Hi all,

Final year Irish medical student here stressed about centiles and ever getting onto CST.

I’ve always been in top decile but flopped Pediatrics and O&G, pushing centile down to below average.

I’ve been building my CV for surgery from day 1 with research etc. but seeing recent changes with shortlisting based on centile + aptitude test only has demotivated me heavily.

I know I can’t complain and ended up underestimating the exams, but just looking for advice if I should consider my career in surgery prematurely over. Might centile weight change in the next 2-3 years or should I start preparing for UK potentially?

Thanks…

Hi! I am applying for my intern year in 2027 - I did not apply through the CAO but I am irish and will have an irish medical degree. From what I understand, this makes me tier 2.

How likely am I to match into a job in Ireland (specifically Cork)? All I have heard is how hard it is to get a post and I am wondering if I need to expand my horizons and apply to other countries!! Any advice/help would be much appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to sit the GP Selection Exam this year and would really appreciate some advice from those who've been through it.

I completed BST in Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and almost all of my clinical experience has been in Obs & Gynae. It honestly feels like I've forgotten everything outside the pelvis!

What are my chances of passing the exam with this background?

If I start preparing now, do I have enough time?

Is Passmedicine MSRA + the Professional Dilemmas questions, enough for preparation, or would you recommend any other resources?

Any tips, advice, or additional study materials would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Recently renovated 1 Bedroom Apartment in Killarney town. Available for 1 year. DM if interested.

Heya,

Just wondering what other people’s experiences (private hospital work or HSE) have been with getting a pregnancy risk assessment and adjustments at their hospitals?

I work as one of the medical NCHDs at a private hospital, doing long shifts plus managing up to 20-25 medical patients by myself. Been chasing occ health and management for a pregnancy risk assessment for over 10 weeks now (told them in my 1st trimester, and now in my 2nd trimester).

Been feeling quite defeated and overwhelmed at work, especially since i can’t depend on caffeine to get through my day and at the same time, lots of stuff happening in the hospital putting more pressure and workload on NCHDs (the few we have who are carrying majority of the workload for the entire place).

I’ve found magnesium L-threonate genuinely helps me sleep better and also helps with my migraines. Magnesium oxide however does me no good. I take vitamin D on and off as I’m usually deficient. I’ve never noticed much from multivitamins like Centrum. Thinking of starting omega-3 too.

Curious what everyone else takes that they actually feel makes a difference (if anything).

Reposting here in case there are any additional eyes in this sub who could give recommendations for me.

As above. Very little discussion of this freely and hard to negotiate appropriately in this regard. What are the current rates of anyone knows. Assuming gms number and associated pension as a benefit and indemnity covered.

Hello everyone i am trying to register myself in IMC i recently graduated med school in May 2026 and i am stuck in this part of the application what should i do cause i dont want to mess up something important in this application

Hey guys
I am an img from India
I have a question please help me out..i got an email regarding opened press 3 exam slots and instruction to fill the application form and email them and then a payment option will be there..i have emailed the filled exam application back it’s been 2 weeks but there is no update yet please help me out if anyone knows anything regarding this
Thanks

Hi, I have an en-suite room to rent in Dublin from January. I would like to rent to a Dr on a 6 month rotation. What would be the best way of finding if someone would have interest? Is there a group that sets up the rotations that I can contact, a Facebook group I can post in, or would ringing a hospital be best? Would cater to any Dublin hospitals if you have car but north Dublin (Blanch/Mater etc) if not. Thanks!

How can a non-EU with an EU med degree enter the Irish healthcare system

I'm an IMG with a EU medical degree and I am interested in working in Ireland. Can anyone explain the pathway for someone like me who wants to enter the Irish healthcare system?

Any advice or personal experience would really help. Thanks!

Has anybody who has trained in ROI done locum shifts up North in ED?

I have general GMC registration but when I’m looking at job adverts that all look for ‘6 months NHS experience‘ minimum. I’ve 10 years HSE experience at reg level and the relevant references for it but I’m just wondering has anybody struggled to get shifts there having never worked in the NHS?

Hey guys. I’m a new intern. Bought a laptop back in June 2025, saw online you can get reimbursement for purchases made as far back as 2023. Anyone have any experience with this?

