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Hey, I've got some time to kill so I figured some people applying this year might be interested in hearing me ramble on about med school here in Ireland.
First of all, the country is a great place to live and go to school in. I've been in Dublin and Cork and both of them seem a lot more interesting and fun then any North American city I've worked or gone to school in. This reason alone makes me think that Ireland is the better choice for me anyway. So the rest of this will just be about the school experience. These are the things that have jumped out at me after the first 2 months.
At the beginning, it's much easier than NA med school - I have friends taking med back at home and from comparing our curriculum, the first year Irish stuff is much easier. Basically, they've seemed to split M1 and M2 in NA into three years here with the bulk of M2 taken in our year three. That means that I'd say you only have to work about 60% as hard in first year here as you would in NA. Keep in mind that the Irish kids are just coming out of high school so it's killer for them. Some of them haven't even taken biology before so they have a lot to catch up with. The good thing about the slow start for the pre-clinical years is if you're not the strongest student you can spend more time really learning the basics. Also, if you're a gunner who wants to memorize everything in phys and biochem you have the time to do it now. Putting it simply though, I've never heard of a NA student who struggled during the first two years. From what I've heard, third year is a big wake up call though here and that's when you'll be killing yourself studying.
The Irish students are young - Most of them are 17 or 18 in fact. I'd say most of the NA students are in the 23-26 range. That's a pretty big age gap. Still, they're fun but it is a big age gap. I'm nothing like I was when I was 17! The good thing is there are TONNES of NA and other international students in each year so don't worry about not meeting anyone in your class your own age.
It's a very muti-cultural environment - This totally kicks ass. It's not like in Canada where people were born somewhere else but moved to Canada when they were children so they've basically grown up in Canada. This is lots of students from all over the world who've just came. I love hanging out with people from all different countries.
There aren't really any gunners here - Well, there are some but they're all from NA it seems. The Irish aren't nearly as much the classic ?type A? personality you'd expect in med school. The NA students are for the most part. The Irish kids get into a program STRICTLY on points on a set of tests they write - like the SAT's in the states. The Irish high school system is harder though then back home so they are extremely bright. But none of them are really "science nerds" or anything - they have to do well in every subject across the board. For whatever reason, this means that almost all of them are female. I think the ratio of Irish girls to guys in our class is greater than 6:1. Also, at least 3/4 of them never even considered medicine until they got the points to do it. There's a real pressure here to do the hardest course you're accepted to. This means that none of them are the crazy, "I've wanted to be a doctor since the day I was born" personality you are surrounded by in NA. It's much more laid back and less competitive here.
Everything in Ireland takes a long time - You will have to line up for lots of things that are pointless. People will change things at the last minute and not tell you. Everything in the school is pretty horribly organized and inefficient by NA standards. If you are a detail type person you will be miserable here. The students who are saying things like, "Oh my god!! Why don't they just do it like this!??!" are having the worst time. If you can say, "F*ck it" and just go with the flow you'll be much happier.
The profs pronounce the words funny - Not a big deal but sometimes it's annoying! Cervical is "Sir-VIKE-al" and cephalic is "KEF-al-ic" and stuff like that. Not a big deal but I thought I'd mention it!
The profs still treat you like children - Not all the time and not too badly but they really do talk to you like you're all 17 and are away from home for the first time. They're pretty good with the International students but in small group talks prepare to have things over explained.
People here seem to do well - Most of the Canadians I've met who wrote the USMLE-1 seemed to ROCK it. Like scores in the 98-99 range! I think this is because in America, you write the USMLE-1 after M2. This means you have about 1 1/2 years worth of time where you're learning things for it. In Ireland, you write it anytime in the summer after M3. This means you have a full 3 years of school before you write it and you had the whole M3 summer to study for it. I think maybe some of the stuff has been drilled into you more by then (and you learned it slower) so I think that explains the Irish school's great statistics for the USMLE.
You might get to stay in Ireland after - I think only a couple International students get to though. I know of 2 who graduated last year who got an internship and I believe they are the only ones. From what I understand, it's illegal for the hospitals to not pay interns for overtime here now so you make a lot more money then you would as a resident in the states. You still work the same hours though but I think residents make around 65,000 Euro a year. Helps with the dept load at least. This is just hear-say though so don't quote me on this - I'm not positive how it works.
It's a little more old-fashioned here - Everything seems a little that way - including the hospitals. From what I've heard, the hospitals are less "team based" health care here and more like it was back in the day in NA. The hospitals are run like the army - no one questions the doctors. Everyone in the hospital has a place in the hierarchy and you do what the person above you tells you to do. Again, I haven't worked there so this might be totally wrong and unfair. I only know from talking to older students, interns, and family friends in the medical profession. Still, it's something you might want to be aware about when you're coming here.
People are really active and social here - I mean REALLY active. They go out all the time. To the pub at least 4-5 times a week it seems - especially when they're young. Not even drinking sometimes, just out socializing and watching the game or whatever. Also, everyone plays some kind of sport. I've even lived in California and I'd say people are more active here than there. Less health conscious but more sporty anyway.
Ok! I'm bored so I'm stopping. Feel free to ask me any questions but I don't particularly want to be flamed because you think my opinions are wrong if you're studying in Ireland as well. As I said, this is just off the top of my head and I've only been here a short while. I'm sure I'll disagree with stuff in this post after I've finished first year.
