Hoote Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 I was told by a former UofC med student that he was able to get his work and reading done during the day and that he hardly studied at night or on weekends unless he had a test coming up. Is that typical of most students? What about those with non-science backgrounds? Are students generally enjoying med school or does it get "less fun" once the novelty of being a med student wears off and one is still left with a huge workload every day? Does the school do things to keep it fresh and interesting or do the students have to keep reminding themselves of why they are there and keep themselves motivated? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazyboy Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 it is actually quite demanding if you want to get good mark. It is not for faint of heart. Remember, this is a 3 years program with no summer break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaVen777 Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 It's fairly intense, but I do take Friday off and large portions of Saturday if there are no tests coming up. Ask me in about a year how I'm feeling . By then I'll have been in school for a LONG time without any extended break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erk Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 I'm finding it all right, but I'm used to grad school. There are not a lot of breaks compared to undergrad. Course 1 eases you into things pretty nicely, but it immediately steps up for course 2, and from my understanding it remains pretty intense. On the other hand, it's only 2 preclerkship years, so you don't have to keep going at top power for all that long before you enter the same clerkship cycle as everyone else. Don't do a 3 year program if it's incredibly important to you to have a long summer break. Otherwise you should do fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meds400 Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Yeah I would echo everyone else here – it’s an intense program (especially because it is 3 years), but then of course it is medical school….I’d be disappointed if it wasn’t intense! Keep up with the work load, learn how to separate minutia from the important clinical stuff, and approach the program with maturity/professionalism and you’ll do fine. I think one thing all the Hellbenders would agree with (that is the name of our class) – we do love medical school and this program overall! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylamonkey Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Hey Hellbenders, have you decided what to name the next class? (I have to be careful here, I don't want to jinx myself) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meds400 Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Not yet - and if we did, it would be Top Secret until the Naming Ceremony next September….the Ayes Ayes made our lives miserable by not even hinting what our name would be….we plan to pay it forward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostLamb Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 I will also echo the sentiments that it is a pretty intense program, but not unmanageable. It has its moments of relaxation and moments of intensity. I think in 2 years time I will be so glad that I am in a 3 year program rather than a 4 year one...I don't know if I'd have more stamina than that for med school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yugerry Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 + 1. I would go for a 3 year program as well but someone was telling met that it's sort of hard to exactly know what speciality to choose in 2 years!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostLamb Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 You can't put off the decision for very long in a 3 year program, that is true. Just do a lot of shadowing, inquiring, and you'll be fine i'm sure! You will quickly know what you DO NOT like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meds400 Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Yeah, I would say the biggest issue in the three year program is burn-out, because you get very few breaks. However, if you approach it almost like a professional job (i.e., in the real world you only get 4 weeks off per year as well!) it makes it much easier to get through. As far as deciding about residency, it really isn't a huge issue - you will definately know fairly quickly what you like and what you don't like....word of warning though - U of C really pushes Family Med and R3's since their residency program is one of the most competitive in the country...if you have no interest in these, you have to put some filters up throughout the program... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osmosis Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 U of C's fam med program is one of the most competitive in the country? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostLamb Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 re: FM residency competitiveness: yea, that's news to me too. It is true, there is a strong push towards family medicine, and as we all well know, less than half of the last few classes chose not to specialize. Truth be told, I don't find the "pushing" overwhelming. The fact that we are very consistently taught by specialists gives one more than ample opportunity for exposure to non-fam med areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ12140 Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Pace = manageable. Time to decide what you'd like to do = short. The 3 year program is great if you're ready to get going, but it can be stressful if you're unsure. The first-years have just finished their first course in med school, but there are a whole lot of specialties they've yet to encounter...nearly everyone will change their mind at some point in