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Graduate Medicine - UCC or UL?
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04-10-2016 8:56pm#1
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I finished first year in UL GEMS yesterday and just wanted to share a few thoughts. There are some really detailed posts here from a while back that are still totally relevant so try to find those if you haven't already!
I think the most important thing to say is that GEMS does not deserve the reputation it has. Yes, there are aspects of the school that are frustrating but having attended a Dublin university that offers a GEM course for my undergrad, I know that every college has its bad points. Overall, I really enjoyed the year in Limerick and will be looking forward to coming back - but not until I've thoroughly enjoyed our 11 weeks off
In terms of teaching, I was unsure of what to expect from PBL but I would say that it was really good most of the time. It can be frustrating as you feel that you are essentially teaching yourself but as the months go by and you get to know your classmates, you get the hang of it and start to benefit from it a lot more. I found that it was really engaging most of the time and a refreshing new way to learn. While it can be stressful, it's effective. You definitely learn. No cramming material you haven't even seen before at the end of the semester. Sitting for 40 hours a week in lectures no longer sounds appealing to me. Most weeks, there are a couple of lectures to supplement PBL but these aren't mandatory. I attended some really good lectures and some really poor ones this year, same as every other course.
Clinical teaching is second to none from what I can gather. We usually had two sessions a week and learned a wide range of skills throughout the year. It was all quite introductory this year, examining each other and "normal" patients in the OCASE exams but next year, they're going build on our knowledge and obviously this is just going to be a solid base for the clinical years. All tutors are practicing GPs and most of them are absolutely brilliant.
Anatomy has just not been my thing this year. Again, teaching is self-directed - you are given material to work through and then there is an hour and a half session once a week where some topics are covered. An hour and a half is nowhere near enough. The sessions were also not compulsory so I only attended a handful as I wasn't keen on the format. It appears to be possible to pass regardless, so I'm happy enough to just do enough to do that. It doesn't seem to have any bearing on future careers, which I know is a concern for a lot of people - plenty of GEMS grads are going the surgical path.
There are around 135 people in my class and among that group are some of the loveliest people I have ever met. Graduate medicine is an extremely demanding and stressful course but I have found the support in Limerick to be absolutely fantastic. Same goes for staff - lots of support if required.
Like I say, there have been frustrations of course, but the good has definitely outweighed the bad in my opinion. That's just a very vague overview of my year but if anyone wants to PM me with specific questions, please feel free - I'd be happy to help if I can. At the end of the day, you'll leave every university with a medical degree - it's what you do with it that matters in the long run.0 -
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Thank you for this lovely post!I finished first year in UL GEMS yesterday and just wanted to share a few thoughts. There are some really detailed posts here from a while back that are still totally relevant so try to find those if you haven't already!
I think the most important thing to say is that GEMS does not deserve the reputation it has. Yes, there are aspects of the school that are frustrating but having attended a Dublin university that offers a GEM course for my undergrad, I know that every college has its bad points. Overall, I really enjoyed the year in Limerick and will be looking forward to coming back - but not until I've thoroughly enjoyed our 11 weeks off
In terms of teaching, I was unsure of what to expect from PBL but I would say that it was really good most of the time. It can be frustrating as you feel that you are essentially teaching yourself but as the months go by and you get to know your classmates, you get the hang of it and start to benefit from it a lot more. I found that it was really engaging most of the time and a refreshing new way to learn. While it can be stressful, it's effective. You definitely learn. No cramming material you haven't even seen before at the end of the semester. Sitting for 40 hours a week in lectures no longer sounds appealing to me. Most weeks, there are a couple of lectures to supplement PBL but these aren't mandatory. I attended some really good lectures and some really poor ones this year, same as every other course.
Clinical teaching is second to none from what I can gather. We usually had two sessions a week and learned a wide range of skills throughout the year. It was all quite introductory this year, examining each other and "normal" patients in the OCASE exams but next year, they're going build on our knowledge and obviously this is just going to be a solid base for the clinical years. All tutors are practicing GPs and most of them are absolutely brilliant.
Anatomy has just not been my thing this year. Again, teaching is self-directed - you are given material to work through and then there is an hour and a half session once a week where some topics are covered. An hour and a half is nowhere near enough. The sessions were also not compulsory so I only attended a handful as I wasn't keen on the format. It appears to be possible to pass regardless, so I'm happy enough to just do enough to do that. It doesn't seem to have any bearing on future careers, which I know is a concern for a lot of people - plenty of GEMS grads are going the surgical path.
There are around 135 people in my class and among that group are some of the loveliest people I have ever met. Graduate medicine is an extremely demanding and stressful course but I have found the support in Limerick to be absolutely fantastic. Same goes for staff - lots of support if required.
