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

[amichel]

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!

Sort of. You need to know what you want to do (or at least two choices) to pick your clerkship track ensuring your specialty of choice comes before Carms. Also, you'll need more than one reference letter for that specialty which you'll get during electives.

 

There are definitely people who change their minds during clerkship but it's not the easiest path.

[rcdcalgary]

Can anyone comment on whether for these mandatory 5-10 week rural electives, one is able to choose where they end up? 

[DoctorEPG]

Hi Again!

 

I can't find the thread to quote what was said earlier, but I noticed a 4 week "Summer Elective" between Year 1 and 2. Is this what is meant by you need to know soon what you want to do...or is this not a clerkship and something different? Are the "8 week electives" mentioned above after Year 2 and at the start of clinical rotations?

So you get two sets of these electives?

 

Sorry for all the questions... I should have asked during the interviews but for some reason only coming up with these now!

[Hyperalgesia]

Hi Again!

 

I can't find the thread to quote what was said earlier, but I noticed a 4 week "Summer Elective" between Year 1 and 2. Is this what is meant by you need to know soon what you want to do...or is this not a clerkship and something different? Are the "8 week electives" mentioned above after Year 2 and at the start of clinical rotations?

So you get two sets of these electives?

 

Sorry for all the questions... I should have asked during the interviews but for some reason only coming up with these now!

 

 

Ah, this is something completely different haha. We do four weeks of 'preclerkship electives' partway through second year. These electives don't mean much when it comes to CARMS, and thus are more of 'explore things you may want to do' electives, than 'impress people you whose program you want to get into' electives, like those in your clerkship year.

 

The eight weeks of electives at the beginning of clerkship are much more important for your future career, and must be planned accordingly. Also, we do get 12 weeks of electives in clerkship, it just so happens that a large chunk of them are at the beginning of that process instead of scattered throughout.

[DoctorEPG]

Ah, this is something completely different haha. We do four weeks of 'preclerkship electives' partway through second year. These electives don't mean much when it comes to CARMS, and thus are more of 'explore things you may want to do' electives, than 'impress people you whose program you want to get into' electives, like those in your clerkship year.

 

The eight weeks of electives at the beginning of clerkship are much more important for your future career, and must be planned accordingly. Also, we do get 12 weeks of electives in clerkship, it just so happens that a large chunk of them are at the beginning of that process instead of scattered throughout.

 

Great that makes more sense now! So you have one opportunity to try out something after year 1...then you really have to figure out by mid-year 2 what electives you want to do for the 8 weeks and what stream you want to take for clinicals. Sort of like that?

 

Also...is this info anywhere on the UofC website or in some document? I feel bad constantly asking all these questions if I can read the details somewhere!

 

Thanks so much again!!!

[amichel]

Great that makes more sense now! So you have one opportunity to try out something after year 1...then you really have to figure out by mid-year 2 what electives you want to do for the 8 weeks and what stream you want to take for clinicals. Sort of like that?

 

Also...is this info anywhere on the UofC website or in some document? I feel bad constantly asking all these questions if I can read the details somewhere!

 

Thanks so much again!!!

Sounds right. There's a curriculum page on the website, but it doesn't have a ton of info.

[amichel]

Can anyone comment on whether for these mandatory 5-10 week rural electives, one is able to choose where they end up?

We were discussing this earlier in the thread. Either this is a new policy, or they just put that in just in case. No one I know has really heard of it. Might be good to ask UME directly if you're worried about it.

[Hyperalgesia]

Great that makes more sense now! So you have one opportunity to try out something after year 1...then you really have to figure out by mid-year 2 what electives you want to do for the 8 weeks and what stream you want to take for clinicals. Sort of like that?

 

Also...is this info anywhere on the UofC website or in some document? I feel bad constantly asking all these questions if I can read the details somewhere!

 

Thanks so much again!!!

 

Just to clarify, Year 1 ends in March, so the preclerkship electives take place at the midpoint of Year 2. Just after that I believe you have to select your clerkship track, so it is a good time to have some idea of what direction you are heading in haha.

[DoctorEPG]

Just to clarify, Year 1 ends in March, so the preclerkship electives take place at the midpoint of Year 2. Just after that I believe you have to select your clerkship track, so it is a good time to have some idea of what direction you are heading in haha.

 

Thanks for the clarification! This was really helpful to understand the expectations and timelines! Although the detailed schedule is up online, I haven't found a document that explains what it all means. Thank you again for taking the time to answer all these questions!

[Fly]

Great discussion. Thanks for all the info! 

 

To expand on the questions about electives...a few more questions if you don't mind:

 

1) Are the four weeks of preclerkship electives done in one place? For example, could you do the four weeks in all family medicine? Or do you have to pick more than one area to do your electives in?

2) Can you do these four week electives anywhere?

3) How do you go about finding a place to do these electives? Does UME help or is it up to you to call/ask around? 

4) How time consuming are these four week electives- could you squeeze in other stuff at this point (i.e getting married, a weekend vacation, etc). I am just asking since the 3 year program does not allow for summer breaks if this is somewhat a break or is it really intense?

