Cons of UofT med

[Smurfette]

I've heard lots of the pros of UofT meds at the interview - both from the info session and from students. But I'd like to know what are the major weaknesses. So, for all those current med students out there, what are some of the cons of coming to U of T. Feel free to PM me if you don't want to post on the public forums.

 

Thanks.

[UTGuru]

I've heard lots of the pros of UofT meds at the interview - both from the info session and from students. But I'd like to know what are the major weaknesses. So, for all those current med students out there, what are some of the cons of coming to U of T. Feel free to PM me if you don't want to post on the public forums.

 

Thanks.

 

 

Without a doubt, the 8am classes and the 8am-5pm days. Other then that, everything's great!

[uofthopeful07]

something i heard from non-uoft med students:

 

uoft students don't get too many opportunities for practicing examinations etc. in the big hospitals. they have more opportunities for this in rural electives. furthermore, the preceptors/clinicians are devoting more attention to residents/fellows.

 

any uoft students care to comment on this?

[Kuantum]

something i heard from non-uoft med students:

 

uoft students don't get too many opportunities for practicing examinations etc. in the big hospitals. they have more opportunities for this in rural electives. furthermore, the preceptors/clinicians are devoting more attention to residents/fellows.

 

any uoft students care to comment on this?

 

I have actually heard this before too...that students often have to "compete" with residents/fellows for hands-on exposures.

[Apothecary]

I am not a U of T student, but I had interviewed there last month. I surmised from their accreditation self-study that, while students do receive plenty of clinical exposure - especially in the way of rare cases and specialty fields - there is a real crunch with respect to primary care exposure. Because of this, U of T is looking to expand teaching hospital affiliations and establish more primary care clerk placements outside the Greater Toronto Area.

[clkt]

The interview days at U of T weren't organized as well as other schools. I think that says a lot about the student body.

[uofthopeful07]

The interview days at U of T weren't organized as well as other schools. I think that says a lot about the student body.

 

well if many ppl feel that way, maybe its good news for waitlist movement

[Kirsteen]

something i heard from non-uoft med students:

 

uoft students don't get too many opportunities for practicing examinations etc. in the big hospitals. they have more opportunities for this in rural electives. furthermore, the preceptors/clinicians are devoting more attention to residents/fellows.

 

any uoft students care to comment on this?

Hi there,

 

When I completed a Gen Surg elective there last year, as well as an Interventional Rads elective, there were plenty of opportunities to be involved. Yes, there were fellows all around but within Gen Surg it was often the fellow and I who were operating, i.e., I was first assist. In fact, I had more hands-on operating time at UofT than I did during 5 weeks of Gen Surg electives at McGill, 3 at UBC and my Gen Surg rotation here in Calgary.

 

Granted, this is the experience of only one person on one UofT service, but it just might add up.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[bioboy2007]

Kirsteen -

 

I'm guessing you're doing a gen. surg. residency with all of that experience under your belt. Am I right?

[Kirsteen]

Kirsteen -

 

I'm guessing you're doing a gen. surg. residency with all of that experience under your belt. Am I right?

Hi,

 

Nope. Although I completed all of my electives in Gen Surg, it was during the final Gen Surg elective that I was convinced that Interventional Radiology was a better fit. I switched paths fairly late and applied to all the Radiology programs across the country and I start at McMaster for Rads July 1st.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[bioboy2007]

That's fantastic - congratulations. I know that radiology is an uber-competitive residency to get into, so I'm really happy for you.

[doc.in.training]

clkt - quick question - which weekend did you interview on? we are really trying to improve the interview experience, and thus looking for all the constructive feedback we can get!

 

anyone else have strong opinions (either positive or negative) for UofT's interview experience this year???

[peachy]

Another thread discussing cons of the U of T program: http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11926

[eise]

clkt - quick question - which weekend did you interview on? we are really trying to improve the interview experience, and thus looking for all the constructive feedback we can get!

 

anyone else have strong opinions (either positive or negative) for UofT's interview experience this year???

 

I interviewed on the Feb 11th weekend and also found the day a little disorganized. I often found myself wandering hallways, trying to figure out where I was supposed to be...

[katerade]

I interviewed the second weekend and i was disappointed by the lack of student run activities. the video was good though, as was the presentation.

[Smurfette]

I interviewed on the last weekend.

