MCgill gen surg

[hippie]

I was wondering if anyone knows any info about the program. Reputation, quality, exposure.....

Thanks

[RiceWine]

I was wondering if anyone knows any info about the program. Reputation, quality, exposure.....

Thanks

 

one of the best in the country

[hippie]

Do you know more details about it. Case load? Trauma exposure....

[abccheck123]

McGill is actually one of the worst general surgery programs in the country.

 

I did an elective in general surgery there 2-3 years back at Royal Vic.

 

The hospital was so run down. The computer system they used for patient care was prehistoric (like MS DOS format). Their service is so inefficient. As an elective student I was not to communicate important patient information to the senior resident or talk with the staff. I had to update the junior resident, who would then talk to the senior resident, who would then talk to the staff. It was run like a military operation. Kinda sad and funny at the same time. They are really behind on the times, both in equipment and management.

 

My experience was shared by many of other students on the general surgery tour. Needless to say, most of us ranked McGill near the bottom of our rank lists.

 

Don't take our word for it, do an elective there, and you will see for yourself

[abccheck123]

one of the best in the country

 

Funny. I thought that for you to make this kind of comment, you must be a McGill general surgery resident, or at least a quebec gen surg resident because any other resident would not make the same claim. But as it turns out from your posts, you're not even in med school yet. Anyways, thanks for your wise and knowledgeable comment about general surgery.

[thebouque]

McGill is actually one of the worst general surgery programs in the country.

 

I did an elective in general surgery there 2-3 years back at Royal Vic.

 

The hospital was so run down. The computer system they used for patient care was prehistoric (like MS DOS format). Their service is so inefficient. As an elective student I was not to communicate important patient information to the senior resident or talk with the staff. I had to update the junior resident, who would then talk to the senior resident, who would then talk to the staff. It was run like a military operation. Kinda sad and funny at the same time. They are really behind on the times, both in equipment and management.

 

My experience was shared by many of other students on the general surgery tour. Needless to say, most of us ranked McGill near the bottom of our rank lists.

 

Don't take our word for it, do an elective there, and you will see for yourself

 

Man maybe that's just the royal vic. I'm not a Mcgill surgery resident but things might be different at the Montreal general Hospital or at the Jewish general hospital.

 

Peace

[abccheck123]

Man maybe that's just the royal vic. I'm not a Mcgill surgery resident but things might be different at the Montreal general Hospital or at the Jewish general hospital.

 

Peace

 

Don't know about now, but at the time, the royal vic was where the program director as well as the chair of general surgery worked.

 

And according to others on the general surgery tour, the military hierarchy-like communication was consistent, independent of hospital location. I'm sure you can imagine that this could negatively affect patient care and resident learning.

 

As for outdated computers and equipment, this is a common theme in Quebec hospitals and even worse than McGill. Unfortunately, Quebec simply does not get the same kind of health care funding as the other provinces. And not to bash Saskatchewan (because it is a decent program), but even their equipment and hospitals are very noticeably more updated than McGill.

[thebouque]

Don't know about now, but at the time, the royal vic was where the program director as well as the chair of general surgery worked.

 

And according to others on the general surgery tour, the military hierarchy-like communication was consistent, independent of hospital location. I'm sure you can imagine that this could negatively affect patient care and resident learning.

 

As for outdated computers and equipment, this is a common theme in Quebec hospitals and even worse than McGill. Unfortunately, Quebec simply does not get the same kind of health care funding as the other provinces. And not to bash Saskatchewan (because it is a decent program), but even their equipment and hospitals are very noticeably more updated than McGill.

 

And it's not only in health care that Quebec doesn't get enough funding.. It's not one of the richest provinces of Canada... But still it's an amazing province.

[Remington]

not to mention in quebec, you get paid much less for all years of residency compared to all of the other provinces... I think it is the lowest.

[hippie]

Is it worth is to do an elective there, just for the sake of a good recommendation letter though?

[abccheck123]

And it's not only in health care that Quebec doesn't get enough funding.. It's not one of the richest provinces of Canada... But still it's an amazing province.