 

Thanks and sorry for all the questions!!

[Hyperalgesia]

1/2. You can do them wherever, in whatever you want! They have to be at least two weeks long though, so you can do four weeks of family, or two weeks of obs/gyn, two weeks of ENT, or four weeks of a global health elective. Whatever you want!

 

3. Many programs have a specific person to e-mail who will help you find someone to take you on. Other programs (ie: Emerg) want you to find your own preceptor. UME can help with suggestions and lists of possible programs, but they won't send the emails for you haha.

 

4. You have to do a certain amount of hours/week (I think 36-40?) for each elective, so I'm not really sure you should go ahead and get married during this time haha. However, it will be as intense or easy as you decide, depending on what electives you choose. As for weekend vacations, once again it really depends. Some electives might want you to be on-call on the weekend, or you could be doing shift work with an emerg doc that works Wednesday to Sunday, in which case you wouldn't be able to sneak away. But if you're doing a family elective with someone who works four days a week, you could likely get away haha.

[Fly]

1/2. You can do them wherever, in whatever you want! They have to be at least two weeks long though, so you can do four weeks of family, or two weeks of obs/gyn, two weeks of ENT, or four weeks of a global health elective. Whatever you want!

 

3. Many programs have a specific person to e-mail who will help you find someone to take you on. Other programs (ie: Emerg) want you to find your own preceptor. UME can help with suggestions and lists of possible programs, but they won't send the emails for you haha.

 

4. You have to do a certain amount of hours/week (I think 36-40?) for each elective, so I'm not really sure you should go ahead and get married during this time haha. However, it will be as intense or easy as you decide, depending on what electives you choose. As for weekend vacations, once again it really depends. Some electives might want you to be on-call on the weekend, or you could be doing shift work with an emerg doc that works Wednesday to Sunday, in which case you wouldn't be able to sneak away. But if you're doing a family elective with someone who works four days a week, you could likely get away haha.

 

Thanks so much! Your answers are really helpful.

[DoctorEPG]

Thanks so much! Your answers are really helpful.

 

Yes! Super helpful thanks so much!

[Borborygmi]

In general, what has been the most difficult thing about med school for you?

 

Also, has anyone here had to manage being away from their partner/family for an extended period of time while studying?

[Hyperalgesia]

Happy to help! (Aka procrastinate from studying diabetes.. )

 

In general, what has been the most difficult thing about med school for you?

 

Interesting question! I suppose the hardest things for me have been to re-learn how/what/how much to study for the courses. It's been a few years since I finished undergrad, andd I had to re-evaluate how I was learning after the first course, as there is a huge amount of information thrown at you in a short time period. It's impossible to remember everything when studying for exams, so you really have to spend time figuring out what's important, must-know info, and what you can spend less time on.

 

That's probably the biggest thing I had to get used to. That and not knowing everything. And realizing it's okay to not know something, and nobody is going to think any less of you if you don't have the answer. The one upside to being a new medical student is that nobody expects much of you haha.

[DoctorEPG]

There is some discussion on the UofA board about dissections. I recall during the interview when they showed us the lab that there is no dissection but prosection at UofC (so they already have cadavers ready for viewing). Someone also mentioned if you really wanted to do dissection there was some option to do so...can you clarify/confirm how this works? Is this something you would do during IST?

 

Also, have you found anatomy more difficult to learn not doing a usual dissection lab?

 

Thanks!

[amichel]

There is some discussion on the UofA board about dissections. I recall during the interview when they showed us the lab that there is no dissection but prosection at UofC (so they already have cadavers ready for viewing). Someone also mentioned if you really wanted to do dissection there was some option to do so...can you clarify/confirm how this works? Is this something you would do during IST?

 

Also, have you found anatomy more difficult to learn not doing a usual dissection lab?

 

Thanks!

I can tackle this one. The lack of dissection is actually a conscious choice (also, the supply of cadavers is not unlimited, but I don't think that's the main reason). The powers that be feel that prosections provide a better learning environment (since we already have limited anatomy time) because students don't butcher the dissections, meaning you can actually see the structures you are looking for. I believe there's some research backing this up too (I read it on a notice board at school somewhere, hah)

 

The elective dissection is during a course we have called AEBM (evidence based medicine), so there is an option.

 

Personally, im glad we don't do dissections and have more time to learn other things, but that definitely is a personal thing.

[DoctorEPG]

I can tackle this one. The lack of dissection is actually a conscious choice (also, the supply of cadavers is not unlimited, but I don't think that's the main reason). The powers that be feel that prosections provide a better learning environment (since we already have limited anatomy time) because students don't butcher the dissections, meaning you can actually see the structures you are looking for. I believe there's some research backing this up too (I read it on a notice board at school somewhere, hah)

 

The elective dissection is during a course we have called AEBM (evidence based medicine), so there is an option.

 

Personally, im glad we don't do dissections and have more time to learn other things, but that definitely is a personal thing.

 

Awesome! Thank you! That makes a lot of sense! 

