A

Career
as a
Doctor
By Phoebe Ferguson

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 Introduction
For my careers project I have chosen to research being a doctor. I have
chosen this career as I am extremely interested in medicine and it would
be a career I would be interested in pursuing. I want to learn about the
different qualifications necessary and the courses available to me. I don’t
really know much about what is available to me so I want to learn all
about the different career opportunities this degree could offer me as a
doctor.

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 Interest test
In the career module we did an interest test and a personality test on
careresportal.ie . I think this website is extremely valuable in helping students
grasp a better understanding of potential careers they might pursue and what
courses would interest them.

Below is the results to my interest test. We were asked a series of questions on

different topics to see what we would prefer.

Phoebe Ferguson 

11th December 2018

Group << less

| more preferred >>
Scor
Name preferred e
Realist 10

Naturalistic 3

Enterprising 27

Social 53

Investigative 42
Administrati
16
ve
Creative 12

Linguistic 24

The results showed my top interests. Below are the meaning of these interests

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 Top Interests
Investigative
I like work that challenges my mind. I like to explore and investigate whats
going on in the world so I can understand it better.

Social
I like working with people. I would prefer to be in direct contact most of the
time, maybe helping, teaching or simply talking or discussing things.

Enterprising
I like work that allows me to take charge and make important choices. I like to
help people make decisions and motivate them. I like the challenge of
something new.

The second test I took was the personality test. This test also asked me a
series of questions to see what type of personality I have. Below are the
results:

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 Top Personality types

Idealist
Idealists are concerned with personal growth, and want their life to be
meaningful and significant. They like being with people, sharing with them,
and encouraging them. This is the most philosophical of the four
Temperaments, and they place a high value on being true and honest with
themselves and others. They like to see people grow and develop, and are
always ready to help out when a friend needs them.

Stabiliser
Stabilisers value law and order: they like where there are clear rules and
guidelines and are driven by a strong motivation to serve our society’s needs.
They respect authority and the chain of command. They are bound by a sense
of duty to do the right thing, which tends to make them reliable, dependable
and responsible.

What does a doctor do?

Before I could research into the different course and what points and subjects
I would need I wanted to find out what a doctor does on a dat to day basis,
and to find out the different sectors of being a doctor there is.

There are several hundred different specialties a doctor can go into once
graduating from collage. The most common type of doctors are the ones
below.

Allergists/Immunologists
They treat immune system disorders such as asthma, eczema, food allergies,
insect sting allergies, and some autoimmune diseases.

Anaesthesiologists
These doctors give drugs to numb pain or to put people under during surgery,
childbirth, or other procedures. They monitor your vital signs while you’re
under anesthesia.
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Cardiologists
They’re experts on the heart and blood vessels. The look after people with
heart failure, heart attacks, high blood pressure, or an irregular heartbeat.

Colon and Rectal Surgeons

These doctors specialise in problems with your small intestine, colon, and
bottom. They can treat colon cancer, hemorrhoids, and inflammatory bowel
disease. They also can do a colonoscopy and other tests for colon cancer.

Critical Care Medicine Specialists

They care for people who are critically ill or injured. You might see them if
your heart or other organs are failing or if you’ve been in an accident.

Dermatologists
These doctors focus on the skin, hair and nails. They also help people with
moles, scars, acne, or skin allergies.

Endocrinologists
These are experts on hormones and metabolism. They can treat conditions
like diabetes, thyroid problems, infertility, and calcium and bone disorders.

Emergency Medicine Specialists

These doctors make life-or-death decisions for sick and injured people,
usually in an emergency room. Their job is to save lives and to avoid or lower
the chances of disability.

Family Physicians
They care for the whole family, including children, adults, and the elderly.
They do routine checkups and screening tests, give you flu and immunization
shots, and manage diabetes and other ongoing medical conditions.

Gastroenterologists
They’re specialists in digestive organs, including the stomach, bowels,
pancreas, liver, and gallbladder. You might see them for abdominal pain,
ulcers, diarrhea, jaundice, or cancers in your digestive organs.

Geriatric Medicine Specialists

These doctors care for the elderly. They can treat people in their homes,
doctors' offices, nursing homes, assisted-living centers, and hospitals.

Although that seems like a lot of different specialties the list goes on for the
different jobs a doctor can do. On a day to day basis a doctor can be in
surgery, check on patients post op, and have a couple of consults.

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Personal experiences

To gain a good knowledge of this career I am going to the Beacon hospital for
a week in late February. I am greatly looking forward to this as it will give me
a really good idea of what the job is like.

