A request for some more Mac & UWO info

[Guest blue eyes]

So, UWO has been my first choice since interviews, with Mac running second. I was lucky enough to get into both UWO and Mac, but I felt like I had already made my decision. Problem is, when I sat down to check the boxes last night, I had MAJOR second thoughts. I've done three years of undergrad at Mac, and really enjoyed it - the city isn't the most hopping place, but I'm comfortable there, and London has seemed like somewhat of a cold (personality wise) city when I've gone to visit.

 

I just wanted to ask for some more feedback from any Mac/UWO students who might see this. Are you guys happy with your programs? What don't you like? ARE there significant differences beyond the 3 v. 4 years? I'd always thought they were very different schools, but from what I've read/researched/heard during the interview presentations, it seems like Western is moving to more of the case-of-the-week, problem-based style, similar to Mac. Is this a correct impression? Also, I currently want to pursue pediatrics, possibly neonatology - is there a significant difference for potential electives, etc between the cities? Any info anyone could pass on would be super - I've started leaning more towards Mac, but would like to get as much info as possible before I make the final call.

 

Thanks for any info you can offer!

[Guest ploughboy]

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Hey there,

 

Congratulations! No matter what choice you make, you'll be going to a good school. I've been meaning to start a "Western: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" thread in the UWO forum, but haven't fully collected my thoughts yet, so I'll just fire off some random stuff here and try not to turn this into a 'my school can beat up your school' thread.

 

I wouldn't get hung up on PBL/PCL, self-directed vs lecture-based, but rather look past the preclinical years to your clerkship. Although I'm just a dumb first year, I understand that UWO's clerkship has two strong points that not a lot of other schools have. That was one of two reasons UWO was my first choice (the other being that London is the tertiary centre for my hometown). The two strengths of UWO's clerkship are being first call, and doing all your core rotations before your electives.

 

1) First call - on many services, UWO clerks are "first call". So when something starts going badly with one of your team's patients in the middle of the night, it's your pager that goes off and you have to deal with it. Kinda scary, but a great way to learn.

 

The pros and cons of being first call have pretty much been beaten to death in some threads in the UWO forum, you might want to look them up. Not being a clerk yet, I can't speak from experience, but the posts of various UWO graduates (UWOmeds2005, therealcrackers, TimmyMax, aneliz, etc) consistently indicate that UWO's clerkship does an excellent job of preparing you for residency and ultimately, being a "real" doctor.

 

2) Electives - at UWO you do *all* your core rotations in third year, and then do all your electives in fourth year. You also have a whole month off for CaRMS interviews. This is in contrast with some other schools, where you might have an elective as your first clerkship rotation, or you might wind up doing some of your electives after CaRMS. I've also heard horror stories of people at other schools being on their surgery rotatation during CaRMS interviews and having to work on Friday, fly across the country, interview on the weekend and fly back in time for Monday morning rounds. Not fun.

 

The pros and cons of this schedule have also been beaten to death in the UWO forum, so I won't belabour them here.

 

As for the city, I've enjoyed my time here and don't find it particularly cold. Some people think that London's kind of a WASP-y place, but I'm kind of a WASP-y guy so I fit right in. Your mileage may vary. Within the med school, people are *very* friendly (I'm sure Mac is the same). That's really what counts, since try as you might to avoid it, you will get sucked into the "Med School Bubble" whether you go to UWO or Mac.

 

On the other hand, I'm a big believer in listening to my gut ("That's where the truth lies, right down here in the gut. Do you know you have more nerve endings in your gut than you have in your head? You can look it up. I know some of you are going to say 'I did look it up, and that's not true.' That's 'cause you looked it up in a book. Next time, look it up in your gut." - Stephen Colbert). If your gut is telling you that Mac is the school for you, maybe you should listen to it...

 

Hope this helps!

 

pb

 

 

 

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