Do You Have Question About Uofc Med? Ask Away

[Alphalima]

This has got to be unhealthy:

 

http://mdadmissions.ucalgaryblogs.ca/2016/02/12/new-mmi-video-available-next-week/

 

"That is incorrect. Please reserve your speculation for pre-med 101" - DIW 

 

Someone didn't get the memo. I would say let's just get rid of the speculation all together but it is not a perfect world   

[amichel]

Amichel? thoughts?

Sorry, but everyone else is right. Why would I know more about this than anyone else?

 

I have no idea, and no one does except the admissions committee.

[daftjustice]

This actually annoys me because I know there are people out there that will freak out over seeing this type of speculation on Premed101, a site that should be about encouragement without unnecessary discouragement i.e. thinking that your chances are shot because your verifiers didn't get contacted when no one knows anything regarding the process of admissions decisions. 

I agree that it's not very productive of pathoma to keep asking these questions - he/she should save it for if she gets accepted.

But you can't fault someone for asking for reassurance (even if it's for some extremely exploratory thinking).

I'm sure the people posting "My 1st year GPA is only 3.75, am I screwed for ever?" freak people out too all the time.

 

Pathoma, you seem a bit anxious, but I don't think you're trying to discourage anyone.

 

edit: unless Pathoma is troll. Then please stop. Otherwise feel free to message me if you want to vent privately so the public convo doesn't continue to stress others out. I'm a 3 time rejectee so I can handle the stress, if not the wait.

[sjc2]

I have a couple of unrelated questions:

 

First, I would love to hear about the Leaders in Medicine program. I am particularly interested to hear from those who are Affiliate students. I noticed that the Program Commitment form refers to Affiliate students having access to travel grants and presenting their work at conferences and at the annual LIM symposium. I am curious about the kinds of opportunities there are to do non-graduate-student research work, and what the time commitment tends to be for these affiliate students (aside from the 2-4 hours/month for journal club, monthly seminars, etc). Do you tend to work directly under a graduate student or post doc and support their aims and projects, or do you have your own research project with a PI that understands your hectic med school schedule? Any insight into the program would be appreciated.

 

Second, I am curious as to whether or not there are any opportunities for UofC med students to get involved in public policy talks or projects at the provincial and municipal levels. One of the other schools that I interviewed at has an "elective" program set up where students are able to work on public health projects, and I am wondering if Calgary has anything remotely similar. 

 

Thanks!

 

*Edited because I don't know how to construct sentences.

[ZBL]

Regarding LIM, the affiliate commitment is similar to full members - 2 hrs per month of seminars and then you have an opportunity to present at the annual research symposium.

 

If you are coming from undergrad, or from grad school at a university other than the UofC, I can nearly guarantee UofC will not allow for much time to do research, especially during first year. Without established connections, getting into a lab and finding time to do anything meaningful would be extremely challenging in first year. That said, it's also not necessary. In second year there is blocked off time where you may do research (60hrs). This works similar to any research project - find a supervisor, decide on the project, do the work. Whether you work with a post-doc, grad student, resident etc is highly variable and dependent on your specific project and supervisor.

 

It is one of the downsides of UofC for sure - time is extremely limited for things outside of med school so you need to be choosy. If research is your thing, or if you need it to be competitive for a competitive residency program, it is definitely more challenging here (and Mac, I assume, for similar reasons).

[sjc2]

Regarding LIM, the affiliate commitment is similar to full members - 2 hrs per month of seminars and then you have an opportunity to present at the annual research symposium.

 

If you are coming from undergrad, or from grad school at a university other than the UofC, I can nearly guarantee UofC will not allow for much time to do research, especially during first year. Without established connections, getting into a lab and finding time to do anything meaningful would be extremely challenging in first year. That said, it's also not necessary. In second year there is blocked off time where you may do research (60hrs). This works similar to any research project - find a supervisor, decide on the project, do the work. Whether you work with a post-doc, grad student, resident etc is highly variable and dependent on your specific project and supervisor.

 

It is one of the downsides of UofC for sure - time is extremely limited for things outside of med school so you need to be choosy. If research is your thing, or if you need it to be competitive for a competitive residency program, it is definitely more challenging here (and Mac, I assume, for similar reasons).

 

Do you know if these competitive residency programs are picky about the kind of research done, and when? I haven't necessarily decided on a specialty yet, but I will have completed an MSc prior to starting med school (May is a big month for me). Wondering if the research that I've done during my MSc is considered an asset for residency applications.

