rmorelan Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 Yeah that's spot on. Being off service is a pain. Most of the time it's all about being cheap expendable labour and this fact is only very thinly veiled. There are exceptions but these are rare. Being on service is amazing, that is where everything happens during residency. I will have to remember that when I am on peds ward (what on earth does that have to do with radiology..... ) There are definitely times when I think it would have been better to be the medical student - sometimes an interested medical student will trump me to see a case in the OR for instance as that is potentially they future career and I am just an off service resident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 The problem with residency is that you get nickel and dime'd to death. CMPA, OMA, CPSO, tuition, LMCC, Surgical foundations, books, conferences/courses, Royal College stuff, electives so you can find a job.....the list goes on and on. It eats into your budget. Although if your a single guy who has a roommate and little Pre-existing debt it's not too bad. If you have young kids, then it's brutal. By the way, don't throw around poor unless you are actually poor. If you have to struggle to find bus money and can only afford to feed yourself by buying whatever meat/food is on 50% off cause its about to expire, then you can say your poor. Otherwise, frugal is a better choice. ha - that is why "poor" was in quotes. I said it because often that is exactly the term some of my fellow residents have thrown around - that they say they feel "poor" in the face of their current situation. First time one of them said it I was a bit stunned - I mean you make 55K a year to start off - poor was my mom raising 4 kinds in a leaky town house as a starting off part time bus driver. Poor isn't not being able to eat out every night The ongoing hidden expenses thing is annoying - and some of it is clearly just cash grabs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der Kaiser Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 I'll tell you one thing graduate studies is great for - teaching one to budget themselves so they can enjoy life with next to no income. I'm clearing ~40k as a post-doc (less taxes of course) and I'm not worried about a thing. Wife and I have been living on less for years. Eventually, you stop caring about not being able to buy stuff because you learn to find happiness through cheap things (like fiction). However, I am banking on making a decent income in the future. It's easy to live with less when you are young if you think the future will be better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 ha - that is why "poor" was in quotes. I said it because often that is exactly the term some of my fellow residents have thrown around - that they say they feel "poor" in the face of their current situation. First time one of them said it I was a bit stunned - I mean you make 55K a year to start off - poor was my mom raising 4 kinds in a leaky town house as a starting off part time bus driver. Poor isn't not being able to eat out every night The ongoing hidden expenses thing is annoying - and some of it is clearly just cash grabs. I think residency "poorness" is highly dependent on someone's situation too (which you never really know about someone). What is a comfortable wage for one person (say single guy, small debt for whatever reason,no commitments) is a struggle for another resident (kids, large debt due to coming from poor background as kid and needing lots of loans for school, parents who need support, sick spouse etc.). I try not to judge people because frankly, you don't really know someone's situation. Some residents truely are pretty close to poor for various reasons. I know a resident with a wife and kids who hasn't bought any new clothes in 4 years because the cost to the family isn't worth it. That person is poor IMO. The LMCC2 is the worst cash grab of residency. I like how every year it goes up 100-200 bucks and has zero relevance to 90% of the people writing it (now that the family med guys don't write it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 The LMCC2 is the worst cash grab of residency. I like how every year it goes up 100-200 bucks and has zero relevance to 90% of the people writing it (now that the family med guys don't write it). couldn't agree more with that one - I mean it is a general exam if anyone would be writing it you would think it would be family med residents. Really what is the point of this thing (other than a potential cash grab)? As a radiology resident the entire exam is virtually useless and it is equally useless for many other specialties. The general knowledge argument becomes increasingly meaningless as time goes on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerroger Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 I try not to judge people because frankly, you don't really know someone's situation. Some residents truely are pretty close to poor for various reasons. I know a resident with a wife and kids who hasn't bought any new clothes in 4 years because the cost to the family isn't worth it. That person is poor IMO. The LMCC2 is the worst cash grab of residency. I like how every year it goes up 100-200 bucks and has zero relevance to 90% of the people writing it (now that the family med guys don't write it). Yes, how much expendable income you have is very much dependable on geography and dependents. There is a big difference in living costs between living in downtown Toronto versus a rural Ontario location. I'm glad someone mentioned the MCCQE. Both part one and two are shameless cash grabs. These exams measure nothing and part II is pretty much a family medicine exam for people not practicing family medicine (eg. Royal College Residents)... Part II is a historical relic from when there was a generalist stream of training. Something needs to be done about the MCC to bring it into the 21st century. I hope our generation is the one to initiate serious reforms once we finish training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihatechem Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 Clerks and resident work less than a lot of people in the private sector, accounting and law When you factor in the time you spend reading, studying for exams, and doing research, u'll find the hours pile up and pile up quickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sapphire17 Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 If we get enough students in clerkship and residents to contribute to this thread, their speciality/work-life benefit and how they go about balancing their lives, I think it could be a real help to us pre-meds. I've always found it very helpful when people speak very candidly about career paths I'm considering. I know this is an early comment, but I would be especially interested to hear from those pursuing different career paths to get a firsthand example of lifestyle differences across specialties (in residency and beyond). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyInTheBubble Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 The LMCC2 is the worst cash grab of residency. I like how every year it goes up 100-200 bucks and has zero relevance to 90% of the people writing it (now that the family med guys don't write it). Family medicine residents write the LMCC2 and the CFPC exam on the same weekend over 3 days. One day is for LMCC2 and the examiners and cases are provided by the MCC. They also collect the exact fee for each family medicine resident as they do from everyone else. The only thing that changed is when the family medicine residents write the exam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 Family medicine residents write the LMCC2 and the CFPC exam on the same weekend over 3 days. One day is for LMCC2 and the examiners and cases are provided by the MCC. They also collect the exact fee for each family medicine resident as they do from everyone else. The only thing that changed is when the family medicine residents write the exam. I thought it was rolled into one exam. That's even stupider. Either way, there is little point of the exam. The CCFP exam should test the realm of family adequately across its breadth of practice. The specialty residents don't need to know most of the LMCC exam anymore since there is no general licence and most of the exam isn't relavent to general practice. It's a hold over from the GP days. It's for all intents and purposes a huge cash grab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 I thought it was rolled into one exam. That's even stupider. Either way, there is little point of the exam. The CCFP exam should test the realm of family adequately across its breadth of practice. The specialty residents don't need to know most of the LMCC exam anymore since there is no general licence and most of the exam isn't relavent to general practice. It's a hold over from the GP days. It's for all intents and purposes a huge cash grab. Yeah that sounds extra pointless...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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