The portrayal of the doctor's life on television programmes such as ER does not appear to be convincing students in Ireland, writes Emmet Oliver
While the programme shows young, handsome dynamic doctors racing around hospital wards at breakneck speed, students here appear to take a more jaundiced view.
The number of first-preference applications to the CAO for medical courses has been falling steadily for the last five years.
While some of this is explained by demographic factors, there is still evidence that the level of interest in medicine as a career has waned.
But anyone hoping this might cause a dip in points for medical courses is likely to be disappointed.
The Government, in conjunction with the Higher Education Authority, capped the number of medical places in the 1980s and these levels essentially remain in place. Consequently, the points drop by small amounts only each year, if at all, and this year is unlikely to be different.
Points for all healthcare courses - dentistry, medicine, veterinary medicine, physiotherapy and pharmacy - are high and that is not going to change.
Medicine
However, there was some minor relief last year. For example, at UCC some students on 555 points managed to get a place, whereas you needed 560 the year before.
It went the other way at Trinity. While a small number of students in 2001 managed to get in with 560 points (and random selection), last year 570 points were needed and this did not drop in the second round.
UCD was in a similar position. In 2001, you could get into its medical course (DN002) with 545 points (and random selection), but last year this went up to 555 (with random selection).
These seem like small swings, but when you are looking for a medical place, the smallest of margins can make a difference.
Where exactly points will land this year is impossible to say (applications are not even with the CAO yet), but looking through the points totals from recent years, medical courses rarely, if ever, drop below 545 points.
If you are scoring below this, in say your mock exams, it is going to be an uphill task.
Most of the five colleges offering medical degrees set their points at between 545 and 570, so you need to be in this high-achieving bracket.
There is some good news this year, however, in another context. The Department of Education has decided that the "free fees" initiative will apply to courses in the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland (RCSI).
Up to now, school-leavers were forced to pay several thousand euro to access a place in the RCSI, but now if you are a school-leaver, you do not have to pay tuition fees.
This means that the RCSI is now a viable option for all medical applicants, whatever their family's earning power. If you are really committed to this area, you can theoretically apply to five colleges: UCD, UCC, TCD, RCSI and NUI Galway. However, the RCSI accepts less than 100 school-leavers each year and its main medical course (RC 001) still required 555 points (with random selection) last year.
The other thing to remember about medicine is that points are not the only requirement. Most of the colleges also require a science or maths qualification to be presented, so carefully check the college prospectuses to see if you have the right combinations, although this is normally not a problem because applicants for medical places usually study physics or chemistry.
This column has been accused several times before of not highlighting the length of time involved in studying to become a doctor.
So let me spell it out. In most cases you will have to study for six years and then do a one-year "intern" placement in a hospital. At that stage you become a qualified doctor, but to become a GP another three years is required.
As for consultancy posts, you could be waiting for one for years, with some people waiting as long as 15 or 20 years before a post in their area opens up.
While the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, constantly talks about increasing the number of consultants' posts, getting to this level is never going to be swift.
However, like most medical professionals, you can be relatively certain of a decent income in the meantime, but be aware that climbing to the top is not going to happen over night.
Physiotherapy
This is becoming a very popular area, but there is a strict limit on the number of places available. Three colleges offer physiotherapy degrees: Trinity, UCD and the RCSI.
If you take one of these three courses (they take four years to complete), you can become a chartered physiotherapist, which means you have a university qualification in the area.
The Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists is the professional body representing over 1,300 members in Ireland and you need to get recognition from them to call yourself a chartered physiotherapist.
The points for the three courses have been going up. For example, to gain a place on TCD's course (TR 053) in 2000 you needed 525 points, but last year you required 530 (with random selection). The same was needed for UCD's course (DN006) and the RCSI's course (RC004).
With the introduction of free fees to RCSI, you now at least have three clear shots at getting a place. About 650 students put physiotherapy as their first choice, so with only a small amount of places available at third-level there is always going to be a squeeze.
Tomorrow: Science courses at third level