Madam, - With regard to the present controversy concerning entry points for medicine, I wish to say that, as a parent whose children have gained entry to this field and who would probably never have done so under the old system, the present CAO method, though hard, is fair.
When the Minister "tackles" this issue, will he then turns his sights to other disciplines such as accountancy and law? And will his new proposals also include an "interview" - in other words, the return of the old pals' act? In other words, if it is not broken, why fix it? - Yours, etc.,
BRENDAN CAFFERTY,
Creggs Road,
Ballina,
Co Mayo.
Madam, - As a fourth-year female medical student in Trinity College Dublin, I have been very interested in the ongoing discussion on the future of Irish medical training. At 17 I sat my Leaving Certificate, entered the fair and equitable system of the CAO, and got my place in medicine. I will qualify at 23 and enter the medical post-graduate training schemes with the advantages of youth and relative financial security.
Mr Dempsey, it seems, would prefer that I toil away at a four-year primary degree, which would now be a high-points course as all the 570-plus pointers would be competing for it too. Then I would re-enter the rat-race for college places armed, hopefully, with a first-class degree and a first-class debt to compete for the same number of medical places.
Getting women into medicine doesn't seem to be a problem - there are plenty of us here in Trinity; but how many of us will be willing to sacrifice our "child-bearing" years to the gods of fellowship exams and travelling abroad to gain experience to decorate our consultant application forms? How many of us will decide to become surgeons? How many will do this four years later in their lives?
There are certainly many women who excel in their medical and surgical fields and I think the title "superwoman" could be used. But when other careers prove more lucrative than medicine and when the desire to help people and improve lives can be translated into many other walks of life, a medical career, rewarding as it is, may prove to have too many sacrificial requirements. - Yours, etc.,
AUDREY DILLON,
Main Street,
Ballymahon,
Co Longford.