BombSquad Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Can some of the IM residents out there comment on strengths and weakness of the different IM programs out there? I've heard UBC is service-heavy, teaching-light. Anybody have experience with Calgary/Edmonton/Toronto/Ottawa/Dalhousie/Memorial? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Stark Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Memorial - service-heavy, but with the benefit of a lot of early responsibility, working closely with staff, and ability to get involved in projects easily. Can say more in PM, but there are currently a lot of changes going on re: teaching that will strengthen the didactic component. Simulation-based training is playing an ever-larger role (we have a brand new sim centre). Dal - fairly well-balanced between teaching and service. Good sim component, particularly for skill-training. I don't think residents get sufficient autonomy or responsibility early on, and some services have excessive numbers of learners. Ottawa - only experience I had was a CTU elective at the Civic. Good mix of teaching and service for med students, anyway, and I enjoyed their morning report. But I've heard the service angle has been problematic lately, and I've heard some people are unhappy. But those are just second-hand things, so better to check it out for yourself. Toronto - can't really speak to the core IM program, but while teaching is strong, experience/autonomy is iffy. I don't like Toronto hospitals much, and on elective there in April I encountered a few IM residents - some happy, some not - and in one case an R4 who wasn't comfortable or competent with ICU procedures. (The fellow had me supervise me...). Worse the program schedules "backup" call, so that someone is available if someone calls in sick randomly. I was floored when I heard this. We would never allow someone to beggar off call because they feel "sick". For legitimate significant illness or family emergencies we will make it work, but the entitled mentality inherent in automatic sick coverage really turned me off. It's also a gigantic program, such that people in the same year as me didn't know whether I was an elective or UofT resident. Edmonton - no idea Calgary - no idea UBC - only experience was with a consult service at VGH. That was fine. I have not generally heard good things though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.