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2014 Backpack Colour


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I like them because I have a terrible memory for faces. It really helps me to be able to know at a glance who is in my class, who is another med student, who is a resident - otherwise I would be totally socially out to lunch half the time.

 

I have to say though - seeing all those grey backpacks (and even some blues from Mac and Calgary) starting residency this week was scary as heck! I remember starting medical school when they were second years and it all seemed so far away.

 

Might have preferred not to be able to recognize them!

 

You know - I dislike entitlement as much as the next person and I don't think I am snotty about being a medical student.

 

But I DID work hard to get here - and yeah, other people helped, and I am mindful of having the privilege of accessing post secondary education at all, but I did most of it myself and I still am - supporting myself financially and on scholarship, with no family nearby, working the kind of hours that we work and spending my spare time studying, giving up a big chunk of my 20s, my sleep, to some extent my physical health. So yeah I'm going to wear the backpack and take pride in what I have done with my life. Because it wasn't just luck. It was working my ass off through some terrible life circumstances, picking myself up when I fell down, and just generally never giving up and pushing through. That's not luck.

 

I also think that outside the medical community, few people even recognize the backpacks OR know what they mean. I can count on less than one hand the number of times in the past three years that anybody has approached me or said anything or even looked twice other than another med student or medical person.

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I like them because I have a terrible memory for faces. It really helps me to be able to know at a glance who is in my class, who is another med student, who is a resident - otherwise I would be totally socially out to lunch half the time.

 

I have to say though - seeing all those grey backpacks (and even some blues from Mac and Calgary) starting residency this week was scary as heck! I remember starting medical school when they were second years and it all seemed so far away.

 

Might have preferred not to be able to recognize them!

 

You know - I dislike entitlement as much as the next person and I don't think I am snotty about being a medical student.

 

But I DID work hard to get here - and yeah, other people helped, and I am mindful of having the privilege of accessing post secondary education at all, but I did most of it myself and I still am - supporting myself financially and on scholarship, with no family nearby, working the kind of hours that we work and spending my spare time studying, giving up a big chunk of my 20s, my sleep, to some extent my physical health. So yeah I'm going to wear the backpack and take pride in what I have done with my life. Because it wasn't just luck. It was working my ass off through some terrible life circumstances, picking myself up when I fell down, and just generally never giving up and pushing through. That's not luck.

 

I also think that outside the medical community, few people even recognize the backpacks OR know what they mean. I can count on less than one hand the number of times in the past three years that anybody has approached me or said anything or even looked twice other than another med student or medical person.

 

I agree with this. Moreover, I don't see how wearing the backpacks removes recognition from those that helped us along the way. I tried explaining to a few family and friends — who really helped to get to med school — about the backpacks, and they thought it was a ridiculous thing to be excited about. They're kinda right. It's really just a fun perk for medical students.

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An interesting take on the 'orange backpack'........... I think I will still wear mine though :P

 

https://medium.com/@jthlam/why-i-dont-wear-my-orange-backpack-4e543e3be77d

 

Someone sent me this article when they found out I got in and told me "I better not see you wearing that backpack" :eek:

 

I see what the article's getting at but it won't stop me from wearing mine. Sure there were some people who helped me along, mainly my parents, but I worked hard over the past ~5 years. I don't see the backpack as being "Ha, I got in and you didn't", it's just one more part of finally being part of the medical community that I've dreamed of being in for so long.

 

There's nothing wrong with me being proud of getting in and I don't look down upon those who are unlucky enough to still be trying. Very few people, even pre-meds, recognize the backpack and at the airport, I've seen people from 2 different schools strike up a conversation because they realized they were in the same year.

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Someone sent me this article when they found out I got in and told me "I better not see you wearing that backpack" :eek:

 

That's dumb. I don't see it as entitlement, I see it as both pride in our achievement and a reminder to ourselves of what we're expected to live up to.

 

That said, I'm still not going to wear mine - because I like my new canvas messenger bag much more than backpacks :D

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Is what's said in the article true? Yes, most of it is. That being said it is an achievement and beyond that it's only a backpack. There are many other things are are much more "braggy" than wearing a backpack.

i imagine for most students it's just a free backpack.

