Format of classes next year? (Medicine)

[dooogs 106]

Anybody know if classes will be online or mixed ? At both campuses?

[hbmed 72]

So far it's looking like mixed for Western at least- they had said they expect up to ~30% of courses with some on campus component, with priority for medicine/nursing clinical students for clinical skills learning (which is looking consistent across the province). Nothing 100% confirmed yet though

[Sweesy 12]

anyone have last year's weekly schedule for 1st years?

I'd like to get a sense of what my week will look like.

Thanks

[CHG 137]

September will start out largely virtual - that being said, admin is doing there best to make a good balance of 'synchronous and asynchronous' learning, i.e. you will have components you can complete at your own pace but you will also have components that are being taught live giving you the opportunity to ask questions and interact as if you were in person. I wouldn't expect 2 hr long recordings of lectures tbh, they've made it sound as though it will be more 'modular' learning as this tends to be nicer for online learning. As soon as possible, components of the curriculum will be transferred with priority given to anatomy and patient centred clinical method classes (interviewing and physical exam skills).  The structure will be entirely consistent across both campuses! Admin is hesitant to fully commit to a timeline right now for obvious reasons.

[Hunnicutt 15]

For what it's worth, I found this template schedule breakdown for 1st years. (Not sure how accurate it is now with pandemic measures)

[CHG 137]

8 minutes ago, Sweesy said:

anyone have last year's weekly schedule for 1st years?

I'd like to get a sense of what my week will look like.

Thanks

Schedule varies a lot from week to week - I tried uploading some pictures but I guess they're too big? I can try to message them to you/anybody else who is interested!

 

[Sweesy 12]

Just now, CHG said:

Schedule varies a lot from week to week - I tried uploading some pictures but I guess they're too big? I can try to message them to you/anybody else who is interested!

 

That'd be amazing! Thank you!

[conbrio 124]

1 minute ago, CHG said:

Schedule varies a lot from week to week - I tried uploading some pictures but I guess they're too big? I can try to message them to you/anybody else who is interested!

 

Interested as well! Thank you!

[CHG 137]

Wait wait I got it to work!! 

Anything with an asterisk is a mandatory session, and this isn't a carbon copy of what your schedule will look like bc it all depends on when lecturers are available.

[yobologna 19]

Here is an example from first-term - London campus. While the topic of the classes changes week to week, the timing is usually pretty similar. 8-12 4 days of the week, and then you will have 2 days of the week with an additional 1:30-4:30 (patient centered clinical methods/PCCM) and 1:30-3:30 (integrated small group learning/ISGL). PCCM and ISGL are usually either Mon/Fri or Wed/Thurs, I started on Mon/Fri in 1st term and then in 2nd term I got Wed/Thurs. This schedule doesn't include the additional online independent learning modules you need to complete throughout the week (can range from 2-10 sometimes).

Stars = mandatory
Red= assessment due
Green = lab
Purple = PCCM
Light blue = lecture (can be normal or case-based/flipped classroom style)
Dark blue = discipline specific small group (DSSG) or ISGL or case of the week (CoW)
Yellow (not pictured) = special event, e.g. class field trip to Parkwood for a geriatrics learning day

From what I understood at our last town hall admin is looking to try and have PCCM and labs be in person and everything else be online. Lectures since March have all been all pre-recorded and DSSG was peer-facilitated so we could do them whenever we wanted., you just had to be available for ISGL which is live over zoom (so once a week 1:30-3:30). To adhere to public health requirements they will be making the the PCCM groups smaller and restricting how many people are in the anatomy lab at one time so this will probably mean a less consistent schedule for PCCM (anatomy lab was never that consistent anyways) to allow flexibility for facilitator availability. Obviously it's all pending public health restrictions, so if things get worse they will move everything fully online again and if things get better they will start bringing back more in-person learning. Hopefully that answers your questions!

[CHG 137]

5 minutes ago, yobologna said:

Here is an example from first-term. While the topic of the classes changes week to week, the timing is usually pretty similar. 8-12 4 days of the week, and then you will have 2 days of the week with an additional 1:30-4:30 (patient centered clinical methods/PCCM) and 1:30-3:30 (integrated small group learning/ISGL). PCCM and ISGL are usually either Mon/Fri or Wed/Thurs, I started on Mon/Fri in 1st term and then in 2nd term I got Wed/Thurs. This schedule doesn't include the additional online independent learning modules you need to complete throughout the week (can range from 2-10 sometimes).

