So You're Going To Be A Uofc Med Student..

[amichel]

Learning styles are a large combination of things! We have lectures, we have small groups (in which we do case-based learning), we have even smaller groups (core groups) that we learn physical exam/communications/clinical core with. You can do self-directed learning if you want; the vast majority of lectures are podcasted, so you can work from home, at your own pace if you want, which is awesome! Basically, however you like to learn, UofC probably has something that will work for you haha.

 

As a bit of an example, here's my week:

 

Monday - Lectures 1:30 - 5:30

Tuesday - Lectures 8:30-10:30, Small group 10:30-12:30, TBL (team based learning) for our evidence based medicine course 1:30-3:30.

Wednesday - Lectures 8:30-10:30, Small group 10:30-12:30, Lectures 1:30-5:30

Thursday - Lectures 1:30-5:30

Friday - Lectures 8:30-12:30

 

That's a fairly standard week, not including communications/physical exam/all the other courses we learn concurrently.

I second all this, but we definitely have small group Thursday afternoon, haha.

 

I would also add that small group is my favourite part of the curriculum. All our preceptors are clinicians (I think some schools have grad students), who are either specialists in the topic at hand or have done extra training on teaching that subject. We work through real life cases. It's an awesome oppourtunity to solidify what you learn in class and start developing your clinical decision making skills.

 

The other really great part, as mentioned above, is the ability to work from home if that's how you learn.

[Fly]

Thanks that is helpful information.  On average, how many days a week are there mandatory classes/groups/etc. I think this is mentioned elsewhere, so my apologies if I am repeating a question, but how difficult/easy is it to get away for a weekend here and there to visit family that lives in other provinces?

[Hyperalgesia]

Thanks that is helpful information.  On average, how many days a week are there mandatory classes/groups/etc. I think this is mentioned elsewhere, so my apologies if I am repeating a question, but how difficult/easy is it to get away for a weekend here and there to visit family that lives in other provinces?

 

It's not always easy, unfortunately. Really depends on the week. We now have 'flex days', so if you have a mandatory small group on a friday but want to go home, you can submit for a flex day and get a pass to miss it. I think we have three per year? So it's feasible to go away, just depending on the week. Hard to say on average, as the weeks can be pretty variable.

[amichel]

Thanks that is helpful information. On average, how many days a week are there mandatory classes/groups/etc. I think this is mentioned elsewhere, so my apologies if I am repeating a question, but how difficult/easy is it to get away for a weekend here and there to visit family that lives in other provinces?

Fairly easy. I've done it multiple times. We also get a couple 'flex days' for this purpose.

 

This week we don't have anything mandatory on Monday or Friday.

 

I'd say there mandatory stuff 3 days a week on average, but often it's only a few hours

[photato]

I have a question about housing.  I know a lot of med students live in Foothills Village and I would like to live there too except without a roommate.  I've been looking online and it looks like everything there is 2 bedrooms, so are there no one bedroom units?  Rent seems kind of steep if I were to rent a two bedroom for just me especially with no utilities included.  So what I'm wondering is if anyone rents a two bedroom there just for themselves and how they find budgeting when they're paying 1700+ in rent per month. 

[amichel]

I have a question about housing. I know a lot of med students live in Foothills Village and I would like to live there too except without a roommate. I've been looking online and it looks like everything there is 2 bedrooms, so are there no one bedroom units? Rent seems kind of steep if I were to rent a two bedroom for just me especially with no utilities included. So what I'm wondering is if anyone rents a two bedroom there just for themselves and how they find budgeting when they're paying 1700+ in rent per month.

Nope there are no one bedrooms. Everyone I know has a roommate. I live in one of the 3 boardwalk complexes across the street, and I pay 1500 for a two bedroom (it was all that was available when I was looking). Honestly, with line of credit it's fine. Would I be in less debt at the end if i got a roommate? Yep. But it's not worth it for me and my debt will still be reasonable.

[Hyperalgesia]

I would also consider checking out places around Foothills other than the village. There are a ton of apartment complexes in the area, and lots of rental places down in Parkdale which may offer one bedroom options. All of these should be within a 5-10 minute walk to the hospital, and potentially more affordable!

[MartinG]

Have there been any discussions about what our animal name might be? 

 

 

Asking the real questions. 

[Hyperalgesia]

Have there been any discussions about what our animal name might be? 

 

 

Asking the real questions. 

 

Haha oh there is discussion, but it's all Top Secret.

[lacigolonummI]

Since you guys are in the program.... would you still choose Calgary if it was away from your social network of people who care about you? Not family, but I have built an extremely strong friend base here in Edmonton. The one thing about Calgary that really appealed to me was how friendly all the students seemed with each other; you guys really did seem like one big family. I don't want to spend the next few years of my life competing with everyone again; to be honest I am burned out from 5 years of that. The U of A seems like a younger group of students (makes sense since it is so GPA/Grades based) and I worry that the competitive mindset would still be strong. Do you guys find that there is more cooperation since you aren't told your marks on exams etc? Also, are you guys dreading not having a summer break?

