Jamer Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 Yeah, it's obviously not u of c's fault, it's just disappointing that 100 perfectly qualified albertan students are going to be denied admission this year in a career path that already turns down so many qualified applicants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starling Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 maybe someone should organize a rally or petition etc.? Maybe we can add it to our list of ECs and put in on our applications next year in hopes of improving our ever-dwindling chances. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeaHatingBrit Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 maybe someone should organize a rally or petition etc.? We already rallied and petitioned to the government. And our class year is 180, it was 150 before that, and 130 a few years prior to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 We already rallied and petitioned to the government. And our class year is 180, it was 150 before that, and 130 a few years prior to that. thanks. good info to know. Looks like a big step backwards unfortunately. sv3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asem26 Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 any idea how this cut is gonna be divided between IP and OOP? is it just going to still be the same % of seats for OOP? either way, dang this was not needed this late in the game. sux. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 man I hope U of A is still 180:confused: There's a possibility that this number might go down, but it's up in the air. It's all dependent on government funding, nothing to do with the schools themselves. If U of C cuts down, I strongly suspect that U of A will do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dashley Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Man, this feels like rejection letters going out already. So disappointing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 doubley bad since UofA will have to take some kind of hit as well I'm guessing. Alberta premeds just got rocked (I'm one of them so just sayin) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCC Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 This is bad bad news. If, it is true that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloh Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 What a knee-jerk reaction. Also, since when are budgets calculated so close to the start year? Get with the damn times and project budgets year(s) in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Yeah, it's obviously not u of c's fault, it's just disappointing that 100 perfectly qualified albertan students are going to be denied admission this year in a career path that already turns down so many qualified applicants. I have to say that a decrease in size is good on several levels. 1) our clerkship is going to be a disaster. People from the class of 150 were complaining about lack of preceptors, etc, imagine how our clerkship will be for a class of 189 - actually, more than that, since at least 1 person from 2012 will be going into clerkship with us, and who knows if there's going to be more. There are already various approaches being discussed in an effort to accomodate our gigantic class in 3rd and 4th year, the ones I know include expanding ICC (although I don't know how this is going to pan out with the funding issues) and changing the entire set-up of the surgery rotation. 2) U of A interviewed very few people considering the number of seats. We interviewed 480 people for a class of 188. If you consider the OOP wailist movement, I would venture to say that IP acceptance rate could go into the 80-90%s. Combined with some rumours I've heard about the performance of this year's interviewees, it might result in a lower caliber of students in c/o 2014. 3) We already have a shortage of instructors in 1st and 2nd year. People have up to 6 people in their clinical skills groups! I have 5 in mine and it definitely feels like it's 1 person too many as far as the learning experience goes (don't get me wrong, I <3 my clinical skills group). Our anatomy groups are 8 people per cadaver, and I think it would be much better with 6 people. Our DL is often taught by non-clinicians and not even scientists. I currently have a librarian as my DL facilitator, and while he's a lovely fellow, I miss the Stanford-trained cardiologist who taught my Cardio DL and would actually explain things that we were not 100% clear on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsci Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Combined with some rumours I've heard about the performance of this year's interviewees, it might result in a lower caliber of students in c/o 2014. as in collectively we sucked and are not fit for the profession? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collins Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 I have to say that a decrease in size is good on several levels. 1) our clerkship is going to be a disaster. People from the class of 150 were complaining about lack of preceptors, etc, imagine how our clerkship will be for a class of 189 - actually, more than that, since at least 1 person from 2012 will be going into clerkship with us, and who knows if there's going to be more. There are already various approaches being discussed in an effort to accomodate our gigantic class in 3rd and 4th year, the ones I know include expanding ICC (although I don't know how this is going to pan out with the funding issues) and changing the entire set-up of the surgery rotation. 