Overview
What is Medicine?
Medicine is a unique course in that students study a broad range of subjects with the primary goal of understanding the science and practice of healing. Medicine and healthcare are constantly evolving as new knowledge and therapies emerge to prevent and treat illness. Each day brings a new patient with new healthcare challenges.
Medicine: The course for you?
The medical programme at Trinity is a challenging and highly rewarding experience. Medical students need an enquiring mind, an excellent capacity to learn and remember large volumes of knowledge, and the ability to develop effective communication skills. Good communication is a must for responding effectively to the health needs of individuals, families, and communities. A keen interest in improving healthcare at all levels is also essential.
Medicine at Trinity
Founded in 1711, the School of Medicine at Trinity has played a central role in the golden age of Irish medicine. Medical students at Trinity follow a five-year programme. Following graduation, students are required to spend one year as an intern in an approved post before becoming a fully registered medical practitioner.
Trinity’s two main general teaching hospitals, St. James’s Hospital and Tallaght Hospital, are up-to-date tertiary level hospitals with several specialist units. Specialist affiliated hospitals include The Coombe Hospital, Naas General Hospital, the National Rehabilitation Hospital, Noble’s Hospital, CHI at Crumlin, Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services (Harold’s Cross and Blackrock), Peamount Hospital, the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, and St. Patrick’s University Hospital.
Graduate skills and career opportunities
As a doctor, you will have plenty of options to choose from when it comes to deciding on your career progression. In Ireland, many graduates wait until completing their intern year before committing to one area or another. Some then enter general practice while many more continue their training as a general physician or surgeon or in a related specialist field. Alternatively, others prefer to work in an area such as hospital management or make research their priority by opting for a career in academic medicine.
The degree and what you’ll study
First, second and third years
Students study the biomedical sciences to understand what underlies medicine and they begin clinical science in the first term through a Family Case Study. Teaching is a combination of problem-based learning in the first year, small group teaching of 12 to 14 students, lectures and practical demonstrations.
Self-directed learning and the use of 3-learning are encouraged through the course. The majority of teaching in first and second year takes place in the School of Medicine, Trinity Biomedical Institute at the main University campus with the remainder in a hospital setting. Third year combines the taught course programme and an extensive clinical placements programme that advances and integrates clinical skills.
Medical Moderatorship and intercalated Master's in Biomedical Sciences
On successful completion of third year, students may be permitted to take a year out from the medical course to undertake a moderatorship in science in an approved subject. This is dependent on the availability of places and agreement by the head of the department concerned. An intercalated Master's in Biomedical Sciences is also available to medical students who successfully gain a 1st or 2:1 in their studies. The M.Sc. is a one-year full-time programme.
Fourth and fifth years
During these two years the student becomes an integrated member of each team to which he/she is attached and is expected to participate fully in all aspects of that team’s activities. This expectation will inevitably involve some early morning and late evening work. Most hospital attachments take place in St. James’s Hospital and Tallaght Hospital, Dublin. However, some training also takes place in regional hospitals around Ireland, in hospitals dedicated to particular areas of medicine, and in general practices associated with the School.
For further information on the curriculum, please visit https://www.tcd.ie/medicine/undergraduate-medicine/curriculum/year-one/
Click here for further information on modules/subject.
Intern year
After finishing the medical degree course, a doctor must successfully complete training for one year as a resident medical officer/intern in a recognised post before being eligible for full registration with the Irish Medical Council. A national application and matching process is in place for Intern posts in Ireland. This is currently managed by the HSE. Graduates undertaking internship/residency outside of the Republic of Ireland are required to register and meet the eligibility criteria of the relevant governing body in that jurisdiction.
The assessment structure is wide and varied and includes in-course assessment of practical and clinical skills, case studies, research projects, formal written and oral examinations, and objective structured clinical examinations. Formative assessment and reflective practice are also used to promote the personal development and teaching and learning of the student.
Study abroad
The School of Medicine has a strong international network, which gives students the opportunity to gain experience overseas as part of the electives programme. Students are required to complete clinical electives totalling 12 weeks by the final medical year. These can be undertaken in a hospital, clinic, or research laboratory of the student’s choice, either at home or abroad.
