CaRMS 2023 - Countdown

[MedicallySpeaking]

If it is easy/cheap to apply to many programs, applicants may rank programs they aren't *really*  interested in.  If those people are ranked higher than the applicants who really *do* want that program,  positions go unfilled when the higher ranked candidates go elsewhere.  A sad reality of the process.  

 

[bearded frog]

Programs can afford to be choosy, not rank candidates they would rather not have at their program, then easily fill in the second round as it opens them up to competitive applicants who perhaps did not get their first choice compeditive specialty and wouldn't have considered in the first place, as well as high stat IMGs ¯\_(:/)_/¯

[Samic1988]

38 minutes ago, bearded frog said:

Programs can afford to be choosy, not rank candidates they would rather not have at their program, then easily fill in the second round as it opens them up to competitive applicants who perhaps did not get their first choice compeditive specialty and wouldn't have considered in the first place, as well as high stat IMGs ¯\_(:/)_/¯

Sounds like unfair practice, but they have the power and we can do nothing so it is what it is, I put IM last ranked and then after deadline I was regretting why I did such a stupid thing and I matched to last ranked IM UofT, I am kind of shocked surprised super grateful 

[helpmepls2]

ok this may be a stupid question but I'm pretty bad at this stuff... how do I thank a referee for a program I ended up not matching to (ex. my referees for my back up in family medicine). i still should right

[frenchpress]

10 minutes ago, helpmepls2 said:

ok this may be a stupid question but I'm pretty bad at this stuff... how do I thank a referee for a program I ended up not matching to (ex. my referees for my back up in family medicine). i still should right

Yes, you should. A short email along the lines of: “Hello so and so, Thank you again for your support in CaRMS.  I just wanted to let you know that I matched to X program.” would totally suffice.

 

[anonymouspls]

Celebrated a little too hard last night, woke up with a wicked headache and tried going to the gym, almost dropped the ez curl bar on my head haha.

[cardio_enjoyer]

^ Also tried to go to the gym today and be a productive human being, on 4 hours of sleep, ended up eating 1/3 minitub of icecream and fell asleep again 

#worth #i matched

[Andrew]

On 3/22/2023 at 9:47 AM, ChemPetE said:

Holy shit. 42 unfilled family medicine spots across Alberta. Unreal and not surprising one bit. 

Can you explain to me why Alberta FM spots are undesirable?

 

Also, on an unrelated note, I made a special point to come and check this forum following match day, if anyone is unmatched and wants some moral support or general advice send me a private message.

[shikimate]

1 hour ago, Andrew said:

Can you explain to me why Alberta FM spots are undesirable?

 

Also, on an unrelated note, I made a special point to come and check this forum following match day, if anyone is unmatched and wants some moral support or general advice send me a private message.

It's not just AB FM, it's FM across the board. I think FM fill rate is lowest in a decade. 

If you haven't been reading the news just google family doctor + any of the words like burnout, crisis, quitting etc and you get the idea.

[Andrew]

48 minutes ago, shikimate said:

It's not just AB FM, it's FM across the board. I think FM fill rate is lowest in a decade. 

If you haven't been reading the news just google family doctor + any of the words like burnout, crisis, quitting etc and you get the idea.

I believe you, but do we have CaRMS statistics to support this, like the number of total FM spots and the number filled after 1st/2nd iteration. Perhaps a graph of this dating back 10 years? (or I guess someone could check the data for each year and graph it themselves...)

EDIT: Found the data, but it's for 1st iteration only, the trend is down, but I was unable to find 2nd iteration data... presumably most of these FM spots get filled in the 2nd iteration?

https://www.carms.ca/data-reports/r1-data-reports/r-1-match-interactive-data/

Year    Quota    Filled    %filled
2013    1245    1133    91.00401606
2014    1305    1221    93.56321839
2015    1327    1242    93.59457423
2016    1333    1236    92.7231808
2017    1357    1206    88.8725129
2018    1348    1202    89.16913947
2019    1385    1248    90.10830325
2020    1405    1236    87.97153025
2021    1395    1195    85.66308244
2022    1399    1180    84.3459614
 

Made the table above from the data.

 

[frenchpress]

2 hours ago, Andrew said:

Can you explain to me why Alberta FM spots are undesirable?

My two cents… I think the fact that there have been spots left over after the past few cycles has created a bit of a negative feedback loop. People see that, and they think something must be wrong with the programs, and so fewer people consider the program and it just gets worse the next year. 

Alberta also doesn’t have the best reputation right now nationally. The UCP very publicly fought against the family doctors and tried to gut the system before and during early covid, and that’s left this vague and general impression across the country that it isn’t a good place to be.

I personally think Alberta is a great place to train, if you don’t mind living in Alberta. 

[indefatigable]

4 hours ago, Andrew said:

I believe you, but do we have CaRMS statistics to support this, like the number of total FM spots and the number filled after 1st/2nd iteration. Perhaps a graph of this dating back 10 years? (or I guess someone could check the data for each year and graph it themselves...)

EDIT: Found the data, but it's for 1st iteration only, the trend is down, but I was unable to find 2nd iteration data... presumably most of these FM spots get filled in the 2nd iteration?

