"Perks" of U of C meds

[Guest arar]

Hi

 

I know the "standard" things about the program at U of C (3 year program, curriculum, etc), but I was wondering if any current med students could give me some insight into what they feel the "perks" to U of C meds might be. Also, do you find that the first year class tends to mix well, or do people pretty much stick with the friends they had in undergrad (I've heard this is often the case for schools that accept primarily in-province students).

 

Thanks so much!

 

arar

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

For one, I was hugely impressed by the warmth of the Calgary students, faculty and administration.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest Jerika81]

do you find that the first year class tends to mix well, or do people pretty much stick with the friends they had in undergrad

 

I have found that our class has mixed together very well this year and I think all of the classes generally do. People do of course spend the most time with those who have similar interests to them or are at similar places in their life, and U of C always has a very diverse class, so people do have differences, but that usually just makes things more fun and interesting.

 

As for "perks" that may not already be obvious-

1) I love that we don't spend a lot of time on basic science stuff (ie biochemistry) and spend most of our time focused on the clinical picture, as that's what will be important to remember once we're on the wards.

2) We get to see patients all the time. Often lecturers will bring patients with them to our lecture to demonstrate a disease. We also have clinical core sessions where you and the other 4 people in your group are assigned to a doctor who specializes in the area you are learning about (eg it was a cardiologist when we were learning about CV), and that doctor takes you around the hospital to see their patients, often assigning you a specific patient and having you do a history and exam on them and then reporting back to the group.

3) Standardized patients. These are actors who we practice taking historys from and doing physical exams on. They are given a specific role to play and they do an amazing job at it! Sometimes it's shocking how different they are when they come out of character. This is a very valuble resource, especially for learning how to take a good history and how to deal with some more "difficult" patient situations (eg angry or crying, or hitting on you).

4) You can do as much or as little anatomy as you want (keeping in mind that you probably want to do enough to pass the peripatetic exams). If you want to be a surgeon then you have the option to dissect a cadaver, if you don't want to do that then you can just use specimens that have already been dissected to study for exams. And there are frequent optional anatomy sessions during each system, and you can go to all or none of these, or somewhere in between (I've found two is usually enough for me).

5) For the most part you only have to worry about one exam at a time. You never have to study for two things at once. So for example when you are doing the renal system you can completely immerse yourself in it and you can forget about what you learned in CV and Resp for the time being.

6) No PBL. Personally I'm glad we don't have to look up things in our free time and it is just taught to us in a straight forward manner. Of course a lot of people really like PBL so perhaps it's just a perk for me that we don't have it. I just don't like having "homework" or something I have to get done for the next day or whatever. We pretty much just have our final exams at the end of each system and that's all you have to worry about.

7) You have to do a mandatory 1 month elective in July (after 1st year) and this is a great opportunity to travel and see how medicine is practiced in other countries, or you can stay at home and make connections here depending on what your priorities are.

8) Since we don't get much time off you don't have to worry about whether or not you should be getting a research job over the summer. Something I'm kind of glad I don't have to think about right now.

9) You get to cheer for the CALGARY FLAMES!!

 

OK that's all I can think of for now. Hope it helps and I'll post more if I think of it.

[Guest arar]

Thanks so much you guys - that's exactly the kind of info I'm looking for

 

I look forward to meeting everyone in the fall!

 

arar

[Guest Edwarder]

Thanks Jereika,

 

I too found your info useful. You mentioned you only have exams at the end of each systems unit. I just wanted to know about the Dean's Test, though. This is on the schedule for next year (Jan. 3, 2005). What system does this test?

 

Thanks

 

Ed

[Guest Jerika81]

There are two Dean's exams in first year. The first is the first day back after Christmas break, and the second is coming up in a couple of weeks for us at the beginning of June.

These are cumulative exams that test all the material you have learned so far in a manner that is supposed to be like the LMCC, however, they are non-certifying and are just for your own interest. You get a break down of how you did afterwards, so you can see which areas you are weak in and you can see how well you are retaining information once you are done with a system. We are told not to study for them as you're supposed to see what you can remember without studying.

For the one our class wrote in January, I think you needed 60% to pass and the class average was 62%- so as you can see almost half the class probably failed, so it's really not a big deal and there are no repercussions for failing, although I think if you do very poorly (like well below the class average) on the first two, then a faculty member would meet with you to discuss some more effective ways of retaining the information.

 

So it's really nothing to worry about, but it is interesting to see how much you do or don't remember.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

One quick question about the Calgary medicine grading system: is it H/P/F or simply P/F?

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest katwoman2003]

I remember during the interview day the med students were telling me that it's only P/F.

[Guest Jerika81]

Only P/F.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

Thanks for confirming the P/F--fabbo!

 

Another question: I was wondering about the structure of the preclinical weeks at Calgary. We were sent that great package that gave us the schedule of classes for the first year, but what is an average week like in terms of class time, small group learning time, clinical time and free time? Are there any sections of time available during the week where we can gain some experience shadowing clinicians, for example?

