Redpill

I've heard of people getting letters after 2 shifts on emerg electives, when they're likely sharper right out of the gate. I think 5 shifts on the core is very doable, especially if you've already gotten positive feedback

My impression was the plan was to add more seats, i.e. another site like IMP, SMP, NMP. This was supposed to tie in to a significant expansion of healthcare in the Fraser region, and Surrey Memorial in particular. But I haven't heard anything more on it since 2019

I think the faculty at UBC might get in trouble if they make med student see COVID patients, at least that's what I'm guessing based on how strongly they stress how we're not to go anywhere near them at the start of all my rotations

Not a fan of PBL/CBL? I thought it was a reasonably effective way to learn in preclerkship (supplemented with lecture material of course, idk how Mac does it without that)

Amusingly, Mac kind of did admit this last year, when they offered most of their spots based on a lottery, instead of bothering to move interviews to a virtual platform. I don't think the reaction was very positive.

How many rural rotations would you have to do a year to be eligible for this?

Unrelated to the MCCQE, I don't think cramming is very effective for medical school. Sure you may do well on tests, but patients generally do better when their doctors know the stuff they are supposed to know. Do right by your future patients and try to study in a way that allows you to retain the knowledge long-term.

So you wrote it the summer between M3 and M4? Are there any downsides to doing this and failing (aside from the cost of the exam, which I understand is quite a bit)?

How many days were you denied a vaccine due to there being no leftovers? What were you promised in terms of vaccination when you signed up as a volunteer? Did they ever offer you more than "leftovers"?

I also wonder if the criticisms of UBC are site specific. From the medical school perspective I've talked to students who had relatively good experiences on IM, whereas others (at VGH) had pretty strict 1:4 call, never slept on any of their call shifts, sometimes reviewed cases with staff till 10 am the next day, etc., and overall it was pretty brutal.

UBC is making you pre-record your answers?

Agreed with above. Do the inpatient stuff now, its good learning and if you're solely outpatient in practice you will never get the opportunity again after residency. Your future patients will thank you.

Using GDP per capita as your only metric for evaluating quality of life is just as wrong as completely excluding it

I think if you're even the least bit interested in rural practice its a no-brainer to do the 2+1 pathway. Shorter training times with equivalent outcomes 5 years into practice, and the option to challenge the exam with enough rural ED experience even if you don't match make that a clear win. The challenge is if you want to practice in a metro area. You need to match to the +1 otherwise you are stuck. Makes more sense to try for the 5 year even if it is 2 more years of training.

I wonder if EM seems more competitive because there are two paths to become a practicing emergency physician, and many are agnostic as to which to take. They may not necessarily be the strongest candidates* but will still rank the 5-year first to try and avoid a second match. Whereas with surgical subspecialties, if you don't have the research early on you're not going to bother to try. *I mean strongest candidate with respect to research and ECs that align with EM. Many will still make great Emerg docs but may be weaker from a CV perspective, so end up matching to FM and taking th