GAMSAT 2015

j.mcdrmd

Ballet17 wrote: »

'Offering anything against your arguments?' You offered your opinion in the first place!!
'Getting nothing but abuse?' Andrew the cat going on what you've posted here and the other thread you may want to look in the mirror, especially that post directed towards someone who was older really indicated that you seem to lack decorum and sensitively, whether you're aware of it or not;be it due to naivety or arrogance. And just going on that point you don't have to be a doctor (or a first year medical student ;-) ) to know that bedside manner is a huge element of the doctor patient relationship, maybe you should go work on that, if you're not to be a fellow zombie in the 'slaughterhouse' ?!!
You can rationalise your words and how they are the truth all you want, but your tone speaks volumes.
Rant over. I honestly and sincerely hope that you are just an internet troll, because it's unsettling to think of someone who views hospitals as slaughterhouses treating anyone.

It is not a case of Doctors lacking in "bedside manner". It is a case of overwork and lack of time.

If you are trying to reassure a Patient but your bleep is going off, because someone else is more ill, what are you going to do?

Ballet17

j.mcdrmd wrote: »

It is not a case of Doctors lacking in "bedside manner". It is a case of overwork and lack of time.

If you are trying to reassure a Patient but your bleep is going off, because someone else is more ill, what are you going to do?

In the specific context I was referring to in my above post; it is precisely the case actually.

I wasn't referring to your comment but I have stated previously that I agreed with many of the points raised about the hse and am not disagreeing on issues of working conditions/pay etc

If you're picking up the topic of bedside manner in order to form a new discussion fair enough, but that was not the main point of the post.

cyt123

did anyone who accepted an offer from UCD receive any emails from them since? apparently some people got an email about registration...

Anita Blow

Just a generic welcome e-mail saying the orientation timetable would be up on their website by the 12th

sReq | uTeK

AndrewTheCat wrote: »

Would you care to tell the forum about the biochemistry module at UL? And the microbiology module? And the immunology module?

Would you like to refute the outrageously fictitious statement of 50% failing ?

steph0712

cyt123 wrote: »

did anyone who accepted an offer from UCD receive any emails from them since? apparently some people got an email about registration...

Hey,

I called them on Friday and asked because I needed a letter of acceptance.
So I just decided to be nosy and ask when will they send out additional information because I won't be at home for a while.

Apparently all information will be sent out on the 17th of August.
So Monday week.

Hope that helps

AndrewTheCat

sReq | uTeK wrote: »

Would you like to refute the outrageously fictitious statement of 50% failing ?

That sentence makes no sense....
nobody on the forum has said 50% of the class failed....
Good job you decided not to take your place, wouldn't like a doctor who misses the finer details!

Tennisfan1

Just started the online registration process with UCC.
Fee this year is 14,580:-(
I knew this anyway but still. Never had anything even half this amount come out of my account before haha!

sReq | uTeK

AndrewTheCat wrote: »

That sentence makes no sense....
nobody on the forum has said 50% of the class failed....
Good job you decided not to take your place, wouldn't like a doctor who misses the finer details!

If we're talking about details, care to elaborate where I said I didn't take my place, or where i was even offered one?

AndrewTheCat wrote: »

Just finished first year year GEMS UL.

Over 50 students in our class failed the summer exams.

One work of advice for anyone starting.

Proceed with caution. Plenty of horror stories about UL GEMS floating around.

And again, dodging the question and focusing on moving the goal posts with snide remarks.

Apologies about my fat fingers, % was an error on my behalf. 50 people you said wasn't it ? so close to a 25% failure rate based on the 200 people you said was attending.

Again, care to refute the retorts that call this complete nonsense, from people in the class who are actively posting on here with contradictory information?

I don't envisage any response that addresses the above, just something from left field with limited relevance that seeks to antagonize.

RainBow_xo

There's no where near 200 in our class 😂😂 funny

sReq | uTeK

RainBow_xo wrote: »

There's no where near 200 in our class 😂😂 funny

What will be, will be

AndrewTheCat

sReq | uTeK wrote: »

If we're talking about details, care to elaborate where I said I didn't take my place, or where i was even offered one?



