The much-needed reform of medical education is, at last, gathering pace. Minister for Education Mary Hanafin has announced the provision of 70 additional places in the State's five medical schools. A further 40 places will be provided next year, with an additional 35 in 2008 and in 2009.
New postgraduate courses are also set to begin in UCD and at the College of Surgeons. The removal of the 30-year-old cap on the number of medical places, which has made all this possible, is a major advance. In all, the number of medical places for Irish and EU students will increase from 305 to 725 over a four-year period.
The reforms are broadly in line with the proposals recommended in a report on undergraduate medical education produced last year by a group chaired by former NUI Galway president Prof Pat Fottrell. They also concur with the recommendations of an expert study of postgraduate medical education led by Dr Jane Buttimer. The new two-tier system and the expansion in places is designed to meet the manpower needs of the health service while consolidating the overall high standard in medical education in the State.
But the reforms also have potential benefits for the entire education system and for students. As Ms Hanafin has acknowledged, the current single route of entry, combined with limits on places, has resulted in enormous pressures on young Leaving Certificate students looking to pursue a career in the field. Students needed 570 points or more to gain entry to medicine last year - the equivalent of five A1s and a B1 in the Leaving. Educationalists argue that the strong demand for the few available places in medicine and related areas is distorting the whole exam. High-achieving Leaving Cert students can feel pressurised to opt for high points courses even if they have no particular aptitude in these areas. The decision to introduce a postgraduate option should give students more time to reflect on their career choices.
The hope must be that this - coupled with the expansion in places - will also help to lower CAO points for medicine. In truth, this seems unlikely - at least in the short term, because of the continuing surge in demand for places in medicine. This year, the demand is up by some 8 per cent even though the number of school -leavers taking the Leaving Cert is at its lowest level in two decades.
The new system also provides a challenge for the medical schools, which have become overdependent on the huge fees (some €30,000) paid by non-EU students for medical places. In contrast, they receive only a fraction of this figure to train Irish and EU students.