London vs Windsor

[webshy]

Those of us who are fortunate enough to obtain an interview at UWO this year will have the opportunity to rank our preference of campus - London or Windsor.

 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of London and Windsor? What are the experiences of the current clerks in London/Windsor like? Is one location more suited for rural vs academic learning? Are the on-call hours the same at both campuses? What resources/student services are available in Windsor? What are the Windsor hospitals like? Are they located close to the university (unlike London)? Will a car be required, or is everything in walkable distance?

 

I've read the material available online, and stopped by the new building under construction in Windsor; however, don't feel as though I have good information to make a decision of campus preference. Can any of the current/past UWO students provide any information?

 

Thanks,

Elaine

[ploughboy]

Hi Elaine,

 

I'll have a much more informed opinion in a few months, when I move to Windsor for the second half of my clerkship. I'll be down there before interviews, so post this again and I'll try and reply. Mind you, I'll be on surgery at the time...

 

Quick thoughts...

 

Windsor clerkship pros: lots of face time with consultants, lots of responsibility (eg deliver ++ babies, first assist on a lot of operations), SWOMEN is swimming in money so the clerks are treated really well.

 

Windsor clerkship cons: maybe not enough didactic teaching rounds. Nursing culture has been not to page attendings re ward problems until morning, so clerks also don't get paged and thus don't get as much exposure to managing the wards.

 

That said, the current Windsor clerks seem to be having fun. Dr. Cheung gave us some stats last year showing how well Windsor clerks do in the CaRMS match. If you're desperately interested I can dig them up. Mind you, the first iterations of Windsor clerks were definitely a self-selected group of keeners, and they may have matched well regardless.

 

Being part of the charter class of the Windsor campus will definitely be an interesting experience. One of the issues with the distributed campus will be translating UWO's meds strong preclincial student extracurricular life across campuses. Current students have identified that as one of the key student life challenges for the new campus so Dean Scott et al are aware of it, but we won't know how things pan out until they pan out.

 

Random aside not directed at Elaine: applicants to the 2012 class shouldn't get too hung up on trying to "game" the system wrt ranking Windsor vs London. Rank the campus you'd prefer to go to, and don't worry about what other people are doing.

 

pb

[webshy]

Hi Elaine,

 

I'll have a much more informed opinion in a few months, when I move to Windsor for the second half of my clerkship. I'll be down there before interviews, so post this again and I'll try and reply. Mind you, I'll be on surgery at the time...

 

Quick thoughts...

 

Windsor clerkship pros: lots of face time with consultants, lots of responsibility (eg deliver ++ babies, first assist on a lot of operations), SWOMEN is swimming in money so the clerks are treated really well.

 

Windsor clerkship cons: maybe not enough didactic teaching rounds. Nursing culture has been not to page attendings re ward problems until morning, so clerks also don't get paged and thus don't get as much exposure to managing the wards.

 

That said, the current Windsor clerks seem to be having fun. Dr. Cheung gave us some stats last year showing how well Windsor clerks do in the CaRMS match. If you're desperately interested I can dig them up. Mind you, the first iterations of Windsor clerks were definitely a self-selected group of keeners, and they may have matched well regardless.

 

Being part of the charter class of the Windsor campus will definitely be an interesting experience. One of the issues with the distributed campus will be translating UWO's meds strong preclincial student extracurricular life across campuses. Current students have identified that as one of the key student life challenges for the new campus so Dean Scott et al are aware of it, but we won't know how things pan out until they pan out.

 

Random aside not directed at Elaine: applicants to the 2012 class shouldn't get too hung up on trying to "game" the system wrt ranking Windsor vs London. Rank the campus you'd prefer to go to, and don't worry about what other people are doing.

 

pb

 

Thanks for the info pb! I can definately see advantages or both campuses. I look forward to hearing of your experiences in a few months.

 

Elaine

[svp2k5]

I am currently going through the Clerkship here in Windsor, and I guess I can give you my impression so far.

 

First things first, for those of you not from Windsor (such as myself), I think that you will be pleasantly surprised with the city itself. Its actually quite multicultural, and as such has some amazing restaurants (especially italian and middle-eastern). As well, its across the river from detroit, which actually isn't as ghetto as eminem makes it out to be. (A favourite of mine is mexican town .. cheap food, cheap drinks, etc.) The city itself is also quite nice in most of the older neighborhoods around the hospitals, there are lots of parks, and its quite easy to get around town (if you have a car... the transportation system can be quite bad).

 

The clerkship itself has had its up and downs. (I am basing most of this on the internal medicine rotation). There are parts of the rotations where you will get a similar atmosphere to london, as you work in teams with residents and consultants. Other times you are working directly with the consultant, which can be good or bad. Some consultants are not really prepared to teach students, and this can affect your rotation with them (luckily most of the time you are with the consultant only for a week or so, and most are quite decent).