 

In regards to LIM, I am more interested in keeping a toe (not a whole foot) in the research world by staying up-to-date with the literature and what's going on in the research community at UofC. I assume that most Affiliate students do not end up presenting their work at conferences, even with those 60 hours in 2nd year... 60 hours doesn't get you very far research-wise! Pretty sure I've spent 60 hours troubleshooting PCR, easily... 

[amichel]

Do you know if these competitive residency programs are picky about the kind of research done, and when? I haven't necessarily decided on a specialty yet, but I will have completed an MSc prior to starting med school (May is a big month for me). Wondering if the research that I've done during my MSc is considered an asset for residency applications.

 

In regards to LIM, I am more interested in keeping a toe (not a whole foot) in the research world by staying up-to-date with the literature and what's going on in the research community at UofC. I assume that most Affiliate students do not end up presenting their work at conferences, even with those 60 hours in 2nd year... 60 hours doesn't get you very far research-wise! Pretty sure I've spent 60 hours troubleshooting PCR, easily...

Well... It all depends if you want to do basic science or clinical. There's definitely time to do and present clinical research.

[ZBL]

Do you know if these competitive residency programs are picky about the kind of research done, and when? I haven't necessarily decided on a specialty yet, but I will have completed an MSc prior to starting med school (May is a big month for me). Wondering if the research that I've done during my MSc is considered an asset for residency applications.

 

In regards to LIM, I am more interested in keeping a toe (not a whole foot) in the research world by staying up-to-date with the literature and what's going on in the research community at UofC. I assume that most Affiliate students do not end up presenting their work at conferences, even with those 60 hours in 2nd year... 60 hours doesn't get you very far research-wise! Pretty sure I've spent 60 hours troubleshooting PCR, easily... 

 

Congrats on nearing the end of your MSc! I think it would be fair to assume that as program competitiveness increases, so too does how picky they are simply because they can be. That is just my hunch though. You are likely right that most students won't present or publish their work in just 60 hours, but i think this is generally the case for most students anyways (majority of students will choose to avoid research entirely, and spend their free time doing clinical stuff). In general though, I think a MSc probably does help (and certainly won't hurt) for matching, but it's by no means going to secure a match somewhere.

 

My experience has been that the real challenge in the shorter program is identifying the specialty you want. For any specialty, you basically need to be as competitive as people from other 4 year schools, but in one years less time. Even if you are not going for something super competitive (or are not sure yet), time certainly is a factor in terms of being able to get exposure to specialties - we book some of our clerkship electives before even going through our neuro, ophthal, OBGYN and psych coursework. It sounds simple, but you will be surprised how interesting ALL of the specialties are, so it is hard to decide!!

 

UofC is a fantastic medical school, but if we are talking about time set aside for research, vacation or any other EC compared to a 4 year school, we definitely have far less. Depending on one's long term goals, and one's background coming into the program, this may not matter, or it might be important. Pros and cons and to each their own I suppose. 

 

Well... It all depends if you want to do basic science or clinical. There's definitely time to do and present clinical research.

 

During year 2 perhaps, but I wouldn't say definitely - very dependent on the project and the person's skills coming into the project regardless of whether it's basic or clinical. Both have aspects that can be time consuming. Research pretty much never goes as smoothly as we'd like 

[amichel]

Congrats on nearing the end of your MSc! I think it would be fair to assume that as program competitiveness increases, so too does how picky they are simply because they can be. That is just my hunch though. You are likely right that most students won't present or publish their work in just 60 hours, but i think this is generally the case for most students anyways (majority of students will choose to avoid research entirely, and spend their free time doing clinical stuff). In general though, I think a MSc probably does help (and certainly won't hurt) for matching, but it's by no means going to secure a match somewhere.

 

My experience has been that the real challenge in the shorter program is identifying the specialty you want. For any specialty, you basically need to be as competitive as people from other 4 year schools, but in one years less time. Even if you are not going for something super competitive (or are not sure yet), time certainly is a factor in terms of being able to get exposure to specialties - we book some of our clerkship electives before even going through our neuro, ophthal, OBGYN and psych coursework. It sounds simple, but you will be surprised how interesting ALL of the specialties are, so it is hard to decide!!

 

UofC is a fantastic medical school, but if we are talking about time set aside for research, vacation or any other EC compared to a 4 year school, we definitely have far less. Depending on one's long term goals, and one's background coming into the program, this may not matter, or it might be important. Pros and cons and to each their own I suppose.

