After qualifying from medical school and gaining a number of years’ experience in the local health system, it’s hard to ignore the ever present thought of moving abroad to gain new medical experience, live in a foreign country and create new personal relationships.
The first question that pops into your head is “where will I move to?”
Here’s a couple of reasons why Ireland should be top of the agenda:
- Internationally recognised experience
- Training opportunities
- Exposure to an English speaking health system
- Gateway to Europe – travel, training
- The best part - The Irish People
Qualifying Criteria
Now that you have decided on Ireland, there are a couple of boxes you need to tick to get you there.
- If you have qualified outside of Ireland or another English speaking country, you will be required to complete the IELTS exam -professional medical standard of English. In order to pass you will be required to secure an overall score of 7 with a minimum of 6.5 in each of the 4 domains.
If you feel you need to brush up on your level of English get in touch with our trusted language partner Andreea Berkhout who runs an online interactive English school for medical professionals - http://andreeaberkhout.com/
- To practice in Ireland you must be registered with the Irish Medical Council – General Registration for SHO or Registrar level. Specialist Registration for Consultant level.
Further information can be found on https://www.medicalcouncil.ie/Registration-Applications/First-Time-Applicants/
Let our team of dedicated recruiters guide you through the IMC process. Contact us at this address info@matchmedics.com
- If you qualified outside of the EU, you may be required to sit the PRES exams – Pre Registration Examination System.
All the details you need on what the exam consists of and for your nearest test centre can be found here https://www.medicalcouncil.ie/Registration-Applications/First-Time-Applicants/Examinations.html
Click on the following link to find out if you qualify for an exemption.
Once you have secured your IMC Registration you are ready to go!
Interviews
Match Medics works with public and private health care facilities up and down the country in their search for specialist doctors to join their teams. Whether that be in Emergency Medicine, Paediatrics, Anaesthetics, Surgery, Medicine, Radiology, Psychiatry, Primary Care or General Practice.
One of the biggest benefits of working with Match Medics to find a post in Ireland is the extensive pre and post interview support that we provide. Once we set up an interview for you with one of our hospital clients, our experienced recruiters use their expertise to ensure that you are fully briefed on the hospital, department and Consultant team. They will also make sure that you are prepared for the type of questions you will be asked. This allows you to feel confident in approaching the interview and therefore more likely to be successful.
Once you have secured a job offer, you can be assured of our continued on-going support whilst you make arrangements to relocate to Ireland.
Compensation
The HSE, Irish public health system, typically offers 6 – 12 month contracts with salaries fixed against an agreed country / system wide scale depending on grade and years of experience. Below is a breakdown of the salary ranges per grade.
- Senior House Officer salaries range from €44,000 – €61,000 gross pay annually (depending on experience)
- Registrar salaries range from €56,000 – €67,000 gross pay annually (depending on experience)
- Consultant salaries range from €120,000 – €185,000 gross pay annually (depending on experience).
Additional allowances for weekend and on-calls are paid. Whilst this can vary between specialty and hospital, and is not guaranteed, allowances can add an extra 15% (approximately) to the basic salary.
Follow the link below to get your approximate take home pay after tax.
https://www.pwc.ie/budget-2020-ireland/income-tax-calculator.html
Making The Move
Whether you are making the move alone or with the family there are a number of things you should be aware of.
Accommodation
The rental market is quite competitive but the Match Medics team are on hand to help you find the right property for you. Prices and availability can vary from city to city. The most popular sources for finding accommodation that suits your needs are https://www.myhome.ie/ and http://www.daft.ie/
Below you will find the average cost of rent for a 1 bed apartment across a number of cities and towns in Ireland located in close proximity to a main hospital.
| Dublin | €1,350 | Cork | €1,200 | Galway | €950 | Waterford | €800 | Kerry | €700 |
Transport Links
Getting to and from Ireland is easy. There are daily flights from Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Belfast to all major European cities with national airlines – Ryanair & Aer Lingus. International carriers operating daily flights out of Dublin include Emirates, British Airways, Qatar, KLM, Lufthansa & Etihad.
Ireland is a relatively small country with good motorway links between most cities meaning that you are rarely more than 1-2 hours from an international airport.
If you have less distance to go and prefer to travel by sea, there are daily ferry crossings with Stena Line, Brittany Ferries, Irish Ferries from Dublin, Rosslare & Cork to the UK, France & Spain.
Education System
One big attraction to Ireland for doctors and their families is the public primary, secondary and college education system. Irish schools and colleges are ranked among some of the best in the world.
Further information can be found at the below links.
Travel Partners
Everyone's journey is very different and sometimes involves a lot of moving pieces. Whether that is a non medical partner / spouse or a four-legged friend. Further details can be found below for both.
We have covered the basics but we always recognise that each Doctor’s personal situation is unique to them. So if you have a question about your person journey feel free to get in touch!
Now that you have the inside info, what are you waiting for?
We look forward to welcoming you to Ireland in 2020!!
Contact the Match Medics team today to start your journey!
+353 (1) 404 7612 / graham.cosgrave@matchmedics.com