All the best if you're applying for next year!
First of all, the country is a great place to live and go to school in. I've been in Dublin and Cork and both of them seem a lot more interesting and fun then any North American city I've worked or gone to school in. This reason alone makes me think that Ireland is the better choice for me anyway. So the rest of this will just be about the school experience. These are the things that have jumped out at me after the first 2 months.
At the beginning, it's much easier than NA med school - I have friends taking med back at home and from comparing our curriculum, the first year Irish stuff is much easier. Basically, they've seemed to split M1 and M2 in NA into three years here with the bulk of M2 taken in our year three. That means that I'd say you only have to work about 60% as hard in first year here as you would in NA. Keep in mind that the Irish kids are just coming out of high school so it's killer for them. Some of them haven't even taken biology before so they have a lot to catch up with. The good thing about the slow start for the pre-clinical years is if you're not the strongest student you can spend more time really learning the basics. Also, if you're a gunner who wants to memorize everything in phys and biochem you have the time to do it now. Putting it simply though, I've never heard of a NA student who struggled during the first two years. From what I've heard, third year is a big wake up call though here and that's when you'll be killing yourself studying.
The Irish students are young - Most of them are 17 or 18 in fact. I'd say most of the NA students are in the 23-26 range. That's a pretty big age gap. Still, they're fun but it is a big age gap. I'm nothing like I was when I was 17! The good thing is there are TONNES of NA and other international students in each year so don't worry about not meeting anyone in your class your own age.
It's a very muti-cultural environment - This totally kicks ass. It's not like in Canada where people were born somewhere else but moved to Canada when they were children so they've basically grown up in Canada. This is lots of students from all over the world who've just came. I love hanging out with people from all different countries.
There aren't really any gunners here - Well, there are some but they're all from NA it seems. The Irish aren't nearly as much the classic ?type A? personality you'd expect in med school. The NA students are for the most part. The Irish kids get into a program STRICTLY on points on a set of tests they write - like the SAT's in the states. The Irish high school system is harder though then back home so they are extremely bright. But none of them are really "science nerds" or anything - they have to do well in every subject across the board. For whatever reason, this means that almost all of them are female. I think the ratio of Irish girls to guys in our class is greater than 6:1. Also, at least 3/4 of them never even considered medicine until they got the points to do it. There's a real pressure here to do the hardest course you're accepted to. This means that none of them are the crazy, "I've wanted to be a doctor since the day I was born" personality you are surrounded by in NA. It's much more laid back and less competitive here.
Everything in Ireland takes a long time - You will have to line up for lots of things that are pointless. People will change things at the last minute and not tell you. Everything in the school is pretty horribly organized and inefficient by NA standards. If you are a detail type person you will be miserable here. The students who are saying things like, "Oh my god!! Why don't they just do it like this!??!" are having the worst time. If you can say, "F*ck it" and just go with the flow you'll be much happier.
The profs pronounce the words funny - Not a big deal but sometimes it's annoying! Cervical is "Sir-VIKE-al" and cephalic is "KEF-al-ic" and stuff like that. Not a big deal but I thought I'd mention it!
The profs still treat you like children - Not all the time and not too badly but they really do talk to you like you're all 17 and are away from home for the first time. They're pretty good with the International students but in small group talks prepare to have things over explained.
People here seem to do well - Most of the Canadians I've met who wrote the USMLE-1 seemed to ROCK it. Like scores in the 98-99 range! I think this is because in America, you write the USMLE-1 after M2. This means you have about 1 1/2 years worth of time where you're learning things for it. In Ireland, you write it anytime in the summer after M3. This means you have a full 3 years of school before you write it and you had the whole M3 summer to study for it. I think maybe some of the stuff has been drilled into you more by then (and you learned it slower) so I think that explains the Irish school's great statistics for the USMLE.
You might get to stay in Ireland after - I think only a couple International students get to though. I know of 2 who graduated last year who got an internship and I believe they are the only ones. From what I understand, it's illegal for the hospitals to not pay interns for overtime here now so you make a lot more money then you would as a resident in the states. You still work the same hours though but I think residents make around 65,000 Euro a year. Helps with the dept load at least. This is just hear-say though so don't quote me on this - I'm not positive how it works.
It's a little more old-fashioned here - Everything seems a little that way - including the hospitals. From what I've heard, the hospitals are less "team based" health care here and more like it was back in the day in NA. The hospitals are run like the army - no one questions the doctors. Everyone in the hospital has a place in the hierarchy and you do what the person above you tells you to do. Again, I haven't worked there so this might be totally wrong and unfair. I only know from talking to older students, interns, and family friends in the medical profession. Still, it's something you might want to be aware about when you're coming here.
People are really active and social here - I mean REALLY active. They go out all the time. To the pub at least 4-5 times a week it seems - especially when they're young. Not even drinking sometimes, just out socializing and watching the game or whatever. Also, everyone plays some kind of sport. I've even lived in California and I'd say people are more active here than there. Less health conscious but more sporty anyway.
Ok! I'm bored so I'm stopping. Feel free to ask me any questions but I don't particularly want to be flamed because you think my opinions are wrong if you're studying in Ireland as well. As I said, this is just off the top of my head and I've only been here a short while. I'm sure I'll disagree with stuff in this post after I've finished first year.
All the best if you're applying for next year!
. Like today. 
