Full-time status / GPA

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<threadtitle>Dal med -- strengths and weaknesses</threadtitle>

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<username>BCgirl</username>

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<title>Dal med -- strengths and weaknesses</title>

<pagetext>I was wondering if current Dal med students could provide some insight into the program...

 

What do you feel are the strengths? Weaknesses? What do you think makes Dal better than other programs? What might you change if given the chance? For those of you that chose Dal over other schools, what made the difference for you?

 

I asked my med student interviewer what she thought the strengths AND weakenesses are... unfortunately, she only mentioned the strengths.

 

I'd love to stay in Halifax (if I get accepted!), so I'm trying to get a clear picture of the med program at Dal.

 

Thanks!

[Guest MD2006]

Hey BCgirl...I'll try my best....

 

Strengths:

 

- your classmates! I like the fact that our class is smaller than some other med schools (87 students) and it allows you to get to know everyone. Everyone in my class has such a diverse background and range in ages (21-38 ) that you are always learning something new about someone and them about you. The social atmosphere here is awesome (just like it should be in the Maritimes)! There is always stuff going on that everyone comes out to, from all years, whatever you like to do....sports, music, art, food, politics, drinking :b , and the odd Dal Med ping pong tournament (oops, I meant Table Tennis)!

 

- The cirriculum. I personally like the COPS cirriculum here at Dal which I have commented on before pub125.ezboard.com/fpreme...D=43.topic

 

You get to get into the hospital really quickly! In Med I and Med II you choose an elective of your own choice, in any speciality, and by October of your first year a lot of us were already scrubbing into the OR!

 

Also during clerkship, you have the chance to do rotations not just in Halifax, but all over NS, NB, and PEI so you get to see a lot more than just a teaching hospital setting.

 

- Pass/Fail. I personally think that this system (for me anyways) is better than an honors/pass/fail. It gets rid of all the competitiveness within the class and everyone is routing for each other come exam time. In this system, a 60% is the same as 100%....so come exam time, if you have some extracirricular things would would like to do instead of studying, you don't have to worry about the difference between a pass and an honors. I think it allows for a more rounded student come exam time.

 

- HALIFAX! You must admit that the city is great, the people are great, and for me, it's close to my family and friends which is really nice. The Med School is right in the middle of the city, right now I live 5 minutes away and I love the fact that I can leave at 8:25 for an 8:30 class....zip home at lunch if I want, and be close by for all of the evening activities!

 

Weaknesses:

 

- COPS. Some people just don't like this style of learning, and it is really an individual choice. For me, I welcome tutorial time to learn about clinical cases and have a chance to interact in small groups, however, some people would rather have it layed out in the form of lectures, or have a little less PBL. It's a personal choice.

 

- The fact that you will be doing rotations outside of Halifax means that you have to set up accomidations in the city you are doing your rotations. Not really a problem, but it's something else to deal with, However, I feel the payoff is worth it.

 

Other than those I can't really think of anymore weaknesses, I love it here, I'll be honest. Hopefully this helps!

[Guest UWOMED2005]

I did my undergrad at Dal and personally loved it. A lot of what MD2006 has said is true. . . particularly the fact that Halifax is a great city to live in for at least a few years.

 

But may I offer some non-Dal med student thoughts on Dal (I graduated with a B Sc in Biochem/Micro from Dal in 2000, btw):

 

Strengths:

 

- Great Profs, at least among the scientists. I found many of my undergrad profs, particularly in Micro and Biochem, were actually quite good (Tim Lee, Dr. Duncan, Dr. Bearne, Dr. McLeod, and Dr. Hoskins in particular standout.) My impression is that some/many of the profs at Dal are more interested in the teaching aspects of their career than their research. It might put them in as good standing on Maclean's, but as a student there you'll appreciate the fact many of the profs

 

- The Queen Elizabeth Health Sciences Centre is THE Academic Medical Center for three provinces (NS, NS, PEI.) This means its specialty services have a large referral population and it tends to have a lot of centralized services

 

- Tied into the above, the relatively small class size (84?) means you'll have a great case: student ratio in third year. This is key for clerkship!