2) U of A interviewed very few people considering the number of seats. We interviewed 480 people for a class of 188. If you consider the OOP wailist movement, I would venture to say that IP acceptance rate could go into the 80-90%s. Combined with some rumours I've heard about the performance of this year's interviewees, it might result in a lower caliber of students in c/o 2014. Im not into personal attacks, but how can you be so stupid as to suggest that a decrease in size might be a good idea on a forum filled with people who have as much as we do vested in this? Maybe from the other side its a good thing, but oh how quickly and easily people forget what its like to not be accepted yet. Where is your empathy? Keep your thoughts to yourself, they do not help anyone who, on such a potentially devastating day, are trying to cope with the fact that this decrease in class size delays the fruition of their dreams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloh Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Jochi, I usually agree with you and enjoy your posts but what you just posted now is definitely out of character and unwarranted. I am definitely sure it is 'good on many levels' from your side of the fence; that goes without saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 I have to say that a decrease in size is good on several levels. 1) our clerkship is going to be a disaster. People from the class of 150 were complaining about lack of preceptors, etc, imagine how our clerkship will be for a class of 189 - actually, more than that, since at least 1 person from 2012 will be going into clerkship with us, and who knows if there's going to be more. There are already various approaches being discussed in an effort to accomodate our gigantic class in 3rd and 4th year, the ones I know include expanding ICC (although I don't know how this is going to pan out with the funding issues) and changing the entire set-up of the surgery rotation. 2) U of A interviewed very few people considering the number of seats. We interviewed 480 people for a class of 188. If you consider the OOP wailist movement, I would venture to say that IP acceptance rate could go into the 80-90%s. Combined with some rumours I've heard about the performance of this year's interviewees, it might result in a lower caliber of students in c/o 2014. 3) We already have a shortage of instructors in 1st and 2nd year. People have up to 6 people in their clinical skills groups! I have 5 in mine and it definitely feels like it's 1 person too many as far as the learning experience goes (don't get me wrong, I <3 my clinical skills group). Our anatomy groups are 8 people per cadaver, and I think it would be much better with 6 people. Our DL is often taught by non-clinicians and not even scientists. I currently have a librarian as my DL facilitator, and while he's a lovely fellow, I miss the Stanford-trained cardiologist who taught my Cardio DL and would actually explain things that we were not 100% clear on. the main problem with all this is is that if you were trying to get in, you would totally disagree. all these hassles you discuss are also insignificant compared to the broader implications of medical school seat cuts. and seriously.......are you already looking down at next year's class? You sound like a pre-med natural. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorothy Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 jochi brings a different, informed perspective to this issue which is exactly what we need more of. i would rather read one of joshi's posts than 10 posts by a bunch of whining self-entitled premeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 jochi brings a different, informed perspective to this issue which is exactly what we need more of. i would rather read one of joshi's posts than 10 posts by a bunch of whining self-entitled premeds. not sure who's sounding self entitled on this thread. when seats go down 30% all of a sudden, it does impact oh say about 50 people. I don't see why kicking someone when they are down helps man. don't get me wrong - there's plenty of self-entitled pre meds out there, but not sure I've seen that occur on this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloh Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 jochi brings a different, informed perspective to this issue which is exactly what we need more of. i would rather read one of joshi's posts than 10 posts by a bunch of whining self-entitled premeds. Sorry but I don't see anyone being self-entitled in this thread. Karma is a ***** and hopefully you get your part Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 I'm just informing people of the downsides of having a huge class, that's all. If you are interpreting it as some sort of personal attack, that's your choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collins Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 jochi brings a different, informed perspective to this issue which is exactly what we need more of. i would rather read one of joshi's posts than 10 posts by a bunch of whining self-entitled premeds. What we need more of is funding for healthcare professionals, not whining about how a librarian is teaching you, or complaining about being in a medical school with opportunites that thousands of others would love to have. Who, at this point, cares about larger-than-ideal group sizes when now 50-100 people won't even have a chance to whine about it? The comments made may be valid, but it was not the best place or time to rifle them off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloh Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 What we need more of is funding for healthcare professionals, not whining about how a librarian is teaching you, or complaining about being in a medical school with opportunites that thousands of others would love to have. Who, at this point, cares about larger-than-ideal group sizes when now 50-100 people won't even have a chance to whine about it? The comments made may be valid, but it was not the best place or time to rifle them off Well said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsci Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 I can definitely see those being very real issues once your on the "inside", but I'm sure Jochi was pretty stoked last year when they announced the seat increase. So she knows both sides of this dagger. But seriously? Is there an impression that we under performed or something Jochi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardiomegaly Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 I have to say that a decrease in size is good on several levels. 