CAO under attack!

The President of DCU, Dr Ferdinand von Prondzynski has called for the abolition of the CAO points system because it’s putting students off careers in science and technology.
He claims students with high points are being advised by Career Guidance Counsellors, parents etc to go for high points courses rather then follow their interests.

I’m not sure what he bases this on, as we and other career guidance counsellors we know, always advise people to follow their interests. Looking at the points required, is towards the end of most career guidance services- after you have established your interests and aptitudes.

Colleges are now competing fiercely for students, a point I’ll come back to. So no doubt this has influenced Dr Prondzynski’s call.

The CAO process is one of the few processes in Ireland where “who you know” or how much money you have does not dictate what course you’re offered. Yes I know your social class tends to dictate your points, but that’s a broader education issue, not a CAO issue.

Meanwhile, over in the high court the Irish Times reports that Frank Prendergast junior is taking a legal challenge about the quota on undergraduate medicine places. Having achieved an excellent 550 points he could not get into medicine. He offered to pay fees and be classified as a non EU student,(lower points for them) but he was not accepted.
Hope he wins his case, he’s a brave man to do this, as the medical profession do not like people who attack the status quo. (An Irish junior house doctor has written a book called the Bitter Pill, which really exposes the medical world. Afraid for his career the author is known simply as Doctor X. It’s a must read for all aspiring caring professionals)

I’ve often wondered why we have not simply quadrupled the number of medicine places available to bring points down to a “non genius” level.
I know the medical professions say there won’t be enough jobs for all the graduates, but world wide there’s a huge shortage of doctors and we currently import from developing countries. Literally, we’re robbing valuable resources from much poorer countries which cannot be justified. Once it’s made very clear to aspiring doctors that not every body will be able to work in Ireland, could we not consider the education costs as part of our contribution to the developing world?

More competition for medical posts might also help to improve patient treatments. Every week, we seem to hear about yet more misdiagnosis of cancers whether it be in Portlaoise or Cork. In some specialities there is so little demand for positions, there may be no applicants! So employer’s ability to choose from candidates is severely limited. I recall on one occasion interviewing a candidate even though the CV indicated this person was not a strong match for the position, we were just so desperate to fill a long vacant position.
The shortage of suitable candidates also helps to explains why consultant power is so strong in the medical world. In his book Dr X writes about consultants not washing their hands between patients and every body else being afraid to say anything!

If you’re interested in a career in medicine and unlikely to achieve the necessary points, don‘t despair. You can do a very innovative post graduate course in Limerick which is running for the first time this year. Also Minister Hanafin is talking about a new entry arrangement where Leaving Certificate points will be capped, and a universally accepted psychometric test for medicine applicants will be used to assess candidates. The Minister is planning to introduce this system in 2009. The Universities still have to approve this though, so 2009 is very optimistic. Expect lots of negotiations around this one!


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