Eimear Corri is a recent graduate of the BSc Sport Science and Health course from DCU. She shares what sparked her initial interest in applying to study Medicine with The Irish Graduate and the different routes graduates can take to become a Medicine student.
It wasn’t until we started learning the in-depth biology of the human heart during one of the physiology modules on my sports science and health degree at Dublin City University that I realised that I was fascinated by the human body and human biology. It was then that I began thinking about potential career paths that could foster and develop my interest. I began researching medicine courses and the various entrance pathways and discovered that there were 2 entry pathways available to me once I had completed my degree.
As I was under 23, I didn’t qualify as a mature student, which is the third entry pathway into a medicine degree. Firstly, I could apply to undertake Medicine as an undergraduate degree which varies from 5/6 years depending on the college. This would mean I would have to sit the HPAT and compete for a CAO offer with other school leavers who had just completed their leaving cert.
Secondly, I could apply through the CAO to a Graduate Entry Medicine programme. Graduate Entry Medicine or GEM programmes are run in fewer colleges/universities that undergraduate Medicine, however, the GEM programme is only 4 years in duration. In order to apply for a GEM programme you need to sit the GAMSAT exam, which is the graduate equivalent of the HPAT. The GAMSAT examination is run twice a year in Dublin and at other locations around Ireland. GAMSAT scores are valid for two years from the date the exam is undertaken and can be repeated as many times as desired.
Personally, the GEM programme suited my lifestyle the best and I will commence studying at the Royal College of Surgeons as a Graduate Entry Medicine student this September.
Eimear Corri
The Irish Graduate 