Easier to get into UBC Med now & Shortage of Docs?

[Guest atworknow]

Hi, I got 2 questions that I hope to get the insight from you guys.

 

1. Is it easier to get into UBC Med school these days due to the expansion of the program from 128 students in the past to 224 students this year?

 

Do you guys think it is easier?

 

 

2. Do you guys think that the shortage of physicians in Canada still apply even after 10 years from now? My worry is, if I do get into medicine next year, by the time I graduate, will it be too many physicians already, due to the recent expansion of the MD program (particularly in BC)?

 

THANKS A LOT FOR ALL YOUR INSIGHT.

[Guest docbil]

I am sure there are stats out there to tell you the exact number.

 

But, I think it is getting harder. Not easier. Even with the increase in spots. The population of BC is increasing and the increase in number simply reflects the need and number of qualified individuals.

 

regarding your second question. Will there me a shortage in 10 years? If I said yes, would that change your mind, and you would not go in to this profession? From my observation, doing medicine is a life long committement to learning... cause it will take a long time to finish, and after that one must continue learning.

[Guest natman]

I could be wrong...but I believe that canada is graduating 600 fewer doctors than are retiring every year. With this trend the doctor shortage will not be solved anytime soon even wth an expansion of 100 seats or so at UBC.

I think the stats speak for themselves on how hard admission is at UBC. Average GPA and MCAT of the enterring class has not changed much, but your odds are obviously better with the expanded class size.

 

natman

[Guest TKP 123]

I wonder how many years it takes to solve the shortage of docs problem.

[Guest adduction]

There are probably way too many factors to consider to be able to answer that...

[Guest Persistent]

Although the number of seats have increased, the number of applicants have also due to the expansion. If I can recall my stats correctly, the number of applicants increased from ~800 to ~1300 when the number of seats increased from ~120 to ~220. The probability went from 0.15 to 0.17 which isn't TOO much, but SOMETHING nonetheless!

[Guest mitchie41]

This is a tough question to answer. I wouldn't really worry about the ratio of the number of students to number of seats though. The probability of you getting into med school is quite dynamic and it's totally based on your own actions.

For instance, Mac gets around 3000 applicants a year for 120 spots. This will give you a "Probability" of 0.04. Does that mean that UBC is 4X easier to get into than Mac?

 

The stats of the entering class have been relatively constant for the past few years(in terms of MCAT scores, grades, file review scores to get an interview, etc...) so it's probably just the same level of difficulty.

 

But one big change from the 128-student class that should be noted is the interview format. Back then, they used to have two one-on-one interviews. And sometimes, you could have huge variations in the scores from one interviewer to the next. Now that they've changed the format to standardized panel interviews, I think that the interview process is more fair for everyone.