 

Weaknesses:

 

- Library resources, particularly in 1st and 2nd year. I used to work at the W.K.Kellogg Library in undergrad, and it was kind of shocking how many journals they cut every year. Some were replaced with e-journals, but a surprising number weren't. Coming to a bigger university for medicine, I was blown away by the difference in resources (The Taylor library here is at least 3 times the size of the Kellogg at Dal.)

 

- Computer and other technical resources. Dal on the whole had a bit of a computer shortage for undergrads. Last I checked, the only computers geared towards med students were on the second floor of the Kellogg, and they were either 486s or Pentium 100s - pretty old. (Have these been upgraded?)

 

- The Nova Scotia government, finances and healthcare: This was pretty much THE issue that dissuaded me from Dal. At least back in 2000, Nova Scotia was one of the few provinces that still carried a deficit. There had already been many cuts to the Health Care system and more seemed to be on the way (though these fears were somewhat mitigated by the fact the Premier, Dr. John Hamm, is himself an MD.) Plus, one of my profs in UG had completed his MD at McGill and then did his residency at Dal. . . he said there was a great difference in what resources were available between the two schools. I found that quite interesting

 

These are just my thoughts on the good & the bad of Dal. On the whole, I think it's a great school, anyone going there would have a great time, and their clerkship program has potential based on the # of students and the referral population. My one question would be resources.

[Guest arcticaguy]

Strengths:

Very similar to what MD2006 mentioned above:

My classmates are the number one attraction. After my interview (which I thought I bombed), I went on a tour of the school with a few first years and what struck me the most is the sense of community in the class. It made me feel worse at the time because of the bad interview-I really wanted a chance to be part of such a class With a diverse and caring class, you also get the opportunity to benefit from the experience of others and a chance to participate in a variety of extracurricular activities.

 

Number two: COPS. I like it. I applied to Dal fully knowing what I was getting into and I thought a lot about this new style of learning. I've heard a few students complain about it, but they knew what the program was about and they still chose to pursue a seat here. When it works-it's beautiful. You can tell a lot of work goes into developing this type of program. When it doesn't work, you get to use the third attraction of the program....

 

The administration. They're very receptive to student input. We have a unit head who keeps modifying the unit for us based on input from the class during feedback sessions and even based on student emails/suggestions. At times it's unorganized, but the point is, they really do try to treat you as fair as possible, without compromising the spirit of the program!

 

The Clinical exposure, over a number of settings and in a number of provinces, is a GREAT attribute of the program. It makes those long hours in tutorial rooms/infront of the books seem even more relevant as you get to integrate your 'book' knowledge with clinical experiences....text book problems stick in your mind a lot more easily if you have some real life example from your elective or your patient-doctor unit experiences. It also allows for ample practice of the all critical skills of history taking (as my supervisor once said: it's 90% of the interview!) and basic physical exams...

 

Last but not least: The fair city of HALIFAX. You can't say enough about the little city that could It's small, but don't let its size fool ya. Walking on the bridge over the harbour in the summer was a memorable experience (the smell included:rollin ). The pubs/clubs/wings at the oasis....and table tennis tournys all add colour to this city.

 

Negatives:

COPS-there are some units where COPS should be modified to accomodate their unique requirements and objectives. The training of some tutors needs to be enhanced a bit to get groups to work efficiently and enthusiastically (maybe some mind washing/hypnosis techniques would be helpful )

 

Facilities-

They're old-no doubt about it. As UWOMED2005 mentioned, the library resources are not up to par with other, somewhat larger universities. HOWEVER, the medical school facilities will be undergoing major renovations in the near future, which should see expansion of the library spaces; improvement of the public spaces; a few extra buildings will be constructed; the Link, as we know it will undergo a lot of changes. I will mention here that there is a more modern computer labs on the second floor of the link, that's mainly there for med student use.

 

Class size-this doubles as a positive as well. while you get to know the rest of your classmates really well, it can get a little annoying at times that news travels warp speed (for any trekkers out there). The next thing you know, your story is all over the place. So, it's hard to keep things private, especially relationships

 

I think that's it for now. Hope this helps.