 

Also, is there someone available and dedicated within the faculty to provide career tips or counseling? If so, who would they be?

 

Lastly, how is the construction coming along in the Health Sciences Building?!!

 

(I tried, by the way: I had a look through some old threads and failed to find this type of information. )

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest Jerika81]

Not sure how much detail they gave you in the schedule, but I'll give you a brief idea of how it works.

Every day (mon through fri) you have 4 hours of whatever system you are doing at that time (say blood). For first year this is generally 1:30-5:30 on Monday, 8:30-12:30 on Tuesday, 1:30-5:30 on Wednesday, 1:30-5:30 on Thursday, and 8:30-12:30 on Friday. These 4 hour blocks are spent either in lecture or in small groups of about 16 people and one preceptor. A sample week might be 4 hours of lecture on Monday (this is never a "four hour lecture" though, usually it's broken up into one or two hour lectures, and there are 10-15 minute breaks between each), 2 hours lecture and 2 hours small group on Tuesday, 3 hours lecture and 1 hour small group on Wednesday, 4 hours lecture on Thursday, and 2 hours lecture/2 hours small group on Friday.

 

On top of this you have longtitudinal courses which are things like communications, culture health and wellness, ethics, and research methods. These usually take up 2-4 hours on either Wednesday or Thursday morning, and sometimes both. Occasionally stuff is scheduled Tuesday afternoon, but there is almost never anything on Monday mornings or Friday afternoons. However, there are also things you have to schedule with your small group of 5 people such as physical exam sessions and core sessions where you go into the hospital. These can be scheduled during any free time but your group leader schedules them so you can tell them what times work best for you.

 

Basically, you have a lot of free time even though my description may not make it seem like it. Some systems are busier than others, but generally you can expect to sleep in (or shadow) 2 mornings a week, and you usually have 2 afternoons a week off.

 

As for your second question, everyone is assigned a faculty adviser some time in September and this is someone who you can talk to about pretty much anything. Some people have found this to be a really valuable resource, and others not so much. You can also sort of specify what area of medicine you want your faculty adviser to be in.

 

As for construction, when I was last there a week ago it was coming along at a very rapid pace and it sort of reminded me of Hogwart's Academy because over the course of a couple hours a hall would move from being in one place and reappear somewhere else. I would guess that now that we are out of there until July, they are working at an even more rapid pace. I think I might get lost when I return in August...

 

Sorry this is so long but hopefully it helped.

[Guest arar]

Hi Jerika (and others),

 

Thanks for the info! I too was wondering both about the daily schedule.

 

In terms of the "yearly" schedule, how do things work? I know that there are a couple of weeks of downtime between first and second year, and some elective time - when do these fall? Also, when does clerkship start, and when does it finish... and finally, when (typically) does residency start? Is there a break between the "end" of school and the beginning of residency?

 

Thanks so much!

 

arar

[Guest Jerika81]

Approximately:

P for M runs August to mid September, then Blood until mid October, then MSK until end of November, then CV until about then end of January with 2 weeks off for holidays in the middle, then Resp for all of February, then Renal until mid April, then Endocrine until the end of May. Then there are 2 weeks of a course called integrative for which there is no exam and it is all done in groups of 5 or 6. This year school ended on June 9th with the Dean's exam, and this is the last day of first year if you didn't fail any exams. If you did fail the re-writes are going on this week (June 14-18). Between June 9th and August 3rd you have to get in 160 hours of elective time, which is generally 4 weeks, so you have 3 weeks of if you don't have to do any re-writes.

I don't know the exact schedule for 2nd year, but I know you again get 2 weeks of at the end of December/beginning of January, and then clerkship starts about a week into March. Clerkship runs until mid-April of third year. Then I think you get about 2 weeks to study for the LMCC, and graduation is in mid-May. Most residency programs start at the beginning of July, so you get 6 weeks off between graduation and residency.

[Guest arar]

Thanks for the quick reply!

 

arar

[Guest sn0w0wl]

Glad to hear that the renovations are moving along--I can't remember from interview weekend, but are the student lockers going to be replaced (I know the offices won't be)? Just wondering about places to ditch bike gear and such.

 

sn0

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

until about then end of January with 2 weeks off for holidays in the middle

Regarding this does anyone know the exact dates for December/January holidays this year? I have a trip to take in early January that encompasses the first week. I'm hoping that classes may begin on the second week? :rolleyes

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest frogcanada]

Hey Kirsteen

 

I think in our initial offer package the schedule said that classes started back the first week in January (I actually recall the first Dean's test being in that first week too??) Can a moderator confirm/deny?

 

Thx

FC

[Guest sn0w0wl]

I'm no moderator, but Jan. 3 sticks out in my mind as the start date (it's a Monday, and it must be noted in the package)--only because I recall not happy about having to write a big (Dean's) exam on my birthday!