Importance of grades

[tarzi]

Hey all,

 

Since Canadians do not have something like the USMLE Step 1 after MS2, are your basic science grades very important for your residency options?

 

I know that your clerkship grades obviously should be good, with good references - but what about MS1, and MS2??

 

I'm assuming that different career goals can explain the variation in opinions amongst med students about med school, time devoted to study, etc...

 

some have said that in med school, you have time to do everything and some are involved in all these activities and clubs, while other students have said that med school is significantly tougher (in terms of work load) than undergrad and that they have to study all the time and work really hard...I guess different people study differently or is it due to their different career goals?

[Kirsteen]

Hey all,

 

Since Canadians do not have something like the USMLE Step 1 after MS2, are your basic science grades very important for your residency options?

 

I know that your clerkship grades obviously should be good, with good references - but what about MS1, and MS2??

 

I'm assuming that different career goals can explain the variation in opinions amongst med students about med school, time devoted to study, etc...

 

some have said that in med school, you have time to do everything and some are involved in all these activities and clubs, while other students have said that med school is significantly tougher (in terms of work load) than undergrad and that they have to study all the time and work really hard...I guess different people study differently or is it due to their different career goals?

Hi there,

 

One decent source for some of the above information is the "Canadian Medical Residency Guide" published by the RBC Financial Group. Therein is a Program Director's survey that shows the various factors considered in residency applicants and how they influence PD's decisions re: who is looked upon favourably and who isn't. One of the factors that can influence an applicant negatively is poor performance in pre-clinical years, i.e., failed courses or blocks. Thus, for some programs, performance in those years is an important factor in their selection process.

 

There are many factors which can influence a medical student's perspective and approach to medical school study. You have mentioned a couple of possible factors but there are many, many more.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[ffp]

I have done CaRMS interviews and file reviews for U of S internal medicine.

 

Assessing "academics" on these applications can be tricky because most schools are pass or fail. Some are P/F/H, but you have to be careful about putting too much emphasis on this because some schools do not have honours and the programs that do define it variably - so someone who has a "P" might have identical grades or class-ranking at another school and qualify for "H".

 

If you have gotten any scholarships or academic awards, this looks good on your CaRMS application for academics.

 

We are also on the lookout for "red flags" when reviewing files - ie. failed blocks/rotations. It is especially worrisome if there is no evidence of improvement, or if there is a consistent pattern.

 

We read your Dean's letter (although different schools have different formats for these letters, and often they are useless or difficult to read). We look for evidence that you are outstanding, and also for red flags.

 

Similarly, we look at your clerkship evaluations and comments. We look for "red flag" comments, especially if there is a pattern. We also look for outstanding comments. Most of the comments are very generic.

 

 

To be honest, it is very difficult to evaluate CaRMS applicants for academics, and the vast majority of applicants score in an "average" range (6-8 points on a 10-point scale). For our CaRMS and cardio applications anyway, the reference letters are what carry the most points.

 

As you progress through your medical training, you'll find that there are dichotomous goals:

1. To pass all of the stupid exams and evaluations and match to your specialty of choice

2. To become a good physician

 

You should study as much as you have to to achieve #1. The exact amount of study TIME will vary from person to person. Your REAL goal should be to concentrate on #2. This becomes much easier as you get a bit further on in your training. And DO NOT study to the detriment of other areas in your life (friendships, relationships, extra-curriculars). Not only will your applications suffer, but you will as well!

[CutieYellow]

In Quebec's three francophone universities, we have actual grades and thus GPAs for our first two yrs of med. You would think that pre-clerkship doesn't matter much in the process of applying for residency but it does.

 

In fact, depending on the program, it can be worth actually quite some bit. I know lots of people that didn't get interviews based on their grades. I don't have all the numbers w/ me (hangin' out somewhere in my full full full inbox), but as an example, radiology at Laval University took grades (35%) and clerkship evals (15%) in order to determine the top 39 people (grade on 50, the other 50% would be interview) they would interview out of 66. Everyone else, no matter what your background was - ie you could have gazillions of publications, or discovered a new vaccine - it didn't matter. I find it's really sucky, b/c it really does promote considerable competition in pre-clerkship - like this vicious cycle of getting the top grades just never stops.

 

CY