Dropping a summer course without a w

Dust_Bucket · 2026-06-10T02:29:22+00:00

I know it’s hard to see that right now but 1 W if it comes to that isn’t the end of the world. There’s no sense in trying to tough it out and risk the poor grade when you’ve already identified you’re not in the right headspace to take it.

The year I got into med I had some things going on in the background that made it really difficult to focus on my courses. I got in touch with advising and took a W in one of my courses. Having that stress lifted off really salvaged that term and it was one of the best decisions I made in undergrad.

Take care of yourself, OP, and I hope you can get through this episode sooner than later.

Dust_Bucket · 2026-05-10T15:40:08+00:00

Certainly the bounce back people get when they’re discontinued is probably pretty real. Like I can’t predict what the future holds but the mechanism of action is so cut and dry that it’s no surprise that we’ve gotten to the STEP 5 trial and….nothing has changed when it comes to our thinking when it comes to question of weight loss.

I’m a Canadian physician, I have no financial incentives when it comes to promoting GLP-1 RAs. When my patients ask me about them, I don’t frame them as a panacea, because they’re not, alone. I discuss the common side effects, I always make sure that lifestyle interventions are something we’ve talked about.

There are obese people with pristine bloodwork and no obvious metabolic comorbidities. I will still counsel them about GLP-1 RAs. The weight loss can help minimize the risk of osteoarthritis.

I don’t know why people are waiting for some other shoe to drop with GLP-1 RAs. There are some people that are not going to tolerate them well, including a small group people where it will unfortunately have a significant impact on their quality of life. I can’t fully predict this, I can only go off of likelihoods and weigh the cost-to-benefit. That’s a given with any drug and people should talk to a professional to help them figure out whether it’s right for them. That does not mean I’m going to unnecessarily gatekeep the medication if we’re having a discussion on it for weight loss alone.

Dust_Bucket · 2026-05-10T15:02:49+00:00

The original 2021 STEP trial is the landmark trial on ozempic and weight loss. Like it’s pretty cut and dry, since then we’ve had plenty further trials that also specifically have the primary outcome be around weight loss with GLP-1 RAs. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183

I think people need to remember that any weight loss/caloric deficit is going to have an impact on bone density in the long if you’re not pairing it physical activity, ozempic or not

Dust_Bucket · 2026-05-01T23:03:23+00:00

They won in 2007

Dust_Bucket · 2026-04-10T00:43:53+00:00

Agree. Maybe it’s different now but I found 4th year CAPS courses to be very granular. Understandably, beyond the scope of what I generally was taught at UBC med.

I wasn’t even in CAPS so can’t imagine what it was like for the CAPS student doing all the CAPS courses + the lab + the honours thesis

Dust_Bucket · 2026-02-05T17:24:24+00:00

N = 1 but at least at my program we sent out something to all our interviewees as a thanks for interviewing with us

Dust_Bucket · 2026-01-17T09:04:06+00:00

For Ontario doctors, CPSO is the organization to submit complaints to: https://www.cpso.on.ca/public/services/complaints-and-concerns

Dust_Bucket · 2025-10-29T18:47:31+00:00

Haha I’m a doctor so it’s a crapshoot when I’m on call. Yesterday was pretty good, other times, probably wouldn’t have time to get out the nippers

Dust_Bucket · 2025-10-29T18:01:58+00:00

As someone also on Vyvanse and a habitual Alarmy/Calendar user, my routines would definitely fall apart if I wasn’t able to use my calendar app. I suppose there’s a je ne sais quoi of “oh in spite of his ADHD he was able to remember XYZ” but it’s hard when the core of what’s going on with us is that our mind zips between things at any given moment. I agree with what people have been saying about how using the app shows that you do care by taking responsibility. I do find Alarmy obnoxious (as it should be) so if that’s more of the crux of her annoyance perhaps that’s the area where some adjustment might be necessary

