Guest Shidi Posted August 20, 2001 Report Share Posted August 20, 2001 Hello, I know this is a forum for pre-med students, however I was wondering if you would take the time to respond to my message. I am 15 years old and will soon be attending grade 10 High School in Calgary. I am extremely interested in the future possibilities of the Medical field, specifically becoming a doctor. I am currently taking some basic/intermediate courses in fist aid/CPR. I would like to gain as much information about this field as I can, are there any resources; books, people, web sites, that may aid me? Also I have gone to your web site (which is very informative by the way) and saw a message where you recommended ¡§shadowing¡¨ a doctor to see what he does in a given day. Are you aware if there are any such programs available in Calgary? I have had incredibly high science marks in my last year and I think medicine is one way to further my passion for science, as well as help people while doing so. I know it is a long way off, but every since I found this forum I thought I might as well see what options I have at this point in time? Thank you in advance for your help Cheers, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest strider2004 Posted August 20, 2001 Report Share Posted August 20, 2001 I went to high school in Calgary. What school will you be going to? In high school, I found that the main goal was to boost your extracurricular activities to get nice scholarships for university. The side-effect is that those extracurrics can also be put on your med school application in the future. I know of no program in Calgary that can help you at your age. It would be easier if a physician was a family friend. As for science, there are lots of programs that you can take. You can particpate in the science fair and in gr 11 and 12, you can apply for Shad Valley(mini-university across Canada). I suggest you take IB while you are in high school. It'll better prepare you for university. When I was your age, I didn't know what I could do in science besides medicine. There are lots of other careers that you could look into. Perhaps you can talk to your future science teachers about touring through the UofC Health Sciences centre next to the Foothills hospital. Usually the researchers like to show people arond their labs. I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted August 21, 2001 Report Share Posted August 21, 2001 For more information, try checking the web out, or looking at some of the links on my links page. You might also want to visit the local bookstore or library, and ask the clerks for some books regarding medicine and becoming a doctor. There's a number of them out there. You'll probably have to go to a fairly large bookstore to read some of these, such as Chapters. Do remember that usually people who write books either have something very positive or very negative to say. Otherwise, there's usually not as much motivation to put out a book on something on which you have a neutral opinion. Look for books written by Robert Marion or Perri Klass. There's a few other authors that are slipping my mind at the moment. As far as shadowing programs, contact the local hospitals, or ask your family doctor or any family friends who are doctors. You should be a little realistic here, and understand that because of your age, chances are pretty good that they'll say no. Even now, as a med student, there are a number of doctors out there who have refused to allow myself or my classmates shadow them. The reason is that having an extra person in the examining room slows down the doctor, often makes the patient nervous, and can open the doctor up to potential legal problems as far as patient confidentiality and privacy go. At your age, you are way ahead of most people. Perhaps take some time to check out other areas of work as well. There's a lot of work going on in medical research (just imagine how cool it would be to discover the cure for some disease, and how many people you would help), and there are many other areas of work in healthcare. I will be putting some information of that sort online on my website, but it won't be up for at least a month. Check back, but don't stress. You've got an awful long time before you need to make any decisions regarding med school, and right now, just concentrate on learning the stuff you enjoy, and taking some new courses/hobbies to have fun and expand your horizons. Grade 10 is far too early to be worried about med school! Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shidi Posted August 21, 2001 Report Share Posted August 21, 2001 Thanks, And yes I know it is early, and I have considered many other paths to choose from, I am extremely good with computers, can program in multiple languages etc. and have my own web design business (only in summer). But after working with computers since I was 5 I realize that, computers are not the path I will take. I understand fully the problems with trying to get hands on experience at my age however I thank you for the material (authors) you have recommended. As for the IB program, it is not available at my school. I am not in Calgary but close to it.. About 25 minutes.. I go to school in Cochrane I got accepted into the Advanced Placement program for Biology and will be taking Bio 20 (grade 11) course this year which means I can take an advanced course in grade 12. And my science teacher took a lot of Bio Chem courses so I can learn even more in that respect. Thanks for your time, I think this forum is great, and I hope perhaps one day I will get to post as a med-student Until then I enjoy reading everyone else's posts. Thank you again, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest davidlam21 Posted August 21, 2001 Report Share Posted August 21, 2001 Hi Shidi I just came back from the Shad Valley program strider2004 mentioned and I highly recommend you apply for it. I spent July at the program in Waterloo and it was the best month of my life! If you're not familiar with Shad Valley, it's basically a program where 50 high school students (ages 16-19) from across Canada (and in some cases, the world) live on campus at one of 9 universities in Canada. Shad Valley is designed to expose students science and entrepreneurship and there are TONS of activities. For example, I got the chance to perform live surgery on a trout (its not as hard as you think )! You mentioned you have great acedemics, so Shad Valley would be an excellent opportunity. Apply for it - you won't regret it! If you want to learn more, the website is http://www.shad.ca. - David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shidi