And again, dodging the question and focusing on moving the goal posts with snide remarks.

Apologies about my fat fingers, % was an error on my behalf. 50 people you said wasn't it ? so close to a 25% failure rate based on the 200 people you said was attending.

Again, care to refute the retorts that call this complete nonsense, from people in the class who are actively posting on here with contradictory information?

I don't envisage any response that addresses the above, just something from left field with limited relevance that seeks to antagonize.

I don't know offhand the exact number in our class but it is certainly close to 200. There is 160 in the current fourth years and we have more than them. I thought all year it was around 180 or 190. Can't remember exactly. I could check my sulis and see but fairly moot point.

Yes around 25% of the class failed. I have this on good authority, from Prof D.Mcg, Prof of education.

The biochemistry and microbiology is next to non existent at UL.

USMLE exam performance is very poor, UL has not even been accredited for American loan relief due to poor USMLE scores

j.mcdrmd

It seems that science is being downgraded in favour of a more touchy feely style of health care. If this is true it worries me. If I need health care I want the scientific variety. In my experience it has worked very well in the past.

There are lots of alternative theraphy options, at least some of which require hardly any education at all. People seem to be happy to pay for them though, or are they provided free (with a small government subsidy) to those with a medical card or are of a certain age?

Also how does anyone know who on here is actually a student of GEM in UL or anywhere else? Pickmeplease either is or is not depending on which particular post you choose to believe.

SarahConnor?

AndrewTheCat wrote: »

I don't know offhand the exact number in our class but it is certainly close to 200. There is 160 in the current fourth years and we have more than them. I thought all year it was around 180 or 190. Can't remember exactly. I could check my sulis and see but fairly moot point.

Yes around 25% of the class failed. I have this on good authority, from Prof D.Mcg, Prof of education.

The biochemistry and microbiology is next to non existent at UL.

USMLE exam performance is very poor, UL has not even been accredited for American loan relief due to poor USMLE scores

<mod snip>

Ballet17

It seems that this GAMSAT 2015 thread is being downgraded to the warnings, woes and worries of certain individuals. If true this is what worries me . And to post definitions of groupthink and call people sheep on a thread specifically set up for people with similar questions and queries on a specific exam is ridiculous and hilarious. Gamsat 2015 is over, so this thread may soon be redundant, maybe find a different thread or forum, you may receive more satisfaction from sharing your facts and opinions.



I'm unfollowing this thread because as I said Gamsat 2015 is over . But to everyone thanks so much for all the info and help over the last year, it's been great! And if that makes me seem touchy feely to some I really don't care. Thanks!!

j.mcdrmd

Gamsat 2015 is not over until all the places are filled. Until then decisions are still being made.
People who get late offers sometimes have even less time to do research, the offer is unexpected based on their scores.

(SarahConnor? Post 515) What a disgusting statement, I will not repost it. What you are stating is scientifically impossible fyi.

RainBow_xo

j.mcdrmd wrote: »

It seems that science is being downgraded in favour of a more touchy feely style of health care. If this is true it worries me. If I need health care I want the scientific variety. In my experience it has worked very well in the past.

There are lots of alternative theraphy options, at least some of which require hardly any education at all. People seem to be happy to pay for them though, or are they provided free (with a small government subsidy) to those with a medical card or are of a certain age?

Also how does anyone know who on here is actually a student of GEM in UL or anywhere else? Pickmeplease either is or is not depending on which particular post you choose to believe.

I am and a proud one at that!

The school takes in 95 EU and 45 Non-EU students! Not anywhere near 200!

j.mcdrmd

RainBow_xo wrote: »

I am and a proud one at that!

The school takes in 95 EU and 45 Non-EU students! Not anywhere near 200!

Thanks for that.

Have those numbers been static from the start of the programme?

106 graduated this year based on this link http://www.ul.ie/gems/news/ul-celebrates-conferring-156-students-medicine-clinical-therapies

RainBow_xo

j.mcdrmd wrote: »

Thanks for that.

Have those numbers been static from the start of the programme?

