Med students....

Fibonacci23

Anyone willing to give 2 mins from their (hectic!) schedule to fill me in on the course?? I'm in sixth year and aiming for medicine, and just wondering if you all realy enjoy the course?? And some tips for the next 9 weeks could be of some help cheers!

Breezer

UCD Medsoc. Put your mouse over the 'Survive' link at the top right and click on each link in the drop down list to find out about each stage.

Or use the search function here, this same thread was done a few months ago.

Advice: work like hell, it's all worth it. For God's sake don't skip Premed it's the best year ever. And if I catch you studying Healthcare Informatics next year I will beat you with my nerdy premed-beating stick

Edit: Woops, I should probably also have pointed you here for the more official line! Click on 'mapping my degree' at the bottom for info on each year, and if you really want to know details you can have a look at each and every subject you'll be studying.

me2gud4u

heya currently in pre med-best yr of my life.
1.even if you get 590-600, do pre-med. Basically everyone who gets 600 and offered does it anyway only old repeat students go straight into first med. pre med will undoubtedly be the best yr of your life!start saving this summer for all ur class trips etc. Our yr have decided to take care of incoming pre medsnext yr and get to know you all so be prepared for some serious fun!!
2. physics, is bloody awful.....but you will pass it miraculously. Do your lab book well and you wil be fine.
3.healthcare informatics is a piss take. They bring you in for two hours on a friday and whilst we are all supposed to be learning how to use excel etc, everyone is on bebo or having a laugh and planning weekend activities.
4.cell biology and medical genetics will prob be the most interesting modules in pre med.
5. chemistry is a doss in semester one, but the modules in semester two do require work.......and try start early as possible into the module. kinda wish i had done that now.
6. science medicine and society is a cool module in second semester.....they get all these top notch doctors in (well known consultants) to talk about their specialties and areas etc. Some of them are really interesting.
7. you will spend a lot of time dossing in o briens and elements
8.Don't start drinking too early on med day....you won't make it out to the night time event.
9. You will make amazing friends!!prob will also come skiing in jan, head to galway rag week, bundoran just to name a few.
10. Tennis tuesdays.
11. your timetable will consist of about max four lectures day, with most days there being just two lectures.
12. the library study rooms.....are great craic for studying.just dnt talk when ye see the old grey haired woman coming cos she gives out!
13. you will neverbe faced with same pressure as you are for the leaving cert.
14. therefore work hard and get itfirst time off.
15. make sure though you don't burn yourself out.

GOOD LUCK!!

Breezer

me2gud4u wrote: »

13. you will neverbe faced with same pressure as you are for the leaving cert.

Not to sound all superior but it does get significantly harder than premed

MatthewVII

It's a great course but tough going. In your preclinical years (1st med to 3rd med) it's tough cos you feel like crap and do nothing but cruddy lectures and seemingly pointless practicals. The exams are pretty tough in the latter years but at least the year round workload is pretty low. In postclinical years (3rd med 5th med) is much easier in that you're much more confident and actually get to do stuff but the workload increases exponentially. It's exciting and interesting and a real rollercoaster of a course. Highly recommend it.

Vorsprung

MatthewVII wrote: »

It's a great course but tough going. In your preclinical years (1st med to 3rd med) it's tough cos you feel like crap and do nothing but cruddy lectures and seemingly pointless practicals. The exams are pretty tough in the latter years but at least the year round workload is pretty low. In postclinical years (3rd med 5th med) is much easier in that you're much more confident and actually get to do stuff but the workload increases exponentially. It's exciting and interesting and a real rollercoaster of a course. Highly recommend it.

Yea this is so true. I'm in final year, and I've lost count of the number of times I've wished I was doing something else. That said, I'm still here and I intend to still be in the business in a few years! The last 2 years are tough, especially just before Xmas of you final year which I assure you is very tough, I'd argue that it's worse than the Leaving!

You will meet lifelong friends, go on loads of trips etc and have a general great laugh. Couldn't say I'd do it all again in a heartbeat though, but 6 years later I'm fairly happy about starting real stuff in July (and getting paid for it!).

panda100

I concur with the other medics.
Med in UCD is a great course. V.good pre clinical teaching with two of the best training hospitals in the country.
Non acedemcially, which is where I excel , theres a great comraderie in medicine unlike any other course.You'll meet some great people and have aeons of fun. However,make sure your doing med for the right reasons i.e you want to be a doctor and not just do it cos you get the points.

