procrastinating

Would research letters from clinicians who you've worked with on research projects but who've not seen you in a clinical setting be appropriate for CaRMS? Edit: I also just realized this belongs in the CaRMS discussion session ... whoops

Most of my classmates have the cardiology 4, one thing I've noticed is that the larger bell/diaphragm is easier to hold + I'm sure it's better for detecting murmurs, although I've also heard it can pick up random noises and actually make it more difficult to learn how to auscultate as a trainee. I have the classic 3 and it does the job fine, I don't regret not spending the extra $ on the more advanced model tbh. If I had to do it again, I would probably stick with the classic 3 unless I wanted to pursue a specialty that tends to use a stethoscope more often.

Just wondering, how important is it to do path electives vs IM electives to secure an interview?

It’s confirmed. And possibly (likely?) going to persist beyond 2021.

What are your thoughts on how this will impact who exactly gets the interviews? Will the already-limited electives matter even more - would programs be willing to take a candidate who has done an elective in their specialty, but not their site, and who they won't get a chance to meet until the program actually commences? For example, if I did plastics electives at UofC, UBC, Queen's, and McGill (thus filling up the 8 week elective cap) - would all of the schools who've never met me before even want to do a virtual interview? I'm not necessarily anti-virtual, but I fear that programs won'

Thoughts on virtual interviews, how it may affect applicants, and whether or not it will persist after the 2021 match?

Thoughts on medicine, surgery, any other specialties? Which would have the least paperwork?

My understanding is that ophthalmology practice is significantly different in the US - and the pay is proportionally the same. The work is chiller, less hours, more control over your life. These are things people really want. Also, ophtho has huge overhead (60-70%) so take-home pay is really not what it seems. With pay as it is now in Canada, Canadian doctors don't have a big enough reason to uproot their lives and make the big move down south. But compounding already tight job prospects and difficulty securing OR time with reduced pay? New grads will inevitably leave the country. Especia

Yeah, FM seemed like it would top the list to me too. Not sure if it's possible to quantify, but how many hours/week do you feel you spend on paperwork/administrative stuff in psych? Or maybe more qualitatively speaking, do you ever feel like it's burdensome or more than what you're personally okay with?

In an ideal scenario, when would it be best to write USMLE Step 1, assuming a pass mark is all that's needed: 1. After second year of med school (like they do in the US) 2. After fourth year of med school (with the LMCCs)

It can be difficult to gauge the "behind the scenes" work when you're shadowing, so I'm wondering what specialties have the most paperwork/administrative responsibilities

Kind of an aside, but does quality matter when going for more competitive specialties or is it a purely quantity game? Doesn't take a PhD to know that 10 reviews/opinion pieces is not the same as 10 basic science or original projects ...

But wouldn't you have to relearn all of your M2 knowledge to write until later? That would really suck, even if only for a pass, the knowledge won't be as fresh and would probably require you to study a fair bit. What are people's thoughts on how Step 1 will be used between now and 2022? Will it possibly be less emphasized, in preparation for the inevitable future of p/f?

I know people say FM isn't competitive at all, but I've heard of people who were gearing towards another specialty, and decided to back up with FM, get zero FM interviews. I'm honestly wondering, if you're equally open to a more competitive specialty as well as FM, and you decide to try and match for either, do you still have a decent chance at FM granted you're willing to go anywhere in the country (except maybe Quebec)? Or are programs only interested in people who seem to be dedicated from the onset in FM, because apparently "backing up" means you're not genuinely interested?

Disclaimer: I know this has been asked in the past, but I wasn't able to find anything definitive, so attempting to reignite the discussion in hopes of more concrete answers. I know some programs (derm, neuro, rads, emerg) require undergrad transcripts. How much are these transcripts weighted?