Stars = mandatory
Red= assessment due
Green = lab
Purple = PCCM
Light blue = lecture (can be normal or case-based/flipped classroom style)
Dark blue = discipline specific small group (DSSG) or ISGL
Yellow (not pictured) = special event, e.g. class field trip to Parkwood for a geriatrics learning day

From what I understood at our last town hall admin is looking to try and have PCCM and labs be in person and everything else be online. Lectures since March have all been all pre-recorded and DSSG was peer-facilitated so we could do them whenever we wanted., you just had to be available for ISGL which is live over zoom (so once a week 1:30-3:30). To adhere to public health requirements they will be making the the PCCM groups smaller and restricting how many people are in the anatomy lab at one time so this will probably mean a less consistent schedule for PCCM (anatomy lab was never that consistent anyways) to allow flexibility for facilitator availability. Obviously it's all pending public health restrictions, so if things get worse they will move everything fully online again and if things get better they will start bringing back more in-person learning. Hopefully that answers your questions!

 

Oof I guess I should've posted first semester - good call! In all honesty foundations of medicine had been wiped from my mind LOL. Just for Windsor friends - your ISGL will always be on wednesday 1:30-3:30 no matter what group you're in, and your PCCM will always be on Thursday 1:30-4:30, except for two groups that are on Friday instead. 

Also forgot to mention - keep an eye on your email inbox because admin gave the OCos a heads up that you'll be receiving some more info soon. 

( @yobologna and I are the London/Windsor info dream team  )

[helpinghand 25]

Idk If this is a weird q but would we be required to move to London/Windsor for the fall term if the majority of classes/small group learning is held online? Even if they allow us to do the more hands on learning components once or twice a week in person, would they tell us if we had to move or if we could drive up for those events if that’s possible for us? I understand this isn’t possible tho for OOPs and those who live super far away. Ugh this is all so confusing!  

[dooogs 106]

2 minutes ago, bbtlove said:

Idk If this is a weird q but would we be required to move to London/Windsor for the fall term if the majority of classes/small group learning is held online? Even if they allow us to do the more hands on learning components once or twice a week in person, would they tell us if we had to move or if we could drive up for those events if that’s possible for us? I understand this isn’t possible tho for OOPs and those who live super far away. Ugh this is all so confusing!  

Same question... I'd rather commute if we only have 1 or 2 days in person 

[CHG 137]

56 minutes ago, bbtlove said:

Idk If this is a weird q but would we be required to move to London/Windsor for the fall term if the majority of classes/small group learning is held online? Even if they allow us to do the more hands on learning components once or twice a week in person, would they tell us if we had to move or if we could drive up for those events if that’s possible for us? I understand this isn’t possible tho for OOPs and those who live super far away. Ugh this is all so confusing!  

Not weird at all, many people have been asking the exact same question! Totally get where you guys are coming from with the commuting. The only issue I see with this is that admin is actively trying to get us back in person ASAP. This means that if things improve, they could easily say "okay we're going back to in person 3-4 days a week and you need to be here on Monday" and then you'd be in a tough spot if you don't have housing. Admin has suggested to us that it is probably smart to be in Southwestern Ontario, but are hesitant to make any official recommendation in the case that everything has to stay online the entire semester and then you've been paying rent for no reason. 

The optimistic side of me wants to say that you should have housing in the area in case we get to go back more frequently, but I would hate for you to sign a lease on my suggestion and have everything stay online  I also know that this is a financially daunting option for those of us who could potentially be commuting instead. I think the safest option would be signing a lease, because if we do get to go back in person regularly (fingers really really crossed) I would say it is near impossible (or at least just very inconvenient) to commute with our schedule - but again this is just my opinion, maybe some people are better commuters than me LOL.

This uncertainty really sucks and a lot of the 2023's are asking themselves this same question right now, I really don't think theres a good answer unfortunately. happy to chat more about logistics if I can help at all  

[yobologna 19]

51 minutes ago, bbtlove said:

Idk If this is a weird q but would we be required to move to London/Windsor for the fall term if the majority of classes/small group learning is held online? Even if they allow us to do the more hands on learning components once or twice a week in person, would they tell us if we had to move or if we could drive up for those events if that’s possible for us? I understand this isn’t possible tho for OOPs and those who live super far away. Ugh this is all so confusing!  

