How much do transcript comments matter for CaRMS?

[Nirvanesthesia]

So far, all of my transcript comments are fairly average/generic... No red flags (apart from being called 'quiet'—is that a red flag?), but it's not hard to imagine lots of other students are getting similar comments to mine. 

I'm wondering how much programs care about these? Should I be trying harder to impress on my rotations?

[robclem21]

Not really a problem unless there are any red flags. Being quiet is not a red flag. "doesn't understand limitations", "poor work ethic", "challenging to work with", "doesn't take responsibility for patients". Those are red flags. Otherwise, most programs don't particularly care about comments from clerkship rotations (aside from the specialty maybe that you are applying for). 90% are the same generic comments.

That being said, as a clerk you should always be trying to impress on all your rotations, regardless if you are interested or not. You never know who you may come across and who talks to who.

[MedHopeful93]

I would personally request comments like "is quiet" not be included in the "Strengths" component of your ITERs.  The comments in this section will be included ad verbatim on your MSPR and although certainly not a red flag, it is not a strength.  

[NoMatchNoProblem]

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[dooogs]

22 hours ago, NoMatchNoProblem said:

I have spoken to selection committee members and EVERY comment is read from EVERY rotation (both core and electives). In fact, there are a lot of programs that place a huge chunk of the score for residency programs on clerkship evaluations, especially your CORE rotations (internal medicine, anesthesiology, family medicine to name a few).

Feel free to consult this web page way ahead of time to see what you will be facing when it comes to your applications: https://phx.e-carms.ca/phoenix-web/pd/main?mitid=1415 . 

Piece of advice: if you feel that your evaluation sounds generic and non-specific, request that your rotation supervisor include more detailed comments with specific examples of your work. It is extremely punishing when you realize you love a specialty later on and your core/previous rotations do not reflect your true abilities. Never assume that others have the same evaluations as you and are getting those generic comments because let me tell you, there are people who are doing everything in their power to get the absolute best evaluations. 

Best of luck. 

 

I've heard that some people say that they want to do X specialty just so they get more detailed comments. Is that a good approach?

[Persephone]

15 minutes ago, dooogs said:

I've heard that some people say that they want to do X specialty just so they get more detailed comments. Is that a good approach?

I mean people talk and if you do this it can get around and you'll be seen as insincere, especially if your peers know you're gunning for one specialty. It's not guaranteed to happen but I would not recommend it. If you are truly considering multiple areas I think it's fine to state that you are very interested if you actually are and let them know it's one area your considering for CaRMS. A fair number of students are undecided well into clerkship.

I would say to get good evaluations show you're invested in taking good care of your patients and in improving your relevant clinical skillsets. To get them more detailed try to ask about where you can improve early on in the rotation. Also, I found letting doctors know about my specialty of interest meant they would sometimes tailor their evaluations to highlight the strengths I demonstrated that are seen as valuable in my specialty area of interest. YMMV

 

[Aetherus]

On 4/4/2021 at 6:52 PM, NoMatchNoProblem said:

I have spoken to selection committee members and EVERY comment is read from EVERY rotation (both core and electives). In fact, there are a lot of programs that place a huge chunk of the score for residency programs on clerkship evaluations, especially your CORE rotations (internal medicine, anesthesiology, family medicine to name a few).

Feel free to consult this web page way ahead of time to see what you will be facing when it comes to your applications: https://phx.e-carms.ca/phoenix-web/pd/main?mitid=1415 . 

Piece of advice: if you feel that your evaluation sounds generic and non-specific, request that your rotation supervisor include more detailed comments with specific examples of your work. It is extremely punishing when you realize you love a specialty later on and your core/previous rotations do not reflect your true abilities. Never assume that others have the same evaluations as you and are getting those generic comments because let me tell you, there are people who are doing everything in their power to get the absolute best evaluations. 

Best of luck. 

 

As a Carms reviewer for one of the most competitive specialities I can guarantee this is not the case for every program. As someone who has reviewed over a hundred applications, I can tell you that very little weight is put on the MSPR. There is so much variability between schools that it is impossible to assess properly. I agree that red flags on the MSPR are not good, but otherwise, I wouldnt worry too much. Make sure you do your best because medicine is a small community and words gets around (good or bad). I think most reviewers realize that the MSPR is out of your control in terms of the amount of effort your preceptor puts into the evaluation.

[NoMatchNoProblem]

38 minutes ago, Aetherus said:

I think most reviewers realize that the MSPR is out of your control in terms of the amount of effort your preceptor puts into the evaluation.

So does it basically come down to Letters of Reference and CV for the super competitive programs? I was specifically told that MSPR was highly valued for IM programs. 

[MasterDoc]

36 minutes ago, Aetherus said:

As a Carms reviewer for one of the most competitive specialities I can guarantee this is not the case for every program. As someone who has reviewed over a hundred applications, I can tell you that very little weight is put on the MSPR. There is so much variability between schools that it is impossible to assess properly. I agree that red flags on the MSPR are not good, but otherwise, I wouldnt worry too much. Make sure you do your best because medicine is a small community and words gets around (good or bad). I think most reviewers realize that the MSPR is out of your control in terms of the amount of effort your preceptor puts into the evaluation.

On a different note, I know some programs have started to request undergrad transcripts for a while now. How much does this affect you in Carms for the competitive specialties. I speak as someone who had a horrendous GPA my first 2 years, and I am worried that this will hinder me in Carms.