Mcmaster Or University Of Ottawa Md Program

[hamlet]

Wow thanks everyone for the help and insight... Although I think I'm even more indecisive than before. 

 

I've been looking at the CaRMS stats for Mac and other schools, and I think I might be looking at it wrong? Most people on this forum tend to say 2012 was a bad year for Mac, but I don't see a huge deviation from other schools. Would someone be able to explain this to me?

[Organomegaly]

They aren't officially posted but the numbers are floating around the schools. I have them in a text somewhere. Mac had a very bad year this year (Indeed the worst in ontario)

 

One thing I will say having been in clerkship, is that there are a number of docs who just talk **** about Mac. While our  absolute match numbers are in line with other schools, I do think that there is a Mac "stigma" that may cause people not a preference higher up. 

 

We also have less CV building time (aka research) 

 

While these are generalizations as a whole, rember that matching is a personal activity. I you dont take it seriously or are unreasonable you are gonna have a rough time regardless of schools.

 

It sucks that this year was that bad - I wonder why it turned out that way. Any idea why? 

 

But as a whole over the past few years, what I've seen from the Carms data has shown Mac does pretty much the same as everyone else. 

[Organomegaly]

Wow thanks everyone for the help and insight... Although I think I'm even more indecisive than before. 

 

I've been looking at the CaRMS stats for Mac and other schools, and I think I might be looking at it wrong? Most people on this forum tend to say 2012 was a bad year for Mac, but I don't see a huge deviation from other schools. Would someone be able to explain this to me?

 

Bad is relative to the other Canadian schools basically - not really an absolute descriptor.  A few more Mac grads than usual went unmatched, and slightly fewer received their first choice speciality (88% compared to the 91% national average). 

 

There have also been years when Mac was well above the national average. For instance, 2011

 

http://www.carms.ca/assets/upload/pdfs/2011R1_MatchResults/10_Match%20Results%20by%20Choice%20Discipline%20and%20Medical%20School_en.pdf

 

and 2010

 

http://www.carms.ca/assets/upload/pdfs/2010R1_MatchResults/CDN%20Grad%20Match%20Results%20by%20Choice%20Discipline%20and%20Medical%20School_en.pdf

 

and 2009 when Mac knocked it out of the park

 

http://www.carms.ca/assets/upload/pdfs/2009R1_MatchResults/12MatchReport_E.pdf

 

 

Other schools have at one point fallen below the average as well. It's basic statistics.

 

Really, the ultimate consolation for me is the fact that matching is like Lab said, student-based.

[thestar10]

Yeah when all match rates are above 90, it really comes down to the person and the people in the class themselves.

 

Its situations like mine (gf is doing a Toronto residency) that really cause people to go unmatched because they only rank spots in Toronto. She wouldn't let me do that even if I was willing too thankfully. 

 

I do stand by my assertion that you have less time to develop your CV and other schools have more time to get projects started and finished. If you are coming in with a strong CV and/or grad degree it probably matters far less.

[Organomegaly]

Yeah when all match rates are above 90, it really comes down to the person and the people in the class themselves.

 

Its situations like mine (gf is doing a Toronto residency) that really cause people to go unmatched because they only rank spots in Toronto. She wouldn't let me do that even if I was willing too thankfully. 

 

I do stand by my assertion that you have less time to develop your CV and other schools have more time to get projects started and finished. If you are coming in with a strong CV and/or grad degree it probably matters far less.

 

yeah it's good to note the CV issue

 

mac's preclerkship does give more free time though, so personally i'm going to pick up a few projects while I still got an open schedule to make up for the extra year (all in theory of course, not sure how things will pan out in reality)

[sleeping_sickness]

someone raised an interesting point about the stigma of a 3-year program. i have definitely been told by staff at both mac and u of c that they think the clerks are weaker from the 3-year programs. personally i have no way of gauging this since i was doing surgical electives and the core clerks had zero interest in surgery. some of them were weak, and some were quite strong as with any other program. it's really a question of personal motivation and how hard you're willing to work. seeming interested goes a long way. overcoming stigma is another issue. 

[amichel]

someone raised an interesting point about the stigma of a 3-year program. i have definitely been told by staff at both mac and u of c that they think the clerks are weaker from the 3-year programs. personally i have no way of gauging this since i was doing surgical electives and the core clerks had zero interest in surgery. some of them were weak, and some were quite strong as with any other program. it's really a question of personal motivation and how hard you're willing to work. seeming interested goes a long way. overcoming stigma is another issue. 

 

I can see how clerks from three year programs would be weaker on electives as they are before core rotations for us.  Not sure about core rotations as we have exactly the same amount of experience at that point as any other third year clerk?

 

Also, seems that stigma goes away in residency, at least for Calgary.  They asked program directors to rate residents against all the residents they had worked with, and the results were very positive. 

[thsc]

The Ottawa Eye Institute does some excellent work if you're interested in Ophthalmology.