Yeah they said you're 100% welcome to commute from anywhere in the province (they used Peterborough as an example) if you want. A while back they mentioned 6-8 weeks advanced notice of when you'd need to be in London but I don't know if that's a firm promise, so you may risk needing to find a place on short notice like @CHG mentioned which could be stressful. Also if observerships are allowed by the hospitals then you may run into trouble if you try to do them in your town if you don't live in Western's catchment area (e.g. east of Oxford county). So ultimately it's up to you, the school doesn't care where you live, as long as you attend mandatory sessions.

[helpinghand 25]

@CHG @yobologna thank you both so much for the replies, you’re both SO helpful!! I really hope we get more info about it soon but honestly I totally get how insane this situation is and it’s hard to plan w so much uncertainty  

[dooogs 106]

Isn't it very unlikely to allow observerships if we aren't allowed on campus? 

Personally if things were normal I would've gotten a 1 bedroom by myself but now thinking of renting a house with roomates to reduce costs since we may not be there full time. Just an idea 

[CHG 137]

7 minutes ago, dooogs said:

Isn't it very unlikely to allow observerships if we aren't allowed on campus? 

Personally if things were normal I would've gotten a 1 bedroom by myself but now thinking of renting a house with roomates to reduce costs since we may not be there full time. Just an idea 

Nope! They've been talking about getting us back in observerships before we're allowed to congregate in groups again for class. I believe it has to do with the availability of PPE at the observership and the fact that we wouldn't be allowed to have 100+ people in a lecture hall even if we wanted to due to gathering restrictions. Honestly I didn't really catch all the details of why because I was very excited when they told us observerships would possibly be opening back up. 

I think going with roomies would probably be a smart choice, even if only for the year. Of course you'd have to work out between all of you how things would work if you were travelling back and forth from your family homes but many of our classmates have roomies so definitely something a lot of people are working on rn.

[dooogs 106]

17 minutes ago, CHG said:

Nope! They've been talking about getting us back in observerships before we're allowed to congregate in groups again for class. I believe it has to do with the availability of PPE at the observership and the fact that we wouldn't be allowed to have 100+ people in a lecture hall even if we wanted to due to gathering restrictions. Honestly I didn't really catch all the details of why because I was very excited when they told us observerships would possibly be opening back up. 

I think going with roomies would probably be a smart choice, even if only for the year. Of course you'd have to work out between all of you how things would work if you were travelling back and forth from your family homes but many of our classmates have roomies so definitely something a lot of people are working on rn.

Good to know!!! Thanks 

[RejectedAgain 52]

White coat ceremony postponed :(((((

[hbmed 72]

20 minutes ago, RejectedAgain said:

White coat ceremony postponed :(((((

As bummed as I am about it (especially after having my convocation postponed indefinitely), I'd rather get to experience the event in as much of a "normal" way as possible, rather than with all the restrictions that would have been implemented to make it feasible to have in August, so I'm not too disappointed.

[RejectedAgain 52]

8 minutes ago, hbmed said:

As bummed as I am about it (especially after having my convocation postponed indefinitely), I'd rather get to experience the event in as much of a "normal" way as possible, rather than with all the restrictions that would have been implemented to make it feasible to have in August, so I'm not too disappointed.

Yeah I 100% agree. I would def rather postpone it so we can experience it normally (the sad part is that I had a sliver of hope that things would clear up and we could do the normal ceremony as planned aha).

[Moonlight2 44]

35 minutes ago, RejectedAgain said:

White coat ceremony postponed :(((((

Did you get an email?

[hbmed 72]

6 minutes ago, Moonlight2 said:

Did you get an email?

Yeah, I got one this morning saying it had been postponed, along with a confirmation of acceptance (I was accepted May 12th and paid my deposit a while ago) and a letter that can be used in place of proof of enrollment (not sure if everyone got that, but I had requested one last week).

[dooogs 106]

Just now, hbmed said:

Yeah, I got one this morning saying it had been postponed, along with a confirmation of acceptance (I was accepted May 12th and paid my deposit a while ago) and a letter that can be used in place of proof of enrollment (not sure if everyone got that, but I had requested one last week).

Got one too. Same situation as you