CaRMS strategy

[Guest McMastergirl]

I'm interested to know people's CaRMS strategies - especially if there is a particular city you want to be in (for example, to be with your partner) or particularly competitive specialty.

[Guest kellyl20]

Is it a disadvantage not to have an undergraduate degree when applying for the Carms?

[Guest dakar]

Regarding matching with your partner, there is some special provision for couples matching.

 

I have no idea how it works, but it's in there somewhere.

 

And not having an undergrad is irrelevant for Carms...you've finished med school. They won't care what degree you had before, or if you had one at all, unless you're applying for Medical Genetics and you happen to have your masters in genetic engineering.

 

For competitive specialties, the strategy is simple. During med school, do electives in the specialty you're interested in (but not exclusively...show that you're well rounded and interested in a good application), get references from the gurus, bust your hump and cross your fingers, and rank deeply in your chosen specialty (i.e. don't just pick Toronto Dermatology and then stop...)

 

Hope this helps

[Guest UWOMED2005]

The director of Emergency Medicine here at UWO (which is a pretty competitive programs) spoke to our class about CaRMS, and this is what he had to say: Apparently they give all the applicants a mark out of 100. 10% of that is for academics (marks, degrees and the like.) You get 8/10 just for graduating med school (with no fails.) He said they MIGHT give a 9/10 or 10/10 to someone who had completed a PhD, but maybe not. I highly doubt you'd go from an 8/10 to a 9/10 just for doing the extra year to have the degree. On the flip side, I know lots of people who've done summer work to complete their degrees just because they want to buy the cool frame and it would look stupid without the degree. But seriously, I think it is nice to have the Bachelor's if you can complete it.

 

As far as matching to a particular city. . . as Dakar pointed out, if you have a partner who is graduating with you, then you can enter "the couples match" where CaRMS guarantees you both match to the same centre. If you're more interested in a specific location, nobody is forcing you to apply to programs outside a specific centre. . . but if you're gung-ho on a competitive specialty, applying to just one program is extremely risky!!

[Guest kellyl20]

UWOMED 2005 and Dakar: Thanks very much guys!

KL

[Guest DrSahsi]

Many people get burned each year by trying to out-think the CaRMS process. When you apply through CaRMS applicants are going to hear the same message over and over again, and hopefully they'll listen...

 

Consider ranking every program you could possibly concieveably picture yourself attending. Be comprehensive. Cast a wide net. When designing your rank order, keep it simple, and rank honestly in order of your preference.

 

If geography is your most important consideration, make sure you factor that into your rank order list. Sandra Banner from CaRMS is fond of telling people you can rank order for a specific discipline, or rank order for a specific city, but it's hard to do both.

 

A lot of people rank a competitive specialty, and avoid putting down back-up choices during the first round knowing that programs like Family Medicine invariably have spots left over in the second round. I highly discourage this strategy, since it forces you to enter another round of matching (the first round sucks enough, you don't want to have to go through it again), and you'll be forced to pick from the leftovers. Believe it or not, some programs *DO* fill on the first round.

 

At the same time, don't rank any programs you're not willing to go to! CaRMS is a binding contract. Save yourself the misery.

 

As for whether your undergrad degree matters, in most cases it doesn't. Your past experience gets lumped together during your analysis of your CV and personal letters by each program. Elective experience and clinical performance is the icing on the cake that matters at that point.

 

Hope this helps.

 

- Rupinder

[Guest kellyl20]

A big thanks to Dr. Sahsi for the info provided.