Dad Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Hi everybody, I marched in family medecine in this year's CaRMS and now I really regret it. It was actually my first choice (specialty and location) but I really wanted to take a year off to breath and explore other passions as med school has been pretty hard on me mentally. I hadn't ranked anything until a minute before the deadline. My student debt made me panicked at the very last minute. I feel kind of stupid now as I realise one more year in debt is not the end of the world. So I was wondering if anyone heard of a program cancelling a match? I know the consequences of not respecting the CaRMS contract and was hoping to avoid that. I'll get in touch with the program this week but was just wondering if anyone had heard of something similar to give me a bit of hope. Thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 I would think this would be a very awkward situation of your own making that your program will not appreciate. I have not heard of a similar situation and would encourage you to rethink what you are about to do. Considering the risk factors involved for you, is it really worth it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenpeters2 Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Hi everybody, I marched in family medecine in this year's CaRMS and now I really regret it. It was actually my first choice (specialty and location) but I really wanted to take a year off to breath and explore other passions as med school has been pretty hard on me mentally. I hadn't ranked anything until a minute before the deadline. My student debt made me panicked at the very last minute. I feel kind of stupid now as I realise one more year in debt is not the end of the world. So I was wondering if anyone heard of a program cancelling a match? I know the consequences of not respecting the CaRMS contract and was hoping to avoid that. I'll get in touch with the program this week but was just wondering if anyone had heard of something similar to give me a bit of hope. Thanks guys Bro, Why not talk to the program director or your dean to analyze if you can start in January 2017 instead of July. That can give you time to think and explore things. You know, i would do anything to match right now. Well, thats life.. Guys who are in the system can chime in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candiens12 Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Don't do this. You agreed to a contract,think of all the people that matched and would love this spot. Family med is only 2 years,finish and then take time off. You made a commitment and should honour it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Stark Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Hi everybody, I marched in family medecine in this year's CaRMS and now I really regret it. It was actually my first choice (specialty and location) but I really wanted to take a year off to breath and explore other passions as med school has been pretty hard on me mentally. I hadn't ranked anything until a minute before the deadline. My student debt made me panicked at the very last minute. I feel kind of stupid now as I realise one more year in debt is not the end of the world. So I was wondering if anyone heard of a program cancelling a match? I know the consequences of not respecting the CaRMS contract and was hoping to avoid that. I'll get in touch with the program this week but was just wondering if anyone had heard of something similar to give me a bit of hope. Thanks guys This is going to sound blunt, but... you're an adult. You entered into a contract which requires you to start residency July 1st. That leaves a lot of time yet to unwind a bit before starting work, but while we'd all like to be able to "take a year off" to "explore other passions", there will be significant consequences to attempting to take a "gap year" before residency as if you'd just graduated high school and wanted to backpack around South America. I have seen/heard of delays in starting residency due to pregnancy or illness, but you do not have an especially compelling reason and I cannot see why a program should grant this request. FM is a short training program and you will be done before you know it. There will be lots of time for "other passions" if you spend much of those first few years in practice doing short-term locums. I don't want to take away from whatever stress or other issues you've been experiencing, but your idea is completely unrealistic and likely to be received very poorly by your program. If you do decide to break your contract, please recognize that this may jeopardize your ability to match to any program in the future, which itself is not easier the second time around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hkmedic Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 I agree with everyone who has commented so far. FM residency is only two years. I know of people who, when they will graduate from their FM residencies, will take some time off to travel before jumping straight in to full-time practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Ditto - what specific plans do you have that require a full year? Many people do take the months before July to relax, travel, etc. Or are you actually saying you need some time off for mental health due to burnout? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drake19 Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Hi everybody, I marched in family medecine in this year's CaRMS and now I really regret it. It was actually my first choice (specialty and location) but I really wanted to take a year off to breath and explore other passions as med school has been pretty hard on me mentally. I hadn't ranked anything until a minute before the deadline. My student debt made me panicked at the very last minute. I feel kind of stupid now as I realise one more year in debt is not the end of the world. So I was wondering if anyone heard of a program cancelling a match? I know the consequences of not respecting the CaRMS contract and was hoping to avoid that. I'll get in touch with the program this week but was just wondering if anyone had heard of something similar to give me a bit of hope. Thanks guys I know that if you are pregnant you can get some time off but not one year this was at calgary and not for family med (one of the roads specialties} Are you suffering from an underlying issue like adjustment disorder, depression, etc. Seek help before its too late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 This is a common problem really - feeling burned out around 4th year with the exam coming and the prospect of a new residency program with call etc. The issue usually is that residency when you boil it down is basically a job. Unlike medical school they actually need you, ha! The program had a spot reserved not because they are particularly interested in training you but rather they need someone to do things. That is a huge shift actually and it takes time to have that really sink in (even though it is obvious intellectually). Your program probably will not be particularly happy with a request to delay - although in the end they may also agree to any particular request. They also may simple ask you to withdraw so they can select someone else (and thus use your funding). The big question is if they do the latter what that means for the future - I honestly am not sure if that means you are now someone that can only access the 2nd round picks for the future (I guess that would be near the worst case, ha!) bottom line is figure out what is going on because what you are suggesting is big. Seek whatever help you can now - we all have to do that - because burnout etc is a real risk for all of use (I have seen so much of that and so many forms). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad Posted March 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 I do realize that I have agreed to a contract and that the program expects a resident to be part of the team on July 1st. I do not take this lightly. I guess it is unrealistic and/or just a plain bad idea to ask to postpone the residency. I do feel burned out and I feel like I will not be the best resident that I can be. That is my main concern, to just scrape by residency. But like some of you said, the weeks prior to the residency will probably help to shake things off. In the end : I have food, water, friends/family and a roof. I'll be alright. Thanks everybody for your replies, very nice of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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