Doctors running around hospitals, a constant stream of life-saving, innovative surgeries and sleeping with your colleagues. These are all things that fans of Grey’s Anatomy know all too well.
The reality of a career in medicine or the health sciences is a far cry from the constant drama depicted on television. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Health sciences is such a broad field, encompassing more than just being a doctor.
According to Noel O’Callaghan, head of student development and wellbeing at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), said students in this discipline “can look forward to rewarding careers as graduates who work in a range of sectors”.
“The first step for the vast majority of our medical graduates is to join an Intern Programme, and for most of our students who come to RCSI through the CAO, they will join the HSE Medical Intern programme,” he said.
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“From there, they can go on to have rich and rewarding careers in the community as GPs, following specialist GP training, or as a hospital clinician by completing higher specialist training in one of many exciting careers paths from surgery to paediatrics to psychiatry.”
But these aren’t the only roles these individuals can take up.
“There is also a wealth of opportunities in academia including teaching and medical research. We also have pharmacy graduates who study at our School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences who are both knowledgeable in the science of pharmacy and highly skilled practitioners,” he said.
For those who want to work in healthcare but would prefer to focus on medical research, there are courses available to suit that, such as the bachelors in advanced therapeutic technologies
“Although traditionally associated with pharmacies in the community, there are multiple career paths available to them in hospitals, and in the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland and beyond.”
Physiotherapy graduates become “key members” of multidisciplinary healthcare teams, he said, and can specialise in sports injuries, women’s health, intellectual disabilities or respiratory care among other fields.
For those who want to work in healthcare but would prefer to focus on medical research, there are courses available to suit that, such as the bachelors in advanced therapeutic technologies.
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Health sciences are among the most competitive of courses, with the CAO entry points tending to be on the higher end of the scale, particularly for medicine.
Céleste Golden, admissions officer at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, said there are specific entry requirements for medicine courses.
‘I recommend that students take a look at scholarship opportunities and alternative entry routes that have different requirements. RCSI is included in the free fees scheme and also offers graduate and mature entry places’
— Céleste Golden, admissions officer at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
The five-year undergraduate medicine programme CAO applicants must present a minimum of six subjects in the Leaving Certificate, to include Irish, English, mathematics and a third language, plus a minimum of a H4 in Chemistry and a H4 in either Physics or Biology, she said.
“Prospective students also have to sit the HPAT (Health Professions Admission Test) in the year of admission to the programme,” she said.
“I recommend that students take a look at scholarship opportunities and alternative entry routes that have different requirements. RCSI is included in the free fees scheme and also offers graduate and mature entry places to all our courses. We also offer at least 6 per cent of CAO places on reduced points to students eligible for the DARE [Disability Access Route to Education] and HEAR [Higher Education Access Route] Schemes.”
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Though points for medicine are high, they do vary somewhat between institutions. In Galway University, points last year were 729 when the Leaving Cert and HPAT points were combined. RCSI medicine course required 733 points last year, while UCD required 735. Trinity’s medicine course required 738 points.
Since the Covid-associated grade inflation, there have been circumstances in which some students who have received full marks did not get a place.
The other undergraduate courses do not require completion of the HPAT, but there are often specific subject requirements for entry on these degrees. Applicants are advised to look at the specific requirements for each course, for each institution, if they are considering applying to these degrees.
Courses for the other health sciences tend, on average, to have lower points requirements than medicine degrees.
Demand for the courses pushes up the points, and that demand on a student’s time doesn’t end once they’ve acquired a place on a course.
They are often the most labour-intensive degrees, a majority of which have hands-on work experience and training included as part of the degree programme.
However, Professor Gozie Offiah, director of curriculum at the School of Medicine in the RCSI, said that while medicine was an intensive degree, students certainly had the opportunity to enjoy university life.
“Medical students are focused on acquiring clinical skills, specific to being a doctor, but integrated with this are the skills they need to be a professional, communicator, scholar, collaborator, leader and global practitioner
— Prof Gozie Offiah, director of curriculum at the School of Medicine, RSCI
There are many clubs and societies in universities, as well as organised functions throughout the academic year that students can take part in.
But for prospective students who have not engaged with the health service before their study, it can often be a daunting idea.
Prof Offiah said students acquire so many skills that it will leave them prepared and equipped to deal with anything that is thrown their way when on the job.
“Medical students are focused on acquiring clinical skills, specific to being a doctor, but integrated with this are the skills they need to be a professional, communicator, scholar, collaborator, leader and global practitioner, all of which are transferable. Other career-specific skills are managing patient contact and preparation for practice as interns,” she said.
Outside of these transferable skills, there are also career-specific areas that are covered, such as managing patient contact and preparation for practice.
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Prof Offiah said students have the opportunity to develop their skills in a simulated environment before they go into real-world hospital rotations.
“These are amazing facilities where we have everything from a mock-hospital ward, operating theatre and high-tech mannequins that can simulate all kinds of scenarios such as labour or trauma from a road-traffic accident,” she said.
“Not only do they learn about technical skills such as checking vital signs, they gain experience working and communicating as a team and with the patient in both routine and emergency situations.”
Though working in the health system is often a very challenging and tiring jobs, it is also one of the most rewarding. The courses are demanding to represent the nature of the job upon graduation.
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