Guest McGillMed2010 Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 hey guys, I was wondering how many interview spots there usually are for in province applicants... I'm getting a little nervous since I was refused for early decision at McGill as well as at all the ontario schools (except toronto which hasnt sent out all their letters yet). My stats are 3.89 GPA and 31P MCAT. Are there lots of in province current McGill med students who were also refused at ontario schools but were ultimately able to get into mcgill? need some reassurance here....:\ thanks:hat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest medicator007 Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 Relax..... I know nothing about early decision, since it wasnt an issue for me. I was rejected without interview at ALL other schools I applied to in canada, i didn't apply to U of T though. I got one interview at McGill, made it count and am now pending on a residency match. Fact remains, your BEST chance of acceptance is here... and while nothing in life is certain except death and taxes, with those stats you should be ok for an interview. Medicator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maelswarm Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 You should take a look at the statistics for the # of ppl they accept. It's so much harder of OOP students to be accepted to McGill -- about 300 students apply and they only accept 5-7 of them! On top of that, they pay 3x more than Quebec residents. It's still cheaper than most med schools, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest richmond604 Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 sorry to hijack this thread....but if you applied for early decision and was not offered an interview, will you still be considered as a "regular" applicant...(ie. have another shot at the interview with the rest of the regular pool?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McGillMed2010 Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 Maelswarm, I am an in province student for McGill. i do agree with you though, it is very very very difficult to get an spot at McGill as an OOP but it is just as hard for OOP at Ontario schools (like mcmaster has 10 spots for OOP only, for example). Did you interview at McGill yet? How did it go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McGillMed2010 Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 Thanks Medicator for the encouragement. I've been getting all these rejections lately (the worst was Ottawa U, Western and McGill Early decision all at the same time when I checked my email) but McGill really is my first choice so I'm hoping that I will get in there... I'm actually really excited about the changes to the curiculum and the new physicianship program. I was wondering if you had an insight as to whether the number of in province spots would be increasing like they did two years ago (I heard that in that year, they called people who were initially rejected to give them a spot)? I know its the Quebec government who decides this but I was wondering if you had any speculation on this manner... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest medicator007 Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 I got all my Letters (yes real letters, being before the major email boom) of rejection in one week... all well before McGill was set to offer me an interview... as I see it, their loss!! Yeah, changes to the curriculum, "Physicianship".... how about I ask you if you feel the same way in 3 years? :lol As for the number of spots, i have no clue. I know there has been a HUGE increase in the number since I entered the faculty, and as you said that is way out of my area of control or knowledge. I have no clue, but to be honest i don't know where they would put them. The labs and classes are JAM packed as it is and I can tell you they are having major issues with clerkship rotations as it is, with HUGE teams b/c of the students... and it seems to be affecting the classes behind me. Anyhow.. best of luck and feel free to post any and all questions you or anyone else may have and I'll try my best to answer them. Medicator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maelswarm Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 I'm having my OOP interview on Monday, Feb 13th. medicator007: Could please elaborate on what you think are the major difficulties McGill med program has, or what you feel could be improved upon? I'm asking because all I hear from websites and other people are good things about McGill, but I'm sure there are downsides, and to make a fair judgement of whether I want to study there, I'll need to know them. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McGillMed2010 Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 It seems to me that McGill is focused on increasing mainly the # of Med-P spots.I'm not quite sure why that is though since I would think that those applying to the normal in province 4 year pool would be better qualified (more life experiences, more schooling and more research experience...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest medicator007 Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 Major difficulties.... well, many of these are just personal opinions but here goes: 1) The class size has been increasing quite markedly as of late, and personally this will hamper the clinical exposure that you will have as clerks as there frankly just isn't enough to go around and the teams have become at times quite unwielding. There is talk of sending students to some hospitals that haven't had many students, while this will alleviate some of the problem it does open others. 2) Infrastructure.... Quebec funding of health care has been, for lack of a better term, less than adequate. Our hospitals are outdated, we sometimes do lack behind in certain areas, most notably the IT aspect. Several hospitals still use X-Ray films and don't have fully accessible patient databases like a lot of other hospitals i've seen over CaRMS. 3) Curriculum.... there has been a strong push towards Small Group learning, and if that is your style then so be it. I found a large component of what we were doing in this regards however to be an enormous waste of my time. Granted there is a HUGE curriculum shift going on now, so I don't know what will be changing since it really has ZERO effect on me. Those are the major issues as I see them, there are certainly some minor things that piss me off, but those are more personal idiosyncracies than anything else. All of this being said however, I still strongly believe that you get an EXCELLENT medical education at McGill, certainly on par with anythig you can get in Canada (frankly they are ALL good schools) and Montreal is a killer city to live in (this is not up for debate). Hope that helps, Medicator PS... good luck on your interview on Feb 13th. I'll be around the med building in the Morning for Medicine & Society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mstr splinter Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 An additional take on these issues: 1) class size has definitely been increasing; I think Med 1 is ~175 this year. Don't know if it will keep going up. The effects of this on clinical exposure are real, but then you have no other frame of reference. It will be a nuisance or frustrating at times, but you're still getting good training. 