Wut? Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Interviews, electives, clerkship scores & letters of references. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCBoy Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I think someone may have mentioned it already but I think if you pay attention to what is going on in the pre-clerkship years and if the tests truly reflect on what you know then this knowledge may show during clinical rotations, thus being an indication of competency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satsuma Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 So what's the deal with like ultra competitive "lifestyle" specialties like derm, rads, etc? Those are usually highly sought after and in the US, board scores are one way to differentiate applications. In Canada, people just get picked based on personality? I mean....seriously? I mean this in the nicest way...you just need to calm down and relax. The system is the way it is and you just work within it. When you are at that stage you will learn to play the game, like most others (there is the odd student who I suppose doesn't). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 lol awesome. glad to have this cleared up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mei_Mei_girl Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I'm pretty unwavering in my drive and decision to do medicine, but has anyone encountered many doctors who say they regret their decision? I have one friend in med school who recently uttered "I don't think anyone should want to do this", a comment that I attributed to burnout and reasoned would subside once she was an established MD. Yet today I went to see my doctor, and when I asked her if she enjoyed her time in med school, she replied that given her time back, she wouldn't do it again. Which was shocking because she's a great doctor, really thorough and caring, and seems really happy. She's my major role model, but apparently she feels that the work, the hours, the lifestyle and the bureaucracy just aren't worth it. Thoughts? In a way its great that she is still such a great doctor even though she feels caught up with alot of crap she doesn't enjoy. Just with other experiences with other jobs, it seems when people really don't like what they are doing they don't do such a good job at it. Its easier to go downhill than uphill I guess. I know this is somewhat controversial, so please don't throw tomatoes at me! I'm just making a general observation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 *throws tomatoes* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mei_Mei_girl Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 ahhhh... im all covered and splattered, hahaha!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 that's what she said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madz25 Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Preclinical marks don't matter since everything's P/F. Clerkship is difference, because you are graded on a scale and those marks show up on your MSPR. really? ....so far all i see for clerkship are "P"s on my unofficial transcript... and i saw no scale on the final evaluations for each rotation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbene085 Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 really? ....so far all i see for clerkship are "P"s on my unofficial transcript... and i saw no scale on the final evaluations for each rotation. I'm also unaware of a numbered grading system. HOWEVER, other than doing an elective to try to impress the program you're applying to, I'm told it's the comments of your clerkship evaluators that carry a lot of weight. For example, if you're applying to ortho, they're going to pay close attention to what all your preceptors said during your surgical rotations. If your gen surg preceptor said "Excellent dexterity, learns new surgical techniques quickly" vs "Hesitant to learn new skills, does not respond well to constructive criticism", they're going to take that into account. So I think that plays into the "academic credentials" (or however it was phrased) n00b was asking about. Don't forget that research involvement falls under "academic credentials" as well, and some programs value that much more than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madz25 Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 I'm also unaware of a numbered grading system. HOWEVER, other than doing an elective to try to impress the program you're applying to, I'm told it's the comments of your clerkship evaluators that carry a lot of weight. For example, if you're applying to ortho, they're going to pay close attention to what all your preceptors said during your surgical rotations. If your gen surg preceptor said "Excellent dexterity, learns new surgical techniques quickly" vs "Hesitant to learn new skills, does not respond well to constructive criticism", they're going to take that into account. So I think that plays into the "academic credentials" (or however it was phrased) n00b was asking about. Don't forget that research involvement falls under "academic credentials" as well, and some programs value that much more than others. Do programs see every clerkship comment? I thought your evals are used to make the dean's letter ... i wasnt aware of anyone else seeing our clerkship evaluations/comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 You should check with your school.. part of our Dean's letter was the Medical Student Performance Report which listed every rotation and elective completed during clerkship, with the evaluation comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wut? Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Sorry guys, I should have prefaced it with "at the U of A", though I was under the impression that all schools have clerkship comments on the MSPR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satsuma Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Do programs see every clerkship comment? I thought your evals are used to make the dean's letter ... i wasnt aware of anyone else seeing our clerkship evaluations/comments. The Dean's letter at Ottawa was pretty much just cut and paste from the clerkship comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 i wonder how much of these deans letters are actually written, or even read, by the dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted May 10, 2009 Report Share Posted May 10, 2009 Our faculty advisors went through them with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b Posted May 10, 2009 Report Share Posted May 10, 2009 shouldn't they be confidential? like a letter of rec is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted May 10, 2009 Report Share Posted May 10, 2009 Students will already have received their evaluations at the end of each rotation.. the other component of our Dean's Letter was a listing of awards/activities, the accuracy of which we were asked to verify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b Posted May 10, 2009 Report Share Posted May 10, 2009 so the deans letter isnt really a LOR like i thought its basically a transcript and ECs list put together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DylanDK Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 I think the issue is that most people go into medicine with unrealistic expectations. I know when I first started thinking about medicine I thought of it as some totally life changing experience. Chicks, power, money, etc. My friend actually said to me this year 'That will change once I'm a doctor!" in respect to not being able to get a date from some chick. I think people need to realize in the end it's just a job (although hopefully a rewarding one) and the title MD doesn't change who you really are. That's not to say it doesn't have it's positives, or else I wouldn't be pursuing it, but I don't expect it to be life altering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebouque Posted August 2, 2009 Report Share Posted August 2, 2009 it is life altering... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted August 2, 2009 Report Share Posted August 2, 2009 Life altering in the sense that you may: a) Have another six to nine years of school/ training ahead Have a student loan the size of a mortgage c) Have strained relationships, or a challenging work-life balance, unless you are lucky enough to find someone 110% supportive of what you are doing d) Have to deal with the silly labels and stereotypes that come with being a MD e) Work a lot And, yes, it’s very important to speak to as many people as possible (do your research) before going down this path. Do you REALLY want to be a doctor? Even after hearing all the possibly negative factors about medicine, if you are still up for it, follow your dreams There are many positive aspects too, hehe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foster84 Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 I'm pretty unwavering in my drive and decision to do medicine, but has anyone encountered many doctors who say they regret their decision? I have one friend in med school who recently uttered "I don't think anyone should want to do this", a comment that I attributed to burnout and reasoned would subside once she was an established MD. Yet today I went to see my doctor, and when I asked her if she enjoyed her time in med school, she replied that given her time back, she wouldn't do it again. Which was shocking because she's a great doctor, really thorough and caring, and seems really happy. She's my major role model, but apparently she feels that the work, the hours, the lifestyle and the bureaucracy just aren't worth it. Thoughts? It seems to me that you may be wondering whether medicine is the right field for you, otherwise you wouldn't really need to know the reasons why some doctors might regret their decision. Which isn't bad, it's good that you are posing the question here, because it means you want to make sure this is the right decision for you. As long as you know what you are in for, and you have a pretty solid idea of who you are, what you can take, and how you need to work, that is about the best you can do. If you do end of regretting the decision years from now for a reason that you had no idea would come up (even though you did all your research and self-searching), it wouldn't make much of a difference if you were in some other field than medicine. I haven't met a doctor who expressed regret to me about their decision, though I have wondered at times, just never asked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renin Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 I'd just sleep in the call rooms. You might as well live in the hospital if you have a rough week. I'm a hobo though so any shelter would do =). I used to stay 12 hours at the consulting gig because I found it pointless to go home to enjoy 4 hours of consciousness then go to sleep only to waste another hour getting to work. Heh my GP (since birth) tells me not to do medicine, he said all I'd be stuck with is patients that don't listen, tons of paperwork/bureaucracy, and long ass hours. He said I should do something bigger/more global in business and integration of industries and services. My profs said the exact same thing. ... from what I hear about call rooms, I wouldn't touch anything in one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mourning Cloak Posted August 11, 2009 Report Share Posted August 11, 2009 OK - call room question. I saw the "house" between the physical plant and the parking lot at the QEH in Charlottetown, and somebody told me it was for the family med residents. Is that their call room, or do the "residents" actually reside on site *shudder* ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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