THX Posted October 10, 2011 Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 Hey guys, I'm a 3rd year and I just finally figured out I want to do emerg. What do I need to do to get in? I dont have research in any field so I'm guessing I need to work something out in that regard (I hate research though, so meh). I think my evaluations will be ok and I have an international elective in an underserved area in the middle of nowhere setup for 2 months (not sure if that carries any weight though). My plan electives wise was to do 2 months of emerg(+mandatory 1 month at home institution) + 2 months of icu. Icu because it's an interest of mine and it can help me back up emerg with internal. Is there anything else I can do over the next year to increase my odds? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 You should be aiming for excellent, not ok, evaluations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 Case report is ideal for you right now. Publishable research that's short, sweet and shows interest. You don't need to have done some big RCT or anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardiomegaly Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 +1 to what Lactic Folly said. Emerg is darn competitive nowadays and "OK" will get you nowhere. You need to excel. Be careful with your international elective. It's really awesome that you have interest in global health and it would be an interesting thing to talk about in your interview but I would hesitate to use that preceptor for a reference letter unless they happen to be an academic emergency physician from Canada. References get you interviews, so if your references are weak you won't have the chance to explain and share your experience and insight. Stick to FRCP trained emergency physicians. Also, 2 months of ICU might be overkill....1 month should be plenty of experience it might benefit you to do another emerg elective at a different centre, or anaesthesia, internal, surgery etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satsuma Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 Hey guys, I'm a 3rd year and I just finally figured out I want to do emerg. What do I need to do to get in? I dont have research in any field so I'm guessing I need to work something out in that regard (I hate research though, so meh). I think my evaluations will be ok and I have an international elective in an underserved area in the middle of nowhere setup for 2 months (not sure if that carries any weight though). My plan electives wise was to do 2 months of emerg(+mandatory 1 month at home institution) + 2 months of icu. Icu because it's an interest of mine and it can help me back up emerg with internal. Is there anything else I can do over the next year to increase my odds? Thanks I would potentially reconsider your 2 mos abroad. If it is post-carms then whatever. But pre-carms you want to be getting out there and do electives at various programs to get your face known, and see if the program is somewhere you'd want to be for 5 years. I am sure your elective time must be limited, and dedicating two months to an elective abroad may result in you missing out on time to do electives in places that matter. A reference letter from a random doc from a far off place (who, depending on where you are going probably isn't even going to be an emerg doc) is going to carry less weight than a letter from an emerg doc everyone in the program you are applying to knows. So I wouldn't plan on using that elective for a letter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 I agree about the international elective. The most important thing about electives is they give you exposure to programs you would like to match to. It's a 2-3 week interview basically. You should try and spend as much time as possible doing ER electives at Canadian programs that interest you. A 2 week non-ER elective is probably fine, but the rest of your available time should be ER. It sucks that you don't get to round out your education like people applying to non-competitive specialties, but that's the nature of the CaRMS beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 I would also add that research, while helpful, isn't really THAT important for CaRMS. The most important thing is your elective performance at the program which is ranking you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ploughboy Posted October 25, 2011 Report Share Posted October 25, 2011 Agree with cardiomegaly and sats. If you really want FRCPC EM cut your ICU elective, as awesome as it is going to be, down to one month and reconsider your 2 months abroad unless it's post-CaRMS or if you're working with somebody well-known with Canadian credentials (eg at this time last year f you were in Malawi working closely with Dr. MS, who also happens to be the head of Emergency Medicine in the Centre of the Universe, then that would be time well spent. Otherwise, not so much.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john2635 Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 yes i think you should go on with this. experience with degree is very valuable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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