research during the school year during preclerkship

[Guest medinvan]

hi,

 

wondering...how many hours of school per week is there during 1st and 2nd year, and how many mornings or afternoons are off?

 

Is there time to pursue research projects (and is it possible to find a research project if i've only got a BSc, no masters or phds)? Is it overkill, or will i watch my grades plummet if i try to do a research project?

 

Also, it seems that the community health course has a research project as well. What exactly is this project, and how big is it supposed to be (and is there class time set aside for it?)?

 

thanks

[Guest scrubbed]

Hi there,

 

You can look through old posts for more specifics, but here's the MNU schedule, as an example.

 

For the most part, on M-W, you can expect to busy from 8 (9 for MNU) to 3. You have Tuesday mornings off during MNU. Thursday afternoons during S&F and Tuesday afternoons (or some mornings) you have DOCH, while on Friday morning you have ASCM.

 

As for research, in response to student input for more time to pursue resarch during preclerkship, the faculty is beginning a longitudinal 12 month research program, CREMS. Though they don't have details about it on the website, I recall that it starts after the anatomy portion of S&F, around November, when the schedule gets a bit lighter, and continues until the end of PBD, around the end of November of second year. I suppose that this could be considered an "extracurricular activity," so it may take away from other extracurricular activities. If you budget your time appropriately, it should be okay. If you're interested in the radiological sciences, as I recall, the experience that you would obtain would overshadow any possible drop in marks.

 

This also includes a block of time during your first year summer (June - August) to puruse research full time. If you want more details, the director is Don Branch, don.branch@utoronto.ca. I don't recall how many spots there would be, but I think acceptance will be done by application, so it may be competitive.

 

I think having some research experience helps, whether obtained during undergrad or postgrad, I don't think that it makes too much of a difference if you don't have a grad degree, as 2/3 of the class doesn't. If you find a interested supervisor and have a strong proposal, then it should be fine.

 

More information about the DOCH2 project can be found here.

 

There's specific time set aside for the project, as explained in this post.

 

Here's a rough schedule for 2nd year:

 

Sept-Dec

MWF: 8AM-noon (or a little later if you have PBL at Sunnybrook)

TTh: 8AM-3 or 4 PM

 

Jan-May

One day per week (either MWF, whatever day you don't have PBL): 8AM-11AM

PBL days (two of MWF): varies depending on your PBL schedule. Lecture 8AM-11AM, then you have 2 hours of PBL at some point that day.

Tuesdays: 9AM-11AM. The afternoon is designated time for working on research project for DOCH course. But you don't have to use it for that since it's independantly scheduled. In the last month of school are project presentations that everyone has to attend on Tuesday PM.

Thursdays: 8AM-3PM

 

So basically it's 3 afternoons off from Sept-Dec and two off from Jan-May

 

In DOCH1, there's three series of field visits. In the first semester, this includes a three visits each (you and a partner) to a central city school and with CCAC (home care). A group presentation is required for these visits. In the second semester, there's a four visits to a community agency. An essay is required for these visits.

 

Here's the first and second semester schedule for DOCH1.

 

I hope that this addresses your concerns .

[Guest studentz]

UofT has established the CREMS program specifically for this (though it was supposed to be up for our class:\ ). From what I heard, the student would start a project half-way through first year, continue through the summer, and conclude it during the second year. Speak to someone in admin about this, but I believe the director is (Dr?). Don Branch.

[Guest pyhw]

It's do-able especially after Gross Anatomy is over, i.e. after the beginning of November. It will eat up quite a bit of your time, so you'll have to do some good time management. It's kind of like joining one of the many activities available at UofT.

 

There were several people in the class this year who were involved in research at SickKids starting in February, who put in about 5-7 hours/week.

 

As was mentioned by the previous two students, the Comprehensive Research Experience for Medical Students (CREMS) program will provide a more formalized way to do your research. One of the concerns that was brought up by other professors was whether students would be able to handle the extra research work. I presume they will be making sure that those involved in the program aren't sacrificing their marks because of the program.

[Guest medinvan]

thank,

 

regarding the crems thing, do you know if it is flexible in the summer (ie, take weeks or months off to return home), or is it required that we stay in the summer to do research?

 

I emailed dr. Branch a few days ago, but have received no response.

 

thanks

[Guest scrubbed]

Hi there,

 

For the longitudinal CREMS program I described, I believe that all it has to be done in Toronto, unless you had a collaboration with a Vancouver researcher, for example, while working for someone in Toronto. Depending on your supervisor, you could take some time off in the summer, but nothing is a given.

 

However, the current CREMS program, which will be continued next summer for people that don't choose to do the longtudinal program but are still interested in doing research, does allow you to work the entire summer in another location. We have people who are using their funding to work internationally and one person that I know of who is doing research in Vancouver.

 

Take care.