Recommended Books For Pre- Med RCSI

CHEMISTRY

Recommended Textbook for Purchase

Organic Chemistry, A Short Course 11^th ed (+ CD Rom)

Hart, Craine, Hart

Houghton Mifflin Company

PHYSICS

It is sufficient to own one good textbook covering a range of general Physics topics at a fairly fundamental/basic level. However, the Physics course at the RCSI is very different from the Leaving certificate, IB, or A-level courses in that it emphasizes the medical applications of many of the basic principles, and hence it is essential that students consult textbooks dealing specifically with medical applications. The lecture notes are based mainly on the following textbooks (although some material may be obtained from other sources);

1. Physics (3rd edition) by Kane and Sternheim, published by Wiley.

2. Physics of the Body (2nd edition) by Cameron,

Skofronick and Grant (published by Medical Physics

Publishing, 1999)

3. General Physics with Bio-science essays (2nd edition) by Marion and Hornyak

4. Physics (with health science applications) by Urone

For some of the topics covered in the Physics course (eye, ear, blood flow, lungs etc) you will need to refer to a basic Physiology textbook (familiarise yourselves with these in the library).

BIOLOGY

Core Texts:

The following are core texts for the theory and practical course, with Solomon et al, the main recommended course text. You may choose which most suits you and your pocket.

SOLOMON, BERG “Biology”

& MARTIN: 7th Ed. 2004, Brooks/Cole;Thomson Learning.

(no CD but try the web site-http://www.saunderscollege.com/lifesci/solomon2/index.html)

D. D. CHIRAS: “Human Biology”

5th Ed. 2005, Jones and Bartlett.

(comes with a student CD)

W. H. FREEMAN & “An Advanced Atlas of Histology”

B. BRACEGIRDLE: Heinemann,.

(introductory text with good monochrome micrographs; a large number of secondhand copies should be available)

T. W. SADLER: “Langman’s Medical Embryology”

9^th Ed. 2004, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins,

(reproduction and embryological development; includes CD with animations; Junior Cycle course text)

We strongly recommend that students purchase one Dictionary of Biology. “Henderson’s “ is the dictionary of choice.

E. LAWRENCE: “Henderson’s Dictionary of Biological Terms”. 13th Ed. 2005, Longman, Soft cover.

(the most comprehensive biology dictionary at this price)

R. S. HINE & E. A. MARTIN: “ A Dictionary of Biology “

5th Ed. 2004, Oxford University Press,

(fairly comprehensive, some good illustrations)

M. THAIN & M. HICKMAN: “The Penguin Dictionary of Biology”

11th Ed. 2004, Penguin,.

p/s: nasihat kami , adik-adik pinjam sahaja buku-buku ni di library . If you choose to have it on your own , beli yang kami highlight kan sahaja . Tapi honestly, x perlu, sebab berdasarkan pengalaman, pinjam dari library pun sudah mencukupi…hehe

FAQs for New Dubliners

Do we need Visa to enter Ireland?

Unlike the UK-bound students, Malaysian students going to Ireland do not need Visa. When you reach the Dublin Airport, the emigration officers will ask for the evidences stating you are studying over there (the unconditional offer letter) and the financial affidavit from your sponsors. After that, they’ll give you temporary pass to stay in Ireland ranging from 1 to 3 months. Within that period, you’ll need to register with the Garda (Irish Police) Emigration Office at the Dublin City Center. Then you’ll get the Garda Card, which permit to stay there. The look is similar to the Malaysian Identification Card, with your name, address, picture and the validity period on it. You’re required to bring your passport, the letter from your college or university endorsing that you’re a full time student (the student office only able to produce this after your registration) and financial affidavit. You are also will be asked to pay 100euros for the card, which can be claimed from sponsors. 

How about the books for studies??

The books used are different according to each universities. The titles can be obtained from you seniors. It’s much cheaper to buy them in Malaysia. As for the RCSI students, the “must have” book is Clinical Anatomy written by Stanley Monkhouse. You can buy it at Syarikat Kamal, its near Bulatan Pahang round about and HKL. 

Bank accounts?

There are two most popular bank used by the Malaysian students, the Allied Irish Bank (AIB) and Bank of Ireland (BOI). Both can be used for the monthly allowances transfer from the sponsors. AIB is quite famous with user-friendly Online Banking application. It made it easy to transfer money from one account to another, allow you to view your current account, saving account and credit card account. It also encourage saving with it saving account application. You can set a certain amount of money to be taken out from your current account to be saved in your saving account. You can also apply for student credit card (e=mc2) from AIB. The credit limit will increased as you used the credit card. The credit card come handy when buying your flight tickets and shopping online on E-bay, Amazon.com etc.