Guest kosmo14 Posted June 24, 2002 Report Share Posted June 24, 2002 I just wanted to start a new topic, particularily for governorgeneral and those still tossed up about whether to accept thier position at USASK or another school. This will allow us to stay on topic (ie. get the discussion out of the "new moderator" topic), and maybe we will get more opinions for you undecided people if the topic reflects the discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kosmo14 Posted June 24, 2002 Report Share Posted June 24, 2002 my 2cents -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i think a big thing you should consider is where would you love/like to live for 4 years. where do you think u're gonna be more comfortable? financial concerns are something important too...if you are paying for yourself... Reputably Queens is a much better school than UofS...but what i see in both is that they will give you an MD. so something like ranking shouldnt matter to you. but i thought i should voice it coz people are going to wonder... ummm...read up on what each school offers in their programs and choose whcih one suits you more. if you think both offer the same things, think of the town and which town you'd like to live in. sort of tying with this is the whole financial factor. Queens is going to be more expensive (right?) than UofS...so yea. think of things you want from the school...people are going to say what they thought of the place, and even though its good to have that, i think you should focus on what YOU want/expect from a medschool (now that you are in!) hope that gets some gears moving in a positive direction! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kosmo14 Posted June 24, 2002 Report Share Posted June 24, 2002 decisions, decisions... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [this is a tangent from the "new moderator" thread... sorry] thanks monkey. i thought i might share what others have said so far... i hope no one from either school will take this negatively. i can see myself enjoying the programme at either school, so this is pretty hard to choose. 1. curriculum. between the two, u of s is known for graduating high quality clinicians, partly 'cause of the programme design, partly 'cause of the added responsibilities jursis/clerks have to take on when regular house staff isn't around/too busy. my mom's a nurse at the regina general and sees this first hand - you do learn a lot, but it's often under pressure and perhaps not under the most ideal circumstances. on occasion nurses actually do the teaching - which i think is a good thing, helps to cut down the "doctoritis" ("rampant paternalism", said the medical post) that can be a problem on wards nowadays. i'm not too familiar with the situation in kingston, but like u of s they start with professional/clinical skills right in first year. queen's also finishes all the basic science stuff in the first semester, while u of s runs genetics, microbiology, etc through to 2nd year. it seems like a good idea to get it over with early while it's all still fresh after my bsc (immunology), but then again i don't really remember all that much anyway... =) a few of the doctors in regina mentioned an issue with "partial accreditation" at u of s med not too long ago... however, this was more to do with residencies (pathology and paediatrics, specifically) in sk than the md programme. since that's at least 4 years away, and i don't see myself in either field (at this point), doesn't really matter. teaching style-wise, both seem to mix PBL and normal lectures. not really a factor to me. queen's has an 8-week "critical enquiry elective" in 2nd year, where you research some aspect of medicine (not necessarily lab stuff - you can go out and look at health care in developing areas, or health policy, etc.). that would be really interesting, but it's also something you could put together on your own outside med school if you had the contacts. 2. location. s'toon is the obvious advantage 'cause i'll be home (or 3 hours from home, anyway - 2 when no one's looking...). but kingston would be good as a completely new experience - i got to live in montreal for 4 years, so life in a small town would be quite the change. 3. facilities. both seem to be pretty good. our queen's tour guide said with a hint of pride the anatomy lab "has the highest airflow exchange rate in southern ontario". i couldn't see much of u of s 'cause rod and brad didn't have keys to get in anywhere. both schools have the hospital (RUH/KGH) right on campus. human facilities wise, i'm told because kingston's closer to TO and ottawa, it'd be easier to arrange for observerships etc during the summer in these larger centres and get even more exposure. there's also a lot of research at queen's, and an md/phd is always an option (though not really one i'm set on). 4. money. kingston's a bit more expensive to live in. tuition at queen's is $12 500 vs u of s's $9 230. but i'm still really interested in the military sponsorship so over 4 years $ shouldn't be an issue. just the cost of flying home vs driving home on holidays. 5. reputation. queen's wins here, but i think i'm kinda jaded with the whole concept of prestige... i mean, mcgill's has a pretty good reputation, but having been there four years... it's not all perfect. i definitely wouldn't base a decision on prestige. 6. students. hmmm. u of s is a smaller school and i think it'd be a more pleasant class to be with. the feeling on this board i think is a good indicator of that. i also know a few ppl there so it'd be pretty comfortable. queen's as a whole is more "diverse", there's a lot more ppl coming in from other cities/provs than u of s. (makes sense, with the quotas.) something that strongly pushes me to queen's is the u of s waitlist. if enough ppl do decline u of s, the vast majority of the interviewed applicants (including a few ppl i know) will get in this year, which i'd really like to see happen. 7. overall feeling. all this taken together... i'm told that i would find queen's "different and interesting", and u of s "familiar and comfortable". anyone else have any thoughts about it? whether u of s was the only school you applied to or not, i could use any extra advice. thanks! Edited by: governorgeneral at: 6/24/02 9:59:54 am Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kosmo14 Posted June 24, 2002 Report Share Posted June 24, 2002 I can't comment on what Queen's has to offer because I have never been there, but I think governorgeneral has thought of all the important points to consider. As far as UofS is concerned I like the fact that the class size is fairly small and you get great clinical experience. I also love Saskatoon, I think it is a great place to live (well maybe I won't be saying that in February, -40 yuck, but at least I find the people I have encountered at U of S to be great, particularily the profs). I can't offer you too much in the way of advice governorgeneral, but it would be nice to have you as a classmate for the next four years. Good luck on your decision, have a great week (I think you have to accept by June 28 don't you). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest governorgeneral Posted June 27, 2002 Report Share Posted June 27, 2002 hey guys, thanks for your help and comments. i finally decided to take the queen's offer, and called up u of s to let them know this afternoon. the in province waitlist should now be 11 (maybe lower), and i think they'll start notifying people after the long weekend. hope anyone waiting can hang in there another few days - take in the canada day fireworks, get your mind off of things. i really looked forward to finally meeting you all, and even more doing my ob/gyn rotation with mom at the RGH, but... arg... i'm not going to sleep tonight... queen's doesn't start until 3 sep, so i might be up visiting friends when you guys are at orientation. so if you see a short guy, short black spiky hair and glasses with a "wow, this could've been me" look, could be me. look forward to reading about all your adventures here (and on your website when you have it running)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kosmo14 Posted June 27, 2002 Report Share Posted June 27, 2002 Good luck governorgeneral maybe we will get a chance to work together in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest governorgeneral Posted June 27, 2002 Report Share Posted June 27, 2002 same to you kosmo14. cheers! (actually the real reason i had to go to queen's was so you wouldn't kick my ass on the golf course...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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