program perubatan berkembar PMC - Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

this post was specially written for you guys - those who are coming to Ireland to further your study in medicine at Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. i would like to write about the preparations before you come. i don't really know about other universities but i'm quite sure it would be pretty much the same thing as i mentioned here.

this is your college, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

(persediaan sebelum berlepas ke Ireland dan menyambung pelajaran di RCSI, Dublin)

i'm sorry, my English writing skill is not really good, but I still want to write in English. why? for your information, during your first or second week, you have to sit an English (written) examination and to those who are 'lucky' enough, you will be placed in Language and Communication groups. 100% of the students in LC groups are from Malaysia, so, yeah. you better watch out. haha! but fret not if you are chosen to be in the group as it will bring you much benefit. don't worry.

books? do you need to buy books before coming here? my answer is yes because everything is more expensive here compared to in Malaysia. the one and only book store in Malaysia (as far as I know) that is selling books that have been used by the students here is Kamal Book Store which is situated at Jalan Pahang, near Kuala Lumpur General Hospital. for the first year, the must-have book is Clinical Anatomy by Stanley Monkhouse. Monkhouse was the professor of anatomy in RCSI for years but unfortunately i don't have chance to learn from him in person. other books like Biochemistry etc are not really important (for me) as most of the things that gonna be assessed will be in your lecture notes. If you want to buy books, there is a book store near to the college that sells medical books, gloves, labcoat, stethoscope etc. you need to have a stethoscope in second year.

laptop? here in RCSI, you'll get a free laptop. yes, FREE! malaysians love free stuff, aren't we? i'm not sure what brand of laptop are you getting this year, but last year, everyone got an HP630 laptop. if you get Macbook this year, i'll be jealous until my last breath. so yeah, no need to bring your own laptop, as it will be difficult for you during the airport security checks. (you know you need to present all your electronic devices during the check, right?)

handphones? as long as you have a smartphone, i think everything will be alright. why smartphones? because smartphones have applications like whatsapp, viber etc that will keep you close to your loved ones. :') but note that Three (the service provider that is being used by most of the Malaysians here) does not support Blackberry.

spices? IT IS A MUST! curry powder, tomyam paste, soup powder, empat sekawan, turmeric powder, aji no moto. everything! Ikan bilis and cili kering are at the top of the list.  just bring them in your check-in bag from malaysia.

outfits? a pair of long john is enough. and you can bring a coat and buy some more here. Clarks shoes are much cheaper here so buy them here. hihi. The temperature here in winter can go down to negative while in summer, the warmest i have ever experienced was 25 degree celcius.

anything else? you can always contact me and other seniors for assistants. good luck and have a safe flight! (Twitter: @runaziluz)




ps: these are some pictures for you to look at to boost your excitement lol.

raya haji

Dublin city

St. Stephens's Green on our first day in Dublin. it is just in front of the college!

Surau RCSI

Howth, an hour from the city

 Japan Hanami festival.

Cliffs of Moher, Galway. three hours from Dublin

spring.

Glendalough, about two hours from Dublin city.