Do You Have Question About Uofc Med? Ask Away

[nick]

This might have been asked/answered already, but when do we need to have our CPR/First Aid done by? Should it be completed prior to orientation or before clerkship starts?

You have to get it done before your first day (applicant manual p. 28), cause you start getting clinical experience pretty much right away!

[mab1989]

What if you have the HCP BLS? I haven't taken the full first aid/CPR coarse in 8 years lol...I just renew my health care provider CPR every year.

[Dts]

Is BCLS same as first aid + CPR?

[BoopityBoop]

Is BCLS same as first aid + CPR?

 

BCLS = CPR (HCP)

 

First aid I believe is separate from BCLS/HCP

[BoopityBoop]

Does anyone know how the waitlisting actually works for Calgary? I've looked through past threads, but am not getting a clear answer...

Dr. Walker during the interview day, said that the waitlisting is not separated into IP/OOP, but that OOP's tend to move up faster. I'm unsure as OOPs move faster if they aren't in separate pools. Any clarification would be great!

[amichel]

Does anyone know how the waitlisting actually works for Calgary? I've looked through past threads, but am not getting a clear answer...

 

Dr. Walker during the interview day, said that the waitlisting is not separated into IP/OOP, but that OOP's tend to move up faster. I'm unsure as OOPs move faster if they aren't in separate pools. Any clarification would be great!

It's not that they move up faster it's that they tend to have higher scores, as they needed higher pre-interview scores to get to the interview stage. So there are a higher proportion of OOPs at the top of the list.

 

At least that's my understanding.

[BoopityBoop]

It's not that they move up faster it's that they tend to have higher scores, as they needed higher pre-interview scores to get to the interview stage. So there are a higher proportion of OOPs at the top of the list.

 

At least that's my understanding.

 

Ohhhhh, that makes a lot of sense. Thank you for that clarification!

[Borborygmi]

I also think that many OOP students who gain admission also gain admission at institutions closer to home, etc. since they tend to be very competitive applicants. They're more likely to turn down UofC's offer.

[amichel]

I also think that many OOP students who gain admission also gain admission at institutions closer to home, etc. since they tend to be very competitive applicants. They're more likely to turn down UofC's offer.

While that's true, it shouldn't affect the rate they get off the waitlist at all. If anything it would make the top of the waitlist move faster, and mean that the limit for OOPs is pretty much never reached, but that's it.

[Borborygmi]

I see what you're saying--good point!

[sjc2]

I have a question about scholarships/bursaries/grants etc. Is there any point in looking into these now (i.e. do you have to apply before you hear back from admissions) or is it all stuff you follow up on if you gain admission? 

[hurthouse]

I have a question about scholarships/bursaries/grants etc. Is there any point in looking into these now (i.e. do you have to apply before you hear back from admissions) or is it all stuff you follow up on if you gain admission? 

 

I don't think there's any point. If you get in, admissions will make all scholarship/bursary opportunities abundantly clear to you.

[sjc2]

I don't think there's any point. If you get in, admissions will make all scholarship/bursary opportunities abundantly clear to you.

 

Thanks!

[carebear]

what is the health and dental insurance at uofc like? 

[nick]

what is the health and dental insurance at uofc like? 

I'm not a U of C student, but this looks like it.

[Borborygmi]

I'm not a U of C student, but this looks like it.

 

nick is correct! The information is all there for you, but I'll touch on one point. The dental coverage we have is alright, but it requires you to visit a specific list of dentists to be reimbursed for cleanings, etc. Make sure you check out that list rather than just visiting any old dentist and finding out afterwards that your claims won't be reimbursed. There's a great wellness centre on the main campus as well with psychologists, psychiatrists, physicians, chiropractors, massage therapists, sports medicine doctors, etc. available to you and with a pharmacy just down the steps for your prescriptions. We also have mental health supports that are available through the faculty of medicine if the need arises.

[fullmoon]

Will we know what position we are in on the waitlist, if applicable? If so, is this status updated as responses roll in? I would be coming from across the country and the possibility of such a quick turnaround from finding out to picking up my life and moving is quite daunting, especially since the a waitlist position would be even more delayed in terms of receiving a response. Thanks for everyone's responses, this is such a wonderful resource!

[gottawannit]

similar to what Fullmoon mentioned, are things like Orientation and whatnot mandatory? for those of us that live further away and may struggle to up and move so quickly there may be a few weeks of missed class.

