Gadzillar Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 As the producer of this movie I have been watching this thread. I have been under the impression that it is not the movie so much that people have objected to, as the general tone of one or more of the presenters and their comments about student life at UofC (please correct me if I am wrong). The movie was simply thrown together to tack on to the end of the actual presentation, and was intended as a 'fun extra' (assuming that the serious stuff would have been mostly dealt with before hand). I can also assure you that the movie is not all about partying or drinking (if you watch really close, you *might* catch one, possibly two images of a beverage container that may or may not contain alcohol). Despite its fun and casual tone, it was not randomly thrown together without consideration for content. It is meant as a lighthearted look at what we do, and is also a chance for us to poke a little fun at each other (falling asleep in class, trying to figure out how to intubate a rubber dummy and whatnot). Of course it contains fun footage of social events as well, otherwise it would be incomplete (and it's hard to get pictures of lecture or clinical correlation, as fewer people bust out their cameras at such times). I honestly don't think anyone could object to what was in the movie - except maybe if the footage was of you falling asleep. I can see however, that if the content or attitude of the official presentation itself was a bit lacking in solid information or seriousness, then following that up with a fun little video might simply be compounding the issue. If any one had specific concerns about the movie in particular please speak up, as I would be interested to hear it. I still trust that most people enjoyed interview day, and hopefully had most of their questions about UofC answered. Way to, like, give away your identity. The guy who did the running man on the tabletop is awesome, so I'm glad you liked it, Isosceles. We keep making him do it for random things though, so hopefully he won't be sick of it before the class of 2010 gets a chance to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurkergonepublic Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 Way to, like, give away your identity. My Identity has always been easy enough to find for anyone willing to read through old posts and with a little inside knowledge -might as well get it out there, I can always get a second one anyway... The guy who did the running man on the tabletop is awesome, so I'm glad you liked it, Isosceles. We keep making him do it for random things though, so hopefully he won't be sick of it before the class of 2010 gets a chance to see. BTW, if anyone wants to come and watch Medshow on Friday or Saturday night at the school, you can see more of said running man in one of the bits. It's an awesome show and a great way to relax after (maybe before?) your interviews. I'm in it somewhere too... guess where! Tickets are $10 at bookstore (not open Sat), $12 at the door (but Sat will probably sell out is the word), or $11 online. I have no idea where online at the moment, so maybe someone else will post that. Good luck to you coming out on Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Macaque Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 As one of the students who has never missed one of the social events, I just want to assure any interviewees that are worried about the "party school" attitude that may have depicted (probably at some point by me and I'm sorry for it) that there is no lack of professionalism, maturity, or drive in our school what-so-ever. Though we understand that we are representatives of our medical school in every situation that we are in, medicine, while being rewarding, is also, at times emotionally taxing. It is impossible to stay sane if we did not take breaks from being serious, stoic medical students. I admit that I party hard, but I am just as prepared for small groups, professional and knowledgable during Clinical Core and keen in Physical Exam as the most diligent and serious students in my class. I may not attend every lecture of Healthy Populations, but I can still rattle off the determinants of health or the principles of epidemology, and more importantly, am able to apply that knowledge to my practice. Unfortunately, as interviewees, you do not get to see how our lives really are.. It is easy to make judgements about how we, as students at the U of C, conduct our educations, but until you shadow until 2 in the morning in ER and then have Healthy Populations at 8:30, or spend hours in a lecture about End of Life and just wanna have a beer with your friends at Mooses, try to take what you hear with a grain of salt... I came out of undergrad super ambitious and goal-oriented - and realised that medical school is more than that.. I am still determined to be an excellent physician, and I know I will be.. and hopefully no one will fault me for having fun while I did it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadzillar Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 BTW, if anyone wants to come and watch Medshow on Friday or Saturday night at the school, you can see more of said running man in one of the bits. It's an awesome show and a great way to relax after (maybe before?) your interviews. I'm in it somewhere too... guess where! Tickets are $10 at bookstore (not open Sat), $12 at the door (but Sat will probably sell out is the word), or $11 online. I have no idea where online at the moment, so maybe someone else will post that. I'd try to convince people to come to Medshow too, but I'm not sure I want the general public to see me sing and dance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Who M.D. Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 As the producer of this movie I have been watching this thread. I have been under the impression that it is not the movie so much that people have objected to, as the general tone of one or more of the presenters and their comments about student life at UofC (please correct me if I am wrong). I had no problem with the movie apart from your choice of music—did you really need to be so unoriginal as to use the ER theme. