MS1 happy to answer questions

[casajayo]

9 hours ago, stayhydrated said:

Thank you! Do you know where I can find mock schedules for first and second year, as well as more info about the curriculum? (similar to the presentation after interviews, but tbh I couldn't pay attention to the presentation afterwards at all lol) 

Eventually you'll get sent a link to the orientation website which will have far too much information about the curriculum as well as mock schedules for first year and some things for years 2-4. I can't recall when we got it last year but it was sometime well before school started

[frenchpress]

13 hours ago, stayhydrated said:

Thank you! Do you know where I can find mock schedules for first and second year, as well as more info about the curriculum? (similar to the presentation after interviews, but tbh I couldn't pay attention to the presentation afterwards at all lol) 

See this post from last year on the first year schedule: 

 

[BoardManGetsPaid]

On 5/21/2019 at 7:14 PM, stayhydrated said:

Thank you! Do you know where I can find mock schedules for first and second year, as well as more info about the curriculum? (similar to the presentation after interviews, but tbh I couldn't pay attention to the presentation afterwards at all lol) 

our class is making a purple book to help in the transition to first year. it has information about schedules, curriculum, what to buy, etc. It should be available soon

But generally in first year MWF 8-10am you have mandatory CBL (small group sessions) followed by lectures until 5pm. Lectures are recorded and you may have labs (histology/anatomy) in place of lectures from 2-5pm. On Mondays from 12-5pm you have designated FLEX/FOS time (lectures, small groups)

Tuesdays and Thursdays you have alternating clinical/history skills sessions and family practice, which takes up either the whole morning or the whole afternoon and never the whole day.

 

[stayhydrated]

On 5/11/2019 at 3:32 AM, casajayo said:

I'm an exiting MS1 (grades pending...) and am happy to answer any burning questions you have

HI! Quick question, on the acceptance form, it says "I understand that notwithstanding the site of offer, core clinical training (third year, and possibly electives in fourth year) can take place anywhere in the province: for example, some students will spend all of their third year in smaller communities distant from their program site.  " 

I'm wondering if this is common? Do students at VFMP usually do core clerkship in the Vancouver area? or do people actually tend to be assigned to more rural/ distant areas? 

[Neurophiliac]

Sincere thanks to all the incredible med students putting great efforts in answering our questions!

I just have one if that’s okay:  Would you recommend shadowing a few physicians starting term 1 of year 1 so that one can explore some areas of medicine, figuring out what fields are potentially interesting?

[BoardManGetsPaid]

2 hours ago, Neurophiliac said:

Sincere thanks to all the incredible med students putting great efforts in answering our questions!

I just have one if that’s okay:  Would you recommend shadowing a few physicians starting term 1 of year 1 so that one can explore some areas of medicine, figuring out what fields are potentially interesting?

It’s never a bad idea to shadow early on to get a feel of the specialty. It’s just that sometimes it might be hard to find time to shadow with all the things going on around you, but definitely doable. I know some ppl who skipped lectures to shadow, which is not a big deal considering they’re recorded

[casajayo]

On 5/24/2019 at 4:25 AM, stayhydrated said:

HI! Quick question, on the acceptance form, it says "I understand that notwithstanding the site of offer, core clinical training (third year, and possibly electives in fourth year) can take place anywhere in the province: for example, some students will spend all of their third year in smaller communities distant from their program site.  " 

I'm wondering if this is common? Do students at VFMP usually do core clerkship in the Vancouver area? or do people actually tend to be assigned to more rural/ distant areas? 

During clerkship everyone must do a rural placement (I believe for one month), but other than that the majority of people stay at their home site. What they're talking about here is the integrated community clerkship program, in which students go to a small community (I believe there's 10 options) and instead of doing blocks for their third year, they do an integrated fsort of clerkship following a family doc but also doing their core electives throughout. It's actually a fairly popular program and can be very competitive for certain sites. They do information sessions about it throughout first year and also I believe do more in-depth info sessions at the beginning of second year (before the application)

The FoM website has a really good website talking about the ICC if you're interested

[Pepperonee]

I had a few more questions! I will be joining the VMFP class in the fall:

1) which buildings are most of the lectures held in? I understand that the majority of lectures will be in UBC and a couple will be held in VGH.

2) I'm planning on staying close to UBC campus for first year. Which street/apartments/condos do most med students live in if they want to be close to the UBC campus (ie within 5 min walking distance)? How much should i be expecting to pay for a 1 bedroom apartment?

3) I've been invited to a wedding on the April long weekend (10-13th). If any first years can comment - how busy is the exam schedule around this time period?

[heyhellohi]

4 hours ago, Pepperonee said:

I had a few more questions! I will be joining the VMFP class in the fall:

1) which buildings are most of the lectures held in? I understand that the majority of lectures will be in UBC and a couple will be held in VGH.

2) I'm planning on staying close to UBC campus for first year. Which street/apartments/condos do most med students live in if they want to be close to the UBC campus (ie within 5 min walking distance)? How much should i be expecting to pay for a 1 bedroom apartment?

3) I've been invited to a wedding on the April long weekend (10-13th). If any first years can comment - how busy is the exam schedule around this time period?

1. Most/all of the 1st year lectures are held in the LSC (Life Sciences Centre). Only clinical skills is held at VGH. 
2. Deferring this to someone who lived on UBC campus. But from what I know theres many apartments near the village that people live in. 
3. Final exams in first year are late april (~24-26), so going to that wedding doesn't sound impossible.  If you are ontop of your stuff and feel okay taking that time off, I'd do it if I were you. One thing you have to lookout for is the OSCE date, because they hold it on a weekend in April.