 

Secondly, i'd love to hear someone touch on any travel opportunities! I noticed in the curriculum theres a solid 4-week span for electives - I imagine you could elect to do those elsewhere, which is awesome. Is this the only time for extended travel? This is my biggest fear in choosing UofC (other than that it's a clearcut winner for me), every year I save up my pennies from part-time work during the year so I can travel for a few months of every summer and would hate to not be able to do that anymore.

[bearpuppy]

similar to what Fullmoon mentioned, are things like Orientation and whatnot mandatory? for those of us that live further away and may struggle to up and move so quickly there may be a few weeks of missed class.

 

Secondly, i'd love to hear someone touch on any travel opportunities! I noticed in the curriculum theres a solid 4-week span for electives - I imagine you could elect to do those elsewhere, which is awesome. Is this the only time for extended travel? This is my biggest fear in choosing UofC (other than that it's a clearcut winner for me), every year I save up my pennies from part-time work during the year so I can travel for a few months of every summer and would hate to not be able to do that anymore.

 

 

I'm pretty sure nearly everything in orientation is mandatory. It's very different than an undergrad orientation. Definitely wouldn't be an option to miss a few weeks of class.

 

EDIT: In med school in general, and particularly in a condensed program, you should realize that 1 week of class could easily be a full semester of a course in undergrad. 

[freewheeler]

No U of C does not indicate waitlist positions. From what Dr. Walker mentioned post-MMI by the time orientation hits the class is locked in and if anyone decided to drop out, that class would just have one less person. Orientation is pretty much mandatory unless there was some extenuating circumstance afaik. You wouldn't likely be missing weeks of class if you received an offer, can't imagine they would allow that to happen.

[sjc2]

Will we know what position we are in on the waitlist, if applicable? If so, is this status updated as responses roll in? I would be coming from across the country and the possibility of such a quick turnaround from finding out to picking up my life and moving is quite daunting, especially since the a waitlist position would be even more delayed in terms of receiving a response. Thanks for everyone's responses, this is such a wonderful resource!

 

One of the ways they are dealing with that this year is only allowing for waitlisters to have a week to respond to their offer (according to Dr. Walker in the post-interview info session), as opposed to two. I also dread the waitlist, because if I only have two weeks notice to move across the country (or even a week!) well, that would be interesting! Honestly though, I'd rather have a crazy two weeks than not get in at all. 

[lllllllllll]

One of the ways they are dealing with that this year is only allowing for waitlisters to have a week to respond to their offer (according to Dr. Walker in the post-interview info session), as opposed to two. I also dread the waitlist, because if I only have two weeks notice to move across the country (or even a week!) well, that would be interesting! Honestly though, I'd rather have a crazy two weeks than not get in at all.

 

A week is a long time! For some schools I think they only give you 48 hrs to respond to a wait list acceptance.

[carebear]

similar to what Fullmoon mentioned, are things like Orientation and whatnot mandatory? for those of us that live further away and may struggle to up and move so quickly there may be a few weeks of missed class.

 Some info on orientation, what parts are mandatory, etc : http://www.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/files/mdprogram/class-of-2019-o-week-schedule-at-mar-29-2016.pdf

[larva]

similar to what Fullmoon mentioned, are things like Orientation and whatnot mandatory? for those of us that live further away and may struggle to up and move so quickly there may be a few weeks of missed class.

 

Secondly, i'd love to hear someone touch on any travel opportunities! I noticed in the curriculum theres a solid 4-week span for electives - I imagine you could elect to do those elsewhere, which is awesome. Is this the only time for extended travel? This is my biggest fear in choosing UofC (other than that it's a clearcut winner for me), every year I save up my pennies from part-time work during the year so I can travel for a few months of every summer and would hate to not be able to do that anymore.

 

I wouldn't count on getting any significant travel time while at U of C. I did an international elective during the 4 week block you mention, but other than that the only breaks you get are Christmas (2 weeks) and spring break. And if you want a competitive specialty an international elective might not be a wise choice. In clerkship we got no breaks outside of Christmas but this may change for future years. 

[BoopityBoop]

Hello!

A question just popped up into my mind that I wanted to ask, but forgot to during Dr. Walker's post-MMI presentation. He explained that a way that UofC shines is that it stays on the frontier of innovation and that Calgary's curriculum incorporates ultrasonography (US) into their undergraduate medical education (UME).

For those that are near the end of their clerkship, or have experienced the full extent of the US education in UME, can you elaborate how extensive the training is, and how helpful it is in giving clerks an "edge" during their electives? For example, I understand that knowing how to work with US is pretty advantageous for specialties like anesthesia where they use US constantly to insert art lines and IJ central lines in the OR/ICU.

Thank you!