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dialntin Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 two thumbs up for The Movie, change the score though. No it was not about themovie, it was the shallow attitude of SOME of the presenters. And forgive me if I pass a judgement here, but sometimes it is warranted. It is also a part of the feedback. Like it was pointed out by someone already, everyone in that room worked hard to get to the interview and to make light of our future choice is really inconsiderate. Bottom line, I don;t wat to doubt the choice of school based on the preseantation alone, but it has a significant impact on the overall impression of the school, and many have found it to be unhelpful. Regards, dialntin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Macaque Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 Like it was pointed out by someone already, everyone in that room worked hard to get to the interview and to make light of our future choice is really inconsiderate. Ouch Dialntin.. that's pretty harsh.. Everyone who team-leaded and presented are not hired actors.. You seem to have forgotten that we're the students of the medical school. In fact, believe it or not, we sat in your seats last year - and we worked just as hard as you. And we are still working hard.. More than anyone, we understand the demands of medicine, and trust me, NONE of us take our role as future physicians lightly - and I'm pretty offended that you suggested that. Whether you chose our school or not, I hope that everyone realises the U of C is an excellent medical school in all aspects - from academics to the student environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurkergonepublic Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 I had no problem with the movie apart from your choice of music—did you really need to be so unoriginal as to use the ER theme. ;-) lol- It was surprisingly hard to come up with the best music to stick in (especially throwing it together two nights before). Everybody likes something, but there's not much that everybody likes, and when your racking your head at midnight for something that doesn't sound too flamboyant or to 'elevator music' the brain doesn't always cooperate. We're always about bigger and better next year, so some lucky grad '10 will get to take that on next year if they chose (unlike some other schools, UofC hasn't had an interview movie until this year). I'm also curious how many people were old enough to recognize the Doogie Howser theme... I'm glad people enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isosceles Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 I'm also curious how many people were old enough to recognize the Doogie Howser theme... ...ME! ME!.... I had forgotten about that! ...totally got a kick out of it at the time though, and wondered the same thing! LOL Put the Scrubs theme in too! It's got a good 'team-work feel' to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2009mg Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Ok...this thread has been going back and forth and i was struggling for a way to reconcile the two sides but i dont' think i can. I don't mean to sound harsh but for those that were put off by the team leaders (and i'm sure i was one of them) maybe the U of C isn't for you. We pride ourselves in breeding truly outstanding physicians and a large part of that is their personalities. Trust me, we know when to be serious and when to let loose. I, like Ms. Macaque party hard and i'm definately not going to apologize for it. When i was talking about what life is like here, i was *gasp, shock, horror * telling the truth. I wasn't putting on a show for your benefit, i was telling it like it is. You should be smart enough to know that we are a med school. Therefore our professionalism, work ethic, and personal qualities are a given. Keep in mind that we were chosen for a reason. I'm also sure that if U of C is the only school you get accepted at you're not going to turn down the acceptance and you'll probably end up loving the school as much as we do. Having said that, if you are accepted somewhere else, now you know that U of C will not be suited to your personal style and you should consider that other school. Our class contains people who study incredibly hard but still know how to have a good time. I'm sure our class stats indicates that we're actually a pretty bright bunch and we've gotten this far so we must be doing something right. There is something for everyone here. Clearly you're not going to be best friends with everyone so you'll just hang out with like minded people. Its a priviledge to go to this amazing school and you should only be so lucky to go here. Have you considered that maybe its not our way of doing things that is flawed? P.S Lurker has a wife and 2 kids at home so cut him some slack on the video. I promise that his directorial work is amazing and hopefully some of you will be lucky enough to see his christmas video. His are tough shoes to fill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addy Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 From Steph's original post, I don't think the video was the problem We'd heard the more academic side from admin, so I expected to see some fun from the students. That's pretty common to videos at most schools I've been to so far. If I understood Steph, the concern was with the attitude of one of the tour guides~I may have been in the same group, since I know what she's talking about~but I just took it as our leader trying to relax us by telling us that failing every now and then won't screw you over and emphasizing you can still have a life in med school. While there may have been better ways to get his/her message across we need to realize that all the med students there volunteered their time and tried their best to help us out and perhaps the person/people in