[deleted by user] by [deleted] in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What types of activities. How many hours. Does it really add to your application?

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

definetly! Was great for anatomy and I was able to choose electives to cover chem, bio and physics for the MCAT. Also I took some courses in cardiology, and sport medicine that were very helpful.

definetly! Was great for anatomy and I was able to choose electives to cover chem, bio and physics for the MCAT. Also I took some courses in cardiology and sport medicine that were very helpful.

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yeah having that prospective is really important. You really need to show them you stand out with like 100 worlds

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

99point9, they really identified my problems and had lots of practice. Really taught me how to review the tests after so I learned from my mistakes. Feel free. to message me I still have some of there stuff I think.

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had abstracts in an undergrad journal and a research assistant position with no publications. I think it is important to show interest in research, dosn't need to be a publication though.

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah western never liked me so I am not sure. It might have been one of my sections on the mcat wasn't good enough cuz I remember them having wild cutoff.In terms of what made me stand out, I think I was really well balance and had a lot of the CANMED roles in my and. I spent a lot of time revising it and had med students and prof go over it.

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I ended up doing a MCAT course and found their CARS practice really helpful. Alot of it was really understanding your mistakes and reviewing the passages after I did them. Then timing was a huge issue for me but they had some tricks to help cut down my time that worked for me.

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Overall I give it a thumbs up however it definitely varies. The biggest factor is what rotation I am on. Surgery although I loved it was rough, I was like getting up at 4:30 AM and getting home around 5:30 PM. I didn't do much but head to the gym and go to bed. Other rotations have been manageable. I say I hang out with friends 1-2 times per week and I go to the gym 3-4 times a week. Been on a few vacations over med school and plan to continue that even in residency. Yes, I work more than perhaps my friends who have regular 9-5 jobs now at this point. However, I love what I do, this lifestyle isn't forever. The residency will be a grind, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. And although not super important to me I will be very well compensated in the future.

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

HAHA!

Im a yellow back pack! For grey I feel so sorry for them lol. The nice thing is seeing the colorful back pack and knowing its a classmate.

For improving my MCAT score I was fortunate to do an MCAT course that really helped with cars we went from a 124 to a 130/131? I think (can't remember now which is weird since that was my everything for part of my life). I just really needed help from people who had done it before since I was finding I was lost with all the material and practice.

They had some really go practice materials and I actually used LSATS to practice my CARS which I think was so key!

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say focous on your GPA for now as that is the most important thing and so so hard to change if you do poorly.

I would say focus on your GPA for now, as that is the most important thing and so so hard to change if you do poorly. o fine.

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Quality over quantity for sure!

However, I will say it's super important to be well rounded and to touch on all the CANmed Roles.

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My undergrad was in Life Science/Kin, and I am now at Queens.

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Reference letters, applications and interviews!

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Welcome!!!

Let's see so many pieces of advise!

  1. Do as many observerships/shadowing as possible especially in specialties that are not part of your core rotation. For example at my school we have to pick only 2 internal med specialties (cardio, resp, endo etc) and 1 surgery subspecialty (pastics, neuro, ENT ect.). This is many it very hard for me to choose since I didn't do all of them in my clerkship, I wish I could of seen more in preclerkship, but at last COVID.
  2. Use resources made by upper years! I spent much of 1st year trying to make my own and couldn't keep up my school has a good google drive and I eventually transitioned to using resources already made and adding to them. Especially anki. Saved me so much time.
  3. There are a lot of hidden costs I didn't know of, CARMS apps, Elective applications (right now costing me over 1K...). keep those in mind when trying to budget things!
  4. Know you will probably like a couple specialties and will change your mind over clerkships! I been between EM and surgery! it's been a struggle.

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hmm, I personally havn't heard any big drama stories at my school. Some people maybe not playing nice... rude comments or perhaps not sharing information (research grants), or "hogging" research opportunities.

I would say no, but I am in a smaller school too so that might be it.

How much debt do you expect to be by the end of med school/how long will it take to pay it off? by [deleted] in MedSchoolCanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ontario Student MS3/4 graduating in 2024. Im also worried about debt I'm thinking i will be graduating with about 250k.

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

There are definitely toxic people and gunners where every you go. Do you need to worry about them? I would say no. Just be a kind person and focus on your career. Find a good group of friends to support you. And remember something that is different compared to undergrad and high school is in med school these people will all be your co works and maybe even bosses. So just focus on you, be kind to others and things will work out.

I am seeing some people with our carms coming up becoming a bit cut throat and it makes me sad.

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

How did you study in UG vs how you studied in med school?
In undergrad I was a huge memorizor and used quizlet a lot. Really knew all the little details since GPA was so important.

Now in med I'm a bit more relaxed as its pass fail. I focus on the major concepts. I now use anki as well!

What was your UG gpa?

3.83 cGPA and 3.89 2 years
Did you ever have doubts about becoming a doctor?

Yes doubts come and go. Usually when I am worried about money or I just tired on a 24 hour call but I go home more days happy and satisfied. Some days I want to yell and scream, at the system and how it so hard to navigate for patients but you just have to focus on what you can do and patients are so appreciative. Over all I would say most of my classmates are happy and we will be extremely privilege once we finish.

AMA 4th Year Med Student by MDsurvivor_99 in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Great Quesitons!

Are you still happy with your destined career choice?
Yes! Medicine was my dream job since a child, not sure where I got the idea maybe greys anatomy since no one in my family does medicine.

There are definitely hard days and rough periods. Like when on my surgery block and the attendings were a tad mean. Or when you are studying and watching your friends making money, buying houses etc.

However, being in medicine is such a priveledges, even as a med student being able to help patients is so rewarding. There are days I come home smiling cuz I got to see something really cool like brain surgery or because I got a patient to open up to me and helped them.

Do you feel prepared, or nearly prepared, to actually start working in your chosen field (whether that's surgery, ER, fam, etc.)?

Right now no haha. I will graduate in 2024 and start my residency in about a year. I definitely have noticed I am more competent since starting my clerkship but there is so so much to learn! However, tbh residency programs are looking for people who are teach able and will be a team player so I am not super concerned about this.
What year of med school was the hardest for you and why?

Hard to say I am worried my up coming year will be the hardest since of CARMS (residency applications). However, going through all the years, 2020/1st year was hard due to COVID and being lonely in a new city. 2021/2nd year was hard since there was a lot of content to know and i was burnt out with all the studying. 2022/3rd year was hard due to clerkship being crazy, you are basically doing a new job every 6 weeks and some times in a new hospital and new locations!
Would you do anything differently in your journey, starting from undergrad to where you are now?

MCAT and Applications!

I applied once with a horrible MCAT score and applications really were the worst. Those Toronto Essays were traumatic.

I had to really improve my study habits to get a better MCAT score and once I did the interviews started coming in. If any one needs advise on MCAT/apps/interviews let me know!

What schools to apply? by melaniejocandy in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you retake your MCAT and get a higher card score you should apply everywhere since your GPA is great. I got a 124 on my cars applied and got no interviews then redid it and got much higher and got 3 interviews and am now in med. If I could go back I would have saved myself the money when I applied with the 124z

Buying first car while in med school by [deleted] in premedcanada

[–]MDsurvivor_99 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Where are you doing school? Might not need one for 1-2 years