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Yea, the college hurdles are the biggest nuisance to all of this. I would say any leave of absence is a red flag as you always have to explain it. Can be minimal if you have a good reason. Could also be a deal breaker for many programs if the reason wasn't good enough. Even when you finish all your training it's difficult to just "stop working" for lengths at time. It's hard to have a meaningful gap in training/employment during medicine because of the college usually. I feel that many colleagues also look down on people who have gaps for whatever reason. I don't approve of that kind of vie

I agree with many of the above comments. Your health comes first and you should take a leave of absence if truly needed. No job is worth your health. However, you have to carefully navigate this situation as playing your cards wrong is a huge red flag to many residency programs. On the other hand if you take a leave of absence during residency I believe you may need to explain that on your annual registration forms which may be a greater hassle. There's no good solution to the fact that medicine is just a grind at times. If you don't finish residency your options are rather limited so I wou

Yea, from my experience it really depends on the school and the PD. This isn't regulated or anything so all you can do is show up and do a good job while hoping for the best.

When I went to medical school (which I now realize was years ago) there were minimal scholarships and bursaries. Most people get some token amount of bursary money but nothing that would be life changing (e.g. <$10k). I think there was one bursary for people with disadvantaged backgrounds to cover the whole tuition but I don't think most students would qualify. There may be scholarships outside of the institution that could help but I'm not as familiar with that. I'm not sure how Queen's is specifically so maybe someone else can chime in but the majority of students have to heavily utili

It's inevitable to have debt if you don't have parental support. The amounts you are claiming are normal for many parts of the country. You'll be able to make a dent during residency depending on where you do your training. I would honestly just try to make your stressful years tolerable as the training can get quite busy. You'll pay it off as a staff no problem.

Yea, I wish I knew more but I know colleagues that have taken up (minor) clinic roles to avoid this change of scope hassle (assuming I'm remembering our hallway gossip correctly) I suppose for the students here it might be worth looking into if you are considering this path in Ontario as we have some random strict policies that don't really exist in other provinces.

Weren't there recent CPSO regulations around change of scope assessments if you've only done ER exclusively as a FM? I swear I remember something like that coming out but I could be wrong. (And apologies for the Ontario-centric view as it may not apply to everyone on this forum)

I have two classmates I recall. One bought a luxury car and I think it went fine for him. He clearly derived a lot of joy from it. He's also not the financially responsible friend I have haha. However, I believe you should spend your life doing things that bring you fulfillment. If you're a real car enthusiast I think the happiness from that would outweigh the debt burden. Just make sure that purchase will really bring you that joy. Another classmate I was also into luxury cars and bought one when he finished training (e.g. early 30s). and he is also having a great time while not being as f

Apologies, out of consideration for their privacy I wouldn't feel comfortable sharing even ballpark numbers. I will say they do well but not 7 figure well if that is at all helpful. There should be no worries about them starving or struggling if they are responsible with their money. Unfortunately, more MDs than I would like to see do live irresponsibly (sometimes paycheque to paycheque). Numbers are also only part of the picture. There are considerations like practice location and mix that also play into professional satisfaction.

I'm confused. Why would you want to attend an American Medical School if you are already studying at a Canadian medical school. What advantage would it give you if you are looking to practice in Canada.

Writing a note that's is 3 lines long and only comprised of letters and/or special characters is the only way they know how to communicate. We can't expect our surgical colleagues to give us a novel like our ID friends. I will accept finger painting though if they provide it.

That's always a challenge as many students are very good at pretending they are interested even if they aren't that truly passionate. Perhaps that's not too bad of a reality as many students will still need to be enthusiastic, hard working, likable, and be a good culture fit. This is in combination with research and extracurriculars that take up substantial time and effort. At the end of the day programs are looking for people they can work with for the next 5 years. If people are putting forth those characteristics on a constant basis it may be difficult to discern who is genuine and who

I think the original question was around why those fields were competitive. Money was one component that people raised. From that perspective I do believe it is important to convey the landscape rather than some case study on the theoretical max. That is as useful as saying FM is solid because you have the ability to earn 7-8 figures a year with weight loss clinics because Dr. Bernstein could do it. No doubt that there are many physicians in Alberta that are very successful however the majority of future physicians in Canada will not be practicing in Alberta. More importantly, I have my doubts

A large problem with this type of compilation is that it gives a current snapshot of a job market that is really only usable by medical students early in their training. That means a substantial number of students will be facing a job market that could be a decade out. So much can change in a decade. While I am generally a believer that things will slowly get more competitive for all specialties over time I do think that technology and funding changes could dynamically change the spots and needs for fields over that time frame. If anything I feel like the only useful categorization is usi

I agree. I know this is the case with certain high billers in Ontario. For logistical reasons you bill everything under one number (which is becoming increasingly frowned upon) and then the pot is divided up accordingly. There are 100% physicians out there that bill 7 figures individually but I do not think that's something most medical students will be capable of doing for a variety of reasons. This is anecdotal evidence but none of my friends Derm, Opthal, and Plastics do that well. We are quite close as I help with their financial planning so I know their situation decently well. You