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Time off/Vacation at Mac Med?


Guest Mikey59

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Guest Mikey59

Hey everyone,

 

I'm on the good waitlist at Mac, and am currently considering the quality of life at Mac versus 4 year schools (in the event that Mac pulls me off the waitlist). My family lives out of the province and I was wondering how often I would get to see them assuming I matriculated at Mac.

 

Is it true that you only get one week vacation per year (I don't know where I heard that)? Are there no formal breaks at the end of the first year or spring break? It would be awesome if someone could summarize the timeline of the curriculum over January-Dec.

 

Thanks in advance for your responses :)

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Guest jmh2005

You get 2 weeks at Christmas and 1 week in August...that pretty much sums it up!!

 

Unit 1

Aug-3rd week November

Unit 2

3rd week Nov-2nd week of March (2 weeks at x-mas)

Unit 3

3rd week of March-3rd week of June

Post unit 3 electives

(9 weeks, with one week of vacation)

Unit 4

4th week August-3rd week of November

Post unit 4 electives

4 weeks, then 2 weeks X-mas break...

 

We have 2 weeks left this and next...and then it is off to electives...

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Guest gucio93

Jmh is right, I would only add that during clerkship (2nd year of medical school at Mac) you get 2 weeks in the winter and 2 weeks in the summer. Also, after 3rd year (basically after graduation and prior to beginning residency) you have a couple of months off.

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Guest mcmed

If you are worried about leaving your family for extended periods of time, I want to offer some reassurence that there are people in our class who are making a difficult situation such as this work. There are a few people who have spouses that live out of town (Ottawa) and even out of country (USA), and are making the best of the situation by including brief "jet-setting" weekend trips home. Some individuals have also set up there block electives in the summer (June-Aug) with doctors in their home towns so that they can be close to their families. There are also electives during clerkship which could be set up near your family (esp if they live in the vicinity of a teaching hospital where you would like to do your residency).

 

I think ultimately though, you are the best judge of what will work for you (and your learning) and for your family. Given Mac's condensed schedule, there is not a lot of time off, however, if you are creative you can include some time for visiting with your family.

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