- Joined
- Feb 10, 2006
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 1
Hey,
I've been reading these forms and I can see many people have questions about how things work at the RCSI. There have been a couple of posts praising the RCSI and a equal number crying foul. I feel the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
I graduated from the RCSI in May 2005. I did VERY well academically and matched to my first choice residency program in North America. What's wrong with that? Why would I want to complain? Plain and simple, the product the RCSI sold me was a rip-off and far different from that which they advertised.
I spent 5 years and close to a quarter of a million dollars. I can speak from experience. If you are thinking of going there, here are some things you should know.
1. Cost: Yes it costs a small fortune to attend the RCSI. Furthermore, the price of living in Dublin is steep. Don't believe the hype you read on these forms - it will take a long time to pay back the debt you incur. 5 years of med school plus 5 years of residency, believe me man that debt is going to be huge. You make a lot of money as a doctor, but it also costs a lot of money to be a doctor. By the time you have paid your malpractice insurance, made a mortgage payment, paid for a car, bought a wedding ring and put your kid through school, all of a sudden that $350,000 per year doesn't seem so big and won't go very far towards your $500,000 debt. Be very suspicious of the RCSI being so cosy with the loan companies... very suspicious.
2. Matching: So you want to match to a good residency program in the USA or Canada? The RCSI has a 90% match rate... according to the RCSI. Lets take a close look at this. First of all, only about 10% of students from each year apply to the USA. Accordingly, it is a self-selecting process. Only those who are motivated make an attempt. If the entire classs were to apply, it's likely the match rate would only be around 10%. Fact: there were some American students who graduated last year and flunked their USMLEs. Accordingly they re-wrote their exams and applied to the match this year. Some of them have yet to receive interviews, despite having done electives in programs where they're applying (that's almost unheard of and usually means you don't have a hope in hell of making the grade). The RCSI trumpets a few students who matched to competetive US programs in each graduating class and sites their accomplishments as proof the RCSI is a great education. Don't believe a minute of it. Those students are responsible for their own success. Their incredibly hard work ensured their success, not the RCSI. DO you hear what I am saying? Go to Trinity, save a load of cash and accomplish the same thing.
Electives: The RCSI brags about having elective agreements with some fancy centres in the USA and RCSI students can do electives there in the summer... sort of. Indeed some RCSI students go to the Mayo, Hopkins, etc every summer. However, the Vice Dean (who shall remain nameless, but I ****ing pitty you if you ever have to deal with her) controls access to those spots and the opportunity to go to Mayo etc. isn't excatly awarded based on merit. Instead, your ability to suck up and stab your classmates in the back will be rewarded with a chance to go to Mayo. Also, you often cannot choose the subject of your elective. Instead, you go wherever the RCSI arranges. Hey, you wanna do a vascular surgery elective and the RCSI arranges a month long elective in gastroenterology(it happens alot). Congratulations, you just wasted one of your precious month long elective spots. A vascular surgeons isn't even going to read a letter from a gastroenterologist. Time and money well wasted courtesy of the RCSI!
Organisation: This has been a colossal problem for the RCSI. They could not organise a 1 horse parade. You can expect lectures, tutorials and even whole rotations to be cancelled without notice. Furthermore, changes are often made at the 11th hour - really ****ing convenient when you are trying to plan your USMLEs, electives and buy a cheap plane ticket home. I remember showing up at Temple Street hospital for my ENT rotation and no one knew we were coming. By the time they sorted it out, the rotation was over. Money well spent! I could go on for hours here, but ask anyone who has attened the RCSI about the college's organisational abilities and they will say "what organisational abilities?" This is a significant point when you consider the enormous amount of money you pay and how little effort is directed towards delivering the product you have purchased.
Accountability: Faculty from the RCSI regularly travel to exotic locations in business class and stay in 5 star hotels. Some of the staff even have clothing allowances as part of their contract. Conversely, the RCSI library did not purchase a subscription to UP TO DATE.com last year because they said it was too expensive. More expensive than 6 round trip business class tickets to Hong Kong and 6 rooms for 10 nights at the Shangri La? What about the 4 other big faculty junkets that year? How much of our money went down the tubes there? What makes this even more laughable is the fact that the rest of the RCSI library can be described at OUT OF DATE.com. Where are the priorities here? Is this education or the Irish answer to the US Republican Party. When you visit the RCSI, look around the main foyer for the pork barrel! Don't be suprised to see Jack Abramov hired on as the new Dean!