Posted August 22, 2001 Report Share Posted August 22, 2001 Thanks! how do they decide who gets in? Cheers, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest davidlam21 Posted August 22, 2001 Report Share Posted August 22, 2001 Well, they decide based on your acedemics and extracurricular activities. Everyone they choose is well rounded - having spectacular grades is not necessary, however, it does help. I think about 800 students applied last year, but about 450 were chosen. It's a great program and the friendships you forge there are for life. Hope this helped! David PS Note to Ian: great site/BBS! I've been reading your website for over a year and a half and its helped me a lot. I live in Vancouver and hope to one day enter medschool at UBC - you're advice is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest YongQ Posted August 22, 2001 Report Share Posted August 22, 2001 Shidi, in high school you can start volunteering in health care settings from the age of 15 or 16 (depending on the hospital and position), and as aforementioned, get huge scholarships. If you want a challenging experience that is sure to help you throughout university and in your application to medicine, I suggest you get involved with national contests in chemistry, physics, computers, and if you have the stomach for it, math. Nothing tops off a scholarship resume than the letters "IMO," "IPO," or "IChO" under your achievement list. It's a shame Canada doesn't train an IBO team, but there is an Ontario Biology contest that some non-Ontario students take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shidi Posted August 22, 2001 Report Share Posted August 22, 2001 Thank you YongQ and David, How would I go about seeing about volunteering? Calling up the hospital I would assume. As for the national contests, who would I call about that, The Canadian board of Education? =) thank you all once again... I have looked into the Shad Valley program and it looks awesome. Thanx, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest not rex morgan Posted August 22, 2001 Report Share Posted August 22, 2001 Yup. Find the volunteer services phone number for your local hospital. Some cities have volunteer services placement organisations as well. They may give you better ideas. I know Vancouver's is called Volunteer Vancouver. Calgary may have a similar one. If you live near a University, you might want to check out volunteer services in the University hospital. I know for my first volunteer placement, I walked into a cancer centre and introduced myself, and got a position. Most places want at least a 6 month committment. I recommend keeping up the extra curriculars. If you don't, med schools probably won't consider you. Do things you're genuinely interested in. (ie, don't be one of those "pre-med" students who live life to pad their resumes. Get something out of whatever it is you're spending your valuable time on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted August 22, 2001 Report Share Posted August 22, 2001 I think not rex morgan hit it just right. Find some volunteering experiences that you truly find interesting. Although you are at an extremely early age to be thinking about medical school, this does give you a lot of flexibility to try out volunteering at different places to find one site or organization that really piques your interest. The way I see it is that if you are going to work for no money, you'd better darn well enjoy it! Otherwise you're getting ripped off. davidlam21, thanks. I got a lot of help from the internet when I was applying, so I feel this is a good way of giving something back. Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dana Posted August 23, 2001 Report Share Posted August 23, 2001 I was in Calgary a couple of years ago and volunteered at the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Centre. It's located downtown on 6th ave, if I remember correctly. It was my first volunteer experience and one of the best because I was able to work directly with clients, working one-on-one to improve speech, spatial skills, reasoning, etc. I thought I would suggest it because it was more fufilling then the paperwork I'm doing at the Hospital here in Toronto, although I'm almost finished my intro six months and then I'm on to the ER, which should be more challenging. You're lucky to know what your interests are so early. Good luck with the volunteering. Dana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest YongQ Posted August 23, 2001 Report Share Posted August 23, 2001 As for contests, I'll do a bit of searching for some links. It's not quite so easy, you have to work your way up to the harder ones. For chemistry, there's the Canadian Institute of Chemistry (the contest is called the Canadian National Chemistry Exam), for physics there's the Da Vinci, and other local things like Technolympics, for computers there's the Canadian Computing Competition (at least that's what I think it's called, I never took it but know several who did), for math there's stuff like CMCs (Cayley, Fermat, Euclid, Descartes), the Canadian Open, and the American one. Canada's math contest centre is prettymuch at Waterloo university, you could take a look at their site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shidi Posted August 23, 2001 Report Share Posted August 23, 2001 Hiya, =) Well my major interests are in computers and the sciences.. And I have volunteered at tons of places.. School boards... companies in the summer helping their tech staff... Helping with the creation of new courses at school... and even helping people 1 on 1 that come up to me and ask for help. The only reason I was asking for information on volunteering at a medical institution is because I would like to see what it is like, I have an idea, but volunteer work would be useful to me for my future decisions. Like you said I have a while before I need to make a decision, but if I can pick something I like early on I am that much ahead of the game Once again to everyone who has posted thank you... I have looked into the volunteer numbers for my hospital and local area groups. I will be calling tomorrow but I will not be able to anything until next year when I am 16, but I might as well find out what I can do in the future. I like helping people, have an outgoing attitude, and I like science, so I thought medicine might by my route That is why I have posted to this group and the resources you have given me are awesome! Thanks. Thanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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