2) infrastructure is certainly an issue and can make life more difficult, but it's a bigger issue for quality of care than medical education per se. 3) The curriculum changes aren't that huge or radical. Physicianship is hokey, but looks fundamentally like ITP (its predecessor) in disguise. Lecture time has been reduced in pre-clinical years, so the change is really more about self-directed learning (in theory) than emphasizing small groups. Whether this is good or bad is individual. The number of small groups has gone up a only bit over the past few years. It's unfortunate to lose 3 months of Back to Basics (AKA "Back to Beer") for only 1 month, but it increases clinical time, and if you want to schedule a very chilled out last 4 months, you'll be able to do that. Bottom line: the training is still excellent, and you're still in Montreal. Good luck with interviews or waiting to hear about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest garp Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 Hi, Just thought I would add a few comments from a med-1 perspective (sorry medicator--on your way out..;-)) 1) With respect to the class size, my year is the exact same size as the year ahead--not sure what is to come for this years entering class...I can't comment on how this will affect the clinical experience, though it doesnt appear to have any effect on the pre-clinical year and a half (still 4 people per cadaver, 6 for physician groups and you can always find a seat in class)... 2) As with much of Canada, the physician shortage is a real concern, though it is especially bad in Montreal...with that being said, you get a great clinical experience at McGill--more hands-on than many other schools (perhaps an indirect result of the existing shortage) 3) The curriculum is going through some changes...though much of physicianship is much like ITP, physician apprenticeship spans 4 years (versus the 2 in the old curriculum)...as well, there is now a core emergency rotation and an added 4 week rural family med component (as a result of restructuring Back to Basics and removing the intro portion to med 3)...there is also becoming a greater emphasis on self-directed learning--and when done right, is definitely a valuable tool for the future... Lastly, there are a group of students in my class that are hoping to incorporate more community health/global health/social determinants of health into the curriculum through community outreach and seminars--something that is definitely lacking, but hopefully will be rectified! Hope this long-winded response is of some use... -Garp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McGillMed2010 Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 mstr splinter, what do you mean by the intrastructure as a problem? I think that overcrowding could be a problem but I think that quality of education still is amazing. Maybe when the new hospital is built, there will be an increased capacity for students? The physicianship part of the curiculum looked interesting since although I don't have first hand experience of what it is like, seems like a nice way to learn some of the soft skills that doctors need. That being said, I don't think that any amount of physicianship classes is going to be able to teach qualities like compassion and kindness, but it seems to be a good way to be introduced to some of the ethical dilemas that arise in medicine and how to deal with them in a manner that is compassionate and respectful to patients. ANyways, if I do get into McGill, I'll tell you what I think of the physicianship part of the curiculum in a few years from now and if it was of any use... Another question I had was about the problem based learning. How is this integrated into the curiculum? Is it similar to the method that McMaster uses? I think taht all schools to some extend use this method of teaching but I was curious as to how much McGill uses it since they state that they do not have a problem based learning method of curiculum... Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest medicator007 Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 Garp, On my way out?!?! :evil Oh I shall remember this comment if/when I am your resident on the wards. :lol Medicator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McGillMed2010 Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Hi Medicator, how did match day go? Will you be staying in Montreal next year? Hope it went well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest medicator007 Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Thanks for asking... yes.... i'll be an Internal Medicine R1 at McGill this July. Medicator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McGillMed2010 Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vaid Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Congratulation and thanks for providing many useful replies on the forum. A question about the curriculum - does McGill medical program include any courses/ program to enhance the soft skills that are so essential in the practice of medicine? What is involved in physicianship during the first year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest garp Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 I can probably take this question as I am sure Medicator is still celebrating :-) congrats btw--and be sure to treat me well on the wards :-p I am a med-1 and as such, am the first year to experience the new physicianship curriculum...I am not sure what it was like in the past under its old name (ITP), but essentially we have one 2-hour lecture a week teaching us more of the "soft skills" of medicine...for instance, we have had 3 lectures on each of the following: observation skills, listening skills and medical interviewing with small group sessions/activities following each lecture...as well, we have lectures addressing specific patient needs (e.g., disabled patients, gay/lesbian patients, adolescents etc etc...)... We also have a physician apprenticeship course where we have clinical encounters throughout the year (and a patient we follow throughout the year as well) and are in a group with 5 other students, a physician, and 2 upper year students...the old program lasted for the first 1.5 years I believe, but they have now changed it to lasting for all 4 years--a step in the right direction... Hope this answers at least some of your questions...:-) -Garp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vaid Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 Thanks garp. You are very articulate. Your reply is much appreciated. vaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest medicator007 Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 Thanks Garp.... yeah im just about recovered now. I'll be nice to you folks in the ward, just be sure to bring lots of coffee and other consumables and we'll be just fine:lol They've made the small group thing last ALL 4 years?!?!?! Wow... I am so glad i'm graduating. Medicator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest noncestvrai Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 Ah thank god I was spared the physicianship crapoli... But I still get screwed with no back to bed. Anyhow, I also HAVE to do a rural fam med 4 weeks...not so bad I think. Felicitations medicator...just go easy on me next year, ok, I'll bring bagels noncestvrai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McGillMed2010 Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 I was wondering today if there are 250 applicants and around 115 interview spots, how do they cut down the list from 250 to 115 if pretty much everyone with cCGPA >3.5 and MCAT >30 gets an interview? Is it because there are a lot of people who apply with marks below that thinking they have a shot? I'm really curious about this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest medicator007 Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 I can't speak in general, but there are indeed a whole bunch of people who are In-Province and apply with stats that are below the "cutoff". Truth be told, you have NO CHANCE of getting in if you don't apply and SOME CHANCE of getting in if you do. That being said we ALL know people who get into McGill Medicine with stats below the "cutoff" (thus the parentheses). Medicator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McGillMed2010 Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 hi noncestvrai about rural electives like the one you mentioned above, are they obligatory? HOw does it work? Are you assigned to go somewhere in rural Quebec and you need to stay there for 4 whole weeks? If it is mandatory, where do med students stay? Are they given some sort of stipend like in Ontario for food, etc...? just curious how the whole rural med rotations work... thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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