question just didn't quite realize what information their group was looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadzillar Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 While there may have been better ways to get his/her message across we need to realize that all the med students there volunteered their time and tried their best to help us out and perhaps the person/people in question just didn't quite realize what information their group was looking for. Good points! But, although 2009mg and HandSolo are right--we don't want to tell lies or put on a show for people--you guys posting here does help us improve interview day and the things we put on for the candidates. Also, if you're here next year and decide to help out as a tour guide, hopefully you can use your own experience as an advantage in helping out the interviewees for the Class of 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurkergonepublic Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Of course, the school may not agree with some people's personalities, but that's why there are alternative med schools in Alberta and in the rest of the country. My suggestion is that if anyone gets acceptances to multiple schools, they should go to the school that they feel they vibe the best with. That way, we'll all get better chances in going where we'll all eventually enjoy ourselves for the next 3-4 years. Just to clear something up here... A school doesn't have a personality. It has a program (and I think we have a darn good one). People (ie students, faculty) have a personality, and each has their own. A school may have some traditions that students chose to perpetuate or to not - which I suppose you might call the social personality of the school - but that is going to be different every year, and for every individual's own experience. I feel like I'm stating the obvious, but deciding to chose a school based on a handful of personalities who attend in the year before you is ridiculous (and I'm not implying you suggested that Rock). Your social experience will have much more to do with who is in your class, and who you chose to associate with than anything else. If you want to party, you will find like minded people no matter where you go. If you want to buckle down and study hard 24/7, you will also find these people at any school. When I interviewed at UofA last year, I took a tour with some students who were very reserved, quiet, and certainly professional, if a little difficult to talk to. Yet when I was relaxing in the waiting area, I sat next to a first year student who spent 20 minutes telling everyone at the table how he pretty much parties every night, and that you don't really even need to go to more than one lecture a week in the first year and you can still pass. It never occurred to me to assume that either one of these personality types represented everything or everyone at the UofA. I also knew they had lost their medshow a few years previous due to some professionalism issues, but that, once again, is not an indicator of the school's ability to teach medicine - merely the choices of a handful of students a few years back. My point really is that yes, feedback for us is useful and important, but keep in mind that no one is an objective drone, and everyone will portray their school through the lens of their own experience. If you want to make an objective decision, you'll need to understand that, and know how to look past individual personalities to see how the school would fit you (and I'd strongly recommend focusing on program length, teaching style and other academic considerations and opportunities to make that kind of decision). I hope all your interviews went well. Feel free to shout out if you have to make a choice down the road and need some more info. I know premed board contacts were valuable for me when I made my choice. And yes, mg is right, if any of you are at UofC next year, you'll get to see last year's legendary class Winter Social movies, which is where the real editing work went into.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Who M.D. Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 My point really is that yes, feedback for us is useful and important, but keep in mind that no one is an objective drone, and everyone will portray their school through the lens of their own experience. At least to me, my problem with the presentation was that it was showing too much of one side of the school (i.e. the partying) and not enough of the other sides. Outside of the presentation (in particular, talking to the group leader) I did get a sense of UofC Med being a very diverse group. What disappointed me about the presentation wasn't that it showed some partying—I've been a student for many years and I know that many students are partyers—it is that I didn't really see any other sides of the school in that presentation. Basically the message the presentation gave me was "this is a really good school for partying after class/studying". The message I wanted to see was "this is a really good school for doing things outside of class/studying whatever your interests are: partying, sports, volunteering, relaxing, intellectual pursuits, etc. There's something here for everyone!". I know that everyone who volunteered during the interviews must have put a lot of work into it and I really do appreciate it, in particular, how willing and enthusiastic my group leader was to answering all my questions! I just want to provide some constructive feedback for future years' presentations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uofcalumnus Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 I don't mean to sound harsh but for those that were put off by the team leaders (and i'm sure i was one of them) maybe the U of C isn't for you. We pride ourselves in When i was talking about what life is like here, i was *gasp, shock, horror * telling the truth. You should be smart enough to know that we are a med school. Therefore our professionalism, work ethic, and personal qualities are a given. Keep in mind that we