Medical Careers
A world class hospital and medical school
St. Vincent’s University Hospital (SVUH) is a world class healthcare institution, internationally renowned, JCI accredited, health promoting hospital. It is one of the largest teaching hospitals in Ireland and is closely aligned to UCD for training and students. There are 540 beds in the hospital and over 40 different specialities. SVUH is a national centre for liver transplantation and pancreatic disease and also has the largest cystic fibrosis service in Ireland.
Fostering the doctors of tomorrow – students on campus
For academically outstanding students with a desire to improve the lives of others, becoming a physician is a great career choice. UCD/St. Vincent’s University Hospital’s educational programmes are innovative, student centred and subject to continual best practice review. Students experience a modern, integrated curriculum on a busy acute clinical campus. Being a student at St. Vincent’s University Hospital is demanding, rewarding and offers students the opportunity to experience the full spectrum of life at one of Ireland’s busiest hospitals with superb student-friendly facilities.
Our students benefit from a range of highly prized international research and clinical elective opportunities. We believe that student participation in medical research is an important component of medical education. Each year, many UCD undergraduate students undertake eight-week supervised laboratory, clinical or patient-advocate projects. Participation provides students with invaluable experience in the area of investigative medical science and is consistent with UCD medical school’s ambition to produce not just exceptional healthcare practitioners, but also life-long learners and world-class medical researchers.
We have a number of Non Consultant Hospital Doctors (NCHD) on campus at any given time including Interns, Senior Health Officials (SHOs), Registrars and Specialist Registrars (SpR).
Postgraduate training
Postgraduate training is specifically designed to address the needs of junior doctors who have successfully completed their internship. It provides a career pathway towards achieving specialist registration.
The career path for a doctor trained in Ireland ideally should follow a structured training route from the point of entry to medical school to certification as a specialist (e.g. GP, orthopaedic surgeon, gastroenterologist, pathologist, obstetrician, public health specialist etc.)
There are two training routes in Ireland that trainees can follow upon completion of the intern year. The route that the NCHD takes depends on the specialty that they wish to pursue.
Route 1: Basic specialty training programmes and higher specialist training
- Step 1: Medical school
- Step 2: Intern year
- Step 3: Basic specialty training
- Step 4: Higher specialty training
Route 2: Streamlined training
- Step 1: Medical school
- Step 2: Intern year
- Step 3: Streamlined training
NCHD’s in St. Vincent’s University Hospital are supported taking postgraduate examinations with appropriate study leave and an extensive in-house educational programme including intern lunchtime talks, tutorials, medical grand rounds and surgical grand rounds. Many doctors employed with SVUH in clinical posts stay on to complete an MD or PhD under the supervision of consultants in the hospital.
Education and Research Centre
The Education and Research Centre (ERC) was opened in the early 1990’s as one of SVUH’s key initiatives for increasing the knowledge base in the hospital and improving patient care. The ERC’s dedicated laboratory and clinical research facilities are designed to complement the work of primary clinical workers in diagnosis and treatment of disease. The ERC works closely with biomedical research initiatives at the Conway Institute UCD.
Clinical audit
The clinical audit function provides support for clinical audit across the three hospitals in St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group: St. Vincent’s University Hospital, St. Vincent’s Private Hospital and St. Michael’s Hospital.
In addition, clinical audit supports and directs continuous quality improvement as well as having a role in advancing patient care standards. It also allows us the opportunity to demonstrate (internally and externally) the high standard of care already being delivered.
Our aim is to stimulate, train and facilitate clinical staff in conducting audits of their practice by:
- educating staff
- advising on audit design and process
- identifying existing sources of information, literature and electronic information systems on individual projects and on the audit in general
- facilitating the reporting of clinical audits to the clinical audit committee, the patient safety committee and the clinical governance committee for the St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group
- supporting medical students in audit projects which are now recognised for final professional elective credits in UCD.
The hospitals within the St.Vincent’s Healthcare Group have registered in excess of 1300 audit projects- which have been carried out over the past decade. Some of these are part of national projects, others range across the three hospitals and many are within departments and specialities.
Clinical audit training
Medical SpR’s have been members of the clinical audit committee for the period of their rotation in the hospital – exposing them to management issues at an organisational level.
Clinical audit training is also provided to other hospitals nationally as well as to the Royal College of Physicians. Positive feedback from trainees has included the cloning or copying of audit templates and tools to other hospitals across the state.
Every year we partly support the attendance of junior doctors and medical students to the BMJ/IHI International Forum where an average of 4-5 posters are accepted. Many of our trainees have taken home the honours for best poster or oral presentations on clinical audit work from national meetings.
Being a doctor in St. Vincent’s University Hospital
At St. Vincent’s University Hospital, we want doctors to have a balanced life and to care for themselves and their families as well as for others. We want doctors to be happy and healthy, caring and competent, and good travel companions for people through the journey of life. We are lucky to have a highly skilled, motived and enthusiastic team of consultant staff – many of whom are world leaders in their areas of expertise – who provide the highest level of cutting-edge patient care in line with the mission and values of the hospital. Our consultants work cooperatively with other members of the healthcare team, proactively advocating for their patients and acting as mentors for other health professionals.