The first set of students in UL's new graduate medical school is now six weeks into the four-year degree medical programme. Some of them tell Gráinne Fallerhow they ended up on the long road to becoming a doctor

'That's a terrible idea" was the response of one hospital registrar when Anne Grace told him that she was thinking of becoming a doctor. "Get a job in a lab. Have lunches, have a life" was his advice.

Things were marginally more positive for Simon Kelly. He had to convince the doctors in his extended family that giving up a job with Microsoft to study medicine was more than a whim. "They really grilled me about the decision. I suppose they wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting into," he says.

For many years medical degrees have largely been the preserve of those self-possessed 18 year olds who manage to get practically perfect Leaving Cert results. Now the new graduate degrees in medicine being offered by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and University of Limerick have opened entry up to a broader cross-section of people. Entry is still competitive and looks to become even more so over the next year or two, but postgraduate study offers a chance to people who may otherwise have been lost to other careers.

The first cohort of students in UL's new graduate medical school is now six weeks into the four-year degree medical programme. Interestingly, of the five graduate students sitting around the table talking to The Irish Times, Wexford student Damien Ferguson is the only one to have applied for medicine at the Leaving Cert stage. He had the possibility of graduate entry in mind when, having missed the points, he decided to accept science in TCD.

"2003, the year of my Leaving Cert, was the year the Government announced that Ireland would have a graduate medical degree available by 2007," says Ferguson. "It's one thing they actually followed through on."

For Kelly CAO points were a factor at that stage. "I had thought about medicine when I was doing my Leaving Cert, but the points were just so out there that I decided to apply for science instead," he says. "A huge factor about being a graduate for me is that when I was 18 I was just so shy."

Selection for the course is based on the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test known as the Gamsat. It's a test of three parts: reasoning in the humanities and social sciences, written communication and reasoning in the biological and physical sciences. There is no interview. The people with the highest Gamsat scores are offered the places.

The exam-based selection process yielded a surprisingly diverse crop of candidates. About half of the class are drawn from areas such as law, nursing, music and engineering. The other students, like Eimer O'Malley, have a background in science. O'Malley came to the programme straight from DCU where she completed a degree in analytical science. "I had done some work in scientific research and I came away with a feeling of 'is this it?'" she explains. "I felt I was being pigeonholed a bit in chemistry . . . In medicine every day is different. You'll never stop learning and that's a big attraction for me."

O'Malley's classmate Anne Grace is one of those without a science qualification. She actually holds a degree in English and French. Despite having an aptitude for science in school, she took the arts route going on to do a Master's in literature. "I thought I was going to go and do a PhD," she says. "But then I realised I didn't want that at all."

The idea of becoming a doctor began to form in her mind during her Master's. She shadowed some doctors to get an idea of what might be in store, which is when the registrar did his best to deter her. "After I met him I was just like: 'Oh God, it's going to be way too hard.' But it's good to hear the bad side and know that you still want to do it," Grace says.

The decision to undertake postgraduate study is always a major one and in a postgraduate medical degree, the implications are magnified. Students are making a career change, and must be prepared not only for four years of student living but also for the gruelling years of internships and further training.

For Sinéad Carr, the decision was enormous. Originally from Killybegs in Donegal, Carr is actually already a doctor, having gained a PhD in chemistry. She continued with her academic career, pursuing postdoctoral research in Britain and then worked in the IT sector for nine years before taking the decision to go back and study medicine. She says: "I did think about it when I left school, but at the time I wasn't sure if I was enough of a people person, which given my age, was probably a good insight to have, so I decided to go down the science route."

The financial commitment involved in taking this course is considerable. The Government pays half of the tuition fees, while students must cover the other half. This works out at €12,000 a year. Of course, work outside of the academic commitment is impossible.

"I was used to a salary," laughs Carr. "It'll be a long time before I'm on that again." Of the five students present, Carr's decision to go back to college seems the most dramatic. She had an excellent job and she still has a mortgage on an apartment she owns in Dublin. "Obviously I had to think about it for a long time," she says. "There is a lot to think about, you know, even things like giving up a pension . . . It was a huge decision for me. Months, probably longer, to get to the point of no turning back."

For O'Malley, there were different things to consider. "I never got used to money, because I came straight from college. For people like me, burnout is an issue you'd be more likely to think about. It's still a lot to take on when you think of the fees and even the Gamsat. . . It's the worst exam I ever sat."

So having heard about horrible entrance exams, half a mortgage worth of debt and listened to doctors' warnings - what is the attraction of a career in medicine? Why would people give up good jobs and potential careers to go back and start, almost from scratch?

There are a number of reasons, says Carr. "I just enjoyed the work experience I did so much. It's tough, but all the little connections you can make with people every day are so rewarding."

"For me, it's such a real and definite thing to do with your life. The job satisfaction must be huge I'm sure. . . I keep expecting to have a panic attack over the whole thing, though," says Kelly.

"I like the fact that it's different every day," says Ferguson. "There are a lot of options available as well. I'd happily go into medical research also."

"It's certainly not for the money," laughs O'Malley. "I'll be €84,000 in debt by the end of this."

"I've had money, I've been working in an office and I was miserable," says Grace. "I love the fact that this is interesting and that as a doctor you have the academic end and you're dealing with people as well. It's the best of both worlds in a way."