106 graduated this year based on this link http://www.ul.ie/gems/news/ul-celebrates-conferring-156-students-medicine-clinical-therapies

That was our cohort this year. I think some people dropped out but I do not know how many.

AndrewTheCat

SarahConnor? wrote: »

your posts give me cancer

Bizarre is the kindest thing to say about this

j.mcdrmd

RainBow_xo wrote: »

That was our cohort this year. I think some people dropped out but I do not know how many.

In a class of the size you state I find it astonishing that you think some people dropped out but do not know the number.

I would be asking did people drop out or not, if they did why, at what stage and whether or not they were replaced for starters?

There is a major investment involved here. Everyone, in any uni, should be keeping an eye on that sort of thing imo.

AndrewTheCat

RainBow_xo wrote: »

I am and a proud one at that!

The school takes in 95 EU and 45 Non-EU students! Not anywhere near 200!

Are u sure? 160 in the current 4th yr class. I'm certain we have > 180

j.mcdrmd

Maybe people on here want to attend the alternative leaving cert party?

The one where science doesn't matter because of a more favourable result?

JJpatter12

Okay have to interject here.

Been reading this forum all year and had to reply because of the stupidity of some of the more recent posters.

I was actually bothered enough to create an account to do so.

I'm not going to UL I'm going to UCD. However I am tired of hearing this utter BS about the Limerick course. I did not choose UL due to the course structure, it was simply based upon geography.

AndrewTheCat or whatever your name is. I'm not going to accuse you of being a complete fraud however where have you gotten the idea that UL has 160 people in your class. (Are you actually in UL?? you can tell us we don't judge here)

UL will never take more than 130 and that is the absolute maximum.

It is true that 106 graduated this year. However in that cohort the course was not taking 130 students. It started at around 30 for the first year and increased until it reached 130.

I don't know the actual number of how many that cohort started with but I know it was between 110-115.

The UL course is being put down due to the lack of lecture based teaching due to its PBL structure. Which is similar to many UK universities. Liverpool, St Georges and many more.

Medical students shouldn't need to be spoonfed. Get your textbook out and put the hours in.

I've done several degrees in science and to be quite honest. Things like microbiology and immunology are not difficult subjects. The topics are not difficult to understand they just have a lot of volume. So just be mature and crunch the hours.

As a final note I just want to let anyone going to UL not to worry. If you believe you have the intelligence and commitment you will be fine. If people like AndrewTheCat can pass first year you can to. My sister is a medical educator in the UK within a major medical governing body. And they actually did a case study on UL. Her and her colleagues where actually very impressed.

So AndrewTheCat and j.mcrmd (or whatever your name is) give it a rest. And stop pissing everybody off.

Perhaps go and enjoy life??


Best wishes

nickynoonoo5

Hi guys,

I originally started this thread to try and get some advice and support from others doing the GAMSAT in 2015. Ive found it a brilliant source of help right back from August of last year and just wanted to say thanks to you guys for our big long convo since then

Congrats to everyone who got into med this year and best of luck to those who are still working towards their goal! See some of you at RCSI in sept

dublindoctor

AndrewTheCat wrote: »

I don't know offhand the exact number in our class but it is certainly close to 200. There is 160 in the current fourth years and we have more than them. I thought all year it was around 180 or 190. Can't remember exactly. I could check my sulis and see but fairly moot point.

Yes around 25% of the class failed. I have this on good authority, from Prof D.Mcg, Prof of education.

The biochemistry and microbiology is next to non existent at UL.

USMLE exam performance is very poor, UL has not even been accredited for American loan relief due to poor USMLE scores

People cant just set up shop with a medical school as they please, they have to be of standard measured by the medical council, of which all med schools must adhere to. If UL was in any way substandard it would not have been opened. UL is modelled on St Georges in London and McMaster in Canada, both very respectable medical schools. It is safe to say that UL will get a hard time as it is a new course etc, but it is unfair to talk down the institution as if it is producing monkeys instead of doctors, in all honesty, grow up.

The current first years ( that will be entering second year)is the biggest class as of yet and it is finally at capacity, it is most definitely nowhere near 200. Someone mentioned 130, it is larger than this, around 150 I think but I could be mistaken.