Like I say, there have been frustrations of course, but the good has definitely outweighed the bad in my opinion. That's just a very vague overview of my year but if anyone wants to PM me with specific questions, please feel free - I'd be happy to help if I can. At the end of the day, you'll leave every university with a medical degree - it's what you do with it that matters in the long run.
Are there a lot of non-Irish/British students on the program? Do you know how much support the school provides for those wanting to go and practice in their home countries after graduation?
Also, what is the average age of students on the program?1 -
No problem!
Of the class of 130+, I think there's about 40-45 from Canada or the US, and maybe 15 or so EU students (mainly UK). There seems to be quite a bit of support for people wanting to go abroad to work - there's lots of focus on USMLE and Canadian boards in 2nd year onwards but even quite a lot of the Irish students apply for jobs in the UK, so I don't think there should be any problem at all getting back home. I'll probably know more about it from next year onwards as it becomes more of a reality
there's definitely a huge amount of support from the student body as far as I can tell - lots of sharing of information goes on between the years - so I'd imagine it would be the same when it comes to applying for jobs/electives etc.
There's a big enough age range - we had some 21-year-olds starting out, right up to late 30s. Average age was probably 24/25? I know there are some older students in the upper years too.0 -
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Celestial12 wrote: »Thanks inca.
Just wondering how you found the workload? Were the exams difficult, what type of assessment is most commonly used etc.
The workload is fairly intense! But the advantage is that you're having to learn consistently, so I think it was probably easier to revise towards the end of the semesters as the material was somewhat familiar (for the most part). There aren't very many mandatory sessions either so it's not as if you're spending all day in college and then having to come home and study. PBL is 3 hours on a Tuesday and 2 hours on Friday, clinical skills is usually 2 sessions a week (an hour and a half most Mondays and 3 hours on a Thursday). Anatomy is an hour and a half on Mondays (but not compulsory) and then some lectures through the week (mostly Wednesday) and if they are compulsory, you'll be told.
We had written exams before Christmas and just last week. We had three written exams each time and a practical OCASE exam at summer. The main issue is in the volume of material. I didn't find any of it particularly difficult, there is just so much to cover and retain in a short space of time. The key seems to be in finding a system that suits you and keeping up-to-date throughout the year - that usually takes some time! I found the exams themselves generally ok, fair enough - but I just hadn't left myself enough time to learn everything thoroughly. But fingers crossed! And I've learned my lesson for next year, hopefully
We had a bit of continuous assessment too - we had to submit videos of us carrying out clinical skills, we had a couple of essays on professional competencies (health law and ethics and the like) and also a presentation. We had to meet patients in small groups and report back our findings to the class - it focused heavily on the social side of things rather than the illnesses they were suffering from, it was quite interesting.0 -
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Thank you!No problem!
Of the class of 130+, I think there's about 40-45 from Canada or the US, and maybe 15 or so EU students (mainly UK). There seems to be quite a bit of support for people wanting to go abroad to work - there's lots of focus on USMLE and Canadian boards in 2nd year onwards but even quite a lot of the Irish students apply for jobs in the UK, so I don't think there should be any problem at all getting back home. I'll probably know more about it from next year onwards as it becomes more of a reality there's definitely a huge amount of support from the student body as far as I can tell - lots of sharing of information goes on between the years - so I'd imagine it would be the same when it comes to applying for jobs/electives etc.
There's a big enough age range - we had some 21-year-olds starting out, right up to late 30s. Average age was probably 24/25? I know there are some older students in the upper years too.0 -
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RCSI do, think they actually have two - November and possibly January? I went to one and really enjoyed it. I didn't go to the one in UL but have heard that it's excellent. Students take part in mock PBL sessions, which is really interesting because it shows you what you'll actually be doing here. I've volunteered to take part this year so might bump into some of you that are coming everyone here is so willing to answer questions and help out so I hope you'll enjoy and benefit from it! 0
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RCSI do, think they actually have two - November and possibly January? I went to one and really enjoyed it. I didn't go to the one in UL but have heard that it's excellent. Students take part in mock PBL sessions, which is really interesting because it shows you what you'll actually be doing here. I've volunteered to take part this year so might bump into some of you that are coming everyone here is so willing to answer questions and help out so I hope you'll enjoy and benefit from it!
Thanks for the info! Definitely going to go to the one in UL. I just saw that RCSI have an event on the 4th of November. Don't think I'll go to it, but I'll see nearer the time. At the moment I'm leaning towards doing GEM in UL, followed by UCC/UCD. Hoping to get a good snapshot of what the course in UL is like during the information day, and if I like it then it will be my first choice. I just wish I had the GAMSAT results already!0 -
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