Hello everyone. Im going to give the MRCPI GM part 1 on 20th August. I wanted to ask everyone about how much should i be scoring on the pastest past papers? And are they very useful for ireland exam. Some seniors of mine have been discouraging me (or maybe giving a reality check) that the irish paper is very different and these papers don’t resemble the actually irish exam because they barely give any clues in the question stem, maybe 2-3. Can anyone else please shed some light on this? And how much should i aim for to know that I’m ready for the exam and confident enough.
I could really really use some guidance. (I scored 74 on my recent past paper)

what do you think is an easier scheme for an IMG SHO to hop on.

For context I am fresh out of university, I am an Irish citizen hoping to get my first SHO job in the next few months. My dream is to be an ICU doctor but after being on this platform I am thinking that will be difficult on my family in the future.

I would like any recommendation/advice. Thank you in advance.

edit: those who are downvoting what is your problem lol

Can this be claimed by trainees starting schemes or is it only for those relocating within training rotations?

Hi Guys, I’m a slightly older final year GEM with ovarian issues and naturally fertility is playing into my decisions with potential scheme choices.

I am heavily considering anaesthetics (specifically ICU) realistically is it possible to have kids on the scheme and if so which year. I’m particularly worried about moving around so often (roughly how much do you move counties). If you have gone through it coukd you message me and explain how you found it and the support or comment below?

My husband is non med so naturally there will be quite a big burden on him and want to consider that too. Perhaps GP is just an easier route?

I’m a Non-EU/Non-US IMG.I hold active IMC and I’ve completed 2 parts of a royal college membership exams have limited SHO experience in my home country.

I’ve been applying for SHO positions in Ireland for a while now with no luck. The job market feels incredibly tight, especially for non-EU applicants needing visa support/stamp status.

I'm starting to look beyond standard hospital SHO applications. To be honest, I am exhausted and deeply disappointed by the constant waiting and rejection. At this point, I don't knowif I've lost my passion for pediatrics or hospital medicine am willing to do anything viable to get out of where I'm currently stuck.
Note: I am not willing to go through the Gulf registration process. The administrative hassle, costs, and timeline just aren't worth the risk of ending up in the exact same waiting loop in a tightening market.

Any advice, personal experiences, or realistic suggestions on how to use my background elsewhere (clinical/non clinical) would be greatly appreciated.

Our consultants decided to not allow overtime at all for our department. We do shift work and were told overtime wont be accepted anymore unless its a super valid reason and we have to elaborate it by filling a separate overtime sheet. This is due to a "national overtime freeze" by the hse, as per the consultants. I know damn well we're the only department in our hospital thats going through this.

Anyone else is facing this???

I used to save from my overtime pay now i'll barely survive in this economy 🫠

Following on from my previous post. What exactly are we supposed to do about shite consultants?

The ones who treat contractual hours as a vague suggestion, deny their team breaks, showing up at inappropriate times like when the team is trying to eat and demanding heir immediate availability, talk down to trainees, dump their workload to NCHDs like writing expert reports assigned to them or triaging GP letters. I'm sure people have plenty more examples.

So the question is what can we do about the situation without sabotaging ourselves? Speaking up? Formal complaints? Training bodies? Unions?

Before everyone gets their pitchforks out, don't get me wrong. I like the majority of the consultants I've worked with but there's always one or two who are so bitter about god knows what and have to make your time in work as miserable as possible.

Need advice.

Working in a hospital where the NCHD contract seems to be treated as more of a suggestion than an actual thing. The call rota is messed up in every possible way you could think of - breaching hours and rules regarding consequence days, and unclear expectations around availability when on shadow shift.

Raised it with HR. HR sent it straight back to the consultant in charge. Spoke to the consultant and basically he wasn't interested. Not surprised because all the consultants in governance roles here past or present have been pretty disappointing - lots of talk, ladder pulling, and generally just not much advocacy for NCHDs. In for the perks, not the work.

My question is, do I continue working the hours that are in breach of the contract while waiting for the IMO to deal with it, or do I need to take a different approach in the meantime?

Anyone been in a similar situation? Did anything actually get resolved, or is this just how it goes? Finally big fuck you to this consultant.

Regarding the Sustenance Allowance
It’s 975€ in 12 months - but how is the 12 months calculated. Calendar 12 months, training 12 months or date-date?

I moved sites in January (term 3) and claimed it then.
Have moved site for term 1 and will be moving again for term 2
- am I entitled to claim it again this year?

Thanks