were chosen for a reason. ...you know that U of C will not be suited to your personal style and you should consider that other school. I'm sure our class stats indicates that we're actually a pretty bright bunch and we've gotten this far so we must be doing something right. Firstly, as a graduate of the U of C Medical school, I am deeply saddened by 2009mg's portrayal of our medical school. Interviewees, please do not take the comments this individual has made to heart, as each medical school class has its own personality, and the Class of 2009's personality is definitely... unique. Past grads are hoping this is purely an anomaly and not characteristic of future classes. The U of C DOES pride itself on diversity, but in the past has also prided itself on accepting mature, talented individuals with a significant amount of life experience into its program. Unfortunately, this past year the U of C changed the weighting criteria/interview process for incoming classes, and, as evidenced by the immature attitudes of certain individuals in the Class of 2009, this recent change has definitely affected the calibre of its students. 2009mg: Not to sound harsh, but perhaps the U of C medical school shouldn't have been for you. The *gasp, shock horror* truth is that the majority of U of C medical students are not as you describe, and most have a level and mature head on their shoulders. You should be smart enough to know that professionalism and work ethic are NOT a given and are traits that we should all strive toward. Your class' statistics DO indicate you are a pretty bright bunch, but in my experience many of your classmates lack a certain degree of maturity and respect for your peers that is not in keeping with the qualities of past U of C medical classes. On a more positive note, I encourage all interviewees to consider the U of C for their medical training. The program graduates doctors that have developed both the medical knowledge and the personal attributes necessary to make an excellent, well-rounded physician. Sincerely, U of C Alumnus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nephets Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 Hey U of C Alumnus, As a member of the class of 2009, I take issue with some of your comments. Painting our class in that light is not respectful or professional. Of course we have our issues...what class doesn't? We deal with them and move on. It is unfortunate that you haven't met the majority of my class, which is amazing on the whole. It is a bright, talented, diverse group of people who ALL deserve to be here just as much as you. We welcome your feedback (good and bad) so that we can improve things for next year. But please refrain from slandering our class...especially as someone who wasn't even there. Thank you! N. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Macaque Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 Interviews are over, and the interviewees have passed their judgements on us, whether good or bad.. Many of us took the criticisms to heart and attempted, especially on the final day of interviews, to portray U of C in a more balanced (I'm starting to hate this word) and, hopefully, accurate manner than it might have been before... To the interviewees - we love our school.. we want you to chose our school, be our peers and hopefully get to know each other better.. Hopefully this is the type of place where you feel like you can reach your full potential.. That is why I chose U of C and I have never regretted my choice.. To UofCAlumnus - I'm sorry that you feel this way about our class.. I don't know how you could have acquired such insight into our class but please don't make generalizations about us, especially in a way that degrades the integrity of YOUR medical school by suggesting that some of us don't deserve to be here.. We are a close class, and the comments, though targeted at a select few, affect everyone..You are doing our school a disservice by suggesting that U of C has lowered its standards - especially on a forum directed towards medical school applicants.. If you have a problem with 2009mg, please send a private message instead. In the least, have some respect for the administration, like Dr. Lemay and Adele, who read these threads and could be hurt by such comments from a past student... In the interest of not terrifying any prospective students, maybe we should stop this thread... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2009mg Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 I second N's comments. You have no idea what you're talking about considering all you have heard about our class is conjecture. The issues that have arisen this year have as much to do with previous classes and the Tuataras can attest to. As a person that was in the position of dealing with these so called breaches in professionalism, i can personally say that the members of our class dealt with them in a mature, professional manner. As for calling me immature, i would just like to point out that you know nothing about me or my classmates. Just because you don't agree with my view point doesn't make in any less valid than yours. I answered any questions posed to me in a honest way. If you knew me at all you would realize that I take that responsibility seriously. I will tell it like it is from my perspective since it is the only one I have to draw upon. Stop defaming my class because in all honesty it makes you look immature and ignorant. Please refrain from commenting on my qualification for being here. I chose (yes...over other schools) U of C because I thought it was the best fit for me over others and I feel like I made the right decision. I was meerly trying to convey that choosing a school that is suited to you is important. I'm sure my classmates would agree. The best thing about U of C is the diversity of the students...a thing maybe you've forgotten. The U of C is as much my school as it is yours so please don't assume that you deserve that distinction more than anyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grobz Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 If there is a moderator around, maybe we should slap a lock-down on this thread. It is like the cougar that taught me grade 8 Phys-Ed when she hangs out in the bar--It's gettin' uglier and uglier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy0118 Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 If there is a moderator around, maybe we should slap a lock-down on this thread... I agree It's getting too personal, and I think further discussing this issue in an online forum is not going to help. And as one of this year's interviewee, I wish I could see ppl sorting things out in a more harmonious way. In any case, we are all human - believe it or not, these kinds of discussions (that spiral out of proportion) do happen even on my company's internal newsgroup, AND we are supposed to be a bunch of educated, civilized and professional engineers . