What options in medicine if you don't want to be a doctor?

College Choice: Yesterday I dealt with entry into medicine and veterinary courses. Today I will deal with other medical-based programmes.

Pharmacy

Pharmacists work in hospitals and in retail pharmacy shops, dispensing medicines and making up prescriptions. They also work in the rapidly expanding pharmaceutical industry in the production and development of new drugs.

Three colleges offer pharmacy in the Republic: Trinity College Dublin, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and NUI Cork. There are 152 places available.

The RCSI last year offered 38 places and should do so again this year.

Students scoring 555 points or above in 2005 secured places. Trinity, which offers 70 places, offered places to those on 555* (random selection).

UCC last year had the highest points requirement, offering places only to those applicants with over 560 points. UCD has a new BSc degree in pharmacology (DN034), which has a strong emphasis on research, industry, and regulation.

Dentistry

Two colleges are offering courses in dentistry, with 68 places on offer.

The course reference for UCC is CK702, and TR052 for Trinity College. The number of students choosing dentistry as a first preference is usually quite high. In 2005, 223 applicants listed it as their first choice.

The points required for entry rose from 560 in UCC to 565 but dropped from 570 in Trinity to 560. Random selection operated in Trinity, with not all students on those points securing places.

Both degree courses last five years and the amount of work involved can be exhausting.

Optometry

There is only one optometry course in the State, which qualifies students as ophthalmic opticians, and that is at DIT. It only takes 24 students each year and the minimum points score of successful applicants in 2005 was 520.

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists work with those whose performance and participation in everyday living has been disrupted by disability, physical injury or illness, developmental problems, psychological problems and social and environmental impediments.

Occupational therapists aim to help people improve their day-to-day quality of life by involving them in structured activity or occupations. In 2003, the existing course in Trinity was supplemented by two new courses in NUI Cork and Galway.

This threefold increase in places has not led to a decrease in points requirements, with Galway requiring 505, Trinity 505* and UCC 510 points.

Speech and Language Therapy

Speech and language therapists identify people who have disorders of the voice, speech, and language, and develop programmes of treatment for them.

New courses in NUI Galway and Cork , in addition to the existing Trinity course, might have been expected to lead to a drop in the points needed. However, quite the opposite occurred.

In 2005 points requirements increased across the board. Trinity required 515, Galway 520 and UCC 525. The University of Limerick offers a masters in science in speech and language therapy and occupational therapy.

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy is offered in four colleges. UCD and Trinity admitted students in 2005 on 540 points, RCSI at 555, and UL had by far the highest requirement, at 575.

Radiography

Radiography is divided into two areas of work: diagnostic, which involves the use of various forms of imaging, including X-rays, MRI scans and ultrasound, to produce images of the body; and therapeutic, where treatment is given over a protracted period for diseases such as cancer.

In 2005, TCD offered places to those holding 510 points and above, while UCD admitted students on 500 points.

Neuroscience

UCD has introduced a new BSc degree in neuroscience (DN036), which focuses on the study of nerve cells and how they interact with each other to form the brain and regulate bodily functions and human behaviour.

This area of science offers good opportunities in the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries, and in the growing research sector in Irish universities and in government agencies.

Biomedical science

Another option from DIT is biomedical science (DT204) and, in UCD from September 2006, biomedical, health, and life sciences (DN037).

These degrees will lead students into careers in biomedical and health research, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, hospital laboratories, and sports science.

These are an excellent preparation for entry into postgraduate programmes in medicine and other professional health care courses.

College Choice resumes on Monday

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