In terms of 25% of the class failing, this information is not even available yet as repeats will be taking place this month, with results out in early september, so the number of failed students doesn't even exist yet, not a mind Deirdre McGrath telling you (yeah right) how many have failed. I don't know of the numbers failing this year, i could easily find out, i know from my first year we had around 15 that failed (this included assignments that needed resubmission, not actual exam fails) and from this, 4 people failed....so there is not going to be a jump from 4 to 50....!?

It's a PBL course, self direct etc etc ....biochemistry is covered, if you choose to not actually do it then thats your own problem but the course covers it, the course covers a huge amount of immunology, we have numerous cases right from first through second year that are immunological. Micro is definitely the weakest but it is still covered.

In terms of US Loan relief, how could u possibly know about US loan relief...?? Let me guess, you have a friend who had whatever problem...Well, newsflash for you, there have been no US students in UL, as the US does not consider a medical school until it has had so many years of graduates, a criteria that UL only reached last year, with this year being the first year it has been open to US applications....so no US loan relief is absolute BS. UL students do very well in USMLE, i think UCC has the best but as far as I'm aware UL had the highest number of matchings last year....More so, there is a student in my year, who is Canadian, this students parent is in charge of international doctors applying to Canada for residency and said that UL students are regarded as the best as we have such a strong clinical degree. This is the reason she applied to, and got into UL. In terms of USMLE scores....the school is not aware of students USMLE course, they are completely separate to UL....students do not have to submit their USMLE scores...so this info about scores also appears to be BS.

Im not one to rant or argue on here, im happy to come on and give info that helps but I think this is insulting to current UL students (im in third year) and is also unfair on students trying to decide where to go, or people just beginning the UL course.

It is safe to say what is being said by certain ^^ people is nothing more than made up by people who don't have hobbies, or have done poorly and need someone to blame because they are irresponsible.

Again, im a third year UL student, if anyone had questions, im more than happy to answer anything if it helps!

For all the others who have no lives, if you have nothign good to say, then don't say anything at all.

jibber5000

AndrewTheCat wrote: »

Are u sure? 160 in the current 4th yr class. I'm certain we have > 180

Just for clarity, 150 students started in UL last September.

21 students failed the previous summer exams and 6 got the repeats..One dropped out and 14 joined our class..

I don't know how many failed this years exams as we don't find out when we get our results, however 22 failed at Christmas so i'd be really surprised if any more than that failed at Summer.

Junoon

Hi all ...it would be great if some of you could show some light on the exams and assessment at UL GEMS. After reading a lot about the number of failed and rest of the argument I want to understand how the evaluations done in the course. Is this problem specific to UL because of the PBL format ? If so, do they have any different form of evaluation practices not present at other Irish schools? I am going to UL this September BTW

SarahConnor?

Up to this point you had few different exams such as: EMQ (extended matching questions) - 100 questions to be answered within 2 hours. I personally like and don't mind this exam but some people despite good knowledge find this exam difficult and confusing. In the past (when Prof. Lawes was in charge of assessment) the exam tended to be polarized toward specific filed (let's say more than half of the questions may have been neuro). Now as Dr. McKeague is in charge this seems not to be a case. Next one is SAQ (short answer questions) - 6 sections, each consisting of few questions to be answered within 2 hours again. For example you get a clinical scenarion (a person comes in with cough and fever and the section is about pneumonia) and questions relate to this condition (in this sections they could ask about physiology of respiration, common pathogens causing pneumonia, stages of pneumonia etc) Usually they expect relatively short answer. And the last written is Anatomy Spotter - 50 questions to be answered within 50 minutes. In general, identify and know the function and pathology that may be associated with this tissue, organ or neuro pathway etc. 25 tables with an image and 2 questions, after 2 minutes bell goes off and you move to next table. Most of the questions were taken from Anatomy Minicases that were designed by Prof Lawes and were the main part of the course up till now. Prof Lawes is gone and there was a rumor that Prof. McDermott, who is new head of anatomy, has replaced the minicases with his own anatomy curriculum so I don't know how it will be for incoming class.
As for clinical stuff, look up OCASE. In first year you have 8 stations in one go in June. By stations I mean you have to perform clinical exam (let's say cardiovascular one) or take a history from a patient (for example patient comes in with cough and you have to do resp history). All stations (usually) are meant to be completed within 6 minutes. Actors serve as patients. There is one extra station which is counted as 9th OCASE station which is CPR. To sum up, you have to pass 7 stations. In second year there are 20 stations - 8 in December, 8 in June and 4 which are data interpretation stations. Principle is the same. You have to pass 14 stations to pass the module. When you start med it seems impossible to do complete resp or cardiovascular exam in 6 minutes. It is doable, trust me.
In general the exams test what you cover in PBL and minicases and I find them fair. It is true that 15 people mentioned above failed. But some of them failed not because lack of knowledge but because they couldn't cope with structure of the exam - either EMQ or Spotter.
I can't compare UL assessment to other med school. Hope it helps!

