Medicine - UCD, TCD or RCSI?

Leinsterr

Hi all. I'm a fourth year who aspires to be a doctor. I'm wondering which would be the best college to attend to study medicine. I want to go into surgery and want to get some past students' advice on their college choice. I've heard people say that TCD uses archaic teaching methods. What is this and I assume that it is a negative aspect to the course, so, why? In terms of facilities, which would be the best out of the three? Which has the biggest class sizes? Is pre-med in UCD essential to success? What appealed to you to choose a college for medicine? On a side note is doing the 3 sciences + Applied Maths next year doable or should I leave out Applied Maths? Also, how is UCD in general? I have been there twice for work experience and I absolutely loved it! Great craic etc. Can't wait to go to college, that is if I am lucky enough to get the points. Cheers in advance.

iscr

RCSI GEP. SC1. 100 percentile in gamsat 1st attempt therefore felt I should apply RCSI- only apply for RCSI if you learn at the level of leaving cert grind school. Teaching is very poor and we are always told "you guys gotta be great actors for the OSCE" i.e. pretend you are auscultating . Very much taught by our own graduates who know nothing except how to score high on exams without knowing anything. Need I say more?
"Archaic methods " TCD = they teach medicine properly, I suspect, and their graduates do not do well on the intern national scale because they are taught properly and examined properly. I remember Prof Croke in 1st year replying to the sighs when he put up a very simplified slide of glycolysis "In TCD you'd have to learn off all the pathways and all the chemical structures"
UCD- met them in Loughlinstown. Their profs personally taught them for OSCEs!!!! None of your cheap RCSI efforts at peer teaching. Very sorry I didn't apply UCD instead of RCSI. Anyhow, better go read the EBM bitesized slide we were told was the only slide we needed for RCSI data OSCE.

seantorious

I don't know why this was ignored for so long, for UCD we are taught OSCEs, but I don't have the experience to compare this to TCD or RCSI.

Regarding preclinical medicine UCD is quite good, as long as you turn up and read the textbook you'll do well, supplemental information and offers for clinical work/reserach are offered from the first year but you have to be proactive like everything in life.
In clinical years it does seam a bit haphazardly organized at the start but as long as you attend the OSCE and history classes, go to rounds and read the clinical textbook you will learn the stuff. But remember that regarding rounds some are just pointless to attend. Its really difficult to quantify this but maybe 3-4 weeks of the 12 weeks it is better to sit at home and read 2-3 hours than to go in for the day and learn nothing.
I dont feel right criticizing the other universities as I feel its a bit above my station as I havn't been taught there. I'm sure their fine but as explained above if true about RCSI its quite damning.
The most important thing about med school to remember is that everyone whines all the f**king time. Especially international students because they pay so much to attend. Ooh we didnt learn this, you didnt teach us this and my favourite this would never happen in canada (i have nothing against canadians but by f**k do they whine). You have to drown out the whining because it is quite annoying after a while.
Thats as impartial as I can be about UCD.