[pyridoxal-phosphate]

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[frenchpress]

55 minutes ago, pyridoxal-phosphate said:

How useful are touchscreen devices for studying and note taking (like iPads for instance)? 

iPads seem to be really popular now, and they do seem pretty cool from what I know. I have a 2015 model laptop that seems to work fine for what I use it for, although been a while since i've been in school and I'm really not a technical person. In undergrad I was never really a handwriter in lecture unless it was a class where the lecturer physically took down notes on a board or projector (things like math, economics, chemistry etc). 

Would having something like an iPad in addition to a laptop be helpful in UBC's program? I don't mind spending money if it's something that will be used. Main concern is just spending money on it, but it only end up being a "gadget" that I show off to people lol, or only using it to watch YouTube videos etc. 

I used an iPad Pro with the pencil (for handwriting notes on lecture slides) and an external keyboard almost exclusively in the first two years. I like to pack light, and I found it much easier carry around and use on a daily basis than a laptop. I like taking handwritten notes, so it was a nice compromise for me that decreased the amount of paper I had to carry around. You certainly don’t need one though, and if you’re planning to use you’re laptop on a daily basis anyways I don’t know that you’d get much out of adding an iPad in addition.

The only cons I encountered with primarily using an iPad were: 

- I still had to own a laptop for exams

- One popular study tool, Anki flash cards, doesn't have a free app. So I had to use my laptop a few days a year if I wanted to use the study decks people made for lab exams.

- You can’t watch lectures recordings on variable speed on the iPad browsers (I rarely needed to watch them, but if you’re the kind to skip class and watch on 2x speed later it would be an issue).

[pyridoxal-phosphate]

On 6/23/2019 at 8:46 AM, frenchpress said:

I used an iPad Pro with the pencil (for handwriting notes on lecture slides) and an external keyboard almost exclusively in the first two years. I like to pack light, and I found it much easier carry around and use on a daily basis than a laptop. I like taking handwritten notes, so it was a nice compromise for me that decreased the amount of paper I had to carry around. You certainly don’t need one though, and if you’re planning to use you’re laptop on a daily basis anyways I don’t know that you’d get much out of adding an iPad in addition.

 The only cons I encountered with primarily using an iPad were: 

- I still had to own a laptop for exams

- One popular study tool, Anki flash cards, doesn't have a free app. So I had to use my laptop a few days a year if I wanted to use the study decks people made for lab exams.

- You can’t watch lectures recordings on variable speed on the iPad browsers (I rarely needed to watch them, but if you’re the kind to skip class and watch on 2x speed later it would be an issue).

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[frenchpress]

Just now, pyridoxal-phosphate said:

Thank you! If you don't mind me asking did you get the 11 inch or 13 inch? 

So would say that even for more visual/diagram focused classes like anatomy, typing notes on a laptop would be fine?

I have the 11”.

I personally hate typing notes - I really need to be able to annotate things (draw arrows, circle things, sketch diagrams) to remember them, especially for stuff like anatomy - which is a big reason why I so preferred the iPad. But the majority of students seem to do just fine with typed notes. It’s really just personal preference. If you think you want to try an iPad, I recommend waiting until classes actually start so you can try it out and return it if you change your mind (Apple gives you 2 weeks). 

[Pepperonee]

I have one question about the curriculum in first and second year - are we taught in blocks (eg cardiology, respiratory..etc) each with their own midterm and final exam or are we taught all the material at together? 

[frenchpress]

29 minutes ago, Pepperonee said:

I have one question about the curriculum in first and second year - are we taught in blocks (eg cardiology, respiratory..etc) each with their own midterm and final exam or are we taught all the material at together? 

UBC has moved to a more integrated ‘spiral’ curriculum. There are no blocks. Instead, there’s a different case every week, although similar topics are often grouped together - e.g. you’ll have several cases related to neurology in a row, several weeks of endocrinology in a row, etc. Each semester there’s a multiple choice midterm and at the end of the semester a multiple choice final and written lab exams.

[Pepperonee]

11 minutes ago, frenchpress said:

UBC has moved to a more integrated ‘spiral’ curriculum. There are no blocks. Instead, there’s a different case every week, although similar topics are often grouped together - e.g. you’ll have several cases related to neurology in a row, several weeks of endocrinology in a row, etc. Each semester there’s a multiple choice midterm and at the end of the semester a multiple choice final and written lab exams.

Thank you for your reply. Just wondering - what are your thoughts on the spiral curriculum as opposed to a curriculum which teaches in blocks?

[frenchpress]

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Edited June 27, 2019 by frenchpress
Double post

[frenchpress]

9 hours ago, Pepperonee said:

Thank you for your reply. Just wondering - what are your thoughts on the spiral curriculum as opposed to a curriculum which teaches in blocks?

Personally, I think it’s great. I never went through the block system. But I know from experience with other schooling in my life that when I learn all about something intensely for a month but then never use it, I forgot it completely.

With the spiral, it’s a bit overwhelming in first year because every few weeks things are new and you context switch a lot. It’s a bit divisive for that reason, because it makes preparing for exams and gaining confidence a bit more difficult, and it probably feels like it takes longer to ‘know’ things. And you still forgot a tonne about topics in between, so it requires some independent initiative to make sure you’re going back and reviewing things you’re weak on. But in second year in particular, you start coming back to things more frequently, and every time you see something you learn a little more about it and remember it a little better. I found that every semester I could study less and less for exams and I was actually doing better on them. 

So even though it may sometimes feel harder, overall I think it’s a more realistic and useful approach. In medicine, at least until you’re a very specific kind of specialist, you have to know a lot about a lot of things and you can be seeing all sorts of different cases one after the next. I just started 3rd year, and the breadth of things I’ve had to deal with in the last few weeks is less overwhelming than I think it could have been, because I am already used to that context switching.