Rural hopefuls why the disdain towards the NMP?

[Dian Cecht 4]

I have noticed a trend in some of the comments and how rural premeds feel toward the NMP.

Im wondering why? is it due to location? or, is it more related to belief that going there will limit training and/ or research roles?

Im curious to know what people think!

 

[Medddddd 88]

Where have you heard this??

I think Prince George may not be the most ideal/desired location for some people due to the extreme cold weather and snow and also crime rates in Prince George are considerably higher in PG than other places- having said this, this is just speculation of why people may not like. I have never been to PG but I have heard great things about the area as far as outdoors activities.  

 

[Dian Cecht 4]

On 3/31/2020 at 11:59 AM, initrams said:

Where have you heard this??

I think Prince George may not be the most ideal/desired location for some people due to the extreme cold weather and snow and also crime rates in Prince George are considerably higher in PG than other places- having said this, this is just speculation of why people may not like. I have never been to PG but I have heard great things about the area as far as outdoors activities.  

 

Forgive me,  I should clarify it is related to comments from people who have applied and primarily interested in the rural campus.

And seeing this made me wonder why , the points you brought up certainly crossed my mind too, and they certainly will influence first choices.

[Muffincups 31]

Maybe disdain due to pulp mill smell? I dunno? I was born and raised there, and many a local expresses disdain about that! 
 

I am also not sure about the “extreme cold weather,” other than this last winter...

[youbesee 43]

Another thing that comes to mind is diversity. Especially if you are used to the staggering multiculturalism in Vancouver, Prince George will be quite different.

[attyb1992 8]

On 3/30/2020 at 12:22 PM, Dian Cecht said:

I have noticed a trend in some of the comments and how rural premeds feel toward the NMP.

Im wondering why? is it due to location? or, is it more related to belief that going there will limit training and/ or research roles?

Im curious to know what people think!

 

As an applicant from Prince George, I haven't heard much, if any, of those sorts comments towards the NMP from any of my peers here. If anything, the students I have spoken to from the NMP seem fairly confident in their training and that might have something to do with actually having less in the way of resources that are available at VFMP. By nature of having less, maybe they need to be even more proficient to practice as a rural physician?

I think there are definitely a lot of misconceptions about the NMP, based on some comments I have read on this forum. Some applicants seem to believe the program is 'lesser,' for lack of a better word, than say VFMP. I believe the majority of these perspectives are misguided - I won't say that Prince George is necessarily the nicest place to live, but from someone who is used to northern communities, there's really nothing wrong with it. It's not beautiful, but it is what we make of it! I would assume there are less cutting edge opportunities, but with that being said, I know there are some pretty incredible faculty associated with the NMP conducting some very cool research. Overall, I would guess that these negative opinions are largely based on the location.

[aldywood 24]

I ranked NMP as my first choice! 

[Medddddd 88]

I have a question I am wondering if anyone can answer actually regarding NMP. I heard from a second year med student at NMP that NMP has the best match rate (for residency). I asked her where she heard this and she said that she heard it at the site seminar at her interview. She wants to go into a specialized surgery and mentioned NMP could give her the best shot at this.  Has anyone else heard this??? I did not receive this information during the site preference pitch or anything about matching really. 

[SillyPanda 27]

^Not sure if that is true, but assuming it is, that could be based on a number of factors. For example, if more people in NMP are interested in family, that would result in a higher match rate.. I wouldn't pick a site solely for match prospects, but rather based on which is the best fit.

[Muffincups 31]

On 4/6/2020 at 11:37 PM, youbesee said:

Another thing that comes to mind is diversity. Especially if you are used to the staggering multiculturalism in Vancouver, Prince George will be quite different.

I would say PG has grown in diversity over the 25 years I lived there. There is a First Nations community, a Muslim community (mosque was built some time ago),  Sikh community (there is a temple there), and many international students who attend high school, CNC and UNBC. There is also a growing and more visible LGBTQ2S community now compared to my elementary/high school days. There are a variety of restaurant types, from sushi to Indian food to gourmet, wood fired pizza.  There are many sports, outdoors and social clubs (Toastmasters, Rotary...). I’m sure there are many other examples/perspectives of diversity  in PG too.

Edited April 30, 2020 by Muffincups
Autocorrect correction

[HugeEuge 41]

4 hours ago, initrams said:

I have a question I am wondering if anyone can answer actually regarding NMP. I heard from a second year med student at NMP that NMP has the best match rate (for residency). I asked her where she heard this and she said that she heard it at the site seminar at her interview. She wants to go into a specialized surgery and mentioned NMP could give her the best shot at this.  Has anyone else heard this??? I did not receive this information during the site preference pitch or anything about matching really. 

If anything I would think going into a competitive specialty would mean you'd be at a slight disadvantage being in PG, simply due to the fact that there are fewer resources available. At the other sites you may have more available to you in terms of research opportunities and shadowing chances in all specialties. I think the higher match rate would come from a higher percentage of the students choosing family medicine.

[frenchpress 317]

3 hours ago, HugeEuge said:

If anything I would think going into a competitive specialty would mean you'd be at a slight disadvantage being in PG, simply due to the fact that there are fewer resources available. At the other sites you may have more available to you in terms of research opportunities and shadowing chances in all specialties. I think the higher match rate would come from a higher percentage of the students choosing family medicine.

I don’t know that I’d expect PG students to be disadvantaged for most competitive specialties. And I would not be surprised at all if it was true that it has one of the best match rates, and not just for family.

Shadowing has minimal impact on your ability to match. Many people also don’t find it particularly helpful in finding a specialty of interest, because it’s hard to get realistic exposure to what the work is actually like, and you can’t typically get useful references through most shadowing. The benefit of a smaller site like PG, although you don’t always have access to as much variety, is more hands-on opportunities. Especially once you get to clinical years, being the medical student in a busy center like VGH that has many residents in front of you jossling for opportunities often means you have fewer chances to do anything, to impress your attending / supervising residents, get to know people who can write you letters, etc. It can be a lot easier to distinguish yourself at a small site. Access to research opportunities can be an issue, but even then, there’s a lot you can do remotely or you can travel to other sites during the research blocks. People make it work quite well.

Edited May 1, 2020 by frenchpress