AndrewTheCat

dublindoctor wrote: »

People cant just set up shop with a medical school as they please, they have to be of standard measured by the medical council, of which all med schools must adhere to. If UL was in any way substandard it would not have been opened. UL is modelled on St Georges in London and McMaster in Canada, both very respectable medical schools. It is safe to say that UL will get a hard time as it is a new course etc, but it is unfair to talk down the institution as if it is producing monkeys instead of doctors, in all honesty, grow up.

The current first years ( that will be entering second year)is the biggest class as of yet and it is finally at capacity, it is most definitely nowhere near 200. Someone mentioned 130, it is larger than this, around 150 I think but I could be mistaken.

In terms of 25% of the class failing, this information is not even available yet as repeats will be taking place this month, with results out in early september, so the number of failed students doesn't even exist yet, not a mind Deirdre McGrath telling you (yeah right) how many have failed. I don't know of the numbers failing this year, i could easily find out, i know from my first year we had around 15 that failed (this included assignments that needed resubmission, not actual exam fails) and from this, 4 people failed....so there is not going to be a jump from 4 to 50....!?


It's a PBL course, self direct etc etc ....biochemistry is covered, if you choose to not actually do it then thats your own problem but the course covers it, the course covers a huge amount of immunology, we have numerous cases right from first through second year that are immunological. Micro is definitely the weakest but it is still covered.


In terms of US Loan relief, how could u possibly know about US loan relief...?? Let me guess, you have a friend who had whatever problem...Well, newsflash for you, there have been no US students in UL, as the US does not consider a medical school until it has had so many years of graduates, a criteria that UL only reached last year, with this year being the first year it has been open to US applications....so no US loan relief is absolute BS. UL students do very well in USMLE, i think UCC has the best but as far as I'm aware UL had the highest number of matchings last year....

More so, there is a student in my year, who is Canadian, this students parent is in charge of international doctors applying to Canada for residency and said that UL students are regarded as the best as we have such a strong clinical degree. This is the reason she applied to, and got into UL. In terms of USMLE scores....the school is not aware of students USMLE course, they are completely separate to UL....students do not have to submit their USMLE scores...so this info about scores also appears to be BS.

Im not one to rant or argue on here, im happy to come on and give info that helps but I think this is insulting to current UL students (im in third year) and is also unfair on students trying to decide where to go, or people just beginning the UL course.

It is safe to say what is being said by certain ^^ people is nothing more than made up by people who don't have hobbies, or have done poorly and need someone to blame because they are irresponsible.

Again, im a third year UL student, if anyone had questions, im more than happy to answer anything if it helps!

For all the others who have no lives, if you have nothign good to say, then don't say anything at all.

The reason no us students came to us until now was because there is no relief available on loans. U.S. government loan relief is given if foreign medical schools have above average usmle scores. If you go to rcsi there is a screening practice test. People who sit this are not allowed go on and sit usmle as if they score poorly it affects the school loan relief. This is 100% fact.

How many micro lectures a week do you get? How many biochem lectures?

Obviously nobody knows how many failed the repeat exams which are on next week. But we know over 20% failed the primary. Let's not even begin to mention the number of people who have left the course after failing first or second year once/twice and being fifty grand in debt.

