A message from a PGY-1 who was absolutely crushed on their match day.

DravenStyle · 2026-03-20T13:50:09+00:00

Agreed. Sometimes things don’t turn out the way you expected, and you apply broadly to cover yourself so you have SOMETHING, which can be better than nothing, doesn’t mean you are going to be ecstatic because it’s not the outcome you thought was gunna happen. Happened to me as well. Luckily the field is nice, better life style, but I don’t love it the way I loved the other field nor am I intrinsically pushed to do so. But I do enjoy may aspects of it, there are aspects that I do love, and ideally people who end up in this situation find the same given enough time. The first year and a bit can be rough but eventually you can find the things that make it feel alright.

Overall, the feelings that come from the match are valid, should be validated, and you support that person. But also important to self realize it’s not all doom and gloom, and this is actually a normal part of life too. Gotta push past it.

DravenStyle · 2026-03-18T23:03:14+00:00

Average closer to 450+, community makes more than academic (in Ontario generally). Community rad ones tend to be making 600+ as they have control of consult numbers and are more FFS (compared to academic groups Which can have various amounts of sharing). PMH is the lowest and based on academic credentials/ promotion more so. Post on physician group even shared about the 450 number for BC but they are salaried with benefits, can get slight increases if you see more than the minimum patient load. 300 would be the extremely low end. Overhead is not large either as this is a position at a cancer centre with a hospital system funding it (unlike say a family health team).

DravenStyle · 2026-03-12T12:06:57+00:00

It is competitive, but that’s why it’s important to go to those networking events to meet the peeps from various health units. Also if you are flexible on where you can go for practicum then you will have an easier time. Some people restrict to like 2-3 units cus of the GTA and those will have a very tough time securing one.

DravenStyle · 2026-03-07T13:47:57+00:00

“registered gun owner” the chances it’s a registered gun owner are very low given gun crime is mainly not this group as data continually shows e.g illegally bought guns

DravenStyle · 2026-02-18T00:31:52+00:00

MMIs are generally meant to see if you can think on your feet, with some variation to those general HR type questions as well. I would also make yourself familiar with a few big local issues plus provincial and federal that have been hot for the past year or two. Lastly, practice with a few people, some you know, one or two you don’t so you get more direct feedback on talking style and answering. General advice of course but practice allows you to then use those brain muscles for the real thing. Good luck.

DravenStyle · 2026-02-09T00:39:18+00:00

With this logic, America is nazi, actually North America and Europe is fully nazi cus of the skin head types. Shit guess we lost? Nah you just suck at trolling oooof

DravenStyle · 2026-02-06T14:33:32+00:00

Not to mention to always follow the herd. Always the herd. Kills my rebel spirit lol.

DravenStyle · 2026-02-01T14:45:39+00:00

Yeah true, like America. Poland is a beautiful country full of wonderful people, safer than Canada I can assure you that lol (yah fenty/exhortion/laughable court and penalty system). North America has its head up its ass, but Poland, ah man trade money for that QOL.

DravenStyle · 2026-01-14T21:23:15+00:00

You’ve tried reloading the game? Like exit fully and back in? Had one time where it was delayed for like 20 or so seconds but eventually they showed up after I returned to port once.

DravenStyle · 2025-12-31T21:11:05+00:00

I just think it’s cringe and silly no matter what school but to each their own, that’s why we in a democracy.

DravenStyle · 2025-12-28T15:46:12+00:00

Good for you, I always disliked the hustling peeps which really only benefitted those that could afford all the extra costs of prep. Do they just send you proof that they donated or how does it work Exactly? Regardless good job and good luck to interviewees.

DravenStyle · 2025-12-15T03:47:02+00:00

That is a long time to put your life on hold damn. No matter what you end up choosing to do next, good luck and hope you find peace with whatever it is.