A family friend is a urologist and I have always found it interesting all he does
on a daily basis. He has definitely influence my interest towards this career.

Becoming a doctor

The first step to becoming a Medical Doctor is to gain a recognised degree.

You will need to sit the HPAT exam for entry to any of these undergraduate
degree programmes in Ireland.  GAMSAT-Ireland is the route for graduates of
any discipline who are applying to medicine via the graduate entry route.

On successful completion of the medical degree, candidates register with the

Medical Council and then complete an Intern year as House Officer with one
of the hospitals recognised for this purpose.

Further training is required by all Junior Doctors to become a specialist in a

particular area. For example, General Practice (GP) - to become a GP you
must undertake a further three years training. Another year is then spent as a
trainee in a teaching general practice. GPs then complete an examination to
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become a member of the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) or The
Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).

College Courses

Medicine in UCC (729 points) 5 years -

The Medicine curriculum in UCC is rooted in the basic Medical Sciences of

Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, but also places emphasis on clinical
instruction.

The Medicine curriculum at UCC reflects current best practice in medical

education and is under constant review and evaluation. The curriculum is
further enhanced by a wide range of student-selected modules, from research
projects to humanities’ workshops (e.g., Art and Medicine, Creative Writing).
Research is a key element of Medicine at UCC, and all students complete a
research project in their final year.

Requirements
- HPAT,
- O6/H7 in English,
- O6/H7 in Irish,
- O6/H7 in Any Other Language
- O6/H7 in Maths
- H4 in Chemistry
- H4 in Physics or Biology

Career progression

Following successful completion of the Final Medical Examination, and

subsequent graduation, Medical graduates are required to complete one year
of internship training in order to achieve full registration with the Irish
Medical Council. While UCC School of Medicine makes every effort to support
students in the search for an internship post, students apply and compete for
internship posts in an open jobs market.
In Medicine, the primary degrees MB, BCh, BAO are only the start of your
career, as all branches of Medicine require postgraduate training of 3-7 years
after the post graduation hospital intern year.

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Many graduates choose to undertake part of their postgraduate training
abroad and all Medical School academic staff are available to provide advice
regarding the opportunities available.

Medicine in UCD (732 points) 6 years -

For those interested in a career in medicine this degree offers a patient-

centred programme that is continually adapting to the needs of society and
developments in medical knowledge.

Alongside academic lectures there are many opportunities for practical

hands-on experience throughout the six years, from small group learning, to
clinical bedside learning and advanced clinical placements in over twenty
different training hospitals and more than a hundred primary care practices.

The first year focusses on the core sciences and their application to medicine
and includes Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Genetics, Ethics, Healthcare
Imaging and Science, Medicine and Society.

Requirements
- HPAT,
- O6/H7 in English,
- O6/H7 in Irish,
- O6/H7 in Any Other Language
- O6/H7 in Maths
- H4 in Chemistry
- H4 in Physics, Biology or Ag Science

Career progression

Work experience and clinical placements are integral to the

programme. Students also have opportunities to study in clinical and
academic centres all over the world.

Upon graduation you must complete one year as an intern to gain full
registration with the Irish Medical Council.

Graduates qualify to pursue careers in general medical practice or pursue post

graduate specialisation leading to careers in diverse settings including
hospitals and primary care facilities or laboratory-based diagnosis and
research.

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Medicine in NUI Galway (725 points) 6 years -

This programme is a unitary model that integrates the theoretical and the
clinical. The modules emphasize the basic and cognitive sciences, which
provide a basis for understanding modern health care. Students also learn
clinical and communication skills as well as patient contact.  The end of the
programme is dedicated to the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for
professional practice. 

As students gain experience, they assume greater responsibility and

undertake clinical placement rotations in a network of affiliated hospitals and
general practices in Galway and around the West of Ireland. In partnership
with HSE, and our regional hospitals, the School of Medicine assists in a 12
month Intern Placement Scheme where possible.

Requirements
- HPAT,
- O6/H7 in English,
- O6/H7 in Irish,
- O6/H7 in Any Other Language
- O6/H7 in Maths
- H4 in Chemistry
- H4 in Physics, Biology or Ag Science

Career progression

Graduates from this programme will find employment in:

Hospitals
Private practice
Education and research
Community rehabilitation services
Pharmaceutical companies
Medical device companies
Health insurance companies
Medical journals

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Medicine in RCSI(730 points) 5/6 years -

RCSI offers a five and six year course for school leavers. Some students may
be exempt from the foundation year, based on their academic subjects and /
or grades they have achieved prior to admission. If, so they will undertake the
five year programme.
Teaching is largely systems based with the early introduction of clinical case
studies and data intrepration. Early patient contact facilitates integration of
the basic sciences and is followed by a clinical programme. 