Sizzle versus steak: The RCSI prospectus and web site are pretty cool? Lots of glossy photos of sparkling facilities and high technology! I'm not sure which RCSI they are showcasing, but certainly not the one I attended! The prospectus looks great, but reality is a little different... a lot different. If you are thinking of spending $250,000 on an RCSI education, go over for a visit. Check out the student facilities at the main teaching hospital (Beaumont Hospital). 200 students in the hospital and only 50 lockers (they've had 15 years to fix this problem). The same lights burnt out in the locker room for the past 5 years. A library full of wobbly chairs and broken desks that no one has bothered to fix for 5 years. A $2000 computerised recussitation dummy to teach anesthesia, that never gets used beacuase no one in the faculty can be bothered to learn how to use it. Morever, students can't take the initiative because they are not allowed to touch it. Also, check out the lecture theatres at the main college building on St. Stephen's Green. Classes so large that people are sitting in the aisles! EURO 35,000 per year and you are sitting in the aisle! Is this the sort of place that will help you reach your goals and be responsive to your educational needs?
Preparation for Residency: Is the RCSI good preparation for residency? NO. You are given hardly any practical experience at the RCSI. You are not permitted to perform procedures and you will graduate without even acquiring the simplest practical skills such as suturing. I was aware of this and worked hard on electives to make up for what I was missing (considering what I was paying and what the RCSI promises I should not have been forced to seek out people to teach me basic skills on my own time). However, you can only remain competent in some procedures if you practice them. There is no opportunity to accrue or practice skills at the RCSI. My first rotation as a resident was in the ER. It was really tough not having done any procedures for more than a year. My North american colleagues had the procedural skills and practical experience. RCSI is a lot of theory and little practice.
Well, that's all for now buut believe me I could go on. Some people will criticise me and say I write this because I am bitter. Graduating and matching isn't all that counts. Remember to provide the best possible care, you must continue to learn, discover and expand your knowledge. RCSI does not foster an environment where you can do so. Think hard about where you want to study. You have worked very hard to get to this point. Don't believe the hype the RCSI spouts. Don't fall victim to a sales pitch. Your brains have got you this far, let them take you further still.
I've been reading these forms and I can see many people have questions about how things work at the RCSI. There have been a couple of posts praising the RCSI and a equal number crying foul. I feel the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
I graduated from the RCSI in May 2005. I did VERY well academically and matched to my first choice residency program in North America. What's wrong with that? Why would I want to complain? Plain and simple, the product the RCSI sold me was a rip-off and far different from that which they advertised.
I spent 5 years and close to a quarter of a million dollars. I can speak from experience. If you are thinking of going there, here are some things you should know.
1. Cost: Yes it costs a small fortune to attend the RCSI. Furthermore, the price of living in Dublin is steep. Don't believe the hype you read on these forms - it will take a long time to pay back the debt you incur. 5 years of med school plus 5 years of residency, believe me man that debt is going to be huge. You make a lot of money as a doctor, but it also costs a lot of money to be a doctor. By the time you have paid your malpractice insurance, made a mortgage payment, paid for a car, bought a wedding ring and put your kid through school, all of a sudden that $350,000 per year doesn't seem so big and won't go very far towards your $500,000 debt. Be very suspicious of the RCSI being so cosy with the loan companies... very suspicious.
2. Matching: So you want to match to a good residency program in the USA or Canada? The RCSI has a 90% match rate... according to the RCSI. Lets take a close look at this. First of all, only about 10% of students from each year apply to the USA. Accordingly, it is a self-selecting process. Only those who are motivated make an attempt. If the entire classs were to apply, it's likely the match rate would only be around 10%. Fact: there were some American students who graduated last year and flunked their USMLEs. Accordingly they re-wrote their exams and applied to the match this year. Some of them have yet to receive interviews, despite having done electives in programs where they're applying (that's almost unheard of and usually means you don't have a hope in hell of making the grade). The RCSI trumpets a few students who matched to competetive US programs in each graduating class and sites their accomplishments as proof the RCSI is a great education. Don't believe a minute of it. Those students are responsible for their own success. Their incredibly hard work ensured their success, not the RCSI. DO you hear what I am saying? Go to Trinity, save a load of cash and accomplish the same thing.