[Guest UWOMED2005]

I didn't know there was a computer lab upstairs - I wonder if it was there when I was there. I never really went up to the second floor of the link, with the exception of the odd tutorial and the annual micro wine & cheeses in the lounge. I wonder if the librarians know about that computer room.

 

And as for the small class size and lack of privacy - I think that's true of all the med schools (with the possible exception of U of T.)

 

Hmm. . . Halifax harbour smell. One of the few things I DON'T miss. I hear they're finally cleaning that up!

[Guest MD2006]

The computer lab is a Med student only lab, you need to swipe your ID to get in...our own little secret!! And the PC's there are new (fairly) and much better than those in the Kellogg :eek

[Guest BCgirl]

Thanks so much for the in depth replies!

 

It's appreciated!

[Guest frankie]

How many courses does Dal consider full-time? Am I eligible to apply for September 2005? Here is the number of courses that I took / am taking each year:

 

- Prior to 2002-03: several courses on a part-time basis

- 2002-03: 4.0 courses

- 2003-04: 6.5 courses

- 2004-05: 5.0 courses

 

Also, is the GPA cut-off for out of province students an average of 3.7 over the two years considered, or must I achieve a minimum of 3.7 in each of those years?

 

Thank you for the information!

Frankie

[Guest Donnie Darko]

Good info all, thanks. Anyone else have some positive/negatives to add?

[Guest CaesarCornelius]

Hey Guys

 

So far I must say that my experience is overwhelmingly positive. There are always things you don't like, but hey, thats life.

 

The 2007 class is very social, I was thinking that they would all be geeks (like me).. and well.. they are, but they certainly know how to party. The most common personality type in my class is the type of person who keeps up with their work, but doesn't study all the time.. they know when crunch time is comming and buckle down and study hard then.

 

The previous comments about the computer labs are void. THe med computer lab is about 5-6 years old and the computers are disgustingly slow. The good news is that DAL has a giagantic computer centre in the killam library and has also put in fairly large bunch of computers in the killam (med library). They are all small flat screen computers, and fast! There is a lot of desk space to study if needed. Dal campus is also completely wireless. So if you have a laptop with wireless capabilities (the new ones all have this) then you can just get access basically anywhere on campus, which I think is awesome!!

 

I find the lectures a bit disorganised.. but i must say that im used to being spoon fed.. For example, in undergrad, they would say "read chaper 43 in the book, this will cover the lecture material".. Well now in med school its not like that at all. They say "Well, here are 4 recommended books, I will take random slides from all four books and make a lectur eout of them." So, you get the neurotic people who spend $300 and buy all four books (completely unneccessary).. my problem is that the parts I find in my book I have to filter through to find relevant info, but then I feel I might have missed things. Anyway, this gets resolved at the end of the week when we get the weeks objectives, which will tell me if I missed anything.

 

The tutorial process is great! its like studying, but you have an entire group, and a story to go along with it! Although a bad tutor (rare) can make the process a bit tough.

 

We have a few sections that need to be redone. We have a clincal health and epidemiology section which includes a statistics component... well, thats not going too well right now. Poor lectures and an overly complex book. We have small tutorial sessions which kind of clarify things, but it depends on your tutors knowledge.

 

We also had a bioethics component. Fairly good, but what bothered me is the fact that we didn't have small group sessions. He would pose LOADED questions to a class of 94 people and expect a clear discussion. Well, Im sorry, but with that many vocal people things just get out of hand.

 

Anatomy was expertly done, I wouldn't change anything (except avoid hurricanes)... Metabolism and funtion is also going great.

 

We start our clinical sessions in january, which will be great. We go to either cardiology, respirology, GI or MSK and learn how to do physical exams.

 

 

Thats all I can think of right now..

 

I hope this helped.

 

CC

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<username>wannabe</username>

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<title>Medicine and the Military</title>

<pagetext>Even in the wake of Juan I am preparing to apply to Dal for next year. I am looking for any input on the idea of doing medicine while enrolled in the military. I haven't really heard a lot of information on what Dal med admissions would think of this idea, or whether it's a good idea. If anyone has any input it would be really appreciated. Such as, do you know anyone who has done this? Is it a horrible idea? From an economic view point it's a great opportunity.

 

Thank you,

Wannabe

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