 

The presentation was really informative and the video was good. I really enjoyed the interview itself - my interviewers were really nice and seemed to actually want to get to know me as a person. The only thing I didn't like was that there were very few med students around to talk to. I was surprised because UofT has a pretty large class compared to the other schools and I would have thought that more students would be around. (At both Western and Queen's, there were lots of students ready to talk about the school, the curriculum, the city, etc.) Apparently both the first and the second years had exams the next week... Which is too bad because I would have liked to have a chance to talk to more students about the program.

[uofthopeful07]

i interviewed on feb 11th. actually, the students really sold me on the school. they seemed really friendly, down-to-earth, regular people that i would fit in with. they seemed to be happy at uoft, and came off as genuine and not in the least bit fake in trying to promote the school.

 

i wouldn't say that there was a lack of activities...there was the standard presentation, interview, tour, lunch. our hands just weren't held from one spot to the next...which is fine with me.

 

the only time i was kind of wondering what to do was 1) after my interview/ before tour 2) after tour/before lunch. but i got to talk to a lot of med students and other interviewees in this time.

 

i enjoyed the day. i can see how those who interviewed at TGH may not have felt the 'uoft community/campus vibe'. it might just felt like a cold, big, hospital building. but being at uoft for undergrad, i know about med sci and didn't have to imagine very hard what the campus environment was like.

[clkt]

clkt - quick question - which weekend did you interview on? we are really trying to improve the interview experience, and thus looking for all the constructive feedback we can get!

 

anyone else have strong opinions (either positive or negative) for UofT's interview experience this year???

Mine was on Monday Mar12. The video was funny, as were the ones from every school. But the audio was crap. Other schools had things like dinner the night before, prep talk from the dean, etc. Also, in other schools, the med students seem to know everyone else and I really felt a sense of community. Here, it seems like the students don't know half the class and the atmosphere felt like what I have felt for the past four years at U of T undergrad, maybe I'm just biased...

[nowai]

I interviewed on the Feb 11th weekend and also found the day a little disorganized. I often found myself wandering hallways, trying to figure out where I was supposed to be...

The first floor of MSB is quite confusing.

 

I guess next year we can get a student to lead interviewees to their rooms.

[eise]

The first floor of MSB is quite confusing.

 

I guess next year we can get a student to lead interviewees to their rooms.

 

It was actually at TGH. And i think it was more as UofTHopeful07 mentioned:

 

the only time i was kind of wondering what to do was 1) after my interview/ before tour 2) after tour/before lunch. but i got to talk to a lot of med students and other interviewees in this time.

 

I guess I need someone to hold my hand ....

[studentz]

I am not a U of T student, but I had interviewed there last month. I surmised from their accreditation self-study that, while students do receive plenty of clinical exposure - especially in the way of rare cases and specialty fields - there is a real crunch with respect to primary care exposure. Because of this, U of T is looking to expand teaching hospital affiliations and establish more primary care clerk placements outside the Greater Toronto Area.

 

Nobody responded to this, and since letters/emails are coming, I thought I should. We actually get a lot of primary care exposure. DOCH I sends you out on home visits and to inner city schools, DOCH II allows you to do research with a community agency, the vast majority of Family Medicine clerkship positions are in the community, for Paeds you either do 6 weeks in a community hospital or 3 wks Sick Kids/3 weeks community office, you can do rural for your whole family block etc. You probably have access to a wider variety of primary care settings, and more challenging primary care settings, (from inner city to rural) that you would find at any other school.

 

As for getting to do things in clerkship...if we didn't get to do things the school wouldn't get full accreditation, which it has. People may not force you to do anything, and if you want to you could probably fly under the radar on some rotations, but if you show initiative you will get opportunities. The point about number of patients is true. I challenge anyone to point to another Canadian hospital as big as Sunnybrook that has fewer med students rotating through it. Don't be afraid to say, "Can I try this" or "I think I can do that."

 

Good luck!!

[KMG007]

This is true about Toronto. I do not go to Toronto, but I get to the proud girlfriend who is supportive every six weeks for clerkship practical and written tests. There is hands on, but granted you probably get more hands on in some other areas. My BF got to do a lot of hands on in his three weeks of community paeds and quite a bit in the Sick Kids ER. He was able to go on Rural medicine choice and loved it. He got to do a tonn but unfortunately more people apply then get to actually do that. Perhaps with enough interest from the class they may consider adding more spots. In surgery he did not get to do as much, but then he has not done his second surgery rotation yet. Plus surgery has never been the thing he found most interesting. In the medicine core course the students do everything. They are assigned patients (one or two at a time) and they do all their work up. The doctor checks over their decisions that result in giving patietns medications, but the student makes the decision and can order any tests they want. There is definetly a chance to grow and learn in Toronto.