Jump to content
Premed 101 Forums

NOSM OMSAS questions


medZ

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 51
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I was going through the OMSAS doc and under NOSM references it states "It is strongly recommended that one of these letters be from a member of the community or from a community organization." Do you think this holds high weight during the application process? For the individuals applying for Sept 2011 did you get a reference from a member of the community or community organization?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was going through the OMSAS doc and under NOSM references it states "It is strongly recommended that one of these letters be from a member of the community or from a community organization." Do you think this holds high weight during the application process? For the individuals applying for Sept 2011 did you get a reference from a member of the community or community organization?

 

Yes. Two members...one my "junior" and one my "senoir" in two separate community-based organizations (two-sides of the coin--a leader perspective and a follower perspective). NOSM's mandate and focus on the communities they serve places a lot of emphasis on this type of area...a community member would be a great asset for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, so now that I know for sure that NOSM uses both the autobiographical sketch AND the school submission... what the heck should I be putting down for question 4? I have included all my extracurricular and volunteer activities in the autobiographical sketch with verifiers. Originally, I was under the impression that they were only using the school submission, and I planned to include extracurricular and volunteer activities that I had not mentioned in the other questions. What are you including?

 

NOSM School Submission Q4: List activities and interests outside academic and work environments not detailed elsewhere in the application.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am listing something not on my sketch - not work or school related.

 

I don't know what this is for you. It can be a strong interest or hobby (ie reading, puzzles, music). I think the idea would be to not just "list" as it states, but pick a couple more things that will tell them more about who you really are - then try and explain why this is important to you and also connect to app (ie why it makes you a good choice for NOSM).

 

Hope this helps!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am listing something not on my sketch - not work or school related.

 

I don't know what this is for you. It can be a strong interest or hobby (ie reading, puzzles, music). I think the idea would be to not just "list" as it states, but pick a couple more things that will tell them more about who you really are - then try and explain why this is important to you and also connect to app (ie why it makes you a good choice for NOSM).

 

Hope this helps!

 

NWOsw:

 

I've emailed NOSM to ask them more about what they are looking for in this question. I've also asked a friend of mine who is a first year student @ NOSM about her approach to this question. I will report back here! Personally though... I think I would stick to the "listing" because that is what they asked for. ... But we will find out more soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was reviewing the questions for NOSM and I am wondering if it is worth mentioning or justifying my 1st undergrad marks. I havent mentioned this at all because I dont think the questions give you that opportunity, but do you think it is worth mentioning? I feel it may hurt my application more than anything because we're restricted to a limited number of characters. Has anyone mentioned or justified a 'bad year(s)'?

 

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And there is a Scoiety of Rural Practitioners, I'm not sure of the exact name, but their writings may stimulate ideas.

 

http://www.srpc.ca/ the society of rural physicians of canada ... My father (Dr. Hutten-Czapski) was a past president, so I don't have any problem pimping them out haha

 

They work to have the concerns of rural medicine addressed by the government, put out a rural medicine textbook (the Manual of Rural Practice), have conferences, a journal (CJRM)... etc... If you are serious about rural medicine, and have not already, consider looking into them!

 

 

/edit/ as an interesting aside, the texbook is recommended reading at uQueensland in Australia... kind of a far flung place haha... and here http://www.srpc.ca/PDF/globeandmail2.pdf is a globe and mail article about it, and another review here http://www.srpc.ca/PDF/bkrev.pdf ... and yes im pimping it... but so what? :D /edit/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, so now that I know for sure that NOSM uses both the autobiographical sketch AND the school submission... what the heck should I be putting down for question 4? I have included all my extracurricular and volunteer activities in the autobiographical sketch with verifiers. Originally, I was under the impression that they were only using the school submission, and I planned to include extracurricular and volunteer activities that I had not mentioned in the other questions. What are you including?

 

NOSM School Submission Q4: List activities and interests outside academic and work environments not detailed elsewhere in the application.

 

Well, the way I see it, having an item in the sketch is not exactly detailed. You have a few words to describe it. In this question, you can highlight why you do it, what you learned from it, et cetera. Just my two cents :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I talk about playgroups with my kids, geocaching and geological hobbies (yeah, mesa mega nerd), setting up my telescope, canoeing, etc. Stuff that I can technically only verify through family and friends--and point this out.

 

Can you use your parents or family members as verifiers? I talk about my travel experiences and I did this with my parents or twin brother.... BTW I mean additional sketches for NOSOM or MAC, not the general OMSAS sketch

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes. Two members...one my "junior" and one my "senoir" in two separate community-based organizations (two-sides of the coin--a leader perspective and a follower perspective). NOSM's mandate and focus on the communities they serve places a lot of emphasis on this type of area...a community member would be a great asset for you.

 

Does a community member just mean someone from your community? I am using my boss from the past three summers (I worked with her in one of North Bay's hospitals in a research position). Would you consider that a community members (we live in the same community)?

 

My other two references are 2 profs from university (from Toronto). All three people know me very well (3+ years). The people in the volunteer organizations I am involved with just do not know me very well because I spend little time working with them. Is that really going to be to my disadvantage not using one of them?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I am an Indian but not an aboriginal do you think there is a chance they will get confused and think I am the other Indian. What if I send them an Indian card from India will I get bonus points too? Do med schools know the difference?

 

What a great idea, pedophile bear. You should definitely give it a shot and let us know how it goes.

 

Also, Dude... Indian is not the preferred nomenclature. Native American, please.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does a community member just mean someone from your community? I am using my boss from the past three summers (I worked with her in one of North Bay's hospitals in a research position). Would you consider that a community members (we live in the same community)?

 

My other two references are 2 profs from university (from Toronto). All three people know me very well (3+ years). The people in the volunteer organizations I am involved with just do not know me very well because I spend little time working with them. Is that really going to be to my disadvantage not using one of them?

 

Yeah, anyone from your community...preferably someone who can speak about your involvement and character as a member.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did anyone have problems with finding a verifier for all their activities?

 

Some were tricky because I'm old and no longer in contact with some former employers and such, but I eventually found someone for everything. For a few I just called the organizations and explained the situation and got the name of someone who could look me up in their records and verify it, even thought they don't know me personally.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks astrogirl

 

I have been having some difficulty tracking down a former employer. Unfortunately they have no records even though I still have my pay stubs. I am hoping I can get someone otherwise do you think it would be ok if I put '0' under the verifier #?

 

Some were tricky because I'm old and no longer in contact with some former employers and such, but I eventually found someone for everything. For a few I just called the organizations and explained the situation and got the name of someone who could look me up in their records and verify it, even thought they don't know me personally.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is an entry that I was unable to find a verifier for, however I do have paper documentation for the activity. I did list myself as a verifier and commented that written documentation was available upon request. Otherwise, in your situation I may search for a colleague that I worked with or someone else who can simply verifier that you did it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...