Guest Shidi Posted October 23, 2001 Report Share Posted October 23, 2001 Hello, You may or may not remember me; I posted on this board a while ago asking for different volunteer resources. I am now almost 100% sure that medicine is where I am headed, I would like to thank Ian and YongQ for your insight with my previous inquiry. Since then I have planned my 11’Th and 12’Th year out with Bio, Chem., and Physics. As well as have the luck to be able to shadow 3 doctors, which I was really exited about and a had a lot of fun so anyone who is 15 (like me) or in high school do not give up it is possible . I also have been volunteering at a local search and rescue program near Calgary, which has also got me to take some really cool first aid and CPR courses plus some others. I think this board is the best resource ever and hopefully when Ian becomes a resident it will still be here. Anyway, I just had some questions, my first is; what is an attending? Is it like a higher status doctor? Also there have already been some discussions about Mac and other schools that have 3 year programs and Mac is really where I want to go, I realize it might be extremely difficult to pick a specialty in that time, even though I think I would like the intensity of Emergency Medicine. If I choose to apply for another year (I have heard some Mac students can do that) after my theoretical 3 years at Mac, does that mean I have another year until I need to submit my stuff to the Residency matching program? Or will I still need to submit it after my 3-year program is up? I know that this is still a little early but I want to know my options for one of my possible futures. Thanks guys! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted October 23, 2001 Report Share Posted October 23, 2001 You've still got plenty of time. No need to rush anything yet, but I do think taking those science courses in high school will significantly ease your transition into university sciences if you end up in that area. An attending is simply a staff doctor, usually one who works at the hospital. eg. your family doctor probably wouldn't refer to himself/herself as an attending. The list of hierarchy at the hospital looks something like this: 1) Political people (eg. chief of dept) 2) Attendings 3) Fellows 4) Residents 5) Med students 6) Premeds After you graduate med school (5) with your MD degree, you need to do additional specialty training, known as a residency. Here, you are called a resident (4), and because you have an MD, can now introduce yourself as Dr. So-an-So. After residency, you can apply for a staff job at a hospital, and if you get it, you become an attending physician (2). eg. if you did a General Surgery residency, then you are an attending in General Surgery. Now, many residents upon graduating decide to do additional training, and they may do a fellowship, which is an additional number of years of training. At this point, they are known as fellows. Once the fellow graduates, he/she may also apply for a staff job, and upon getting it would also call himself/herself an attending physician. eg. if you wanted to be very good at removing tumors, you could do a Surgical Oncology fellowship after your General Surgery residency. On finishing the fellowship and getting a job, you would be known as a Surgical Oncology attending (which implies that you have completed a General Surgery residency as well as a Surgical Oncology fellowship). As far as Mac goes, I'll let Chirashi field that one if he wishes, but your first time applying to CaRMS is always during your last year of medical school, if you are planning to go immediately into residency after medical school. Therefore, if you did the additional year option, you have that extra year to pick your specialty. Again, no need to worry about it now. You've still got an absolute minimum of 7-8 years before you reach that point. Lots of things can and will happen before then! Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shidi Posted October 25, 2001 Report Share Posted October 25, 2001 Thanks again for the advice A lot can happen is true, only time will tell. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest YongQ Posted October 25, 2001 Report Share Posted October 25, 2001 Hi Shidi, In my opinion, you are stressing yourself out way too soon. For example, you are thinking about the CaRMS process when really this can be done in 2nd or 3rd year medical school, at no disadvantage to you. Just work hard and enjoy your next 5-7 years without worrying too much - there'll be plenty of time to ask these questions when you are in undergrad! BTW it is great you have gotten into volunteering, volunteers are one of the greatest contributors to the community and healthcare in general... however, I still urge you to keep your mind (and options) open, because it can be harmful to invest too much energy in foresight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest reahg Posted October 28, 2001 Report Share Posted October 28, 2001 Hi shidi. Sorry I dont know the answers to any of your questions but I just wanted to ask if you could elaborate on some of your volunteer experience. What do you mean you got to shadow 3 