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History Of The College
 The
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
was founded in 1784 by Royal Charter
from King George III of Great Britain
and Ireland. The College was established
to educate surgeons as surgeons were
trained separately from physicians.
In 1886, the training of physicians
and surgeons merged, and the College
established a Medical School.
About the Medical School
Students of the College enjoy state-of-the-art facilities in the very heart of
Ireland's vibrant capital city. Mixed with its elegant historical buildings are modern lecture
theatres, seminar rooms, laboratories and the administrative services of the Medical School.
 The
College has an undergraduate medical
school and a postgraduate school for
surgeons. Fellows of these faculties
are recognized as specialists in their
fields. The school's libraries are
comprehensive, with 70,000 titles
in the collections, online catalogues
and computing facilities available
to the students.
The RCSI has a graduate entry four-year
medical degree program as well as
a six-year medical degree course.
The RCSI medical course is divided
into preclinical and clinical components.
Six-Year Medical Degree
The preclinical years cover the first
two and a half years. The first year
curriculum is divided into initial
standalone modules followed by a series
of integrated modules in physical,
biological and chemical processes.
The second and third years compose
a newly introduced integrated course
in the clinical application of basic
science. This course encompasses the
subjects of Anatomy (including Histology
and Embryology), Physiology, Biochemistry,
Pharmacology and Behavioural Science,
and focuses primarily, though not
entirely, on the systems of the body
(cardiovascular, respiratory, etc.)
with introductory courses in some
disciplines.
The clinical course commences in the
fourth year with the students spending
the majority of their time in one
of the College's teaching hospitals.
Students complete a 33-month training
period in the hospitals, during which
the students study twenty medical
and surgical specialty courses, such
as Pediatrics, Psychiatry and General
Surgery.
Graduate Entry Program (GEP) Curriculum
The four-year Graduate Entry Program
commenced in 2006.
The curriculum is delivered over four
cycles: Junior, Intermediate, Senior
1 and Senior 2.
The core biomedical sciences, medical
sciences, behavioral sciences and
clinical competencies form the basis
of system-based teaching and learning
in the Junior and Intermediate Cycles.
The two Senior Cycle years concentrate
on the delivery of clinical medicine
and its subspecialties.
The program time is structured as follows:
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2 semesters each
for the Junior and the Intermediate
Cycles. The academic year
extends from the middle of
September to the end of June
or early July. |
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Each semester is 18 weeks
in duration. A semester is
composed of 15 weeks of teaching,
1 week of revision and 2 weeks
of assessment. |
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An average of 25 hours per
week teaching and learning
with approximately 40% as
lectures and 60% as protected
time for online learning and
assessment, practical classes
and facilitated tutorials.
This subdivision of time is
not fixed as it may change
according to the aptitudes
and responses of the class.
This represents 375 hours
per semester and 750 hours
per Cycle. |
Communication and clinical skills are
introduced from the start of the Junior
Cycle. Initially students work with
simulated patients and by the second
year are ready for direct patient
contact. Teaching and learning in
Medicine and Surgery in the Intermediate
Cycle includes ward-based tutorials
and clinical attachments.
A research project module in the Junior
Cycle allows research interest to
flourish for some and will encourage
a new expansion of knowledge in others.
While dedicated time is available
for instruction on searching the literature,
critical analysis, writing skills
and presentation skills, the research
for the project module in the Junior
Cycle may be undertaken as a longitudinal
theme to facilitate students who wish
to work in RCSI laboratories during
their free time.
There will be similar project modules
in the Intermediate cycle and and
the teaching of basic statistics and
research methodology will enhance
the student's knowledge.
RCSI has a strong IT platform, including
a virtual learning environment called
Moodle. Moodle facilitates online
curriculum mapping and assessment
and assists self-directed learning
in the four-year program.
Throughout the program, each student
has a designated academic mentor to
assist with his or her understanding
of the curriculum.
The Teaching Hospitals
Beaumont Hospital is the College's
principle undergraduate training and
research centre, with 730 beds and
approximately 60 patients admitted
each day. The James Connolly Memorial
Hospital has
350 beds and extensive grounds with
buildings spread out over 138 acres
of land. Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital
was founded in 1939 by the Medical
Missionaries of Mary, and now provides
general and maternity services to
the northeast of Ireland, treating
200,000 patients annually.
For the clinical teaching of obstetrics
and gynecology, the College's staff
and students work in Dublin's oldest
maternity hospital, the Rotunda
Hospital. Students also attend
the National Maternity Hospital
and the Coombe's Women's Hospital.
For pediatrics and neonatal medicine,
students attend Our Lady's Hospital,
Crumlin and the Children's
Hospital, Temple Street Dublin.
Psychiatric clinical training takes
place in St. Brendan's Hospital
Dublin.
royal college of surgeons in ireland www.rcsi.ie
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