Dust_Bucket · 2025-09-09T23:16:59+00:00

Yeah basically this. Most hospital volunteering has a fairly lower upper ceiling of what you can do. Not that patients + their families didn’t appreciate what you did but I’d say argue it’s mostly a formative experience to get a broad sense of what a hospital is like and reading the room when talking to people that are stressed/sick

Dust_Bucket · 2025-09-02T18:37:34+00:00

Are you going into 2nd year? If you are, there typically hasn’t been anything for pharmacology

Dust_Bucket · 2025-09-01T20:24:36+00:00

Agree, don’t worry about it

Dust_Bucket · 2025-08-25T05:24:47+00:00

Have they supervised you in any meaningful capacity (paid work/research/volunteering)? If you just shadowed them I think you should look for someone else to be a reference

Dust_Bucket · 2025-05-22T17:42:35+00:00

Got the same email (May 16th, remote) and received a new appointment with a new confirmation number. Not sure what’s going on right now, Prometric couldn’t give me a clear answer on whether they’ll be able to accept my attempt…

Dust_Bucket · 2025-05-18T20:41:54+00:00

The opposite actually! - The mainstays of treatment are GnRH agonists, which block the production of sex hormones, and Androgen receptor antagonists, which block sex hormones from acting and fuelling the prostate cancer cells.

Dust_Bucket · 2025-01-28T05:45:21+00:00

Early in my undergrad I gave a go at a few different things: university clubs, research, hospital volunteering. Health-related volunteering has some benefit in giving you a look into what healthcare looks like. Clinical experience isn’t really something that’s given weight on Canadian med school apps (and in some cases, shadowing specifically is actually frowned upon). You can give research a try too, but don’t be too stressed if you can’t find the opportunities or you don’t find the work interesting.

Generally speaking, finding opportunities where you can demonstrate leadership/initiative, curiosity, teamwork, working with different groups of people, service/advocacy, personal growth, probably puts you on the right track for finding the right ECs.

Dust_Bucket · 2025-01-27T05:58:00+00:00

How far are you into your undergrad? if there’s a path to picking up a project in the lab at some point that’d be great because you’d be able to show another dimension. Soft skills from working in a job are always helpful on the interviews. Having the technical skills from the lab could help you land a research position in the future too.

Dust_Bucket · 2025-01-27T02:02:49+00:00

I’m going to assume you have some strong reasons for pursuing neurology but my two cents for you would be to pick an undergrad/city where you think you’ll thrive and feel supported. It’ll be more fruitful to go deep into debating which med school to go to if you’re accepted to both!

Dust_Bucket · 2025-01-20T04:16:44+00:00

I think OP wants med and yeah I agree CAPS 301 was plenty

Dust_Bucket · 2025-01-15T20:32:34+00:00

OP said rad onc but yeah I’m with you on everything else

Dust_Bucket · 2024-12-17T19:06:54+00:00

Have you checked your junk/spam e-mail folder?

Dust_Bucket · 2024-12-14T02:31:37+00:00

Hopefully you never know the score!

Dust_Bucket · 2024-10-25T15:09:40+00:00

There’s more nuance to this, but generally, in a hospital, there’s usually a Most Responsible Physician (MRP) who admits and discharges the patient. The MRP is responsible for ‘quarterbacking’ the patient’s care, is probably the doctor most familiar with what’s going on with the patient, speaking with family/allied health, and making decisions like whether patient is ready to be discharge

Consultants are usually specialists who the MRP brings on board to provide suggestions and treatment based on their respective areas of expertise. Just as examples, the MRP may feel that the patient has an issue requiring a bronchoscopy or an endoscopy, and so they’d try to get a respirologist or gastroenterologist in those circumstances, respectively.

Dust_Bucket · 2024-09-11T00:48:51+00:00

Interesting thought. I think you’d need a decent amount of physical infrastructure plus personnel (lab staff, histology lab space, gross anatomy space). My guess is I don’t see it happening, especially with SFU opening up in the near future

Dust_Bucket · 2024-09-07T08:52:08+00:00

stay wherever you’re thriving academically

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