1) our clerkship is going to be a disaster. People from the class of 150 were complaining about lack of preceptors, etc, imagine how our clerkship will be for a class of 189 - actually, more than that, since at least 1 person from 2012 will be going into clerkship with us, and who knows if there's going to be more. There are already various approaches being discussed in an effort to accomodate our gigantic class in 3rd and 4th year, the ones I know include expanding ICC (although I don't know how this is going to pan out with the funding issues) and changing the entire set-up of the surgery rotation. 2) U of A interviewed very few people considering the number of seats. We interviewed 480 people for a class of 188. If you consider the OOP wailist movement, I would venture to say that IP acceptance rate could go into the 80-90%s. Combined with some rumours I've heard about the performance of this year's interviewees, it might result in a lower caliber of students in c/o 2014. 3) We already have a shortage of instructors in 1st and 2nd year. People have up to 6 people in their clinical skills groups! I have 5 in mine and it definitely feels like it's 1 person too many as far as the learning experience goes (don't get me wrong, I <3 my clinical skills group). Our anatomy groups are 8 people per cadaver, and I think it would be much better with 6 people. Our DL is often taught by non-clinicians and not even scientists. I currently have a librarian as my DL facilitator, and while he's a lovely fellow, I miss the Stanford-trained cardiologist who taught my Cardio DL and would actually explain things that we were not 100% clear on. I understand it must be hard to accept the thought of having a smaller numerical chance of getting in next year, but Jochi is bang on with all her comments. Trust her when she says that clerkship will be an absolute nightmare for our class. Imagine not having enough time to learn from a preceptor, less hands on time for procedures, less chance to get to know a preceptor well enough so that you can earn a reference letter for CARMS, and more people gunning for the already insanely competitive and coveted residency spots. You'd be kidding yourself if you think they will open a proportionate amount of residency spots in specialties, no they're mostly going to be for family medicine (which is great for the population but not good news for a lot of med students) She's not out of line in giving a very accurate representation of what many students in our class feel -189 was too big of an expansion. The government is pouring in money to hospitals and health care so they can shorten the wait times. At the same time, they're cutting education funding. Our Discovery learning preceptors do NOT get paid for facilitating 5 hours a week, maybe 30 hours total in a block. 30 hours of clinical time is a lot of money lost. Good luck recruiting enough preceptors for 189 students when you can't compensate them in any way. I LOVE the faculty at U of A, they do an unbelievable job of teaching, but it's just so unfair for them. I don't think anyone is suggesting that these extra 40-50 people aren't qualified, it's just the reality is that the system doesn't have the proper capacity to take on that kind of number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloh Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 I'm just informing people of the downsides of having a huge class, that's all. If you are interpreting it as some sort of personal attack, that's your choice. How would your response change if I told you that you were 167th on the applicant ranking for your class and they could only offer admissions to the top 135? Give an honest answer. edit: Cardiomegaly, it is no surprise you are on the same side. Afterall, you're both yelling from the same side of the fence. No one is arguing that her comments aren't valid. But it is incredibly distasteful to post them here and now. There's thousands of applicants there that would give anything to have the chance of even matching to Family medicine. Also, if current physicians aren't willing to give up some time teaching then in my opinion the schools in the previous classes screwed the pooch and picked the wrong students. We all spent massive amounts of time volunteering; why did that change once they became physicians? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collins Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 How would your response change if I told you that you were 167th on the applicant ranking for your class and they could only offer admissions to the top 135? Give an honest answer. edit: Cardiomegaly, it is no surprise you are on the same side. Afterall, you're both yelling from the same side of the fence. No one is arguing that her comments aren't valid. But it is incredibly distasteful to post them here and now. There's thousands of applicants there that would give anything to have the chance of even matching to Family medicine. Exactly, if any current med students want to trade with someone who interviewed this cycle, so that they can be in the smaller class size for next year and not have to struggle with the horrendous conditions, we should petition to set up an exchange program Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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