambed? I've heard it's tough.

Thanks for the help!

A Neurotic

Kez1 wrote: »

Thanks A Neurotic!



Do we need a book for that? And have you any tips on how to stay on top of lambed? I've heard it's tough.

Thanks for the help!

Yeah, LabMed is the pathology module, so the texts I mentioned above would be for that. You could maybe look through a couple of them in the library and find one you like before splashing out, if you're going to buy one.

As regards staying on top of it, unless it's changed a lot in two years, it's a very poorly examined module. As in, you could have worked consistently and have a good general knowledge of all of the major aspects of the course, and then get an SAQ on some tiny aspect (rhabdomyosarcoma is still a running joke in my class) or worse, an essay question on something not on the course at all (we had to be explicitly told the titles before the exam or not one of us would have passed that question, I'm sure).

In short, keep up with the basics but don't go crazy in depth. It's not worth it, very low-yield studying, and you'll hopefully be explicitly told about 40-50% of the paper in the week or two preceding the exam.

This is all my opinion anyway, others in my class on here may disagree!

Abby19

Kez1 wrote: »

Do we need a book for that? And have you any tips on how to stay on top of lambed? I've heard it's tough.

Oh yes it is!

A Neurotic wrote: »

Yeah, LabMed is the pathology module, so the texts I mentioned above would be for that. You could maybe look through a couple of them in the library and find one you like before splashing out, if you're going to buy one.

As regards staying on top of it, unless it's changed a lot in two years, it's a very poorly examined module. As in, you could have worked consistently and have a good general knowledge of all of the major aspects of the course, and then get an SAQ on some tiny aspect (rhabdomyosarcoma is still a running joke in my class) or worse, an essay question on something not on the course at all (we had to be explicitly told the titles before the exam or not one of us would have passed that question, I'm sure).

In short, keep up with the basics but don't go crazy in depth. It's not worth it, very low-yield studying, and you'll hopefully be explicitly told about 40-50% of the paper in the week or two preceding the exam.

This is all my opinion anyway, others in my class on here may disagree!

Labmed is a mixed bag, pathology, microbiology, clinical biochemistry, immunology and haematology (I think that's it). Some lectures their notes are sufficient, some it helps to look at books. The Lecture Notes in Clinical Biochemistry was good. Micro ridiculously simple was still good.

A Neurotic wrote: »

Third year seems to be a very mixed bag. Some rotations will feature people who are eager to teach, and expect you to always be present for ward rounds and clinics. On some rotations, you may be invisible. I definitely had more experience of the latter (although my own laziness is of course an equally important factor there - on many rotations it's very easy to go home early or take days off and I did so often).

The workload in terms of lectures etc. is considerable (LabMed is a beast of a module) but a certain lecturer is traditionally very good at indicating what areas to focus on shortly before the exam. An example might be "oh, you might want to look over hepatology", or more accurately "the exact titles of the essay questions are as follows and also the external examiner has a special interest in X so take it from that angle and also here are almost half of the short answer questions on the paper".

I'd recommend getting a good pathology book, several of which are available in the library. I used Muir's because I found it nice and concise; the majority did well with Robbin's and Rubin's, both of which are behemoths and all you could ever need.

For pharm, I'd strongly recommend A Textbook of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. It was on the top of the suggested reading list and an awful lot of the lectures were clearly lifted from it, so I think it's a good choice.

As A Neurotic said there is a selection of Pathology books, maybe check out the recommended texts and have a quick look in the library and see what suits you. That Pharm book was good, but the notes for most of pharm were good too and every so often you are warned that certain things are a little bit more important than others ...

_Definitely_ go to the revision lecture - it is quite literally such a beast of a course that without it you probably wouldn't (or couldn't) pass.

Rotations - can be hit or miss - you do tend to get out of it what you put in. But there generally is someone on your team who is nice and will help/teach you. Maybe see if you can help them to free them up to help/teach you, e.g. in clinic - offer to get the next patient file in for them, or fill out blood/test/xray forms for them. Also interns tend to rotate 3 monthly, SHOs, regs, SPRs can rotate 3/6/12 monthly so maybe find out where they are in that cycle. They may be starting out or scrambling to get reports signed off themselves and ordinarily be lovely, but just not have time for you.

Kez1

Thanks guys, very helpful.

I'm really looking forward to rotations this year. So hopefully it'll help power through the not so nice topics like Lab Med.

Thanks!

!?!

Hi everyone!

I'll be entering fourth year (woo!) and plan to really apply myself this year.

I'm considering specializing in paeds or possibly obs/gynae and would really appreciate some tips on how to do well in these subjects.

If you're feeling generous I won't turn down tips for GP and psych either

Thanks!

medicine12345

Hi everyone!

I'll be entering fourth year (woo!) and plan to really apply myself this year.

I'm considering specializing in paeds or possibly obs/gynae and would really appreciate some tips on how to do well in these subjects.

If you're feeling generous I won't turn down tips for GP and psych either

Thanks!

