Atmosphere

[Guest sunshinegurl]

I was wondering what U of A students tend to be like? After having gone to my interviews I noticed that some schools seemed to have generally relaxed and friendly people, and at other schools the students were more stressed and bookish.

 

I know that most all med students are pretty intense people, but within that 'med student group' what is U of A like? Is U of A the kind of school where classmates will send each other copies of the notes that they have done, help each other with exams, and believe in having a balanced med school experience (being involved in sports, school 'spirit' activities, extra-curr)? Is there a feeling of community, or do the students tend more in the opposite direction?

 

At some of the schools I went to the med students really brought out how awesome their classmates were and how uncompetitive med school was, but when I cam to U of A the students didn't seem as interested in their school and told me that the current class doesn't like to go out and have fun as much.

 

I'm just wondering, because after having finished an intense 'pre-med' undergrad I am ready to enjoy med school and get along with my classmates..I just thought I should ask incase I get in.

Thanks!

[Guest Lurkergonepublic]

Apparently, the UofA atmosphere is rather vacant...

[Guest muchdutch]

haha!

I'm not in med, but I know a few people in it. They all(!) tell me that it's a lot of work and although they are told that they should try to limit schoolwork to inside school hours (ie - no studying after 5 or so on a daily basis, except during exams), they say they do more because there is so much to do. So I think maybe I only know the booksmart people, and not the social butterflies (there must be some of them!)...

[Guest apical meristems]

I can guarantee that there are social butterflies in this years class. If you really want to have some fun, come hang out with us dents.

 

Cheers,

ap

 

p.s. vacant?? hahaha. Yeah right. You obviously haven't sat in on one of our classes.

[Guest summervirus]

Hi,

 

I just finished the Canadian licensing exam (LMCC) around half an hour ago and I'm now officially done med school! YEAH! I'm so happy!

 

Anyway, there were some old messages addressing the same topic on this forum before. I tried to dig up the old messages but couldn't find them. They might have been unintentionally erased when the ezboard server crashed a while back. It's too bad because it had a few opinions from a different med students like shkelo and EB that were great.

 

Since I can't seem to find the old messages, I'll post my 2 cents here again. Looking back over the past four years, I've really enjoyed my medical school experience. I think that my class is large enough to have plenty of diversity but small enough to know everyone without getting lost.

 

I've been an introvert since I was young. In med school, I didn't spend much time at big parties, but I did get to know people in smaller groups and participated in some extracurricular activities too. I know that there are many friendships that I'll keep and treasure afterwards. For the most part, I think that everyone's pretty open and accepting, and almost everyone gets along.

 

Initially, I felt that med school was a little like going to elementary school again. I was with the same people every day. We would see each other everywhere. Naturally, some people click better with certain groups and it's easy to identify close friends. Nonetheless, I never felt like I was ever excluded if I wanted to join in. Like any class, my class also had some conflicts too. But, I don't think it was disproportionately more than other classes or schools.

 

To specifically address some of your points, I think that my class was really collegial and helpful. I know that we would share notes, post them online, and even email exams out to each other on the class lists. There were times when we would band together as a class to support each other. For example, there was an incident when I was in first year when some of our classmates were racially discriminated against at a bar during a party by the security staff. I remember that we actually voiced our concerns together and dealt with it as a group to the owners (after consulting with the medical faculty first). There have been other times when we came together because we wanted to advocate for curriculum changes, etc. So, yes, there is a sense of community. But, there is some (?friendly) rivalry, I was told, between some of the classes (like the 2007 and 2008's).

 

I can't really compare the UofA with other schools since I've only really attended this one. But, I do have a number of friends from different schools across Canada. From what we talk about, I would have to say that the UofA might be more academically focused than "average" but that doesn't mean that we don't have fun. I think that the reason that many students are so academically focused is because the school is more research oriented, a lot of students (successfully) "gun" for competitive specialties, and (on average) the class population is younger. Overall though, I really think that there isn't that big of a difference between schools. After all, class dynamics change from year to year, even within the same school, and a lot of what people perceive about a school's reputation is usually from heresay, rather than personal experience.

 

For me, I did spend a lot of time in the books. But, I also spent a lot of my time with my friends and also at church. I was also able to keep up with my hobbies outside of school like martial arts! I'm pretty happy with how things worked out. It wasn't "perfect" but I don't think that things can ever be perfect.

 

Maybe a few more med students can also add their opinions. Each person begins med school with different expectations and comes away with different experiences and feelings. I can say that mine was positive but it would be nice to hear if others feel the same or not!

 

I hope this gives you a bit of an idea about the UofA.

 

SV