Current Schulich Students: Help out the young 'uns?

[McBee]

(post deleted)

[chef]

Hi McBee,

 

I'll try my best to help out...

 

1) In terms of classes, we don't have traditional classes per se...I mean its not like we have antatomy on Monday morning, physiology Monday afternoon etc. We have system blocks which incorporate basic sciences (anatomy, physiology, pathology, biochem, etc) and clinical science (basically learning about specific diseases and their treatments) for each organ system. So far this year we've had Intro to Medicine, Infection & Immunity, Musculoskeletal System, Respirology & Airways and we're currently in the 2nd week of Cardiovascular System. I would say my favourite block so far has been the Respirology & Airways block because I found that that the basic sciences really meshed well with the clinical in that for every topic we covered in the basic science part there was a fairly obvious clinical correlation, which wasn't as true for MSK. Also, I'm not a huge fan of anatomy and MSK was anatomy heavy whereas Resp was more physiology focused.

 

2) The profs, for the most part, are excellent. We get taught by specialists for every block, so they are extremely knowledgeable and usually passionate about their speciality, as well as medicine in general. There are the occassional boring lectures, but that's usually because I don't necessarily find that specific topic as interesting rather than a problem with the prof. Its hard to pick a favourite because any given prof will only teach a few lectures (sometimes only one) so you don't necessarily get to know them as well, but so far I really liked Dr Chakarbatri from pathology just because of his style and the way he kept the class engaged and Dr Fung from ENT because he was so laid back and chill but was still, obviously, extremely knoweldgeable.

 

3) As you probably know, Western just went through a cirruculum change and we're the first class in the new cirriculum. Previously, year 1 was spent on basic science and year 2 on clinical science. I personally like our system much better because you get to see why you're learning about the basic science as you go along rather than a year later. I find it keeps you motivated and interested. The other good thing about Western is that we get a mix of traditional lecture as well as small group/PBL learning. I would think that at a school like Mac where there isn't much in terms of traditional lecture, it may be harder for some people to learn the fundamentals. I find that in our system, we can use the small groups to re-inforce the knowledge we got from the lectures rather than relying solely on the small groups. But everyone learns differently, so that might just be a personal thing. Also, the fact that we have exams that count (rather than at Mac where nothing counts until the licensing exam) keeps you motivated to keep up with everything if you are inclined to slack off (like I am). The last thing I'll mention is the P/F system rather than H/P/F. It keeps competition to a mimimum and helps alleviate stress, because you know in the end a 60.1% and a 99% amount to the same thing.

 

4) I'm only in first year, so I don't know much about clerkship yet except for the fact that clerks are on first call along with residents really gives Western clerks the opportunity to see a lot of interesting cases and get a feel for the lifestyle of a physician (or so I'm told)

 

5) Honestly, the best thing about Western is the people here. We have a large enough class that there's a lot of diversity but small enough that everyone knows each other and we're all pretty close. There's always something to do, whether it be student clubs/interest society events, presentations by physicians from different specialites, or social events put on by the class council. Also, because our class is close, there's always someone's birthday to go celebrate or people wanting to go out for dinner or just go out on the weekend (London is a great city in terms of partying...). The whole experience at Western so far has been great and I'm really really glad that Western is where I ended up.

 

Hope this helps and also hopefully a 3rd/4th year student can help out with the clerkship question.

[Gob]

1) Like chef said, we don't really have classes in the traditional sense. That being said, I enjoy anatomy so I've enjoyed MSK the most as it was fairly anatomy heavy.

 

2) Professors have for the most part been excellent. Tough to choose a favourite.

 

3) Learning in systems makes sense to me. I'd rather learn the anatomy of the heart today, the physiology of it tomorrow and then what can go wrong on Thursday than learn the anatomy today and the pathology next year.

 

 

 

Hey all!

So this is an open question for all SCMD students: what are your thoughts on Schulich Medicine, and the opportunities you've been given because of it?

This will REALLY help those of us wanting our best possible answer for the inevitable "Why Western?". I had an interview last year, and quite frankly, got drilled to the bone on this question, despite the fact that I felt extremely well-prepared for it, and really thought my answers were solid.

 

So here goes: What are your thoughts on...

1) Classes. Which is your favorite class and why?

2) Professors. Overall quality of the profs? Who is your favorite and why?

3) Curriculum. From what you know of other med schools, why would you say Western's is better?

4) Clerkship. How do you feel opportunities at Western in terms of clerkship and residency differ from those at other schools? Also, more specifically, are there programs at UH or St. Joe's that are particularly good, or have particularly good teachers?

5) Any last thoughts on what makes Western great.

 

Thanks for answering.... I feel like a good, thorough, and well thought-out answer for this particular question could really help any candidate.

 

Cheers!