I know that was all over the place but   

Thanks

[kgb]

I was wondering about the LMCC pass rates for Calgary! Was having trouble finding a breakdown by school.  Does anyone have any info on this?

[amichel]

Since you guys are in the program.... would you still choose Calgary if it was away from your social network of people who care about you? Not family, but I have built an extremely strong friend base here in Edmonton. The one thing about Calgary that really appealed to me was how friendly all the students seemed with each other; you guys really did seem like one big family. I don't want to spend the next few years of my life competing with everyone again; to be honest I am burned out from 5 years of that. The U of A seems like a younger group of students (makes sense since it is so GPA/Grades based) and I worry that the competitive mindset would still be strong. Do you guys find that there is more cooperation since you aren't told your marks on exams etc? Also, are you guys dreading not having a summer break?

 

I know that was all over the place but

 

Thanks

I knew exactly 0 people in Calgary when I started school. I'd do it again. I love the school, and it's pushed me out of my comfort zone.

 

I would say there's no (negative) competitive mindset here, in my experience. We actually do get told our grades, not sure where you got that idea? We don't get ranked within the class at all though, we just get the class average.

 

There is tons of cooperation. People who have background in certain subjects will put on reviews before exams and stuff like that, and we are always sharing resources.

 

Would I rather have a summer break? Probably. Am I dreading not having one? No. We just came off spring break and we have a month of electives this summer which will be a nice change from the classroom. Also lots of people are doing global electives.

[amichel]

I was wondering about the LMCC pass rates for Calgary! Was having trouble finding a breakdown by school. Does anyone have any info on this?

Ask and you shall receive.

 

http://www.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/admissions/national-ranking-outcome-measures

 

I'd add though, pass rates a really high everywhere so this probably shouldn't be a deciding factor.

[Sisushi]

If anyone is from out of province, maybe you can share how the adjustment was?

 

I'm coming from Ontario and have been to Calgary exactly once for my interview, where I went from hotel to school. Is it difficult to acclimatize to tge weather? Driving?

 

What about transfering documents, did you keep permanent addresses at home or your new calgary one?

 

I'm so worried about all these paperwork things, and leaving my really good friends and boyfriend. I'm afraid of being lonely I guess x_x

[kgb]

Amazing!! Thank you so much

[amichel]

If anyone is from out of province, maybe you can share how the adjustment was?

 

I'm coming from Ontario and have been to Calgary exactly once for my interview, where I went from hotel to school. Is it difficult to acclimatize to tge weather? Driving?

 

What about transfering documents, did you keep permanent addresses at home or your new calgary one?

 

I'm so worried about all these paperwork things, and leaving my really good friends and boyfriend. I'm afraid of being lonely I guess x_x

I moved from BC , so if anyone would have had trouble adjusting to the weather, it's me! It wasn't so bad. I think a lot of people from Ontario actually found the weather easier here. It's sunny most of the time and not very humid so it doesn't feel that cold. That said, it's been a very mild winter this year.

 

Transferring documents, I am an official Alberta citizen, registered to vote and all. The biggest problem I found with keeping a permanent address back home was car insurance. It was very expensive to get insurance (had to be BC insurance) in Alberta. So I just transferred everything here. Ontario could be totally different I have no idea.

 

Being lonely is a totally legitimate concern. Only you can decide if it's too big of a sacrifice. For me, it pushed me out of my comfort zone, in a good way. Plus you will have 160 built in friends!

[DoctorEPG]

First of all thank you so much for answering all these questions! In terms of the clinical rotations, someone mentioned you have to have an idea of what specialty you may want so you can choose which you start with? Can you clarify how this works and what the options are? So in one stream you would start say surgery first, while another internal medicine or something? How does that work exactly?

 

Thanks again! 

[Hyperalgesia]

First of all thank you so much for answering all these questions! In terms of the clinical rotations, someone mentioned you have to have an idea of what specialty you may want so you can choose which you start with? Can you clarify how this works and what the options are? So in one stream you would start say surgery first, while another internal medicine or something? How does that work exactly?

 

Thanks again! 

 

So I am not in clerkship yet, but I have an idea of how it works haha.

 

The way UofC sets up our clerkship year is by producing 20 odd 'clerkship tracks', which have all of the required clinical rotations, as well as your electives, organized in a variety of different fashions. However, every UofC student has 8 weeks of electives at the beginning of clerkship, no matter your track.

 

So for example, you can take a track that is as follows: 8 weeks electives, family block, anesthesiology, an elective, emerg, an elective, internal medicine, surgery, obs/gyn, CARMS, pediatrics, psych, DONE!

 

All of the tracks have these blocks in a various orders. So if you are interested in pediatrics, probably better not to pick the track that has pediatrics post-CARMS! Or if you know you definitely don't want to do family, might be nice to throw that one in for your first block to ease you into things. You rank the tracks you want in order of most to least desirable, and then the UME tries to match everyone to their highest possible track choice.

 

That's the general idea behind it! Let me know if that made sense!

[thatonekid]

However, every UofC student has 8 weeks of electives at the beginning of clerkship, no matter your track.