AndrewTheCat

SarahConnor? wrote: »

In general the exams test what you cover in PBL and minicases and I find them fair.
!

In general I would say the exams are very poorly representative of the PBL and anatomy minicases. PBL LOs are very broad and general whereas exams can be very specific, but due to the nature of the LOs it is easy for UL to link back and say ah you should have known that you were meant to know this

SarahConnor? wrote: »

It is true that 15 people mentioned above failed. But some of them failed not because lack of knowledge but because they couldn't cope with structure of the exam - either EMQ or Spotter.
!

False dichotomy much? These are all postgraduate students, with good/average/poor gamsat scores, who have done quite well academically otherwise, and you are saying now they are having trouble with test structures? I would say this is the least likely cause of them all failing, particularly in light of the divergent backgrounds and the multitude of tests these people will have sat up to this point in their academic careers. What you are saying just has no basis in logic, the reason they are failing is most likely because very poor course structure and curriculum, little to no lectures and teaching which are relevant to exams, little to no support for weaker students. There are literally dozens of horror stories from students who have been royally effed over by UL GEMS.

I personally don't understand the borderline harassment which is directed towards me. I'm a UL student, I've personally experienced the course, I can tell you the first two years here are very poorly structured, with very little support for weak students with very high failure rates.

The UL cheerleaders are in every year, people deluding themselves into thinking they are getting bang for their buck. Come to UL and wonder where your money has disappeared to and what you are getting in return.

Anita Blow

For those wondering about the loans- Had my appointment with BOI today. Couldn't have been more positive and has really put my mind at ease. The advisor said that they're changing the repayment structure. For the first year after graduating, you'll only pay the interest, which substantially reduces repayments during your intern year and allows you to put money aside to pay off some capital if you want. The remainder of the repayment term remains unchanged, it's still 10 years in total and your repayments aren't any higher after that year.

She also said that BOI is working with other groups on the proposed income tax relief for graduates which would reduce repayments by as much as 35%. She said it's likely to pick up steam because the recent crop of graduates (and the next crop) are those who availed of the €100,000 loans and are having serious trouble which is putting pressure on the university and BOI to lobby on their behalf.

extinctspecies

Anita Blow wrote: »

For those wondering about the loans- Had my appointment with BOI today. Couldn't have been more positive and has really put my mind at ease. The advisor said that they're changing the repayment structure. For the first year after graduating, you'll only pay the interest, which substantially reduces repayments during your intern year and allows you to put money aside to pay off some capital if you want. The remainder of the repayment term remains unchanged, it's still 10 years in total and your repayments aren't any higher after that year.

She also said that BOI is working with other groups on the proposed income tax relief for graduates which would reduce repayments by as much as 35%. She said it's likely to pick up steam because the recent crop of graduates (and the next crop) are those who availed of the €100,000 loans and are having serious trouble which is putting pressure on the university and BOI to lobby on their behalf.

Apart from 'proof of acceptance to DN401' which the CAO sent recently, did you require any other documents during your appointment? what exactly do they expect from the guarantor? I have an appointment early next week
Thanks

Anita Blow

extinctspecies wrote: »

Apart from 'proof of acceptance to DN401' which the CAO sent recently, did you require any other documents during your appointment? what exactly do they expect from the guarantor? I have an appointment early next week
Thanks

In terms of proving you're a student, they took my CAO Proof of Acceptance and my Certificate of Attendance at UCD. If you start registration now you can logon onto SISWeb and download your certificate of attendance as PDF and print it.

They also took a copy of my payslip. That's all as far as I remember other than bringing your passport, bank statements etc.

My parents were my guarantors. Not much was asked of them besides the initial form they had to fill out detailing their savings, assets and liabilities and then they had to give their signature a couple times.