 

 

During year 2 perhaps, but I wouldn't say definitely - very dependent on the project and the person's skills coming into the project regardless of whether it's basic or clinical. Both have aspects that can be time consuming. Research pretty much never goes as smoothly as we'd like

I used the term definitely because I was working on a project that will very likely be published before CaRMS, during my free hours, during clerkship, as I wrote that post.

 

You just have to pick a reasonable project.

[amichel]

Congrats on nearing the end of your MSc! I think it would be fair to assume that as program competitiveness increases, so too does how picky they are simply because they can be. That is just my hunch though. You are likely right that most students won't present or publish their work in just 60 hours, but i think this is generally the case for most students anyways (majority of students will choose to avoid research entirely, and spend their free time doing clinical stuff). In general though, I think a MSc probably does help (and certainly won't hurt) for matching, but it's by no means going to secure a match somewhere.

 

My experience has been that the real challenge in the shorter program is identifying the specialty you want. For any specialty, you basically need to be as competitive as people from other 4 year schools, but in one years less time. Even if you are not going for something super competitive (or are not sure yet), time certainly is a factor in terms of being able to get exposure to specialties - we book some of our clerkship electives before even going through our neuro, ophthal, OBGYN and psych coursework. It sounds simple, but you will be surprised how interesting ALL of the specialties are, so it is hard to decide!!

 

UofC is a fantastic medical school, but if we are talking about time set aside for research, vacation or any other EC compared to a 4 year school, we definitely have far less. Depending on one's long term goals, and one's background coming into the program, this may not matter, or it might be important. Pros and cons and to each their own I suppose.

 

 

During year 2 perhaps, but I wouldn't say definitely - very dependent on the project and the person's skills coming into the project regardless of whether it's basic or clinical. Both have aspects that can be time consuming. Research pretty much never goes as smoothly as we'd like

I used the term definitely because I was working on a project that will very likely be published before CaRMS, during my free hours, during clerkship, as I wrote that post.

 

You just have to pick a reasonable project.

[amichel]

Congrats on nearing the end of your MSc! I think it would be fair to assume that as program competitiveness increases, so too does how picky they are simply because they can be. That is just my hunch though. You are likely right that most students won't present or publish their work in just 60 hours, but i think this is generally the case for most students anyways (majority of students will choose to avoid research entirely, and spend their free time doing clinical stuff). In general though, I think a MSc probably does help (and certainly won't hurt) for matching, but it's by no means going to secure a match somewhere.

 

My experience has been that the real challenge in the shorter program is identifying the specialty you want. For any specialty, you basically need to be as competitive as people from other 4 year schools, but in one years less time. Even if you are not going for something super competitive (or are not sure yet), time certainly is a factor in terms of being able to get exposure to specialties - we book some of our clerkship electives before even going through our neuro, ophthal, OBGYN and psych coursework. It sounds simple, but you will be surprised how interesting ALL of the specialties are, so it is hard to decide!!

 

UofC is a fantastic medical school, but if we are talking about time set aside for research, vacation or any other EC compared to a 4 year school, we definitely have far less. Depending on one's long term goals, and one's background coming into the program, this may not matter, or it might be important. Pros and cons and to each their own I suppose.

 

 

During year 2 perhaps, but I wouldn't say definitely - very dependent on the project and the person's skills coming into the project regardless of whether it's basic or clinical. Both have aspects that can be time consuming. Research pretty much never goes as smoothly as we'd like

I used the term definitely because I was working on a project that will very likely be published before CaRMS, during my free hours, during clerkship, as I wrote that post.

 

You just have to pick a reasonable project.

[sjc2]

Thanks for all your replies! I appreciate it. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself but still so hopeful as we get closer to the first week of May!

[foodislife]

Hey guys,

 

I'll be coming down to UofC! I was just wondering if there was anything I should buy to prep for the upcoming years?

 

(I'm a list-maker, so I've been trying to compile a list of things I need.)

 

Thanks!

[Borborygmi]

The only thing that you could think about getting would be a steth and a white coat. The bookstore at the health sci campus sells steths and there is a uniform store across the street (in the plaza on the other side of 16th Ave.) that sells white coats. It's good to get the white coat ordered about 3 weeks in advance to your first core/communications/PE session since they don't have some sizes available in store.

 

Congrats on getting in!

[amichel]

The only thing that you could think about getting would be a steth and a white coat. The bookstore at the health sci campus sells steths and there is a uniform store across the street (in the plaza on the other side of 16th Ave.) that sells white coats. It's good to get the white coat ordered about 3 weeks in advance to your first core/communications/PE session since they don't have some sizes available in store.

 

Congrats on getting in!

Stethoscopes are like half off once school starts though...

