Experiences of different GEM courses

avalon68

Hi all. I took the GAMSAT in Sept and have a score high enough to choose any of the courses. However, I'm very undecided on which to choose. Could any current GEMs give an overview of their experiences - pros/cons of their course. I think right now UL is the front runner for me - how do people find PBL? I'm not trying to start a 'This place is better than that place' thread - just would like to hear peoples opinions from their own experience - of the course, placements etc. There are several threads covering bits about different courses, but it would be good for all prospective GEMs to have more recent information that covers all of the courses offered

brendanwalsh

Avoid UL it’s shlte, UCD or ucc are your best bets

RoundPony

brendanwalsh wrote: »

Avoid UL it’s shlte, UCD or ucc are your best bets

My suggestion to those thinking about studying GEMS is to only seriously consider advice from people who have actually studied graduate entry medicine in each school.

Not people like brendanwalsh who have not studied GEMS and who, for some reason, like to hear themselves talk about things they don't have any experience with.

I expect Brendanwalsh might call me names for posting this - he has a habit of calling medicine students "assholes" (see below for the post). I haven't met one fellow GEMS student that I would label an asshole - but maybe your asshole radar stops working when you become an asshole medical student yourself?

OP - there are positives and negatives about all GEMS courses but the main distinction between UL and RCSI/UCD/UCC is obviously the PBL style of teaching. Happy to discuss with you via PM if you want to hear my personal experience and reasoning for choosing the course that I did.

Signed,
A real-life medical student


Some of Brendan's finest work:
GAMSAT 2017

"Lot of assholes in undergraduate and graduate medicine is the bottom line. People who think they are the cats pyjamas because they've got in to the course."

RoamingDoc

RoundPony wrote: »

there are positives and negatives about all GEMS courses but the main distinction between UL and RCSI/UCD/UCC is obviously the PBL style of teaching.

I obviously can't speak about what UL is like to actually attend but I did work with some UL graduates over the past number of years.

They're completely indistinguishable from the graduates of the other medical schools in Ireland.

No matter which one is picked, you'll still need to put in a lot of hard work, then come out the other side to continue to put in a lot of hard work.

In short, UL is not ****e- that's (at best) absurdly simplistic. Well done to the first poster for their good scores!

mossie23

Current UL student here,

PBL style learning is a tough transition for a few weeks if you haven't undertaken it before, but after a while you get used to it. Its beneficial because you take responsibility for learning and understanding the topics. Revision of topics seems more manageable as a result.
UL really is a great Uni. Similar to all universities it has its problems, but overall I feel like it is a really good programme. I am going to be graduating in 2021, and I definitely feel that I will be well drilled in the job for the wards. I would say that it is a very practical programme, and they do not overly focus on some topics, such as Oncology, and microbiology. However this is where the Self Directed Learning style kicks in and its usually all G.

Iscreamkone

avalon68 wrote: »

Hi all. I took the GAMSAT in Sept and have a score high enough to choose any of the courses. However, I'm very undecided on which to choose. Could any current GEMs give an overview of their experiences - pros/cons of their course. I think right now UL is the front runner for me - how do people find PBL? I'm not trying to start a 'This place is better than that place' thread - just would like to hear peoples opinions from their own experience - of the course, placements etc. There are several threads covering bits about different courses, but it would be good for all prospective GEMs to have more recent information that covers all of the courses offered

What do you call the person who comes in last position in the worst medical school in the country? That's right... Doctor!!!