TGJD

A very large proportion of exam fails in ul this year was due to the essays from what i've heard. Hardly indictative of the quality of the course. Ul is much better than many make out but is not without it's flaws. I like the pbl structure as it is much better for me that sitting in lectures being bored. Also gives you a more practical knowledge of medicine and is fun. That being said the LOs are poorly worded and often knowing the depth of knowledge required is impossible without looking at past exams. That is a huge flaw and the school has recieved many complaints about it in pbl feedback sessions so i believe it will change. The exams themselves i like. Very easy to pass the emq and spotter by just doing the mini cases and knowing them well. You dont have to pass the saq to pass the year so the pbl lo issue shouldnt affect you too much. The clinical part of the course is fantastic and really is the stand out part of first year. Any incoming first years; ye'll love it if this career is for you but even then it is torture at times and you will want to quit. Don't. We all went through that from time to time as the course just seems brutal at times and the workload seems insurmountable. Just relax a bit, break it down into manageable chunks and do the work a bit at a time. There's a long year there, you dont need to know every single detail of every LO for each pbl session first time round. Just learn what you can, chill and go in and learn from the rest of your group. If you need help ask your peer mentor, we've all been there and have tricks for getting through. And enjoy the biggest joke in first year, that anatomy lectures are optional but mindfulness is mandatory you'll get that in around a month from now.

TGJD

AndrewTheCat wrote: »

I just finished first year. It's true. There's close to 200 in the class give or take.

I'm not scaremongering at all.

I don't need to scaremonger as pbl will sort the men from the boys fairly quickly.

If you any further info as to the strength of the course ask about the high step 1 failure rate in usmle in our course, and ask about the high numbers of drop outs in the first six weeks.

The Caribbean schools are viewed higher than ul by Canadian and us residency programmes I gather

I spoke with a graduate medicine intern and loan repayments are crippling her, circa 1000 a month. Take home pay is 450 a week post tax. Working 80 hours a week and only paid for 40. Once car food bills rent is covered she has about 100 quid a week in her pocket. If I could turn back now I'd probably just do law or accounting. Luckily my cousin is doing an im residency in the us so I should be able to get over there and make the big wages if I nail my steps.

There's only around 130 something people in the year. Where are you getting 200?

Junoon

TGJD wrote:

A very large proportion of exam fails in ul this year was due to the essays from what i've heard. Hardly indictative of the quality of the course. Ul is much better than many make out but is not without it's flaws. I like the pbl structure as it is much better for me that sitting in lectures being bored. Also gives you a more practical knowledge of medicine and is fun. That being said the LOs are poorly worded and often knowing the depth of knowledge required is impossible without looking at past exams. That is a huge flaw and the school has recieved many complaints about it in pbl feedback sessions so i believe it will change. The exams themselves i like. Very easy to pass the emq and spotter by just doing the mini cases and knowing them well. You dont have to pass the saq to pass the year so the pbl lo issue shouldnt affect you too much. The clinical part of the course is fantastic and really is the stand out part of first year. Any incoming first years; ye'll love it if this career is for you but even then it is torture at times and you will want to quit. Don't. We all went through that from time to time as the course just seems brutal at times and the workload seems insurmountable. Just relax a bit, break it down into manageable chunks and do the work a bit at a time. There's a long year there, you dont need to know every single detail of every LO for each pbl session first time round. Just learn what you can, chill and go in and learn from the rest of your group. If you need help ask your peer mentor, we've all been there and have tricks for getting through. And enjoy the biggest joke in first year, that anatomy lectures are optional but mindfulness is mandatory you'll get that in around a month from now.

TGJD wrote:

A very large proportion of exam fails in ul this year was due to the essays from what i've heard. Hardly indictative of the quality of the course. Ul is much better than many make out but is not without it's flaws. I like the pbl structure as it is much better for me that sitting in lectures being bored. Also gives you a more practical knowledge of medicine and is fun. That being said the LOs are poorly worded and often knowing the depth of knowledge required is impossible without looking at past exams. That is a huge flaw and the school has recieved many complaints about it in pbl feedback sessions so i believe it will change. The exams themselves i like. Very easy to pass the emq and spotter by just doing the mini cases and knowing them well. You dont have to pass the saq

Thanks for the info but could you please elaborate on " essays " you mentioned ...

AndrewTheCat

Anyone starting Msc physiotherapy in UL? Or studying for gamsat for it?

GeneralC

AndrewTheCat wrote: »

Anyone starting Msc physiotherapy in UL? Or studying for gamsat for it?