[Borborygmi]

Things I wish I knew last year .

[bearpuppy]

Things I wish I knew last year .

 

 

like..... ?

[Borborygmi]

Sorry, I was referring to amichel's comment about steths being half off once school starts. Could always use another colour to be matchy-matchy with your outfits.

[freewheeler]

How do U of C students find the campus?

 

From what I remember the U of C med school is near the Foothills hospital which is a separate campus away from the main U of C campus.

 

There is a Kinetix gym that seems reasonable in terms of price (how busy does it tend to be/does it have a good selection of equipment?).

 

How far are the main grocery stores from the Foothills campus/from where people who live close to the med school are at?

 

From what I could google everything seems ~15 minutes away by car in terms of grocery stores.

 

IIRC lectures are optional and recorded (just audio or including video?) and how do you find what appears to be many full days 8:30 am - 5:30 pm in class (I took a look at the class of 2019 first year schedule)? Is there a decent mix of lecture/small group/clinical activities on those long days that you don't feel super bored/tired/drained or is it as exhausting as I think it is?

 

Any advice on finding a place to live near the medical school campus for someone OOP (Ontario) as well as buying a car and insurance/LOC?

 

I also have an OSAP loan that has begun accumulating interest since I will be graduating next month and need to call OSAP and figure this out, but I was wondering if any U of C students have experience with when OSAP typically is available to apply for, when it usually comes through and when tuition payments are due. With the July start date it is kind of concerning as OSAP isn't even available to apply to right now.

 

Sorry for all of the questions, just trying to make as informed of a decision as possible as I do 100% intend on accepting Calgary although I'm on the waitlist at U of A.

 

--

 

Some of my own thoughts:

 

Honestly I loved the sense of community and relaxed/laid-back vibe of the class/faculty at U of C, but I loved the campus at U of A.

 

I am over the whole 3 years vs 4 years thing (I am not sure but it would appear that you get earlier clinical exposure at U of C compared to U of A from what I tried to make sense of the first year schedules for both schools). U of A also looked like a lot more lecture and small case-based group learning (which I wouldn't be too fond of if it meant less time spent on direct clinical exposure).

 

I am kind of thinking of FM and am pretty interested in UCLIC at U of C, but I also really don't have any exposure to the Royal College specialties so I can't exactly rule them out yet and kind of worry about managing my time effectively enough to make myself competitive with any of those specialties as I'd really have to spend some time checking out my short-list of them before committing myself to the pursuit of any single one.

 

I kind of feel like research opportunities might be more plentiful/accessible at U of A, but I honestly don't know. I also have no previous research experience and don't think I'd be interested in basic research. I might be into clinical research however.

 

Still torn b/w U of C and U of A. 

 

Anyone have any thoughts on any or all of this?

 

Thank you!

[Borborygmi]

- There is a Kinetix gym that seems reasonable in terms of price (how busy does it tend to be/does it a good selection of equipment?).

 

Kinetix is decent, but your hours are restricted as a student. There's the dungeon as another option on health sci campus which is free (the name is fitting and it smells like old socks). Personally, I work out on main campus--I either ride my bike (~6 minutes each direction) or run (~11-13 minutes each direction) there and the facilities are fantastic. Lots of med school intramural teams play on main campus as well--volleyball, badminton, basketball, beach volleyball, squash, etc. There are running groups for lunch runs at health sci as well.

 

- How far are the main grocery stores from the Foothills campus/from where people who live close to the med school are at?

 

The three closest are a Safeway in Montgomery (~8-10 minutes by car), Safeway at North Hill Mall (~8-10 minutes by car), Safeway at Market Mall (~15 minutes by car). There is also a Superstore in the NW that is about 20 minutes by car. There is also a farmer's market in Parkdale, just down the hill from FMC, that happens on Wednesday evenings. There's fresh fruit, veg, baked goods, canned goods, and the like for sale and the quality is good. You can also request specific items beforehand and they will set things aside for you. Car2go has a promo right now that allows you to sign up for free! There are always a lot of Car2go vehicles available in the FMC area and it makes getting groceries and running errands pretty easy. Another tip is that if you do a lot of rural shadowing through RPAP (since you're interested in UCLIC), you can expense up to $100 dollars per day. This includes for the use of a rental car. Get the car for a day, expense it, and buy all of your groceries that way. I realize it's not ideal, but if you don't have a car then these are ways you can make it work. I also bike to the grocery stores since they aren't far and pick up small essentials with a backpack.

