Does it matter which medical school I go to for matching into a competitive speciality

[Biologyismyfather]

With CARMS results a few weeks ago, I have noticed how certain schools like UofT/UBC have more of their graduates in competitive specialties such as derm/ophthalmology/surgery. However, Manitoba's grads are generally nowhere to be seen. Furthermore, a lot of the competitive specialties in Manitoba like surgery have a majority of matched students from other schools like UBC/UofA etc entering them instead of their own graduates. I found this to be quite interesting. Btw - I found this out my stalking the programs insta pages lol

 

Does it really matter where you go to medical school in CARMS? Sorry if this question is naive... just trying to learn more about this. Or maybe people from certain schools have a higher inclination for less competitive specialties? 

 

Should my decision to choose a med school be influenced by my findings above? 

 

Thanks!

[Anon-Sky]

I think there are several factors contributing to this.

1. UofT/UBC have many more medical students than Manitoba, so just from a numbers perspective, you'll see more UofT/UBC grads in any program, including family medicine. 

2. Location is one of the biggest factors considered by medical students when making their rank order list. Most med students graduating from Sask/Manitoba grew up there, did med school there, and may want to stay close to their support network rather than go to another province.

3. There can be fluctuations in the specialties that med students from a particular school are pursuing. Maybe Manitoba's grads this year were particularly interested in psych, for example. 

4. For small, hyper-competitive specialties, maybe there is an advantage to going to school where you'd like to match for residency if you make connections with the right people. 

 

If you're in a position to choose between med schools, I probably wouldn't make this the deciding factor. Having a good support network and living in a city you enjoy is important. It is very doable to match to other programs, including Toronto/Vancouver.

[attempt2]

Varies school to school and program to program, and program director expectations. In general, I typically recommend UofT because they have all the specialties and a good research opportunities. However bigger schools dont always translate to success. For example, in derm, UBC doesnt tend to match amazingly (1 person this year, 2 last year) while UofT usually has 2-5 (although it seems to be the exception as most other schools match 0-2.. however UBC has 288 students). There is a CaRMS data page that tell you how many people applied to a given specialty from a school, but none that tells you who matched where to my knowledge. Of course, you would never really know about this information unless you are connected with specialty residents. 

[Bambi]

For those of us who have the choice of selecting which med school to attend, factoring in CaRMS to me - at that early stage is overthinking it, trying to read the teas leaves way too early in the game. When applying to medical school, you have no idea where lightning will strike, if it will strike at all! I applied to 4 medical school, was interviewed by 3 and accepted by 1. My choice was made for me.  There was more than 1 campus and I was directed to the small campus far from home, not my first choice. This entire random process worked out wonderfully for me. I thrived in this atmosphere, was able to have greater interaction with the preceptors and attendings in this atmosphere, which ultimately led me to an opportunity in a surgical specialty. Luck is very much involved in this process - and I don't think choosing a med school based upon CaRMS stats will be helpful to anybody. Just my 2 cents.  

[Pakoon]

If you want to match to a specialty, it definitely helps to have a home program. This is a fact.

Is it impossible without a home program? No, but definitely it helps.

 

If you have the option and you are certain of the specialty you want, choose a school that has said specialty. Otherwise school shouldn't matter in Canada at least. 

[shikimate]

Home field advantage does make a lot of difference if it's a very small and competitive field. With restrictions on amount of elective you could do I think this is even more so. 

You'll find home field advantage pervades throughout, including looking for fellowships, jobs and so on.

[jamesharris]

Yes, the medical school you attend can influence your chances of matching into a competitive specialty. Schools like UofT and UBC might provide more opportunities and resources that can help during the CARMS match process. However, your individual performance and networking also play crucial roles. If you're aiming for a competitive specialty, it might be beneficial to consider schools known for stronger placements in those areas.

[zoxy]

On 4/1/2024 at 3:51 PM, Biologyismyfather said:

Furthermore, a lot of the competitive specialties in Manitoba like surgery have a majority of matched students from other schools like UBC/UofA etc entering them instead of their own graduates. I found this to be quite interesting.

Your analysis is very superficial. Manitoba is a smaller school with lots of subspecialty spots. But, its students don't seem to produce as many gunners as the bigger schools. If you look closely through the CaRMS data for 2023 Manitoba had 2 Ophtho applicants compared to UofTs 13 and UBCs 9. Similarly, for plastics, Manitoba had 1 applicant vs 4 for Toronto and Calgary, 5 for UBC and UofA. For ENT Manitoba had no applicants at all even though there were 50 across Canada. No Manitoba Vascular applicants either. So Manitoba had 3 applicants for the top 4 most competitive specialties in the 2023 match. Other surgical specialties like Cardiac surgery, Gen Sx, Neurosurgery, and Ortho aren't competitive in English Canada and shouldn't really be looked at to analyze competitiveness.

It probably goes back to people in the lower cost of living parts of Canada won't gun for the uber-high paying specialties the same way UBC and UofT students would. If you're living in Winnipeg, making 400K vs 1 million makes no difference to your quality of life the same way it might in Vancouver and Toronto(although it probably doesn't in those places either, but prestige-hungry and money-grubbing students will still gravitate towards those specialties cause they want to live in the Bridle Path or British Properties).

[DrOtter]

This is highly anecdotal of course, but NOSM has had steady numbers of matches into uber-competitive specialties, despite being small, rural, and without home programs for those. And MUN this past year got a few matches into Derm without having a home Derm program, which is more than Ottawa can boast with.

So it's definitely possible. If anything, being at a slightly smaller program with wayyyy better mentorship/networking and no/few residents can be an advantage.