Borborygmi

Retrowave/Synthwave is excellent for both studying and steady state exercise <3 .Good luck!

I was accepted at 35 to med school after a career change / second undergrad to get me there. I went to a 3-year medical school and am just completing my final year of a 5-year residency now. I'm super grateful to have the opportunity to do what I'm doing now and love it every day. There are definitely some disadvantages to consider being an older applicant, in my opinion. These would be independent of the process of obtaining admission in the first place, which I also think is more difficult in some ways for older applicants, but I will leave these aspects of my response since it's not really what you're asking. (1) Debt burden: with reduced time to practice, your debt burden will be more relevant for you than for someone in their 20s in medical school and is something to consider. (2) Connection with peers during training: while this isn't ubiquitous, it does come up. Sometimes your life experiences and perspectives are a bit different in your 30s/40s than when you're younger (I certainly am not the same person I was when I was in my 20s). I don't mean this in any offensive/rude/judgmental way because I have also met a ton of absolutely amazing colleagues in their 20s that are wiser, more mature than me at my present age, and have done outrageously cool things that I couldn't fathom taking on myself. However, these differences can lead to some difficulty in relationship-building amongst peers during med school. It also makes things at times awkward during residency where many staff are younger than you. For example, I am a large man, and often I consciously stand in the back of the room when rounding as a team, etc. because as an older, large man, I find patients look more to me at times than to other people with more training/experience. I also absolutely never wear a white coat for the same reasons (aside from my opinions about the paternalistic associations of the white coat in the first place). (3) Energy throughout residency: call schedules can be unpleasant at the best of times and I think this is perhaps worse when we're a little less young or if you're a person dealing with health conditions that lead to fatigue... or some combo therein. As I've gotten further along in residency and into my 40s, I take much longer to recover from call (particularly sleepless call... I'm not myself for probably 3 days afterwards) and I think I would be very challenged to do the typical R1 7 calls-in-a-month theme all over again if needed. (4) Contractual obligations via CaRMS/etc.: if you have an established family (spouse, children, older parents, etc.), moving around the country as is obligated by CaRMS match can be a bit tough. The uncertainty of the process also puts some additional stress on relationships which can lead to potential resentments that need to be navigated. (5) Age at establishing career: Once out of residency, there's the whole job prospects piece +/- fellowship training. Keep in mind it takes 1-2 years before you're established with regular income, etc. and that finding a job depending on your specialty may require further geographic moves. Those, I would say, have been my main experiences to consider as an older applicant. Would I do the whole thing over again if I had an acceptance letter in my hand? Definitely, 100%, no question. Everyone is different, though, and knowing what you're getting into is pretty important. Particularly past the medical school acceptance bit because getting into medical school, even if it's arguably the toughest step in the whole process, is only the beginning of a long road. Hope that's helpful in some way. Best of luck!

I have a couple of resident colleagues who just recently began community neurology (BC, ON, QC). The general tone of call is 1 week of home call per month block. Most times it's not super busy, but of course being on call takes its toll whether you're receiving questions/consults or not. Many community centers will now do tPA (if they have CT) and transfer patients for EVT. So, you generally cover acute stroke as well. Conversely, community hospitals that do have neurologists available by day, but whose facilities are within the catchment area of tertiary care centres will often just call the residents on call at said tertiary care centre with their questions. In which case, the day neurologists that cover aren't bothered overnight. It really depends on where you're located.

Reading through the comments on the admissions blog is beyond infuriating. How selfish and self-absorbed are many of the applicants this year. Sometimes it's ok to realize that there is something bigger than you going on (LIKE AN ACTUAL F*CKING GLOBAL PANDEMIC) and to sit down and shut up. The entitlement in the discussion thread is absolutely nauseating. Get some perspective. Honestly... Tell the patients in ICUs fighting for their life or people whose bodies are stacked in the back of trucks in blocks-long military convoys that "it's not fair". Be embarrassed. Unbelievable.

PGY-2 in neurology here. PM if you'd like or ask your question(s) publicly in the thread and we can make the info available to all. There are few neurology threads on the forum and others may have similar questions.

Just email the PD if you want to meet with the PD. If you know who the chief resident is/scheduler for the group, then email them as well regarding the call question. Honestly, we are all humans. Taking initiative to reach out shows interest. In my opinion, if a program punishes you for taking initiative or has a problem with your approach knowing how few electives people receive then I would perhaps give consideration to whether it's a program that is right for you. Being annoying is one thing, sending a couple of short emails is another. The program coordinators also receive a ton of emails. It may have just been that your original note slipped through the cracks. Just my two cents.

As another update, Ottawa now has one neurologist from France with stroke and neurointerventional fellowship training. A second stroke neurologist is completing his interventional training in Ottawa after doing some of his fellowship in the US and will be staff thereafter.

100% agreed. I burned out really hard going into my final year of undergrad as a result. Sometimes, if that's what you have to do to make end meets and also achieve your goal.... it's worth the cost. If you can find a better balance, that would obviously be more ideal.

I don't check here as often as I once did, but I'm happy to chat if you have questions. 35 when I entered med school, now 39 as a PGY-2. Send me a PM any time.

I found the Case Files series of books useful in med school for the basics of common presentations. https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=case+files+internal+medicine&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsv_aq9vg5QIVRdyGCh1f4ACMEAAYASAAEgKyefD_BwE&hvadid=208290943416&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9000678&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=17024519830428346821&hvtargid=kwd-301882008468&hydadcr=9043_9621330&tag=googcana-20&ref=pd_sl_3v4py0isrl_e Another is the Hui resource for internal medicine https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=internal+medicine+hui&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3pKn4Nvg5QIVAniGCh02awM0EAAYASAAEgIsdPD_BwE&hvadid=230027861511&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9000678&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=b&hvrand=1900500495644391093&hvtargid=kwd-308365313488&hydadcr=2436_10293348&tag=googcana-20&ref=pd_sl_2m5ikxmirr_b The Washington Manual for internal medicine is also good. As is the Massachusetts University manual for internal medicine. Any of the above would be useful a reasonable starting point for internal med. Good luck!

I would suggest thinking about the interests you have and about pursuing those interests. The way your question reads makes me wonder if you're looking for something because it would look good on a cv.

I didn't have anyone proof-read my top 10s. If you're going to have someone take a look at your submission, I would suggest getting someone familiar with the CanMEDS framework and how to write essays meant to touch upon the categories within the framework.

I was. Mid-thirties career change for me and there were a number of us in my UofC graduating class. I feel this is becoming even more commonplace.

The opportunity provides growth. There is no prescription for admission to med school, but more than that I would suggest doing things that are enriching, fulfilling, and that genuinely interest you. You can spin anything as a strength for med applications, but that really shouldn't be what it's about, in my opinion. Cool opportunity!

I had to do a second undergrad degree before thinking about medicine and began my second degree at 29; accepted to medical school at 35. There was another student in my class who was older than me (either 38 or 40... I don't recall at this point). The average age of people accepted to medicine seems to be increasing. If it's something you really want to pursue, go for it! There were many people 30+ in my class. Best of luck!