Advice for the leaving is have a good mix of study and play.Give yourslef achievable goals.Make out a timetable each week and make sure you have a ceratin amount of topics covered by the end of each week. The hard work wil pay off
Best of luck

panda100

me2gud4u wrote: »

13. you will neverbe faced with same pressure as you are for the leaving cert.

Thats not true. Final med and other exams along the way (neuro for me!) will be much more tougher than anything faced at the leaving. Thats the reality.But If you have drive and termination they are very do-able. Medicine is a tough course that requires a lot of study, its not a walk in the park.

me2gud4u wrote: »

8.Don't start drinking too early on med day....you won't make it out to the night time event.

But this I agree with

Vorsprung

panda100 wrote: »

TFinal med and other exams along the way (neuro for me!) will be much more tougher than anything faced at the leaving.

Should've gone to SVUH Elisa!

BTW if the OP has any questions about the course fire away and I'm sure one of us will answer them the best we can

Fibonacci23

Thank you all SO much! You all have actually made my day!(year!) I definately want to do pre-med, it sounds fantastic! I feel all motivated now, I think i got a bit fazed awhile go not realy knowing where i was going with everything, but i've ALWAYS wanted medicine, (nothing to do with points! if anything they're terrifying!) I've been working hard so far, was 15 points off in my mocks, but it's just the last slog to get through now...


oh yeah,

One more teensy question...

Someone mentioned physics earlier, and i've never done physics?? I love maths, and i plan to have a look at the leaving cert phsyics course over summer to get an idea, but is it really difficult??


(thanks again!:D)

Vorsprung

Fibonacci23 wrote: »

Thank you all SO much! You all have actually made my day!(year!) I definately want to do pre-med, it sounds fantastic! I feel all motivated now, I think i got a bit fazed awhile go not realy knowing where i was going with everything, but i've ALWAYS wanted medicine, (nothing to do with points! if anything they're terrifying!) I've been working hard so far, was 15 points off in my mocks, but it's just the last slog to get through now...


oh yeah,

One more teensy question...

Someone mentioned physics earlier, and i've never done physics?? I love maths, and i plan to have a look at the leaving cert phsyics course over summer to get an idea, but is it really difficult??


(thanks again!:D)

There were a fair few in my year who didn't do it but the physics bit of Pre-Med may have (probably has) changed since then. But it would probably be no harm to get a good LC physics book if you do get in to help you along. Just remember that there will be plenty of people who won't have done physics or chemistry before. And to be honest, it was a piece of piss for us!

Best of luck in the LC. Just remember to keep a cool head in the next few months, take plenty of breaks and get lots of fresh air. You sound like you really want this, hope you get it!

Breezer

Everyone freaks at premed physics, even those who have done Leaving Cert physics. To be honest I found applied maths was the best preparation for it, at least for the first semester. Seriously though don't stress about it, it's not worth it. Premed isn't about fantastic grades; it's about settling into college, getting to know one another, getting some faint basic grasp on possibly new subjects like physics and the basics of cell biology (which will be covered again a year later, and again a year after that).

Seriously, don't stress. Have a quick read of the books they recommend, go to the tutorials, and do enough to pass. You'll have enough time to worry about honours and in-depth knowledge later on

Sangre

me2gud4u wrote: »

13. you will neverbe faced with same pressure as you are for the leaving cert.

Aw bless. I think its adorable you still think that.

simply_dee

Hey, I'm in first med now and I'd agree with what the others have said. Definitely do pre-med, it's good to have an easy-going year and it really helps to get to know the people in your year. Even though some of the subjects seem pointles they'll set you up for first med modules in a lot of ways. Make the most of every opportunity, get involved in societies and clubs cos you might not have the time later in college.

As for physics, my advice is to find someone who did it for the LC. Get them to explain the basic concepts to you in the first few weeks because some of the physics lecturers are a bit useless. Don't stress out too much, I think everyone in our year passed the physics modules.

Best of luck in the leaving, see you round college next year