Guest macdaddyeh Posted February 3, 2003 Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 Hi everybody. In the interest of procrastination and awaiting that coveted invite or dreaded rejection I thought I would start this thread. I recently watched an episode of the very funky, above-mentioned TV show. I particularly enjoy how down-to-earth they are...I really get a kick out that really cool aboriginal woman (nurse turned med student)... Do any of you guys know the "actors?" What does everyone think of the show? It really gets me pumped about Mac! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted February 3, 2003 Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 Hi there, You asked about the "actors": well, one of them (although I haven't managed to see an episode of the show so I don't know which part he played) spent a little time these past few months, in our burn unit at Sunnybrook. He seemed like quite a pleasant guy. Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tanya24 Posted February 3, 2003 Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 Yeah, I saw this for the first time yesterday. Forgive my ignorance, but is it based on Ontario med students in general, or just Mac students? I'm sure I heard one of the students say she was from UWO. The thing that got me the most excited was seeing the Physician skills course testing (when they move from station to station and have X minutes to come up with a patient's dx). After so many years of cramming facts into my head (what's the difference between a Markovnikov/anti-Markovnikov reaction; is this a chiral centre?) the thought of doing practical hands-on work with patients is very appealing, at least for me. Not to offend any pure science buffs out there ; but I, myself, am ready for a change. (knock on wood). Good luck to everyone!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Carolyn Posted February 4, 2003 Report Share Posted February 4, 2003 I know the majority of the 'actors'. I'm glad you guys enjoyed it so much. Interestingly, for a lot of us it doesn't really portray the truth of medical school. They wanted to show how vulnerable being a medical student can be... and thus really honed in on some of those situations and some people who are actually very bright came across as a little less bright... Or at least that was my take on it. The other problem was that as I understand it they took a great deal of footage from a couple of shifts and then just pieced it together -- one 'actor' that I spoke to said it was funny in some ways because the piece on him was soo absolutely different than the actual day that they filmed him... but that his grandmother loved it. To answer a couple of the questions -- the one girl who said something is a mac student. She used to train at UWO and at times goes back to train there (for track and field)... I think they had a shot of that. Karen, the aboriginal student is really an absolutely hysterical women as well as very bright with the best sarcasm around ... some of that sarcasm got twisted around a little I think. The OSCE (the "bell-ringer" exam) is typical at every medical school and most classes have one at least every year. They are great learning experiences. Anyways, I guess it gives a bit of insight into the life of a med student but everyone's experience is so different I can't say I overly related to what they showed! Take care. Carolyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted February 4, 2003 Report Share Posted February 4, 2003 Yep, we have OSCEs (pronounced oss-key) here at UWO as well. We didn't have to come up with differential diagnoses in first year, just demonstrating various exam skills, but our we WILL have to come up with a differential on our OSCE this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mala2003 Posted February 21, 2003 Report Share Posted February 21, 2003 I also happened to watch an episode of the life of Mac Med students - I can't seem to recall what time it came on or what day! Does it come on a regular basis? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DrSahsi Posted February 22, 2003 Report Share Posted February 22, 2003 "Actors?" Heh. The television series focusses on medical trainees at McMaster University, though the name of the series gives the false impression that it's concentrating on the undergraduate "med student" population. I can't count the number of times I've been mistaken for a Mac Med Student after being on the show, despite having graduated from UWO in 2001. Though entertaining, I found that the show gave a very cursory glance at the clinical years of medical school and residency. It gives some idea of what trainees go through, but only superficially. I would not use it as any gauge of what medical training is really like. I have to agree with Carolyn on this. The producers were aiming to create a "feel good" series, which showed that doctors don't wake up one morning "omnipotent" in their craft. They wanted to capture the learning curve, and did so, but were very selective with the footage they used. A *LOT* ended up on the cutting room floor. I have to giggle at the word "actor," and I'll tell you why. I've lost track of the number of family members who have seen one of the episodes I'm in and have responded with "wow... you're a really good actor." Dammit. That's just what I do all day. Hardly a stretch. :^) - Rupinder S. Sahsi P.S. Mala2003: At the rate they're going, they'll be rerunning this thing ad nauseaum on Life Network 'till I'm grey. Schedules are on the Life Network's website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted February 24, 2003 Report Share Posted February 24, 2003 Rupinder, Just wanted to say welcome to the forums. I watched one of your episodes; if I remember correctly you were describing one of the call rooms or something like that. None of my family could relate to just how important having one of those really is! At VGH in Vancouver they recently built a bunch of new call rooms, but before that people (ie. med students) would routinely have to sleep on the hospital cafeteria couches... Ian UBC, Med 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DrSahsi Posted February 26, 2003 Report Share Posted February 26, 2003 Thank you for the welcome, Ian. I was wrangled into being on the show for a similar reason to what your story suggested. I complained once too often about how my family and the public in general rarely has a good grasp of what medical training is like. Next thing I know... my unit director was signing me up. :^) I hope it's helped that cause, though I think it glossed over a lot of the more "serious" issues around medical school and residency training. [-RSS] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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