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Is what's said in the article true? Yes, most of it is. That being said it is an achievement and beyond that it's only a backpack. There are many other things are are much more "braggy" than wearing a backpack.

i imagine for most students it's just a free backpack.

 

But isn't it more than just a free backpack? To me it seems as it has kinda become part of the Canadian med students' culture (mad kudos to MD physician services' marketing team). It's something all the med students have in common. They enjoy wearing one and seeing their colleagues wearing one.

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I have a question, and I apologize if it's been asked before. I don't even know if I get a backpack or not.

 

I am intrigued by the "no free lunch" movement for medical professionals. If I turn down the free backpack, how will it be viewed? I also don't need a free backpack because I work in a sports store and have a lovely arc'teryx one I got at a deep discount.

 

Please no judgement, I honestly want to know how others would feel about this.

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I have a question, and I apologize if it's been asked before. I don't even know if I get a backpack or not.

 

I am intrigued by the "no free lunch" movement for medical professionals. If I turn down the free backpack, how will it be viewed? I also don't need a free backpack because I work in a sports store and have a lovely arc'teryx one I got at a deep discount.

 

Please no judgement, I honestly want to know how others would feel about this.

 

I'm not 100% familiar with the "no free lunch" movement but I thought it was about drug companies? The backpack is provided by the CMA which every medical student should become a part of and they provide us with a lot of valuable services. In fact, I think you're required to become a member if you want to eventually practice in Canada? Not sure of the details though.

 

Edit: Ignore my random edits if you saw them, I wasn't sure if the backpack was OMA or CMA but I know Calgary gets them so can't just be OMA.

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I have a question, and I apologize if it's been asked before. I don't even know if I get a backpack or not.

 

I am intrigued by the "no free lunch" movement for medical professionals. If I turn down the free backpack, how will it be viewed? I also don't need a free backpack because I work in a sports store and have a lovely arc'teryx one I got at a deep discount.

 

Please no judgement, I honestly want to know how others would feel about this.

 

All Canadian medical students get them :) , except uOttawa of course who has opted to give their students their own special backpacks.

 

I might be wrong here, but I think each provincial medical association is in on the sponsorship..so in Ontario we've got the OMA, but when I was living in QC, I remember seeing McGill students with a QMA on their backpacks along with the CMA.

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I'm not 100% familiar with the "no free lunch" movement but I thought it was about drug companies? The backpack is provided by the CMA which every medical student should become a part of and they provide us with a lot of valuable services. In fact, I think you're required to become a member if you want to eventually practice in Canada? Not sure of the details though.

 

Edit: Ignore my random edits if you saw them, I wasn't sure if the backpack was OMA or CMA but I know Calgary gets them so can't just be OMA.

 

OK, if that's the case then it's not a big deal. But I thought that it was sponsored by MD financial, which is for-profit as far as I know. This is all new to me so I could very well be wrong.

 

Drug companies or really any companies that are trying to, well, bribe people. This includes other suppliers of products or services too,, and I am thinking that by some people's definition it could include MD financial or other organizations like that.

 

Sorry to rain on everyone's parade.

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OK, if that's the case then it's not a big deal. But I thought that it was sponsored by MD financial, which is for-profit as far as I know. This is all new to me so I could very well be wrong.

 

Drug companies or really any companies that are trying to, well, bribe people. This includes other suppliers of products or services too,, and I am thinking that by some people's definition it could include MD financial or other organizations like that.

 

Sorry to rain on everyone's parade.

 

I think MD financial actually falls under them but once again, not really sure. OMA is non-profit for sure though but we only pay something like $22/year so maybe MD financial covers the rest.

 

The above could be completely wrong and a current med student would probably know better.

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It is my understanding that MD is part of the CMA.

The no free lunch movement, as described above makes sense on a cursory level but not beyond that to myself. Are you not going to pursue medical education in Canada because it's heavily subsidized by the government? (Viewed in my mind as a "bribe" as you describe it, to then work in a publicly funded practice/setting?

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