nikki dale Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 an Insider thread? It would be cool UofT, Western, Ottawa all have one. Mac should too! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Applemanv3 Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 Ditto! 10char Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 "because no one else gave me an interview or acceptance"? Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holiday1001 Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 the best med school is the one that accepted you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porsche Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 "because no one else gave me an interview or acceptance"? Lol Lmao! Good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki dale Posted April 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2012 "because no one else gave me an interview or acceptance"? Lol lol! well jokes aside, it would still be nice to have an 'information' thread from a student's perspective. like the "Myths, BS and a little bit of truth..." thread in UofT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aani Posted April 19, 2012 Report Share Posted April 19, 2012 lol! well jokes aside, it would still be nice to have an 'information' thread from a student's perspective. like the "Myths, BS and a little bit of truth..." thread in UofT Agree with that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanG8 Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 To get it started... 1. 3 Years. Less debt. 1 more year of income. 1 less year of undergrad medicine. 2. Faculty and staff that cares and knows your name 3. Minimal lectures, your learning is all self-driven. 4. Lots of free time for electives and ECs (and support for setting it all up) 5. Great clinical learning/teaching. Most residents I've met say Mac students clinical skills are amazing. 6. Mac makes a personable doctor (or so all the patients say). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holiday1001 Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 what about hamilton itself? student neighbourhood? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuturePT216 Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 The classrooms and the building (MDCL) where a lot of the med school tutorials is a great setting, with lots of tutorial rooms and study space! There's a hospital right on campus for observerships Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkourParkour Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Westdale is a great student community, although when you start comparing it to areas around Queens, Western and Toronto, it somewhat pales in comparison. There are great independently owned shops in the area that surrounds McMaster but as an adopted Hamiltonian, I found myself enamoured with downtown despite criticisms from my peers. A definite "bubble" exists between the undergraduate population of McMaster and the rest of Hamilton which is tremendously unfortunate given the revived vibrancy of the downtown area. Many undergrads don't make an effort into leaving west Hamilton to explore the rest of the city. Locke Street and James Street North are both burgeoning districts that really put an effort into trying to revive the downtown core of Hamilton. James Street Art Crawl (every second Friday of the month) has a spirit that rivals the best of Queen West in Toronto and Robson in Vancouver. what about hamilton itself? student neighbourhood? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holiday1001 Posted May 16, 2012 Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 can we revive this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perigirl Posted May 16, 2012 Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 yes please! would love to know why pick McMaster - especially over Queen's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA! Posted May 16, 2012 Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 ings....and the buses also come right onto campus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki dale Posted May 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 can we revive this? yes please! would love to know why pick McMaster - especially over Queen's bump for some feedback Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igeorgex Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 bump for some feedback Research A lot of free time available during the school year (even in clerkship, there's a dedicated teaching half day every Wednesday) to get involved in a research project. There are some amazing PIs at Mac that are willing to take on medical students to assist them from everything to patient outcomes, quality of life, basic science, health policy, intervention comparisons, etc... in basically every field. If you do choose McMaster and are interested in exploring research or are worried about wanting a competitive specialty (but only having 3 years) then research is great. But don't use it as a resume-padder, actually get involved in something you are genuinely interested in and use this as a time to explore what you enjoy in medicine and how you may want to be involved in research as a future physician. Hamilton area Hamilton gets a knock for being a steel-town, with nothing to do. I think a lot of areas are really revitalizing and are becoming very student-friendly. As someone else mentioned, every 2nd Friday there is an Art Crawl that draws tons of people out to explore the burgeoning Hamilton art scene. The food culture is really growing too, there was just a food truck festival 2 weeks ago and lots of great restaurants are open/are opening up (e.g. Bread Bar, Rapscallion Restaurant, Harbour Diner, Chuck's Burger Bar, The Village Green, etc...). We also have a great farmer's market downtown, and tons of independent coffee shops in West Hamilton/Dundas/downtown. Also, CBC just opened a center here and launched this: http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/ so you know the area is worth exploring Horizontal electives The faculty here are great at supporting young learners in exploring