Hey would you have any advice for someone going into 3rd year? What exams to look out for, books to buy, how to make the most of attachments, etc
Thanks!

A Neurotic

Any graduates lingering around? Any textbook suggestions for final year? I'm thinking OHCM, Kumar and Clark, and possibly a good surgical text if recommended?

Icemancometh

A Neurotic wrote: »

Any graduates lingering around? Any textbook suggestions for final year? I'm thinking OHCM, Kumar and Clark, and possibly a good surgical text if recommended?

Kumar and Clark is pretty dense, I stuck with OHCM and used Medicine at a Glance. If you're gunning for a first, Kumar and Clark by all means. As for surgery, Surgical Talk is a good starting point, covers everything pretty well. I was more interested in medicine than surgery, so can't offer much beyond that.

Kwekubo

Agree with Icemancometh. Medicine at a Glance is a really good book. Surgical Talk is good but limited. And in real life the OHCM app is amazingly useful to have access to when on call.

medicine12345

Any graduates lingering around? Any textbook suggestions for final year? I'm thinking OHCM, Kumar and Clark, and possibly a good surgical text if recommended?

Kumar and Clark is pretty dense, I stuck with OHCM and used Medicine at a Glance

Agree with Icemancometh

Could any of you guys please offer any tips for third year? We still havn't been told anything yet.. Thanks

blubloblu

Did other years get titres done after Hep B vaccinations through College Health?

Kwekubo

blubloblu wrote: »

Did other years get titres done after Hep B vaccinations through College Health?

You're meant to, about 1.5% of people remain susceptible even after three doses of hepatitis B vaccine.

medicine12345 wrote: »

Could any of you guys please offer any tips for third year? We still havn't been told anything yet.. Thanks

I'd go with what A Neurotic and Abby19 said earlier in the thread. Enjoy your last summer of freedom (or what's left of it)!

starry nights

What can we expect on rotations? Will we be doing much hands on or will it be more observing? And I have heard there's a viva for Pharmacology, whats that like? Is it really hard or alright? Do we have many lab stuff this year? We've literally been told nothing so far.

A Neurotic

starry nights wrote: »

What can we expect on rotations? Will we be doing much hands on or will it be more observing? And I have heard there's a viva for Pharmacology, whats that like? Is it really hard or alright? Do we have many lab stuff this year? We've literally been told nothing so far.

Most rotations you'll be expected to attend ward rounds and clinics. You might get to scrub in on some surgeries, present histories and examinations on ward rounds, take bloods and put in cannulas, depending on the team you're with and your own enthusiasm. No need to be nervous - nothing will be expected of you. Personally on about half of my 3rd year rotations I was largely ignored, which can suit just fine if you want to skip a few days or head home early.

The pharm viva is grand, you're given a drug kardex and asked to go through it, pointing out any allergies, wrong doses, interactions etc. Jennifer Kieran does a load of prep sessions for it so you'll know what's expected.

sleepyheadh

does anyone know if that garda vetting thing should be done as soon as possible, or is it just kind of a thing that be filled in any time before sept whenever?

sleepyheadh

anyone still not got an email?

Just Like Heaven

sleepyheadh wrote: »

anyone still not got an email?

Nothing here, and sure thattt''ss graaaannd.

sleepyheadh wrote: »

does anyone know if that garda vetting thing should be done as soon as possible, or is it just kind of a thing that be filled in any time before sept whenever?

Needs to be returned to admissions office by 13th of September.

Abby19

sleepyheadh wrote: »

does anyone know if that garda vetting thing should be done as soon as possible, or is it just kind of a thing that be filled in any time before sept whenever?

It is easy enough if you have always lived in Ireland - if you have lived abroad it is a little more complicated. It is your responsibility to contact to get police clearance in the other countries you have lived in. Some embassies/consulates will help out, others will require you to contact the police departments yourself. And that can take time.

If you have moved around they are quite understanding about it being a little late getting in to them. It is a legal requirement for you to work in hospitals/with vulnerable people.

Kez1

Hi guys,


Just wondering if any ye have copies of the christmas (and summer) past MCQ papers for lab med and pharm? They're not published on the exam paper website which is a pain.

ChuchuBear

sleepyheadh wrote: »

anyone still not got an email?

nope.

iwillarise

Hi guys,

I have a friend who has a history exam in a couple of weeks, and I want to help her study by perhaps learning some hypothetical patient scenarios. Are there any good sites/online resources that you guys use for mock patient histories or studying for this type of exam in general?


Thanks for any help.

chymes

Hi,

I'm looking to choose between TCD Med and another UK School. I was just wondering if the papers reflected on tcd.ie/Local/Exam_Papers are accurate?

Because the physiology papers at least in year one seem to differ quite a bit from other UK schools in the sense they don't test it in a integrative style. And is it then correct to assume there are 9 papers in one year? (seems like a lot to study haha)

By integrative style i'm talking about those questions that seem to appear in the year 5 papers where they ask you about abnormalities and such...

Also, does TCD use a Systems-based approach in teaching??