Electives: The RCSI brags about having elective agreements with some fancy centres in the USA and RCSI students can do electives there in the summer... sort of. Indeed some RCSI students go to the Mayo, Hopkins, etc every summer. However, the Vice Dean (who shall remain nameless, but I ****ing pitty you if you ever have to deal with her) controls access to those spots and the opportunity to go to Mayo etc. isn't excatly awarded based on merit. Instead, your ability to suck up and stab your classmates in the back will be rewarded with a chance to go to Mayo. Also, you often cannot choose the subject of your elective. Instead, you go wherever the RCSI arranges. Hey, you wanna do a vascular surgery elective and the RCSI arranges a month long elective in gastroenterology(it happens alot). Congratulations, you just wasted one of your precious month long elective spots. A vascular surgeons isn't even going to read a letter from a gastroenterologist. Time and money well wasted courtesy of the RCSI!
Organisation: This has been a colossal problem for the RCSI. They could not organise a 1 horse parade. You can expect lectures, tutorials and even whole rotations to be cancelled without notice. Furthermore, changes are often made at the 11th hour - really ****ing convenient when you are trying to plan your USMLEs, electives and buy a cheap plane ticket home. I remember showing up at Temple Street hospital for my ENT rotation and no one knew we were coming. By the time they sorted it out, the rotation was over. Money well spent! I could go on for hours here, but ask anyone who has attened the RCSI about the college's organisational abilities and they will say "what organisational abilities?" This is a significant point when you consider the enormous amount of money you pay and how little effort is directed towards delivering the product you have purchased.
Accountability: Faculty from the RCSI regularly travel to exotic locations in business class and stay in 5 star hotels. Some of the staff even have clothing allowances as part of their contract. Conversely, the RCSI library did not purchase a subscription to UP TO DATE.com last year because they said it was too expensive. More expensive than 6 round trip business class tickets to Hong Kong and 6 rooms for 10 nights at the Shangri La? What about the 4 other big faculty junkets that year? How much of our money went down the tubes there? What makes this even more laughable is the fact that the rest of the RCSI library can be described at OUT OF DATE.com. Where are the priorities here? Is this education or the Irish answer to the US Republican Party. When you visit the RCSI, look around the main foyer for the pork barrel! Don't be suprised to see Jack Abramov hired on as the new Dean!
Sizzle versus steak: The RCSI prospectus and web site are pretty cool? Lots of glossy photos of sparkling facilities and high technology! I'm not sure which RCSI they are showcasing, but certainly not the one I attended! The prospectus looks great, but reality is a little different... a lot different. If you are thinking of spending $250,000 on an RCSI education, go over for a visit. Check out the student facilities at the main teaching hospital (Beaumont Hospital). 200 students in the hospital and only 50 lockers (they've had 15 years to fix this problem). The same lights burnt out in the locker room for the past 5 years. A library full of wobbly chairs and broken desks that no one has bothered to fix for 5 years. A $2000 computerised recussitation dummy to teach anesthesia, that never gets used beacuase no one in the faculty can be bothered to learn how to use it. Morever, students can't take the initiative because they are not allowed to touch it. Also, check out the lecture theatres at the main college building on St. Stephen's Green. Classes so large that people are sitting in the aisles! EURO 35,000 per year and you are sitting in the aisle! Is this the sort of place that will help you reach your goals and be responsive to your educational needs?
Preparation for Residency: Is the RCSI good preparation for residency? NO. You are given hardly any practical experience at the RCSI. You are not permitted to perform procedures and you will graduate without even acquiring the simplest practical skills such as suturing. I was aware of this and worked hard on electives to make up for what I was missing (considering what I was paying and what the RCSI promises I should not have been forced to seek out people to teach me basic skills on my own time). However, you can only remain competent in some procedures if you practice them. There is no opportunity to accrue or practice skills at the RCSI. My first rotation as a resident was in the ER. It was really tough not having done any procedures for more than a year. My North american colleagues had the procedural skills and practical experience. RCSI is a lot of theory and little practice.
Well, that's all for now buut believe me I could go on. Some people will criticise me and say I write this because I am bitter. Graduating and matching isn't all that counts. Remember to provide the best possible care, you must continue to learn, discover and expand your knowledge. RCSI does not foster an environment where you can do so. Think hard about where you want to study. You have worked very hard to get to this point. Don't believe the hype the RCSI spouts. Don't fall victim to a sales pitch. Your brains have got you this far, let them take you further still.
I'm about to graduate from the best medical school in my country and just found out a few weeks ago that I got my top choice "residency". I'm happy (and smug) - but it has nothing to do with big_gun/RCSI/FMGs or IFEs on SDN!!!