areas of interest. The best way to supplement your learning and explore fields of medicine is to dive right into them and see what it's like in that field on a daily basis. You get that opportunity from the moment you start classes all the way up until right before clerkship starts. Because of your freer schedule, you have the time to do 1-2 electives a week and figure out what you want to do (or more likely, what you absolutely do not want to do heh) before clerkship rolls along. The faculty realize you are a 1st year and most do a great job at teaching/facilitating your learning during an elective as well as making sure you're getting an accurate representation of what that specialty is like. Lack of stress Let me preface this by saying that if you're the type to freak out over everything, this section probably won't apply to you. But there is a significant decreased vibe of stress at Mac because we're not being tested on random things every week, or are burnt-out from tons of class or lack of time to do important extra-curricular things (...self-care). Proximity to Toronto Frankly speaking, Toronto is a great city. They've got events that other cities will not have, ever. There are tons of health care conferences and talks that are in Toronto and are great learning and networking opportunities. Being 50-60 minutes away by GO bus or car is invaluable. The only other school that close to Toronto is UofT and why go there to have your soul-stolen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holiday1001 Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 what's the difference between the horizontal electives here and observership at other schools? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki dale Posted May 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 How do you sign up for horizontal electives? Is it through McMaster or do you approach hospitals on your own? Are all horizontal electives in Hamilton or can it stretch to other cities like Toronto or Mississauga? How long are horizontal electives? I know that you can do these in 1st year but aren't you expected to know something going into an elective? For example, when the supervisor asks you/tests you with questions? How does this work if you just started first year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Applemanv3 Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 Research A lot of free time available during the school year (even in clerkship, there's a dedicated teaching half day every Wednesday) to get involved in a research project. There are some amazing PIs at Mac that are willing to take on medical students to assist them from everything to patient outcomes, quality of life, basic science, health policy, intervention comparisons, etc... in basically every field. If you do choose McMaster and are interested in exploring research or are worried about wanting a competitive specialty (but only having 3 years) then research is great. But don't use it as a resume-padder, actually get involved in something you are genuinely interested in and use this as a time to explore what you enjoy in medicine and how you may want to be involved in research as a future physician. Hamilton area Hamilton gets a knock for being a steel-town, with nothing to do. I think a lot of areas are really revitalizing and are becoming very student-friendly. As someone else mentioned, every 2nd Friday there is an Art Crawl that draws tons of people out to explore the burgeoning Hamilton art scene. The food culture is really growing too, there was just a food truck festival 2 weeks ago and lots of great restaurants are open/are opening up (e.g. Bread Bar, Rapscallion Restaurant, Harbour Diner, Chuck's Burger Bar, The Village Green, etc...). We also have a great farmer's market downtown, and tons of independent coffee shops in West Hamilton/Dundas/downtown. Also, CBC just opened a center here and launched this: http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/ so you know the area is worth exploring Horizontal electives The faculty here are great at supporting young learners in exploring areas of interest. The best way to supplement your learning and explore fields of medicine is to dive right into them and see what it's like in that field on a daily basis. You get that opportunity from the moment you start classes all the way up until right before clerkship starts. Because of your freer schedule, you have the time to do 1-2 electives a week and figure out what you want to do (or more likely, what you absolutely do not want to do heh) before clerkship rolls along. The faculty realize you are a 1st year and most do a great job at teaching/facilitating your learning during an elective as well as making sure you're getting an accurate representation of what that specialty is like. Lack of stress Let me preface this by saying that if you're the type to freak out over everything, this section probably won't apply to you. But there is a significant decreased vibe of stress at Mac because we're not being tested on random things every week, or are burnt-out from tons of class or lack of time to do important extra-curricular things (...self-care). Proximity to Toronto Frankly speaking, Toronto is a great city. They've got events that other cities will not have, ever. There are tons of health care conferences and talks that are in Toronto and are great learning and networking opportunities. Being 50-60 minutes away by GO bus or car is invaluable. The only other school that close to Toronto is UofT and why go there to have your soul-stolen? Let me just say I love this post. Kudos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proton Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 How do you sign up for horizontal electives? Is it through McMaster or do you approach hospitals on your own? Are all horizontal electives in Hamilton or can it stretch to other cities like Toronto or Mississauga? How long are horizontal electives? I know that you can do these in 1st year but aren't you expected to know something going into an elective? For example, when the supervisor asks you/tests you with questions? How does this work if you just started first year? And also to address the question above it (what's the difference between a horizontal and an observership): 1) Re: how to set horizontal electives up: you set up horizontals on your own if you like (just look up faculty in whatever departments you're interested in) or through the electives coordinator for whatever specialty you want to check out. Sometimes it's faster to go directly to the person you want to work with (and if you don't know, just pick one). All the teaching hospitals here know that students are part and parcel of being Mac-affiliated. No one will be surprised by a request from a first year student, even if they aren't able to take you for some reason. 