 

The clerkship is also quite good in that everyone here really appreciates you being around. The nurses, for the most part, treat you really well, the consultants are glad to have you around and the patients themselves are ecstatic that students are learning (and perhaps going to work) in Windsor.

 

The SWOMEN (i.e. southwestern ontario medican education network) staff are excellent here. They are looking out for only 24 students, so they really are available anytime for problems you may be having. As well, you can rely on the administration in London to take care of some of the problems as well. The two main people here that makesure the clerkship runs smoothly are Jeanne Hickey (runs the internal medicine rotation) and Deb ____ (forget her last name, but she runs the surgery rotations).

 

I actually talked quite a bit with the man in charge of setting up the Windsor campus (he set up the Northern School as well). He seemed quite committed to having the students gain the same experience in Windsor as they do in London. He knows that this is a work in progress, and if you raise concerns or issues, they most likely will be addressed quikly (enough to actually affect you...).

 

All in all, it has been a good experience so far (this is coming from someone that was more or less forced to come to Windsor for clerkship).

[webshy]

I am currently going through the Clerkship here in Windsor, and I guess I can give you my impression so far.

 

First things first, for those of you not from Windsor (such as myself), I think that you will be pleasantly surprised with the city itself. Its actually quite multicultural, and as such has some amazing restaurants (especially italian and middle-eastern). As well, its across the river from detroit, which actually isn't as ghetto as eminem makes it out to be. (A favourite of mine is mexican town .. cheap food, cheap drinks, etc.) The city itself is also quite nice in most of the older neighborhoods around the hospitals, there are lots of parks, and its quite easy to get around town (if you have a car... the transportation system can be quite bad).

 

The clerkship itself has had its up and downs. (I am basing most of this on the internal medicine rotation). There are parts of the rotations where you will get a similar atmosphere to london, as you work in teams with residents and consultants. Other times you are working directly with the consultant, which can be good or bad. Some consultants are not really prepared to teach students, and this can affect your rotation with them (luckily most of the time you are with the consultant only for a week or so, and most are quite decent).

 

The clerkship is also quite good in that everyone here really appreciates you being around. The nurses, for the most part, treat you really well, the consultants are glad to have you around and the patients themselves are ecstatic that students are learning (and perhaps going to work) in Windsor.

 

The SWOMEN (i.e. southwestern ontario medican education network) staff are excellent here. They are looking out for only 24 students, so they really are available anytime for problems you may be having. As well, you can rely on the administration in London to take care of some of the problems as well. The two main people here that makesure the clerkship runs smoothly are Jeanne Hickey (runs the internal medicine rotation) and Deb ____ (forget her last name, but she runs the surgery rotations).

 

I actually talked quite a bit with the man in charge of setting up the Windsor campus (he set up the Northern School as well). He seemed quite committed to having the students gain the same experience in Windsor as they do in London. He knows that this is a work in progress, and if you raise concerns or issues, they most likely will be addressed quikly (enough to actually affect you...).

 

All in all, it has been a good experience so far (this is coming from someone that was more or less forced to come to Windsor for clerkship).

 

Thanks for your thoughts svp!

 

I have to admit - I was pleasantly surprised with the City of Windsor when I drove around a few weeks ago. I had always heard that the city was dirty - but was impressed with the neighbourhoods as well as the bike paths by the water.

 

Being the part of something new is rather exciting as well! I just struggle with the thought of being an extra two hours away from friends and family.

 

Are the hours of clerkship comparable in Windsor and London? What about the busyness of being on call? Are clerks in Windsor first call as well? Do they have similar responsibilities?

 

To those who either have been or are currently in Windsor - what is the one best and one worst thing about the Windsor program?

 

Thanks for your help!

Elaine

[mezzamorra]

for anyone interested, we got an email update today about the windsor campus: here's what it said.

 

Interview Weekend

 

We will be presenting info about the Windsor program at each of the class of 2012 interview weekends. This will likely take the form of a powerpoint during the info sessions. We may also incorporate some video footage. The plan is to also have a few Windsor clerks at the interview weekends to answer questions about Windsor and the program.

 

O-week

 

The current plan is to have a hybrid O-week involving the first couple days in London after the white coat ceremony. Traditionally, the white coat is the last Wednesday in August. After the first couple days of O-week, the Windsor students would head down on Friday and have intro information during the day. Social events would be planned on Friday and Saturday night possibly involving 2nd years or clerks about to start in Windsor.

 

Clubs

 

Windsor students would have the same ability to join our UWOMeds clubs. However, the activities of clubs in Windsor would depend on the interests of the inaugural class. For example, there might be keen interest in family medicine in the class and thus FMIG members in Windsor might want to organize their own event. Videoconferencing opportunities should also be made available to clubs for broadcasting events to Windsor.