 

I was actually concerned while taking some of the elevators. Some rides were more bumpy and abrupt than expected. The ER: it might have been a bad time of the year, but man, it looked somewhat like a homeless shelter. I don't expect hospitals to look like hotels, but at McGill, I was definitely taken aback. Of course, most concerning were the ancient patient care computer system and equipment directly used for patient care.

 

As for communication with the general surgery service team, there's an incident I remember fondly. The "team" was just waiting around in a room for the attending to arrive. I wanted to update the team regarding one of our patients, of which would change her management. As I started, I was ordered to stop. The senior resident told me not to update her, nor the attending, but update only the junior resident. So obediently I updated the junior resident, who then updated the senior resident...this is while we were all in the same little room being only a foot away from each other. I couldn't believe it. I rolled my eyes at some of the other students, who giggled back. Ridiculous. What a joke.

 

As for Montreal, it's a beautiful city. Lots of things to do. I love how in certain areas, there's more strip joints than there are coffee shops.

[abccheck123]

not to mention in quebec, you get paid much less for all years of residency compared to all of the other provinces... I think it is the lowest.

 

Hey I did an elective at U of A too. Now that is a well run service. Beautiful hospital with uptodate ORs and equipment.

[abccheck123]

Hey I did an elective at U of A too. Now that is a well run service. Beautiful hospital with uptodate ORs and equipment.

 

Also many more prominent staff.

[A-Stark]

I was actually concerned while taking some of the elevators. Some rides were more bumpy and abrupt than expected. The ER: it might have been a bad time of the year, but man, it looked somewhat like a homeless shelter. I don't expect hospitals to look like hotels, but at McGill, I was definitely taken aback. Of course, most concerning were the ancient patient care computer system and equipment directly used for patient care.

 

Erm. The older hospital site at the QEII here in Halifax still has elevator operators to take patients from the OR to recovery. I have no good idea why. Still, it's probably better than that. Where did you end up going if you don't mind me asking? I'll admit that "aesthetic" considerations have factored into my selective choices for clerkship - new hospital as much as possible!

[abccheck123]

Erm. The older hospital site at the QEII here in Halifax still has elevator operators to take patients from the OR to recovery. I have no good idea why. Still, it's probably better than that. Where did you end up going if you don't mind me asking? I'll admit that "aesthetic" considerations have factored into my selective choices for clerkship - new hospital as much as possible!

 

I'd prefer to remain anonymous.

 

Of course working in a newer hospital is nice, but I don't think I would mind so much about working in an older hospital with older equipment as long as I feel patient care is not compromised. Maybe they've updated their patient care computer system since then, or at least I hope so. The newer patient care electronic systems allows us to manage our patients much more efficiently and effectively.

 

What turned me off from McGill, as well as most others, was the dysfunctional team dynamics. The residents pride themselves so much on their PGY level that senior residents refuse to be updated by med students. Even junior residents are not to communicate with the attending. That's pretty messed up. Maybe the attendings don't mind the rigid hierarchy because it helps boost their ego too. Heck, I was just trying to help them do their job. But they decided to close communication lines, and thus compromise patient care. This makes them irresponsible. It also impedes learning. Definitely not where I wanted to be training for 5 years. Maybe this is why they don't do so hot in their general surgery review exams.

 

I did quite a number of electives and would say that Mcgill was by far the worst. I probably would have been happy in any other program in the country. Some are better than others of course, but in general, they're all pretty good...besides Mcgill.

[Guest success100]

Don't go to McGill gen surg. over 50% McGill med students leave quebec after graduating...if you can do it else where,then go for it.

[A-Stark]

Don't go to McGill gen surg. over 50% McGill med students leave quebec after graduating...if you can do it else where,then go for it.

 

More accurately, over 50% of McGill graduates go to English-speaking residency programs at sites other than McGill, which is pretty typical for most schools. Having said that, I see no reason to even consider residency in Quebec. Why apply to programs which pay $10,000 less a year?