Best Family Med Program?

[polarb]

Anyone here have insight as to what the best family med program is in the country?

 

Just on the CaRMS tour right now and every school sells it so well, I have no idea how to chose.

 

OR does it really matter and should I rank just base on where I want to live?

 

Thanks all!

[gp2014]

Nancy Fowler at McMaster made the comment that we will receive excellent training in family medicine no matter where we go in Canada, which I believe to be true. So yeah, I think the decision comes down to what style of learning/practice suits you and absolutely, where you want to live. That will be playing a big part in my decision! For example, I do see myself eventually working/living more rurally but I'm not ready to move out to the boonies just yet. So I'll be picking a program in a more urban area but probably one with community training sites (vs big academic health team).

[carazadie]

Disclaimer: I am not a family med resident and have not gone through carms yet, but I have thought a lot about this question.

 

In my opinion, family med programs are so diverse (just like family med itself) that it is pretty hard to make any objective, universal assessment of which programs are the best. The answer will depend on whether you want urban vs. rural/regional, whether you're interested in pursuing additional training, how interested you are in research and teaching, etc, etc. And, of course, where you eventually want to practice. And even with all of those questions answered, there are probably multiple programs in which you would be happy. That's the nice thing about family med. It's not like we only have a handful of programs to choose from across the country, like in other specialties.

 

Consistently, the most competitive FM programs are those in the large urban centers (Vancouver, GTA, Calgary) and certain rural programs. Whether or not the quality of education and experience in those programs is objectively better? I have my doubts. I think there are probably some really great programs in mid-size centers, but they're not as competitive because of the less desired location.

 

There may, of couse, be certain programs with red flags (unhappy residents, consistently underfilled by home school students, etc.) that you would want to avoid. The common wisdom is that you should talk to the staff and residents at each interview to get a feel for how they like the program, but I would personally take those kinds of testimonies with a grain of salt. They are trying to attract the best candidates, and they may not be completely honest. Perhaps you could privately get into contact with some former students from your school who trained at the programs in question. They might be more honest.

 

If you're having a hard time choosing based on the merits of the program, location is certainly worth considering. Actually I think it's one of the most important factors. After all, you're going to be living there for at least two years, and potentially starting a practice there.

 

Of course, these are just my thoughts. So many factors go into these choices, and the decisional process is going to be different for everyone. On the plus side, at least you're loving every program instead of hating every program

[1fuzzy2dino3]

Hi guys

 

Can some of my seniors pls give me some insight on how to rank programs?

 

Like what are some things that one should take into consideration?

 

Commuting distance? Library resources like access to up to date? Educational incentives like coverage for conferences... How cohesive are the rural and the urban site residents? How happy are the Rez?(ev one says they're happy so this is not a good litmus test)... Whether I can live at home with my family or whether I'll need to move... Which has it's own set of pros and cons.

 

What else should one consider?

 

I am so confused.

 

Thx for your help