[lumi]

Hey.  I've been told Toronto Notes is a good reference book to purchase.  I have been accepted, however they approved my deferral until next July 2016.  Does Toronto Notes release a new edition each year?  If they do then do you think there is really much change from say the 2015 to 2016 version?  I'm thinking of buying it now.

[Hyperalgesia]

Hey.  I've been told Toronto Notes is a good reference book to purchase.  I have been accepted, however they approved my deferral until next July 2016.  Does Toronto Notes release a new edition each year?  If they do then do you think there is really much change from say the 2015 to 2016 version?  I'm thinking of buying it now.

 

Nah, probably not a huge amount of change, especially between two years.

[Fly]

On the topic of study materials, can you clarify how it works.....does each professor recommend a certain book/books for each course like in undergrad? Or are the materials you need in the lecture and then each student decides if they need additional material on top of that? etc.  

 

Please clarify.  Thanks!

[Hyperalgesia]

On the topic of study materials, can you clarify how it works.....does each professor recommend a certain book/books for each course like in undergrad? Or are the materials you need in the lecture and then each student decides if they need additional material on top of that? etc.  

 

Please clarify.  Thanks!

 

Each Course we take comes with a 'Core Doc', which has a ton of info in it, and will often recommend text books that fit with the course. However, I haven't really had to use much in the way of textbooks myself so far. There's the odd thing that isn't explained well in class that I might look up, but otherwise I get by okay with the class notes. Everyone is different though, so if learning from textbooks works for you, they will suggest some good ones!

 

Oh also, we have a bookstore in the hospital, and the girls that work there have been doing it for ages, so they have really great suggestions of what textbooks past students have liked and disliked. Another good resource to consult if you aren't sure what book to choose.

 

ETA: The only book I would definitely recommend getting is a good anatomy textbook, as a lot of our anatomy is more self-taught.

[Borborygmi]

ETA: The only book I would definitely recommend getting is a good anatomy textbook, as a lot of our anatomy is more self-taught.

 

I was cleaning out my bookshelves this weekend and kept some textbooks that I thought might be useful. I'm glad I'm reading your suggestion here. I've kept Martini & Nath's Fundamentals of Anat. and Phys. textbook, a biochemistry textbook, and a bioethics text. I'm not sure if the latter two will be of use?

 

*edit: I'm also curious, did you start shadowing specialists in first year? Is a shadowing experience early on with a specialist worthwhile without a core foundation of knowledge? I know we have to have an idea about what electives and path we want to move towards earlier in Calgary than at other schools, but I'm not sure how quickly I should be jumping into shadowing/research experiences.

 

Appreciate it!

[Hyperalgesia]

I was cleaning out my bookshelves this weekend and kept some textbooks that I thought might be useful. I'm glad I'm reading your suggestion here. I've kept Martini & Nath's Fundamentals of Anat. and Phys. textbook, a biochemistry textbook, and a bioethics text. I'm not sure if the latter two will be of use?

 

*edit: I'm also curious, did you start shadowing specialists in first year? Is a shadowing experience early on with a specialist worthwhile without a core foundation of knowledge? I know we have to have an idea about what electives and path we want to move towards earlier in Calgary than at other schools, but I'm not sure how quickly I should be jumping into shadowing/research experiences.

 

Appreciate it!

 

Not a lot of basic science in UofC's curriculum, so bchem textbook might not be as useful as you'd like (unless you want it to help explain concepts otherwise not covered). I'm not sure about the bioethics one.. We do an Ethics course, but I think everything you need to know about ethics is covered within and will likely not require much outside reading (once again, unless you are super interested in bioethical issues, in which case it may be beneficial to you).

 

As for shadowing early.. I would recommend it! It doesn't matter if you know anything or not, the experience is more to get a general idea of what a specialty entails, what your day would be like if you were a (insert specialty here), what kind of patient populations you work with, what settings you would work in, and what sort of things you will be doing on the regular (ie: procedures, clinics, academics?). You may also make some connections that could be helpful in the future, but that is not really the main point of shadowing (in my opinion at least!) It really is just to help you narrow down the areas you are interested. Shadow a surgeon, so you can see if the long days in the OR are something that interests you. Shadow physiatry or pathology or nuclear medicine, because we don't get much exposure to those areas. Shadow different types of family doctors so you can see how much flexibility the specialty offers. Stuff like that. You don't have to start your first day! Take some time to get used to med school and get into the swing of things haha. But earlier is better than later when it comes to shadowing at UofC.

[Fly]

Each Course we take comes with a 'Core Doc', which has a ton of info in it, and will often recommend text books that fit with the course. However, I haven't really had to use much in the way of textbooks myself so far. There's the odd thing that isn't explained well in class that I might look up, but otherwise I get by okay with the class notes. Everyone is different though, so if learning from textbooks works for you, they will suggest some good ones!

 

Oh also, we have a bookstore in the hospital, and the girls that work there have been doing it for ages, so they have really great suggestions of what textbooks past students have liked and disliked. Another good resource to consult if you aren't sure what book to choose.

 

ETA: The only book I would definitely recommend getting is a good anatomy textbook, as a lot of our anatomy is more self-taught.

 

Thank you! Good to know.