Deirbhile Brady loves science. And the "nice side of science", she says, is being able to help people. That is why the 17-year-old wants to become a doctor. A student at the Ursuline Convent in Sligo, Deirbhile was one of more than 400 secondary school students who attended an open day in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland yesterday.
David Kearney (18) grew up surrounded by medicine - both his parents are doctors. He knew from an early age that he wanted to follow in their footsteps. The Belvedere student wants to pursue the career so that he can help people but is concerned about whether he will be able to get the points. His worries were echoed by many of the students at the RCSI yesterday, where 540 points are needed to qualify.
The question whether students who are able to get these points are those best suited to a medical career was fielded by Prof Alan Johnson, RCSI's medical faculty dean. The college no longer holds interviews for its Irish students since joining the CAO three years ago. Prof Johnson told The Irish Times that medicine was such a broad area now that "the caring ones go towards that area while others go into research and other areas. There are numerous options."
He pointed out that the almost every Irish student who was accepted into the college went on to become a doctor. "I can't remember a student in the last five to 10 years who has discontinued." The college also offers 10 scholarships to students who get 585 points or over for the six-year course.
Prof Johnson explained that the college took 150 students from outside the EU each year. The 40 EU students pay £4,600, while the remaining students pay £16,000.
Yesterday the students attended lectures, discussions and exhibitions. They were also introduced to the importance of genetics for anyone considering a medical career.
Dr David Croke, Department of Biochemistry, RCSI, told them about the international human genome project, which is the biggest scientific study ever undertaken. "This project will lead to determining the DNA base sequence of the human gene," he said. "This will teach us much more about the human make-up, and will tell us how genes contribute to human disease."