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drcave Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 I have to admit I find this discussion humorous and enlightening. This same sort of flame war takes place on my caving club's list-serve. There are a few people who are easily bent out of shape, one of them over-reacts to a comment, fires back, and then blam blam blam, it's all out war. I guess it's just part of the human condition, and not some phenomenon limited to less-educated immature Vancouver Island cavers. The way to end this bickering is with a few sincere apologies from both sides, not shutting down the thread. I didn't see a glaring lack of professionalism from the Class of 2009 on my interview day. Sure the group leaders were a little less than serious on my tour, but I realize that was just their personalities and not some systemic lack of maturity and professionalism in the whole class. There were other students, including some of the interviewers and presenters, who were paragons of maturity and professionalism. Frankly I was impressed with what I saw at U of C: the down-to-earth students created a friendly atmosphere with a comfortable waiting area and good food, and the administration seems to genuinely care about the students. I feel that I would be lucky to be admitted to U of C. Sadly, I'm not feeling great about my chances - I am a horrible typist and was not able to complete my onsite essays in the time allowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redheadninja Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 I have to comment on this... though this thread is getting out of hand anyways. I just have to ask, since when does not drinking or partying or even talking about it mean you are automatically mature and professional? I go out drinking with friends, but I still never miss class, even if I'm hung over, and never before important events (volunteer shifts, work, labs etc). And even then that's only once a month or so. I imagine many of the people in a lot of the classes, in many schools in canada, go out drinking/partying etc etc often, but that doesn't make them any less professional. I know plenty of people who never drink or party, and I find some of them the most immature people around, but that has nothing to do with what they do in their spare time. What you do on your own time is your own business, the message I got is that if you like to relax, there are plenty of opportunities to do this AFTER classes are done, but beyond that, it's a very serious medical school. To each their own i say, if you don't like drinking, don't drink, but some people will, so let them, as long as it doesn't interfere with them doing a good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2009mg Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 Thanks to Cave and red ninja for their posts. True..feelings were hurt on both sides but hopefully we've all gotten it out of our system. I'll apologize for anything overly inflammatory I said here and now. In my overzealous attempt to attract down to earth, relaxed, fun people to our school I realized that I may have offended others. The truth is that U of C is a great school and there is something for everyone here. I hope the interviewees feel free to message members of our class if they have any questions. There are enough people on this forum that represent the varying personality types we have in our class. Lets all make a pact to refrain from commenting on each others personal qualifications from now on since its childish and petty. Good luck waiting for those that interviewed....i'm sure this thread provided some entertainment and hopefully served to kill some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curious P Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 I had my interview this past weekend, and I would just like to say that I had an absolutely fantastic time! The day was very well organized, with good food and great team leaders (with hilarious nick-names!), but what really impressed me was how nice everyone was. I walked away with the feeling that the UofC community was quite tight nit and that the administration earnestly cared about us applicants. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bioboy2007 Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 I had my interview this past weekend, and I would just like to say that I had an absolutely fantastic time! The day was very well organized, with good food and great team leaders (with hilarious nick-names!), but what really impressed me was how nice everyone was. I walked away with the feeling that the UofC community was quite tight nit and that the administration earnestly cared about us applicants. Thank you! Agreed. I had a wonderful time on Saturday. Before the interview, I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend potentially another 3 years in Calgary, but UofC convinced me otherwise. I love the way that both the students and the staff sold the school, and I can only hope that I'm one of the lucky few who gets a notification on May 14th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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