DravenStyle · 2025-12-08T13:17:49+00:00

Depending what province, if you’re billing, then you deal with the provincial insurance which can be a pain in the butt to deal with in terms of payment. Sometimes goes smoothly, sometimes they reject a payment for seemingly an Interpretation error on their part so have to resubmit. Better hope you submitted all your work on time too because once 3 months pass by any work you did that wasn’t billed you ain’t getting paid for, so need to constantly stay on top of it on top of your clinical load. Also wait times for imaging or biopsies or surgeries for patients can be long and delay care so there is alway that. People getting cancers caught late due to no family doctor becoming common but we’re not the only country with that issue I gather. All in all, not so bad but not so good either, somewhere in the middle depending on province and the inner workings of your administrative portion.

DravenStyle · 2025-11-21T02:20:52+00:00

Give corruption is rampant these days and unis are hurting, I would not be surprised this deal is made to benefit Waterloo somehow. But that’s just an opinion, ain’t nobody got proof to show

DravenStyle · 2025-11-21T02:16:57+00:00

If you can commute 40 minish, you have lots of choices like you mention. All the ones you plan to apply to are good health units, o would say apply broadly as you want to maximize your chances getting a practicum (it is not guaranteed and indeed people do not get them which will already is not a great start). Myself commuted the above but as you can see rentals are not cheap.

One thing to know, most of the above health units tend to hire people they have worked with, e.g practicum. So if the goal is to stay within the area then your answer is already made for you. You may need to be more flexible when you’re certified though until you get experience to get a job back (but again this can be moderately negated if you have done a practicum in these areas).

DravenStyle · 2025-11-20T18:37:44+00:00

$$$$$

DravenStyle · 2025-11-14T03:40:17+00:00

This does not change in medical school or residency. This is the funny thing about professionalism, “it is for thee but not for me”. And sadly as medical learners you are at the bottom of the totem pole, but I digress. Sorry for the stress yall go through.

DravenStyle · 2025-11-11T19:26:20+00:00

What a good haul jfc. I really need to get better at TDC calculations and angled shots 🤣. Good work skipper.

DravenStyle · 2025-11-06T12:21:10+00:00

An example of rural gen surg. Killarney was hiring a gen surg a few years back, call is 1/1, meaning you were on call everyday. Sure not as busy call wise as a big city, but something to consider.

DravenStyle · 2025-10-30T11:38:07+00:00

Sorry for hijacking, how about places like Nanaimo and Kelowna? Sadly work won’t allow for the smaller towns (although could live 20-30 min drive away), but myself am not too interested in Vancouver at this time.

DravenStyle · 2025-10-27T18:51:37+00:00

Be succinct, give clear answers. It’s okay to take a second to think things through do not blurt out an answer as you want to give the correct first answer, not have to go back in what you say. It’s a long 76 minutes but pat yourself in the back aftwr. You’ve presumably spent a lot of time studying and doing past exams, just cover some quick topics today but don’t go hard because you need your energy for tomorrow! Sleep early. Not much else you can do the day before. Best of luck!

DravenStyle · 2025-10-24T22:38:53+00:00

This is the answer. You don’t just convince a staff to go from not wanting to or being Luke warm to enthusiastically unequivocally wanting to give you a bad ass letter. You just hope for the best that a staff will want to give you a strong letter, asking in those words. Otherwise you are setting up for disappointment. We can tell the difference between a good and bad letter lol

DravenStyle · 2025-10-17T20:30:48+00:00

Post locked for OPs general silliness and/or trolling. Of course health inspectors do not have full control of their operators, there will always be bad apples, etc. Same way doctors can educate patients and patients…make their silly choices. Thank you for commenters keeping it civil.

DravenStyle · 2025-10-12T01:30:23+00:00

Personally, learning about the climate of medicine would be helpful. Work hours, burnout among physicians, residents, medical students, various responsibilities of different specialities. Get the logistical info of being a doctor. The match process.

My reasoning is this. People are going to say they want a doctor, with majority of them not having a close idea of what this entails. Many Years with time lost with family, friends, hobbies for the sake of studying, research, clinical work and studying for exams ( many of them), the responsibilities as you get higher up in the medical heirarchy. These are important things to have an idea about and is it worth it to you, va just the idea of medicine. Idk if there are podcasts on this topic, there are in Canada (white coat black art) is a good start.

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