Yes

AndrewTheCat

Any idea what gamsat cut off was required this year?
Thinking of switching over, currently finished first year gems in ul,

GeneralC

AndrewTheCat wrote: »

Any idea what gamsat cut off was required this year?
Thinking of switching over, currently finished first year gems in ul,

53 for physiotherapy 2015, 12 places.

Junoon

ANY ONE RECEIVED ROUND 1 OFFERS?

SwiftEagle

AndrewTheCat wrote: »

Any idea what gamsat cut off was required this year?
Thinking of switching over, currently finished first year gems in ul,

Quitter!

TGJD

Junoon wrote: »

Thanks for the info but could you please elaborate on " essays " you mentioned ...

4 essays due a few weeks after christmas as the assesment for the professional competencies module. From 600 words to 1000 words or so depending on the discipline. The 4 pcs are public health, health law and ethics, psychology and sociology. I found them handy but if you don't have a background in writing these kind of essays then i suggest asking someone who does for advice before submitting. The module runs before christmas and this is the only assessment for it. It's taught in various lectures week to week but i never found it necessary to attend as i did most of this in my undergrad. Go to them if you think it will help but i found them a waste of time i could use to study. Very interesting if you have free time though admittedly from the few i attended but a waste of valuable time none the less.

Junoon

TGJD wrote: »

4 essays due a few weeks after christmas as the assesment for the professional competencies module. From 600 words to 1000 words or so depending on the discipline. The 4 pcs are public health, health law and ethics, psychology and sociology. I found them handy but if you don't have a background in writing these kind of essays then i suggest asking someone who does for advice before submitting. The module runs before christmas and this is the only assessment for it. It's taught in various lectures week to week but i never found it necessary to attend as i did most of this in my undergrad. Go to them if you think it will help but i found them a waste of time i could use to study. Very interesting if you have free time though admittedly from the few i attended but a waste of valuable time none the less.

thank you ...I am not very good with those type of essay writing and is it only in 1st year and are they form a huge percentage/ part of overall assessment ?

TGJD

Junoon wrote: »

thank you ...I am not very good with those type of essay writing and is it only in 1st year and are they form a huge percentage/ part of overall assessment ?

Not sure, think there are some in 2nd year too but couldn't say. They are the entire pc module and you have to pass 3 of them to pass the year. They genuinely aren't that tough though. You have to pass the 3 modules that make up the year individually. Pc being the easiest, then clinical skills, with knowledge of health and illness being the tough module which is examined in the 3 written exams mentioned earlier, the saq, emq and spotter. I wouldn't worry about it just yet. Everything will be explained as you go and everyone is in the same boat. Just study for pbl and do the minis and don't focus on exams until they get closer.

mick_murphy

Anita Blow wrote: »

In terms of proving you're a student, they took my CAO Proof of Acceptance and my Certificate of Attendance at UCD. If you start registration now you can logon onto SISWeb and download your certificate of attendance as PDF and print it.

They also took a copy of my payslip. That's all as far as I remember other than bringing your passport, bank statements etc.

My parents were my guarantors. Not much was asked of them besides the initial form they had to fill out detailing their savings, assets and liabilities and then they had to give their signature a couple times.

How did you arrange an appointment to obtain the forms, etc. I can't find a direct number to the UCD branch. Did you visit the branch itself?

ohblackbetty

HI Friends,

Just wondering about claiming tax back on the GEM loan. Do you need to have paid enough tax during the year to cover the credit (i.e. if you have not paid 1400 in tax are you not eligible for credit)? If not can a parent/guarantor claim for the fee?

Cymini Sectores

From my experience of dealing with the revenue office, everyone is entitled to something (but MANY don't bother finding out). Walk into the tax office with your fees receipt (and p60 if you have one). Last year, I got about 1500 eur tax back and that helped.

ohblackbetty

Cymini Sectores wrote: »

From my experience of dealing with the revenue office, everyone is entitled to something (but MANY don't bother finding out). Walk into the tax office with your fees receipt (and p60 if you have one). Last year, I got about 1500 eur tax back and that helped.

Yes - but had you earned enough last year that they were able to deduct that 1500 from taxes you had already paid?