FM has more unfilled spots, but it's not just an AB problem as mentioned above:

• schools in ON especially NOSMU, Queen's and Western had many spots leftover.  
• FM avoidance is most extreme in QC where programs like Path (typically less popular) fill before FM - probably a lot to do with relative pay and tight regulation of where FPs can practice.
• This is the first year of widespread FMProc adoption - along with the standardized new referee form means it's more work to apply to FM than previously which might discourage applicants on the fence.
• FM does have issues which is effecting applicant preference (and possibly more certain programs as mentioned above)

Most of the English-speaking FM spots will likely fill in the 2nd iteration.  

Although the numbers above don't mention the total number of participants and resident seats which can vary from year to year, the trend is pretty clear that FM is becoming less preferred for CMGs.

 I think the new Queen's MD-FM pathway could be a good pilot that other schools may adapt (especially future schools)- this could potentially increase satisfaction by avoiding lingering regret for graduates matching to FM as a non-preferred backup choice (and also provide residency programs a stream of graduates).

[Guest2020_]

9 hours ago, shikimate said:

It's not just AB FM, it's FM across the board. I think FM fill rate is lowest in a decade. 

If you haven't been reading the news just google family doctor + any of the words like burnout, crisis, quitting etc and you get the idea.

Not to mention the planned move to 3 year FM residency, all the while NPs are gaining independent practice rights

[Edict]

13 hours ago, Guest2020_ said:

Not to mention the planned move to 3 year FM residency, all the while NPs are gaining independent practice rights

https://www.cihi.ca/en/nurse-practitioner-scopes-of-practice-vary-across-canadas-provinces-and-territories 

To add to your point: A quick guide to NP's practice rights

 

[carms20233]

Curious to see the CARMs data for this years match. Based on my classmates results seems like ENT was pretty brutal. Surprisingly anesth doesn’t seem as overly competitive as anticipated?

[Pakoon]

27 minutes ago, carms20233 said:

Curious to see the CARMs data for this years match. Based on my classmates results seems like ENT was pretty brutal. Surprisingly anesth doesn’t seem as overly competitive as anticipated?

ENT was definitely less competitive than last year or the year before from what I heard, but we won't know until the data is out for sure.

[cardio_enjoyer]

16 hours ago, Pakoon said:

ENT was definitely less competitive than last year or the year before from what I heard, but we won't know until the data is out for sure.

 

16 hours ago, carms20233 said:

Curious to see the CARMs data for this years match. Based on my classmates results seems like ENT was pretty brutal. Surprisingly anesth doesn’t seem as overly competitive as anticipated?

I second Pakoon's comment.  Pretty much everyone in my class who wanted ENT got ENT, including people who literally did an 180 from primary care and decided they wanted ENT right before fourth year. 

[Overstressed]

18 hours ago, carms20233 said:

Curious to see the CARMs data for this years match. Based on my classmates results seems like ENT was pretty brutal. Surprisingly anesth doesn’t seem as overly competitive as anticipated?

Not sure if this is true. Anecdotally from my class, less than 50% of people who applied anesthesia as their first choice matched to the specialty. 

[anonymouspls]

Now that ive matched rad onc, i have very little motivation to study for the lmcc when the content has nothing to do with what ill be doing. I feel like im going to fail this exam …

[ChemPetE]

4 hours ago, anonymouspls said:

Now that ive matched rad onc, i have very little motivation to study for the lmcc when the content has nothing to do with what ill be doing. I feel like im going to fail this exam …

It’s not bad. Believe it or not when I wrote lmcc 2 it was all scenarios I routinely saw in clinic/on the ward for the most part. Gotta be a good generalist to be a good specialist, even in rad onc.

[eggowafflerecall]

7 hours ago, anonymouspls said:

Now that ive matched rad onc, i have very little motivation to study for the lmcc when the content has nothing to do with what ill be doing. I feel like im going to fail this exam …

I thought that too but then passed. You'll be okay. Review all the MCC objectives (https://www.mcc.ca/objectives/expert/) so you're not caught off-guard by any conditions or questions. You can then use Toronto Notes / your class notes / Online meded to remind yourself of the approach. The approach to any condition - diagnosis, investigations, treatment - is your bread and butter. Reviewing OSCE resources such as the Edmonton manual can help consolidate this too, but probably unnecessary. CMPA modules and Toronto Notes sections of ethics/public health will help with ethics. 

Also review how to answer the questions, especially for the sections where you can write-in the answers or select multiple options. 

2 hours ago, ChemPetE said:

It’s not bad. Believe it or not when I wrote lmcc 2 it was all scenarios I routinely saw in clinic/on the ward for the most part. Gotta be a good generalist to be a good specialist, even in rad onc.

i was also surprised by the number of questions I was able to answer with knowledge from clinical experiences, rather than what I learned from reviewing notes. 

[acbdefg]

On 3/28/2023 at 4:37 PM, Overstressed said:

Not sure if this is true. Anecdotally from my class, less than 50% of people who applied anesthesia as their first choice matched to the specialty. 

At my school, most people I knew that wanted anesthesia got it (at least 11 people) so there's quite a bit of variation for both ENT and anesthesia seems like