aiming for radiology

[Guest medinvan]

Hi,

 

I'm from vancouver and I just finished my undergrad at UBC and I am going into first year medicine. My interest (as it seems right now) is definitely along the lines of radiology or nuclear medicine. My goal is to get into radiology residency at UBC, and get a job in the vancouver area afterwards.

 

I was accepted into calgary and toronto...and i now have to decide where to go. Some of the forumers in this section of the forum are in radiology...so i thought it would be a great place to ask some of my questions.

 

1) Would going into calgary or toronto (ie which school) give me a better chance of achieving my goal above? I know i would have to choose radiology as an elective, but there really are few elective sessions at either school. However, TOronto does have the summer for me to use. Would having a summer to do research or electives in radiology be a relatively major advantage over Calgary? Any other thoughts as to whether one would be better than the other to achieve my goal?

 

2) Is it more difficult for someone not from UBC medicine to get a UBC residency spot in radiology or nuclear medicine?

 

3) I don't have graduate level research, although i've done several undergrad research projects, two in physics and one in physiology. Would not having research experience in radiology affect my ability to get into UBC radiology/nucl med?

 

If i choose Calgary, my ability to do radiology/nucl med related research will basically be limited to research in my spare time during regular school sessions (i wouldn't expect to be able to get much done) ...would that be "enough"?

 

4) Do you have an idea of what the job market might be like for radiologists/nuclear medicine doctors in the Vancouver area in the upcoming future?

 

thanks

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

Some of the folks who are in Radiology programs at the moment, or who have recently matched, will be able to add to this, but I can address a few of your questions, too.

 

1) Both Toronto and Calgary have ample time for electives. However, if you look at the program descriptions for many Canadian Rads programs, they note, "Our program is looking for and rewarding applicants who have completed a broad range of electives". So, unlike programs such as Plastics where successful applicants often devote 100% of their elective time to Plastics, many Rads programs don't want to see Rads electives solely. Also, although the UofC's curriculum may be changing in the near future, after first year we had a maximum of 7 weeks of elective time. This isn't far from what is offered by UofT.

 

2) School biases towards/against graduates of other schools are unknown. This is probably program-dependent, if at all.

 

3) Not having Rads research probably won't stop you from entering a program, but for some programs, it is said to help; further, some note research as a factor in their selection processes. On the CaRMS site, UBC does not stress the presence of research in their selection process factors. Regarding time to do research at UofC, yes there is plenty. Also, there are a number of folks within the Rads department who are very keen researchers and who have many projects in mind for medical students.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest strider2004]

From my experience at Vancouver General Hospital, they have fantastic resources and it looks like a very attractive program. Everyone's friendly here. If you want a specific program at a specific place spend time there so that they know you well. That'll be the best advice. Work with the program director and perhaps even Dr Muller, the 'father' of chest CT. You'll find his name on the bible of chest CT as 'primary author'.

[Kirsteen]

Hi again,

 

On this, I've heard a couple of tidbits about UBC's Rads program from some folks in the field: 1) it is strongly suggested that you complete an elective there if you'd like to be seriously considered at CaRMS interview time (another Rads Program Director mentioned this); 2) it is nearly impossible to gain any exposure to their current Program Director as he has a policy not to work with any medical students (supposedly due to a wish not to bias his perceptions during the admissions process).

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[GABA]

Is it more common to do an elective with the department as a whole or with a single preceptor? From what I've heard, it's more the former. If that is the case, is it entirely out of the question to contact a single preceptor and ask to work only with them?

 

Thanks.

[Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

It's generally more common to complete an elective with a group of radiologists rather than one. That being said, it doesn't hurt to request one-on-one time.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[GABA]

Thanks for the help.

 

I'm not sure if your interests lie in radiology, but do you ever encounter any problems getting reference letters in situations like that?

[Kirsteen]

Thanks for the help.

 

I'm not sure if your interests lie in radiology, but do you ever encounter any problems getting reference letters in situations like that?

Hi again,

 

There are a few specialties where you might be working with a team of preceptors, e.g., Anes, some Surgery rotations, and probably others, too. In these situations, if you ask a preceptor for a letter they'll often call upon the feedback and opinions of the other folks in the team. So, they know that students need letters, and they're often willing to write them (as long as you have spent adequate time in their team) but they often rely on opinions in addition to their own to construct the letter.

 

In general, however, I've found that my best reference letters have come from those with whom I've had a chance to work one-on-one. Via these interactions, it seems that these preceptors have a much better opportunity to comment on factors such as interpersonal skills, etc.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[GABA]

Yeah, that's what I figured. Thanks for the help!