Retsage Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 Token, if you're planning to come back to Canada, staying here would be better, if only because you're more able to network properly during your clinical years. That being said, if you're looking for competitive residencies, there's really no reason to stay in Canada. When about 50%+ of any given school ends up in FM, while Vandy boasts that only one of its students did last cycle, well, I think you get where I'm going with this. May as well go do the interview - if you get in, make the decision. If you don't, who cares? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastriss Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 Token, if you're planning to come back to Canada, staying here would be better, if only because you're more able to network properly during your clinical years. That being said, if you're looking for competitive residencies, there's really no reason to stay in Canada. When about 50%+ of any given school ends up in FM, while Vandy boasts that only one of its students did last cycle, well, I think you get where I'm going with this. May as well go do the interview - if you get in, make the decision. If you don't, who cares? Yeah and if they grill you at the interview, just tell them you interviewed at Jhops and harvard and that they should respect your authoritah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 LMAO hahahah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
token Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Wow ...ultimate fail story haha. Token, Rural is rural, they are just committed to the SWOMEN network. Doesn't mean they will look down on you if you did volunteering elsewhere. by the way, how did you get around to getting volunteer experience in these rural areas? I am looking into that, as volunteering abroad can be very expensive. Hmm, well it wasn't really a conscious decision. It just made sense for me location-wise. They're really welcoming even though they're not used to dealing with pre-meds (their volunteers tend to be a combination of seniors looking to stay active and local high school students trying to finish their 40 hours). But if you're volunteering at a hospital, I think by their definition you're in an area that's not typically rural. People will still commute for hours to be treated at even the smallest hospitals. If you want rural-cred I'm guessing shadowing a GP with his/her own clinic would be better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
token Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Token, if you're planning to come back to Canada, staying here would be better, if only because you're more able to network properly during your clinical years. That being said, if you're looking for competitive residencies, there's really no reason to stay in Canada. When about 50%+ of any given school ends up in FM, while Vandy boasts that only one of its students did last cycle, well, I think you get where I'm going with this. May as well go do the interview - if you get in, make the decision. If you don't, who cares? Yeah the thing is I don't really know. I'd like the option to return to Canada eventually, though I'm not sure at what stage. I used to think once you trained somewhere you were stuck. But the new pathway for certification in Ontario that recently opened up looks really attractive (if you do an MD + residency in the states, you can return without making up the difference in number of training years. The catch is you practice under supervision for a year). Things like that make me feel more comfortable that even if I couldn't match back into Canada, I wouldn't be sealing my fate by going to the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 token are you from Ontario? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Wong Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I think the key to the whole thing is figuring out which country you would most likely see yourself practicing in. If that is Canada, then it would be pretty foolish not to at least try for a Canadian acceptance. As far as Canadian medical schools go, ALL of the Canadian schools provide very strong clinical training, and I think in general, at a higher level than the US schools. In the US, med students are VERY limited in what they are able to do clinically, thanks to a huge proliferation of medicolegal issues, and midlevel providers like PA's and NP's, who are often present on clinical services. I interviewed at a lot of US programs, and in talking to all the other applicants and interviewers, it seemed that I got a LOT more responsibility during my Med 3 and 4 years compared to US med students. I think this is also the case at the institution where I'm currently doing residency. Even at the high end US institutions, while their names and research prospects can open doors for you, I'd suggest that the actual clinical training itself is not going to be any better than what you would find at a strong Canadian program. In Canada, med students are an integral part of the clinical team. We admit patients, write orders, take first call, scrub on cases, and discharge patients. In the US, you are basically an appendage on the team, and very often neglected. A few comments about residency matching, as I am a UBC med school graduate, now doing a radiology residency in the US. As a US med school graduate, you will definitely have an easier time matching into a US residency program compared with a Canadian graduate. However, you are still going to be limited due to the fact that you require a visa to train in the US (unless you are a dual citizen or otherwise hold a US green card). Many competitive specialties don't want to go through the hassle of sponsoring you for a visa. As a US med school graduate, I think you'll also be in a worse position if you are applying to CaRMS compared with Canadian graduates, for the simple reason that you are an unknown quantity, and you are unlikely to be "in the club." A lot of weight from CaRMS comes from your letters of reference and electives, which may be more limited if you are in a US program, and can't get the Canadian electives you want. Also, the Royal College doesn't necessarily recognize US residency training as a default. Many US residencies are shorter than their Canadian versions, and there may be additional hoops that you need to jump through, such as additional years of training, or that 1 year of proctoring that has been mentioned already. The other factor is that since med school is 4 years, and most US residencies are another 3-5 years, it will literally be 7-9 years later on. The Royal College policies in place today very likely will be different in the future. If you really want to stay in Canada, it will be easiest on your career to do all or at least the most training in Canada that you can. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Ian Wong is the new hero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Ian Wong is the new hero Haha...Ian Wong is the original hero too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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