2) Re: doing it in Hamilton vs other cities: pretty sure it's much easier to get it set up in Hamilton...I don't know that other schools would want us impinging on their clinics/hospitals (but I am not sure. Anyone else?) 3) Point of clarification: horizontal electives never go on your transcript or anything like that. They're for you to check things out and see what you like or don't like. They aren't mandatory, except for one family med placement that everyone has to do once a week for six weeks. You aren't evaluated during the electives so even if your preceptor asks you a bunch of questions and you get them all wrong, no one else will know and no one minds. You're there to learn - they understand that! Everybody has to start at the beginning. 4) Re: doing electives as a first year, expectations, etc: you aren't expected to know much. They do recommend that you've finished the MF (medical foundation) pertinent to the elective before you do it (otherwise what's the point? You'll have no idea what's going on) but the staff around here all know that when you're in first year you aren't really accountable for a tonne of detailed information. They don't expect a lot. They will ask you questions to challenge you and make you think, but they it isn't about being 'tested' or evaluated. They just want you to get what you came for - a learning experience! I've had great experiences during horizontals, personally. 5) Re: horizontal elective vs observership: as far as I know, observerships are more about watching your preceptor do things, whereas in our horizontal electives we get to do things, very hands-on at the discretion of the preceptor. There are a lot of things you can learn by observing, but there's a tonne you can learn out of practical experience too. Any students from other schools, feel free to correct me, but this my understanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igeorgex Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 In terms of horizontals at other schools: as a general rule, no. they will not take you as a pre-clerk, even if it is not an official elective. of course, you can contact someone directly and ask them if you can follow them but for the most part, Hamilton has any specialty and sub specialty any other school would have so why go out of your way to another school? additionally, if the electives coordinator at the other school finds out you've subverted them and contacted a supervisor directly that can have some very bad consequences. I would say just stick to Mac for your horizontals - they're meant to only be 8-10 hours (longer of you want) and enhance your learning, not potentially put you on another schools blacklist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki dale Posted May 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 In terms of horizontals at other schools: as a general rule, no. they will not take you as a pre-clerk, even if it is not an official elective. of course, you can contact someone directly and ask them if you can follow them but for the most part, Hamilton has any specialty and sub specialty any other school would have so why go out of your way to another school? additionally, if the electives coordinator at the other school finds out you've subverted them and contacted a supervisor directly that can have some very bad consequences. I would say just stick to Mac for your horizontals - they're meant to only be 8-10 hours (longer of you want) and enhance your learning, not potentially put you on another schools blacklist. Sorry, I didn't know how electives work when I asked the question. I was just wondering if McMaster only sets you up with hospitals with Hamilton or if we're allowed to go to other hospitals. Like I didn't consider it as attending another school - just another hospital outside of Hamilton. For example, my McMaster interview tour guide mentioned doing an elective in Markham Stouffville Hospital, but I think that was in the summer if that makes a difference.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki dale Posted May 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 Let me just say I love this post. Kudos! Yes agreed. Thanks George and Proton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki dale Posted May 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 ...4) Re: doing electives as a first year, expectations, etc: you aren't expected to know much. They do recommend that you've finished the MF (medical foundation) pertinent to the elective before you do it (otherwise what's the point? You'll have no idea what's going on) but the staff around here all know that when you're in first year you aren't really accountable for a tonne of detailed information. They don't expect a lot. They will ask you questions to challenge you and make you think, but they it isn't about being 'tested' or evaluated. They just want you to get what you came for - a learning experience! I've had great experiences during horizontals, personally. ... This is a great point, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holiday1001 Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 so just to be clear, that block with 'electives' is for "block electives", and are mandatory. these are the ones we can do at other schools? and "horizontal electives" can be taken any time (at Mac), and are voluntary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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