doctors? That sounds like a very interesting thing. Tell me a little bit more about this search and rescue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chirashi Posted October 29, 2001 Report Share Posted October 29, 2001 Hi Chris, I commend you on your enthusiasm and your initiative. I also encourage you to continue to keep an open mind about your options. It can be wonderful, at times, to get wrapped up in hypothetical critical career decisions, such as which specialty you would like to pursue, or which medical school you would like to attend. I admit that this happens to me frequently, and in my case the fantasies are elaborate: My imagination runs wild envisioning every permutation and combination of outcomes of what type of doctor I can be, where I will train, what my hours will be like, how hot my secretary will be, and the colour of wallpaper in my office. Of course, I'm exaggerating for the benefit of humour, but also to illustrate that these decisions are far from being the important ones which affect me today. Eventually, I need to refocus and centre in the moment. What can I do, today, to make myself more likely to get where (I think) I want to go? In my case, it may be a renewed dedication to school, arranging an elective in a specialty that interests me, and perhaps browsing a magazine about interior design. You could set similar, immediate goals in place of your long-term aspirations. Especially with regards to decisions about medicine, I've often found that the criteria which I initially thought were important in making a decision turned out to be much more haphazard than I would have guessed. I have many preconceived notions about medicine and its training, nurtured by hearsay and reruns of ER, which continue to be smashed. You're doing the right thing by talking to people and getting as much information as you can. Stay keen and motivated, but also remember to enjoy a fun and well-adjusted youth. You'll fare much better down the road if you keep an open mind and consider all the possibilities. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shidi Posted October 29, 2001 Report Share Posted October 29, 2001 Hello, Thanks for your comments YongQ and Michael, I have kept my options very open I am very skilled with computers and programming etc. and do some work in the summer getting paid designing web sites etc. so if my interest in medicine should not be there one day, I will always be happy working in the field of science whether it be computers or another type of science. But I am one of those people that can’t wait; I try not to limit my options, always keeping them open but when I get interested in something, I try to pursue as much info on it as possible. I realize I am a long way away from pursuing any type of career but I might as well find out about them all before I need to make the big decision. And right now I feel like medicine would be the way to go for me, but like you guys say "things can change". Hiya reahg, I got interested in medicine about 1 and a half years ago and started looking for every resource I could, I found this forum and still have yet to read all the posts. I read something about "shadowing" a doctor which is where you get to spend some time with a physician to actually go around with him/her for whole or part of the day. I inquired about this with my principal and a friend I have who is a professor of nursing at the U of C. I got the names of 3 doctors (1 through my school and 2 through my friend at the U of C) that would be willing to spend some time with me. I took 3 days (not consecutive) to spend with these people, and got the time all cleared out with my school schedule. It was the coolest, most interesting time I have spent. I got to go see some different areas of the hospital and got to ask questions until my mouth was dry . I would recommend inquiring about these kind of opportunities if you’re interested in the field, answered a lot of my questions. If you want more detailed info you can contact me at klinkers@softhome.net. As for my volunteer opportunities, they are not 100% percent due to the fact that I am interested in medicine. I took some first aid / CPR courses and my instructor was telling me of some opportunities with a near by search and rescue team, I really liked the course so I decided to try it. I got all my training for free, and as time goes by I get to participate in more and more courses. We are called out about 4 or 5 times in the winter and about 6-15 times in the summer. You can even volunteer without any previous knowledge they will train you in first aid and CPR. But do not look at this service as just “free training”; you get to meet incredible people, and spend your time learning and helping people when you can. There are also opportunities with St. John Ambulance like the St. John Ambulance brigade, which allows you to keep your skills in practice while helping the community. Not to mention learning cool stuff like external defibrillation.:rollin Thanks for the info; if I have any other questions about Mac I’ll ask you Michael Have a good one! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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