 

Student Fees

 

The student fees normally paid in London will still be paid to UWO and a portion of those funds transferred to the University of Windsor. The overall fees will be less for Windsor students.

 

Bus Pass

 

University of Windsor students do not currently have a bus pass like UWO. The issue is still being debated about the necessity of a bus pass in Windsor; more info to come.

 

Building

 

The medical school construction is moving along nicely. The three-storey frame is up and the plans for the interior will be eco- and student-friendly. There will be many amenities in the building not offered in London such as anatomy SIM lab, bike lockers, and a brand new computer lab.

 

A lot has been done from a student perspective but much work is still to be done. If you would like more info on the Windsor program and how it will be delivered, please see http://www.uwindsor.ca/medschool .

[webshy]

Does anyone have any further thoughts on Windsor vs London? I just found out today that I have an interview at Western, and am trying to think about which campus I would prefer to rank as my first choice.

 

Thanks for your help!

Elaine

[Jamie]

If you don't mind me asking, how come you found out about your interview so late??

[ploughboy]

I just found out today that I have an interview at Western

 

*boggle* Good for you! That's been a long time coming! Curious about how you got it, though...pb

[webshy]

If you don't mind me asking, how come you found out about your interview so late??

 

I just found out that I am considered a SWOMEN applicant. Yes, I am rather excited about the interview!

 

Elaine

[blinknoodle]

Congratulations, elaine!

[kapers]

Go U of Windsor

[webshy]

Thanks for your thoughts svp!

 

I have to admit - I was pleasantly surprised with the City of Windsor when I drove around a few weeks ago. I had always heard that the city was dirty - but was impressed with the neighbourhoods as well as the bike paths by the water.

 

Being the part of something new is rather exciting as well! I just struggle with the thought of being an extra two hours away from friends and family.

 

Are the hours of clerkship comparable in Windsor and London? What about the busyness of being on call? Are clerks in Windsor first call as well? Do they have similar responsibilities?

 

To those who either have been or are currently in Windsor - what is the one best and one worst thing about the Windsor program?

 

Thanks for your help!

Elaine

 

 

Does anyone have further information on Windsor vs London? I've currently listed Windsor as my first choice of campus; however, still have some reservations.

 

Thanks for your help!

Elaine

[rocky222]

You might be able to gain more insight during your interview weekend. I believe we are still able to modify our preference for another week after our interview is over.

[ploughboy]

Does anyone have further information on Windsor vs London? I've currently listed Windsor as my first choice of campus; however, still have some reservations.

 

Thanks for your help!

Elaine

 

Hey,

 

You don't have to finalize your campus ranking until after your interview, and there will be Windsor clerks to talk to during interview weekend. It's probably hard not to think about it, but right now concentrate on nailing the interview.

 

My time in Windsor thus far has been good (mind you, it's only been two weeks plus March Break). The docs in the HDGH ER are fun to work with and really like to teach. Added bonus: the left-over food I consistently scrounge from Internal Medicine rounds is higher quality than that in London.

 

Ok, hardly ringing endorsements. Here's something more substantive: unlike Meds 2010, who had more people wanting to go to Windsor than spaces available, a few people in my class were assigned to Windsor for clerkship. One of my classmates was assigned to come to Windsor for the first 6 months. He was *not* happy about that. In fact, he was positively cranky at the prospect of doing clerkship in Windsor.

 

Fast-forward to the halfway point of clerkship: He had a complete change of heart, loves it down here and is doing the second half of his clerkship in Windsor as well. I think he'll be up in London for at least one of the interview weekends, and you'll probably hear from or about him.

 

Overall, I think the clinical years are pretty well sorted out down here. Years 1 and 2...well, who knows? Dr. Scott (the Dean) has lots of experience in distributed medical education (NOSM, MUN), so the delivery of your education will likely be good. And honestly, sometimes I think that you everything you learn in years 1 and 2 could be gotten with an Internet connection and $2.50 in overdue fees from the library.

 

It's the first time for preclinical students in Windsor. That in itself is kind of exciting, depending on your personality. It will be a unique experience. Unfortunately, a lot of it will be driven by the personalities and interactions of the 24 people in the class down here, and that's something you can't predict. My preclinical years in London were fun because I had 133x2=266 people to hang out with and there were lots of extracurricular things going on. The Windsor class won't have that volume of people.

 

On the other hand, I expect that the first year class down here will be really tight with each other and with the 2010 clerks. Could be a good thing, could be a bad thing. No way to know until about December (when exams hit and people's real personalities start to show through!)

 

And yes, the extra two hours down the 401 can be a bit of a pain, and there's really no way around that.

 

Wow, that didn't really help, did it?

 

pb

[Darla]

There will be a Windsor information booth set up during the Interview weekends. Be sure to stop by to ask any more questions.