Guest zirneklis Posted June 3, 2003 Report Share Posted June 3, 2003 Hi everyone! I was wondering if you guys (especially current meds) could help me out with a few concerns I have... 1. For those of you from a big city, is Kingston a big adjustment? 2. Do you feel like you'd learn more in a larger city with more patient volume/diversity? Do you feel like you see everything you really want to, or do you think you're missing out on some experiences? 3. Where do most grads do residencies? Do they have good placements in Toronto as well? 4. I can't remember what the testing schedule is like...is it once a month? Or is it crammed in the end of the semester? Sorry for all the questions...I'm sure Ill have more soon! Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bad hombre Posted June 3, 2003 Report Share Posted June 3, 2003 i can only answer a couple since i'm not in meds, but i have done three years of time here at queens 1. kingston is by far the smallest city i've ever lived in (lima, bogota, ottawa, and addis ababa being the other ones), and so far it's been alright. the campus and the class are VERY diverse unlike some people think, although there are many stereotypical upper-middle class queen's kids running around. kingston is beautiful though and there are a good number of decent restaurants and shops. the clubs are *alright* but the close-knit atmosphere makes them good, you'll always see someone you know who is out, whether it be tuesday at shoeless joe's or thursday at alfies or saturday at stages. 4. there is testing in december and may for 1st years, december and april for second years, don't have any friends in 3rd year yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MellowYellow Posted June 3, 2003 Report Share Posted June 3, 2003 1. Yes Kingston is small, but I didn't find it too hard to adjust (I did my undergrad in Toronto) Everything you need is here, esp if you live near downtown. Plus having a good time has more to do with the people you're with, rather than the place you are at. 2. At the early stage of medical school, "diversity of patients" is not really that important, IMHO. Yes it would be cool to see a patient with a rare heart disease, but what do does that do to you if you can't even pick up a common heart murmur. During clerkship, when diversity might be more important, you have the chance to do your electives at other cities. 3. I'm not sure about this one... I'll let one of the upper years tackle this 4. We have one big exam after each term, i.e. for first year: one exam in december, one in May. Although there is a movement to have a mid-term for the 2nd term of first year. Hope that helps Patrick Queen's 06 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bad hombre Posted June 4, 2003 Report Share Posted June 4, 2003 Pat, i watched the champions league final with you and mike the other day... small world. hombre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest QM6 Posted June 4, 2003 Report Share Posted June 4, 2003 1. I came from doing undergrad in Montreal, and it was a bit of a shock... not that Kingston was lacking in anything I needed, but that everything came in a small-town, "lite" version of the big city. I was used to passing time just stolling around the crowds on Ste-Cath... in Kingston crowds are a bit hard to come by. One huge plus for Queen's is that, like at other urban campuses, we're right within walking distance of downtown, so diversions are never far off. 2. Kingston's the big referring centre for all of Eastern Ontario, so you're not missing out on much at all here, and like Patrick said, catching the very, very few rare things at this stage in our careers prolly won't be too helpful in real practice. That said, we're really nearby the other big centres, so it's pretty straightforward to figure out electives and such once you're ready. 3. Queen's Meds '03 class match list is on another thread here, and Queen's grads end up pretty much anywhere. Where you end up for placements has more to do with your own personal chemistry with the residency people than what school you go to, so I don't think we offer any real advantage (or disadvantage) about TO placements specifically. 4. Well, we'll see how that class poll turns out on the midterm proposal... seems like we're looking at the traditional mega-finals in December and May still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fox Posted June 5, 2003 Report Share Posted June 5, 2003 I did my undergrad in Guelph and am now in Edmonton, which has almost 1 million people, and I would give anything to live in a university town again. I really loved the close knit feeling and knowing so many people both on and off campus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cgb2006 Posted June 5, 2003 Report Share Posted June 5, 2003 As for learning more in a larger city, I sincerely think this is a huge misperception. I feel like I can say this because I considered the exact same thing when I was deciding whether or not to come to Queens as opposed to other schools located in larger centers. This year has offered many opportunities for more than adequate patient exposure. There is diversity in Kingston just as there is anywhere else. People in Kingston and surrounding regions get sick just like those anywhere else in the province. The difference is that the continuing care of these patients may involve care at another center and involvement of specialists outside of Kingston. Having said this, the types of patients seen by medical students and clerks are more than abundant here in Kingston. I can say with 100% confidence that Queens medical students are not be cheated of clinical learning opportunities because we are learning at smaller centers. In fact, I really believe the opposite. Being in a smaller center offers huge advantages. Hospital staff, including physicians, nurses, and other allied health staff actually get to know you by name. This allows them to become familiar and confident in your abilities and as a result drastically minimizes the awkwardness of starting a new rotation. The clinical skills learning program at Queens, which involves early patient exposure, is one of the most comprehensive programs in Canada. There are infinite opportunities for Observerships during the school year, Rotating Observerships during the summer months, and a rural medicine week following exams in May. I can say with absolute confidence that I am not missing out on any clinical learning experiences. I spent this last week with Cardiology as part of a rotating summer observership and got to participate in the care of many patients. Some with rare conditions and others with not so rare conditions. As a first year, I was welcomed and utilized as part of the health care team. I was allowed to perform histories and physicals on my own patients and furthermore was allowed to dictate my own reports. Later in the week I assisted with angiography and angioplasty procedures. I'm not sure this amount of responsibility would have been bestowed upon me in a larger center. Hope this helps:) If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 Floating to the top... Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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