rengawa said:
Fair enough......Thanks for the advice. I think I am leaning towards going to U of C.....I just calculated my tuition fees and going to U of C for three years equals one years tuition at Trinity!! Yikes.......but sometimes I think, "Life is about the journey, not the destination"......then again saving $150,000 that says it all!!
As a Canadian, if you have an opportunity to study medicine in Calgary, do NOT give that up to come to Ireland!!!!! It will be a decision you will regret for the rest of your life and you will be paying (literally) for your mistake for a long time.
I am Canadian and I graduated from RCSI last month. I am starting my residency training in the US on July 1. Although the following is only my opinion, I speak from first hand experience.
1. Returning to Canada for residency training after completing medical school in Ireland will leave you with VERY limited options. Basically the only program that will be guaranteed to be open in the second round of CARMS is family medicine. Although you state that this is what you want to do, things may and most often do change. I am training in a speciality that, when I began medical school, I would have never even considered. By staying in Canada, you will leave all of your options for residency programs open.
2. Medical school in Ireland and Canada are very different. In my opinion (having done over 7 months of electives in both Canada and the US), although you gain a good theoretical knowledge base in Ireland, you do not develop practical skills that you will need as a resident in North America. You are not involved in the day to day care and management of patients and this is a major disadvantage. Also, the overall inefficiency of Irish medical schools, poor attitude towards teaching students, and lack of accountability to students...this will make you sick. Very sick.
3. Time and money. I probably don't need to say any more, but I will. 5 years versus 3 years? The choice is simple. As for money, tuition cost me over 150,000 Euros for 5 years, it will be more for you, much more with the steadily increasing strength of the Euro to dollar and the fixed rate of inflation that Irish schools have set arbitrarily. I spent at least 75,000 Euros for total living expenses for 5 years. Cost of living is extraordinarily high in Dublin. A survey of most expensive cities in the world came out this week, Dublin was tied with New York!!! Needless to say, when you add value for money into the equation, living in Dublin is a complete rip off.
4. I can recognize that a tourist visiting Dublin can have a great time visiting pubs, golfing, etc. But living in Dublin for 5 years is a completely different story. Towards the end of my time there, I hated it! To put it simply, I was sick of being ripped off everyday: rent, telephone, electricity, groceries...you name it and it is overpriced in Dublin. I'm back in the US and I couldn't be happier.
5. You speak about gaining invaluable life experience. I realize that my personal growth was enormous over the past 5 years living in Europe. But let's put it in perspective by taking into consideration the cost. As mentioned above: loss time and money (a lot of money), inferior quality of education in an unsupportive environment, decreased options for residency training. The choice is simple, stay in Canada! Imagine, what you can do with the 2 years and 200,000 CDN you save. Stay in Canada and you will be licensed by the CCFP in 5 years! In Ireland, you'll be stuck with limited options for residency training in North America and to compound your anxiety, you'll have to live with the regret of having had the option to train at a Canadian medical school and having turned it down.
6. Finally, I don't even want to get into the logistical problems of residency training in the US as a Canadian. I bet that right now, you don't think that you would end up in the US after medical school in Ireland, but if you decide to train in anything other than family medicine, you will almost certainly end up training in the US. Getting your ECFMG certificate in time to start your residency is difficult because you graduate late in May. The J1-visa is very restrictive. Starting a new life in the US is very challenging because you are not an American citizen, not even an immigrant; the J1-visa is a nonimmigrant visa and this has serious implications. If you want to buy a house, you will have a hard time securing financing. Financing or leasing a car without a credit history in the US is also difficult (your Canadian credit history may not help in the US). Just practical things that I never would have considered 5 years ago, but they are very important.
BOTTOM LINE IS: In your vacations, visit Europe. For electives, spend time in Europe. When you graduate, take time to travel Europe. After residency training do a fellowship in Europe. However, make sure that you accept your position in Calgary. In my opinion, it is the best thing that you can do in your situation. My interest in this post is only to help you make a VERY educated and informed decision. If you still don't believe me, please talk to a practicing physician you know and ask them their opinion. Preferably, you should ask someone that is a resident or has just began practice. They will be most informed.
Hope that this helps you.
. It's only 3 years. As I said before, you will have time later through electives or other things to enjoy some travel experience. I'm with sage, I love it here and love the people here, and there are benefits here that I couldn't see myself enjoying in US schools. But there are annoying hardships as well that you can probably avoid by going to your Canadian school, and it's only 3 years 