the next 2 years. Not having summers off means less time to get involved with clinically relevant research, a serious disadvantage if you're gunning for a competitive specialty. We get 4 weeks of electives in the summer with half of our lecture-based education completed, and then only 6 guaranteed weeks before CaRMS applications are due. Some find it very tricky to get in all of their desired rotations in the alotted time. More crunch time in 3rd year: you'll be applying for CaRMS while still writing your core rotation exams. Other schools will be finished their cores in 3rd year, with a huge chunk of their 4th year rotation to organize references and try out different electives. Disadvantages? Yes. Impossible to overcome? No. We have people who study the week before exams to reach the MPL, and we have people who study til midnight every night in library so that they will be competitive in their field of choice. It all depends on what you want. I love the people here at U of C, but if I got to choose again, I'd be very tempted to go for a 4 year program. But hey, that's just one opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunasly Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 Pace = manageable.Time to decide what you'd like to do = short. The 3 year program is great if you're ready to get going, but it can be stressful if you're unsure. The first-years have just finished their first course in med school, but there are a whole lot of specialties they've yet to encounter...nearly everyone will change their mind at some point in the next 2 years. Not having summers off means less time to get involved with clinically relevant research, a serious disadvantage if you're gunning for a competitive specialty. We get 4 weeks of electives in the summer with half of our lecture-based education completed, and then only 6 guaranteed weeks before CaRMS applications are due. Some find it very tricky to get in all of their desired rotations in the alotted time. More crunch time in 3rd year: you'll be applying for CaRMS while still writing your core rotation exams. Other schools will be finished their cores in 3rd year, with a huge chunk of their 4th year rotation to organize references and try out different electives. Disadvantages? Yes. Impossible to overcome? No. We have people who study the week before exams to reach the MPL, and we have people who study til midnight every night in library so that they will be competitive in their field of choice. It all depends on what you want. I love the people here at U of C, but if I got to choose again, I'd be very tempted to go for a 4 year program. But hey, that's just one opinion. I am not in medical school and I will probably change my mind, but what if we are interested in FM? Would a 3 year program be an advantage since we are finished sooner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaVen777 Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 I am not in medical school and I will probably change my mind, but what if we are interested in FM? Would a 3 year program be an advantage since we are finished sooner? I seriously think if I wanted to do FM and nothing else, UofC would be fantastic. They have a great program and you could go from point A-->B in 5 years! I'm still very happy here. I like the people, and the clinical problem solving approach is a lot of fun. (When used.) Truthfully, I'm just happy to be here. It took me a few years to get in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalkeener Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 Forgive me, but what are R3's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mm88 Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 Forgive me, but what are R3's? R3 = third year residency/resident. There is an R3 match in CaRMS for licensed FMs to go back and specialize in areas such as anaesthesia, palliative care, care of the elderly, sports med and emergency med. All of those programs are 1 year long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meds400 Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 Forgive me, but what are R3's? You do two years of residency first to become a family doctor, and then you complete a third year in one of many different disciplines (i.e., emergency med, palliative, anesthesiology, addictions, geriatrics, sports medicine, hospitalist, research, etc…). You essentially become a low level specialist, but with only three years of training + the option of always going back to family medicine. This is what I believe the pros/cons are from what I have been told: Pros: only 3 years, larger scope of practice than a GP, allows you to focus in on a specific area but gives you the option to go back to regular family med (which specialists cannot do I believe). Cons: don’t have the same scope of practice as a specialist (i.e., if you became an R3 ER doc, you could certainly work in the ER at the same payscale, but not in the ICU), jobs in major centers like Vancouver or Toronto may be difficult to find, and 1 extra year needed after your intensive 2 year family med residency. Please feel free to add additional comments if I missed anything... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalkeener Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Thanks for the explanations!! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hushwawa Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 I love the program so far, I actually have a life outside school and when I do study it isn't a chore, I really like it. The workload is different for each person. Personally, I find it light. The content is not easy but keeping up with it is not too hard. I think I worked a lot harder in Undergrad than in Med. For me, it's a blessing! It's all different for different learning styles. I hated Undergrad, but I love med! Hushwawa Class of 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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