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Hi everyone :) 

I'm a student from one of the prairies schools applying to IM this cycle. i was lucky to get some interviews including uoft and ubc (my top choices). I've never been to vancouver or toronto but I heard things about each city from residents. I really want to move out of the prairie for this next chapter of my life but im having a hard time deciding between these two schools in terms of ranking. 

Could you guys share anything you know about each program? I heard that uoft is notorious for being service heavy and not too collegial - but I also heard that it's easier to get into uoft sub-speciality if you do your residency there. Not too familiar about UBC but apparently it's service heavy too. Also the match rate for its residents was really bad this year..yikes

Thnx! 

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Both Toronto and Vancouver have had more above average unmatch rates compared to smaller schools if you look across the years. Many different reasons for this. One is that many people candidates prefer to stay in the 4 year GIM program rather than match to a different city's subspecialty program. 

I wouldn't worry too much about the unmatch rates and how they affect your subspecialty candidacy. The most important variables in matching for the IM MSM match would be your clinical performance, professionalism, and research productivity in your subspecialty of choice. Applying broadly matters as well. 

Toronto is known for its excellent didactic teaching sessions and wealth of research opportunities. It is more service heavy. I don't like their sick call policy either. You can be activated at any time for call if a colleague calls in sick. Because the program is so large, often people activating the back-up call mechanism don't have as much of a care for how this affects their colleagues.

I can't speak as much to UBC IM. From what I recall, it wasn't a very popular choice for my year given concerns for high service needs, but without the same research amenities and excellent subspecialty training that Toronto boasts. 

If you are coming from the prairies though and want a change in your pace and quality of life, either city would offer that and provide you with the environment that YOU need to succeed and flourish. At the end of the day, they are all certified by the Royal College and meet the same high standards for training efficacy. You can't go wrong anywhere in Canada. 

 

 

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1 hour ago, theDifferential said:

Thank you for answering! Do you have any insight regarding job opportunities in both cities? I suspect that toronto grads would have more opportunities to get a clinical position given just how many hospitals are in the GTA region vs not so many in BC. 

Depends on if you want academic versus community, and if you want to work in GIM versus subspecialty. 

Big cities are generally more competitive to find work in than smaller ones. 

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5 hours ago, theDifferential said:

Hi everyone :)

I'm a student from one of the prairies schools applying to IM this cycle. i was lucky to get some interviews including uoft and ubc (my top choices). I've never been to vancouver or toronto but I heard things about each city from residents. I really want to move out of the prairie for this next chapter of my life but im having a hard time deciding between these two schools in terms of ranking. 

Could you guys share anything you know about each program? I heard that uoft is notorious for being service heavy and not too collegial - but I also heard that it's easier to get into uoft sub-speciality if you do your residency there. Not too familiar about UBC but apparently it's service heavy too. Also the match rate for its residents was really bad this year..yikes

Thnx! 

If your goal is matching to a uoft sub-specialty, then uoft IM is your best chance. In 2021, ~60% of residents who matched to uoft subspecialty, were uoft IM residents.

Otherwise, the two programs are similar. My impression is that UBC is a bit more demanding and service heavy than uoft. Also, doing IM residency in an Ontario school would open more doors for subspecialty match at any of the Ontario schools.

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Speaking as someone who went to UofT IM and is now a staff in GIM at a large (and busy) community hospital in the GTA, I think I can give a tiny bit of insight...

UofT is amazing when it comes to teaching, clinical exposure, and research. I would say yes it is more service heavy, but that is more due to the massive population we serve, and also because of horrible call/scheduling policies. I would 100% agree that UofT is probably the worst when it comes to caring about its residents or resident wellness.

If you want to live in a large metropolitan centre, that is internationally known, where there is a ton to do, see and eat (although with covid everything is basically closed....) than sure choose UofT. Not sure how much of it you can truly enjoy when you're a resident though especially in the first 3 years of IM...

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16 hours ago, ACHQ said:

If you want to live in a large metropolitan centre, that is internationally known, where there is a ton to do, see and eat (although with covid everything is basically closed....) than sure choose UofT. Not sure how much of it you can truly enjoy when you're a resident though especially in the first 3 years of IM...

To be fair all this would apply to Van too!

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