Requirements
- HPAT,
- O6/H7 in English,
- O6/H7 in Irish,
- O6/H7 in Any Other Language
- O6/H7 in Maths
- H4 in Chemistry
- H4 in Physics, Biology or Ag Science

Career progression

Graduates qualify to pursue careers in general medical practice or post

graduate specialist areas.

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Medicine in Trinity College Dublin(731 points) 5 years -

Students study the biomedical sciences to create an understanding of the

knowledge underlying medicine and begin clinical science in the first term
through the Family Case Study.
The majority of the teaching in first and second year takes place at the School
of Medicine, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute at the main University
campus, with the remainder in the hospital setting. Third year combines the
taught course programme and an extensive hospital placement programme in
order to advance and integrate clinical skills. 

A student wishing to study medicine requires an enquiring mind, the capacity

to acquire and maintain high levels of knowledge, the ability to develop
effective communication skills in order to respond to the health needs of
individuals, families and communities and an interest in improving
healthcare at all levels.

On completion of 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. 

Requirements
- HPAT,
- O6/H7 in English,
- O6/H7 in Irish,
- O6/H7 in Any Other Language
- O6/H7 in Maths
- H4 in Chemistry
- H4 in Physics, Biology or Ag Science
Career progression

As a doctor, you will have plenty of options to choose from when it comes to
making a decision about your career. In Ireland, many graduates wait until
their year as an intern is complete before committing to one area over
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, you might, as others have done, prefer to work in an area such
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as hospital management, or make research your priority by opting for a career
in academic medicine.

HOW TO BECOME A SPECIALIST IN IRELAND

Postgraduate Training in Ireland

Structured postgraduate medical training in Ireland is provided by

the medical postgraduate training bodies who are accredited by the Medical
Council of Ireland.

Postgraduate training is specifically designed to address the needs of junior

doctors who have successfully completed their internship. It provides a career
pathway towards achieving specialist registration.

The career path for a doctor trained in Ireland ideally should follow
structured training route from the point of entry to medical school to
certification as a specialist (e.g. GP; Orthopaedic Surgeon; Gastroenterologist,
Pathologist, Obstetrician, Public Health Specialist etc.)

Details of the number of posts available for each specialty and the
corresponding competition ratio for the Recruitment Process for 2016/7 are
now available.

There are two training routes in Ireland that trainees can follow upon
completion of the intern year.  The route that you  take depends on the
specialty you wish to pursue.

Basic Specialty Training

• Enter immediately following successful completion of intern year
• Competitive entry
• Duration 2 years
• Senior House Officer (SHO) level
• Rotate to a different SHO post every six months, giving you exposure to
a range of different subspecialties

Specialties available to train at Basic Specialty Training level are :

General  Paediatrics
Histopathology
Obstetrics & Gynaecology
General Internal Medicine

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Higher Specialty Training Programmes
• Enter following successful completion of Basic Specialty Training
• Competitive entry
• Duration 4-6 years
• Specialist Registrar level
• Required to undertake a number of complementary courses that help
trainees to develop the management and analytical skills needed to
provide excellent patient care
• Rotate through pre-arranged posts in your chosen specialty every twelve
or six months.

Specialties available to train at Higher Specialist Training Level are:

- Cardiology
- Chemical Pathology
- Clinical Microbiology
- Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics
- Dermatology
- Diagnostic Radiology
- Endocrinology
- Gastroenterology
- Genito-Urinary Medicine
- Geriatrics
- Haematology
- Histopathology
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases
- Medical Oncology
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Obstetrics & Gynaecology
- Occupational Medicine
- Paediatrics
- Palliative Medicine
- Psychiatry                                                                                                                         
- Public Health Medicine
- Radiation Oncology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Respiratory Medicine
- Rheumatology
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Following successful completion of higher specialist training doctors are then
entered on the Specialist Division of the Medical Council Register and can
practice independently as a specialist.  At this time you are eligible to apply
for a consultant post in Ireland.

Conclusion

When I first started this project I had a basic idea of what it would be like to
be a doctor. After researching this career, the courses, qualifications and
different branches that a doctor can specialise in I think I would be suited to
this career path . I think this would be a very rewarding and challenging job. I
would love to be able to help people who are suffering for diseases in the
future. Helping others is definitely one of the most rewarding jobs out there
that’s why I think this job would be very suited to me. I want to be successful
and I think pursuing this career would definitely make me successful in the
future with all the opportunities having a medical degree would offer to me.

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