Location for an FM(EM) Elective

[MDwannabe02]

I am an R1 with an interest in emergency medicine and really hoping to match to an R3 in EM. I am an Ontario resident and feel that my best shot is at my home school (I would be very happy there too), but am planning to apply broadly to maximize my chances of matching. I have 2 electives in R1 - one of them I will be doing at my home school and another at U of A in Edmonton. I have also done my core R1 EM block at my home school.

Does anyone know/have any experience with which site(s) would be best to do electives at as an outside resident to maximize chances of matching there? I have one pre-CaRMS elective in R2 I am trying to fill. Could also split it up 2 weeks each at two different schools, but travel could be challenging there. I am willing to go anywhere as I'm trying to maximize match opportunities.

Thanks!

[med3213]

Not sure what Ontario university is your home school but both Queen's and Western have comparatively large numbers of EM+1 spots (8 and 11 respectively) vs Ottawa (4), Toronto (7) and McMaster (5). My understanding is that they are both less competitive than Ottawa and Toronto as well. So I think both Western and Queen's could be solid options if your goal is to just match anywhere. Maybe reach out to residents at those schools and get their thoughts (such as how much a role doing an elective there affects your chances of matching).

[MDwannabe02]

Thanks! I knew Western had a lot of spots, just wasn’t sure on the likelihood of matching there being an out-of-school applicant even if I was to do an elective there. Definitely high on my list. It’s Block 1 of R2, so I need to pull the trigger on something soon, haha