I came to Ireland as a mature student, having decided go back and start medical school at the age of 29. I chose Trinity College Dublin because I knew I would receive a world-class medical education and have the resources of a vibrant, major European city available to me.
Dublin has three medical schools for North Americans, and Trinity’s five-year program is the only program in which international post-grads are mixed with both Irish post-grads and Irish school-leavers. The benefit to this model is that you are fully immersed in Irish culture from day one. Additionally, Trinity is a diverse, large university that offers medical students social, athletic, and academic clubs, outside of medicine and science, which help international students enjoy extracurricular breaks and find a balanced life here in Dublin.
The medical school at Trinity is 300 years old and that tradition is well respected and honored throughout Ireland and around the world. Living in Dublin is definitely city life and students are able to travel throughout Europe on weekends and holidays quite easily. I am interested in international medicine and all most major not-for-profit medical agencies have offices here. Furthermore, Trinity graduates and professors are recognized around the world for their advances in medicine and it is commonplace at our teaching hospitals to see new, state of the art medical procedures being performed.
North American students who thrive here come with an open mind to a new and fun culture and a drive to make the most of their medical education abroad. Medicine is not “spoon-fed” to you here; you have to be ambitious and passionate about being a part of this program. Having said that, there are many opportunities through the Trinity network to do electives all over the world and your experiences here will help you stand out as you apply for post-graduate training back home. I am someone who has always wanted to be a doctor and always wanted to live in Europe—studying medicine at Trinity has been all that I hoped for and a lot more.