Sorry, I don't mean to go on a tangent with this thread, but this is interesting. Has UofC given an explaination as to why their clerks start with electives?

[amichel]

Sorry, I don't mean to go on a tangent with this thread, but this is interesting. Has UofC given an explaination as to why their clerks start with electives?

Because everyone has to have most of their electives pre-carms. It's an unfortunate reality of a three year school, but one that doesn't seem to affect us overall.

[Sisushi]

Thank you for the reply!

 

How is transportation without a car? I have a G2 ontario license, which I believe translates to a class 5 probation calgary license? I'm wondering if it possible at least in first year to rely on public transport.

 

Does anyone in med live at the UC campus? I notice that they have a specifically graduate and professional program residence. I'm wondering if it's a viable option.

[Hyperalgesia]

Thank you for the reply!

 

How is transportation without a car? I have a G2 ontario license, which I believe translates to a class 5 probation calgary license? I'm wondering if it possible at least in first year to rely on public transport.

 

Does anyone in med live at the UC campus? I notice that they have a specifically graduate and professional program residence. I'm wondering if it's a viable option.

 

Life without a car in Calgary is fairly challenging. It's a very large sprawling city, and the transit system is great if you're going to specific areas, but not fantastic for all areas of the city haha. However, in first year, you will likely be fine without a car! By the time you hit clerkship, and potentially have to work at the various hospitals around the city, you are going to want to be able to get there as efficiently as possible, so a car may be required.

 

There is always the option of joining Car2Go if you don't want to own a vehicle; I have not used it myself, but everyone who does finds it quite reasonable!

 

As for living on campus, I haven't heard of anyone doing that, only because our classes are all at the Foothills hospital, which is about 15-20 minutes from residences on the UofC campus. I believe the grad/professional residences are even farther away, as they are on the far side of main campus. If you want to walk to school, the best areas to look for a rental place are in Foothills Village, in the communities of Parkdale and St. Andrews Heights, or University Heights. There are usually a ton of rental properties around there! As well, Kensington, Hillhurst, Montgomery, Bowness, and even Marda Loop are all good areas that are well connected to Foothills by transit.

[thatonekid]

Because everyone has to have most of their electives pre-carms. It's an unfortunate reality of a three year school, but one that doesn't seem to affect us overall.

Ah yes, carms! (I have blocked that from my memory! lol)

[sjc2]

If anyone is from out of province, maybe you can share how the adjustment was?

 

I'm coming from Ontario and have been to Calgary exactly once for my interview, where I went from hotel to school. Is it difficult to acclimatize to tge weather? Driving?

 

What about transfering documents, did you keep permanent addresses at home or your new calgary one?

 

I'm so worried about all these paperwork things, and leaving my really good friends and boyfriend. I'm afraid of being lonely I guess x_x

Hi sisigee,

 

I moved from the interior of British Columbia (where it is not super cold) to Edmonton for my undergrad, and didn't find it too difficult to acclimatize. The biggest thing I noticed was the dry air (and the wind and cold snaps!). My skin was always so dry in Edmonton that I couldn't wear perfume without developing a rash, and that also happened when we moved to Calgary. I now live in Toronto and I must say the past two winters have been pretty brutal! Winter might be a bit longer in Alberta but at least in Calgary you get warm weather (Chinooks) rolling in every now and then. I am hoping to return to Calgary for med school in 2016 Moving away from friends and your boyfriend will be hard, no doubt, but I know people who have made it through long distance no problem! And, I am sure you will also meet amazing people in Calgary. Moving away will definitely take your out of your comfort zone but I must say, having now lived in Kelowna, Edmonton, Calgary, and Toronto, spending a few years of your life in a different part of the country is something I think everyone should do! It's a great experience I have also made great friends in every city I've lived in - it's nice having people to visit all over the country!

[DoctorEPG]

So I am not in clerkship yet, but I have an idea of how it works haha.

 

The way UofC sets up our clerkship year is by producing 20 odd 'clerkship tracks', which have all of the required clinical rotations, as well as your electives, organized in a variety of different fashions. However, every UofC student has 8 weeks of electives at the beginning of clerkship, no matter your track.

 

So for example, you can take a track that is as follows: 8 weeks electives, family block, anesthesiology, an elective, emerg, an elective, internal medicine, surgery, obs/gyn, CARMS, pediatrics, psych, DONE!

 

All of the tracks have these blocks in a various orders. So if you are interested in pediatrics, probably better not to pick the track that has pediatrics post-CARMS! Or if you know you definitely don't want to do family, might be nice to throw that one in for your first block to ease you into things. You rank the tracks you want in order of most to least desirable, and then the UME tries to match everyone to their highest possible track choice.

 

That's the general idea behind it! Let me know if that made sense!

 

Thank you for this detailed response! So just to confirm in your example, you would have covered the bulk of clinical before you apply for CARMS...so you can test out various specialities before you have to select. The issue is you have to know what elective you want for the 8 weeks before doing any clinicals...is that basically the downside?

 

Thanks again!