Commute?Hours?Work?

[stesha]

Hi everyone.

Just a few questions from a potential MAC student. Is it possible/feasible to commute - approx from 1 hour away during preclerkship and clerkship? What about while on-call? Also what are the general hours of classes/tutorials etc? (and yes, I realize I should be devoting all my time to being an MD, and while I know this, as a non-traditional student managing other aspects of my life is also important) Is is possible to work part-time? I am self-emplyed currently and have flexible hours, would it be possible to maintain some hours? Thanks in advance for your help!

[futuredoc]

While I do not know about your specific situation, I would take out a student/professional loan and use that during the school year to pay your bills. You can also work during the summer a little to help ease the load. I would not recommend commuting for an hour to do clerkship. Your patient could die in that time! It is better to stay as close as possible (within costs of course). I am sure you could make a deal with other med students and rent a place together to bring down costs and stay close though.

[stesha]

the complicating factor is that i am married, and my wife has to work where we currently live, about an hour away. How often are you on call approximately? I don't have a problem renting an apartment or staying somewhere, i just don't want to be away from her for long periods of time!

[KMG007]

the complicating factor is that i am married, and my wife has to work where we currently live, about an hour away. How often are you on call approximately? I don't have a problem renting an apartment or staying somewhere, i just don't want to be away from her for long periods of time!

 

Hi Stesha

 

I think you could definitely commute for pre clerk stuff. I had a friend who took the GO bus from Guelph to Toronto every day for pre clerk because her husband worked in Guelph. Plus UofT has much longer days then McMaster. As for clerk there is typically on call rooms for times when you are on call so those days you would need to 'sleep' at the hospital. Believe me when I say you will not sleep even if your patients are okay as the beds are crap (at least at most hospitals I have seen). Don't worry about the comment about your patient dying as you have shift hours that you do and you only get called in for the most part if your on call (and not at the hospital in cases like ortho surg). My friend ended up moving to Toronto for the two years of clerk as she found that the two hour GO ride each way was going to get long. However I have a friend starting the internal medicine residency at McMaster and is considering living somewhere between Toronto and Hamilton since her husband works at the University in Toronto.

 

In conclusion, It is doable. You may be a bit more tired and sometimes you might want to crash at a friends or will need to sleep at the hospital.

 

As for the job... if you are not working more then 15 hours a week you could probably do it. Most people I know tend not to work while in medical school but if you truly enjoy what you do (and most people that run their own business do) this may be a nice break for you from the medicine. This will probably only work during pre-clerkship.

 

Good luck,

KMG

 

Oh: I saw you said you are okay with renting a place for those rare times you really want it, I say your fine then. 1 hour is really not that bad and really busy weeks you could spend your weekend with her. As for on call, my friends at UofT seemed to be on call 1 in 4 or 1 in 5. Granted this depended on the rotation and when you do things like family medicine you will likely not have call on less your doc does deliveries or something.

[stesha]

thanks so much for the reply. I really appreciate you taking the time for such a thorough answer!

Thanks again!

[futuredoc]

Hi Stesha

 

I think you could definitely commute for pre clerk stuff. I had a friend who took the GO bus from Guelph to Toronto every day for pre clerk because her husband worked in Guelph. Plus UofT has much longer days then McMaster. As for clerk there is typically on call rooms for times when you are on call so those days you would need to 'sleep' at the hospital. Believe me when I say you will not sleep even if your patients are okay as the beds are crap (at least at most hospitals I have seen). Don't worry about the comment about your patient dying as you have shift hours that you do and you only get called in for the most part if your on call (and not at the hospital in cases like ortho surg). My friend ended up moving to Toronto for the two years of clerk as she found that the two hour GO ride each way was going to get long. However I have a friend starting the internal medicine residency at McMaster and is considering living somewhere between Toronto and Hamilton since her husband works at the University in Toronto.

 

In conclusion, It is doable. You may be a bit more tired and sometimes you might want to crash at a friends or will need to sleep at the hospital.

 

As for the job... if you are not working more then 15 hours a week you could probably do it. Most people I know tend not to work while in medical school but if you truly enjoy what you do (and most people that run their own business do) this may be a nice break for you from the medicine. This will probably only work during pre-clerkship.

 

Good luck,

KMG

 

Oh: I saw you said you are okay with renting a place for those rare times you really want it, I say your fine then. 1 hour is really not that bad and really busy weeks you could spend your weekend with her. As for on call, my friends at UofT seemed to be on call 1 in 4 or 1 in 5. Granted this depended on the rotation and when you do things like family medicine you will likely not have call on less your doc does deliveries or something.

 

I agree with this guy, especially if you get a bed at the hospital. That changes everything.