 

 

- IIRC lectures are optional and recorded (just audio or including video?) and how do you find what appears to be many full days 8:30 am - 5:30 pm in class (I took a look at the class of 2019 first year schedule)? Is there a decent mix of lecture/small group/clinical activities on those long days that you don't feel super bored/tired/drained or is it as exhausting as I think it is?

 

Almost all of our lectures are recorded, but there are times when a lecturer requests that a podcast not be done. There are a couple of workarounds for those situations: (1) we have access to previous years of podcasts and lecture notes through Osler [our online software @ UofC] and many lectures that aren't podcasted in your year are available in previous years, (2) there are note packages sent out from upper years [ex: AyeAye Notes and Manic Notes] that are usually very thorough. I can't really answer what it's like to attend 8:30-5:30 because I haven't attended class unless it's mandatory since the third week of course 1. Sitting in lectures just doesn't work for me. I actually don't even podcast now. I use the lecture notes, combined with Manic notes, Calgary Blackbook, and outside resources and learn on my own. It has worked well for me. It took me about 3 months to find out what worked best for me. Perhaps you will figure out what works best for you sooner. Most days have a mix of styles, however. It's usually a chunk of lectures, some small group work (2 hour blocks), physical exam/communication (2 hour blocks each), or anatomy/pathology in the ATSSL (anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, typically). Some days you will have huge chunks of lecture time, but these days are rare.

 

- Any advice on finding a place to live near the medical school campus for someone OOP (Ontario) as well as buying a car and insurance/LOC?

 

Definitely. Check out the UofC Class of 2019 FB page if you accept your offer. There are already tons of posts about accommodations in the immediate vicinity of the health sci campus. Rentfaster.ca is also a great resource and Kijiji is always there for looking things over. Many people live right next to the campus in Foothills Village, others down the hill in Parkdale or St. Andrews Heights. Many of us live further away from campus and make our way in via transit, driving, or biking. It depends on what you're looking for in the way of your living experience in Calgary. Admittedly, UofA campus is nicer and the area surrounding the campus is much more vibrant. I am moving outside of the health sci campus area into a more culturally rich part of the city in June because I have found the area surrounding health sci less appealing than what I would like for my city experience. However, many of my classmates do enjoy Parkdale and there is a coffee shop, ice cream shop, and other basic amenities in the area. Plus, it's directly adjacent to the paths along the river and you can roll out of bed and be in class in 10 minutes. Just not my cup of team anymore. I'm happy to answer more specific questions about living situations if you have them.

 

- I kind of feel like research opportunities might be more plentiful/accessible at U of A, but I honestly don't know. I also have no previous research experience and don't think I'd be interested in basic research. I might be into clinical research however.

 

Many of my classmates are involved in research while studying. All of it is clinical research and I don't know anyone involved in basic sciences research. There are definitely opportunities here. My classmates also shadow heavily and you can make it work if you're trying to sort out specialties vs. family. I wouldn't worry a lot about those issues. I realize it's many people's concern in a 3-year program, but Calgary's match rates are good and most people I speak with feel fine about sorting out their direction in the 3 years worth of time.

 

As per the sense of community comment. I absolutely love my class. Like, really love. This is coming from an introvert. The sense of community at UofC is really incredible and inclusive. There are tons of interest groups to help you sort out the direction you want to take, outside learning opportunities, rural medicine events, skills days, and just social gatherings with small or large groups. I truly feel immense gratitude not only to be attending UofC, but to be surrounded by a really inspiring group of kind, generous, and motivated people. There have been some bumps along the way, but overall I am very happy to be here. 

 

I hope to see you in July (what!! so soon) and if you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Congratulations on both of your offers!

[freewheeler]

Thank you Borborygmi for your continued patience and diligence in answering all of my questions!

 

I am feeling really good about Calgary!

 

Your reply makes me want to be there right now, haha.

[sjc2]

I noticed that the CMA/AMA fees are optional... do people actually opt out? What do people gain from membership?

[Borborygmi]

You get some useful things out of the membership, but there are too many perks to mention here. I suggest checking out the CMA/AMA resources for medical student membership benefits. 

 

CMA:

https://www.cma.ca/En/Pages/medical-students.aspx

 

AMA:

https://www.albertadoctors.org/Member%20Services/studguide_2015.pdf

 

They aren't long documents. Personally, I would say that the membership isn't not worth it.  

[amichel]

The lasik discount is awesome though. The GoodLife one is pretty good too.

[sjc2]

Sorry if this has been asked/talked about already, I feel like I read something about LOC but I can't find where. Should I be getting my LOC sorted before med school starts? Is there any kind of advantage in waiting until school starts?