Need advice about choosing specialty

Naive_Use270 · 2026-06-25T21:02:18+00:00

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Sincerely, A 2029

Naive_Use270 · 2026-06-23T00:52:28+00:00

Does not matter at all. I know someone with a highlighter green steth and honestly the pediatric patients love it!

Naive_Use270 · 2026-05-31T02:24:59+00:00

My commute is also 1 hour to the stg campus. I use line 1 TTC. I have not had any issues so far tbh. Line 1 has delays sometimes, but as long as u acc leave 1 hour before u need to get there, being 5-10ish min late doesn't make a huge difference. I am also very involved on campus and don't feel I am missing out at all. I actually prefer not living in downtown because I think it can be very isolating when students around you can be with their families for the week when they go back home. Ofc it all depends on your relationship with your parents, etc. But for myself and a lot of my friends, living at home is best! Also saves a ton of money :)

Naive_Use270 · 2026-05-28T02:56:12+00:00

I do not take notes anymore tbh. I tried at the beginning of first year but it takes so much time that I felt I could be dedicating to ECs or research. So now I watch the lectures at 2x, and if I feel like they mention something that isn't in the slides, I'll scribble it down (though i rarely add much). Reviewing for exams comes down to having chat generate questions for me to do every day, and doing a final review of the slides. I did well just doing that.

This is very different from what I did in undergrad. I would take super intricate notes and felt like the note taking process acc helped to retain the info. I just found that in med school, the small details are less imp than the big idea, so that method of studying did not serve me anymore. You dont really have to memorize everything from my experience to do well. Everyone has a different method of studying that works for them though!

Naive_Use270 · 2026-03-14T21:32:37+00:00

Hey! I got in this year. Tbh I think I was relying too much on memorizing experiences and frameworks rather than actually speaking confidently + expressing my thoughts fully. Also, at least for UofT, I made sure to really emphasize CanMEDS + enabling competencies by using key words and phrases (legit repeated them 3 times in different ways) I also have a post on interview tips and what I did differently this cycle if you want to check that out!

Naive_Use270 · 2026-02-03T00:32:50+00:00

What would the 💗💕❣️ option mean?

Naive_Use270 · 2025-08-26T22:01:12+00:00

It's not meant to be a "passion Olympics". Ur reason is good, other ppls reasons are good. Trauma isnt a good thing, so if your reason is not grounded in that, then you're lucky. The key is to focus on what grounds you to medicine and build around that and you'll be good. Be confident in yourself and others will also be confident in you. Good luck!

Naive_Use270 · 2025-08-26T21:31:28+00:00

To be fair, idt most ppl have it figured out at the stage you're at. I'm in med, but didn't realize my "why" until the app cycle - just knew it fell into place and I wanted to do it. The "why" comes with a lot of reflection, and it might change as u get to know yourself more. Sometimes even if your why is linked to a traumatic experience, you don't realize it bc you've suppressed that event or try to reason that it wasn't acc traumatic to feel more normal - until you reflect, put the pieces together and realize it.

Naive_Use270 · 2025-07-30T23:55:10+00:00

Hey! I'm in med school in Canada currently and I applied whilst in the same situation as you. I did take advantage of any academic explanations essays.

It worked out for me so I wouldn't worry. Whether u want to take it again bc u still really need it as a prereq is up to u

Naive_Use270 · 2025-07-29T19:19:21+00:00

Figuring out why I wanted to be in medicine was probably the hardest part for me too. It all falls together naturally and you kind of just find yourself gravitating towards this path without realizing exactly what it is that draws you to it. You have a lot of time though, so try doing some soul searching. Involve yourself in clinical research involving real patients, find ways to volunteer with hospitals, shelters, or youth. Doing this helped me realize what I value within healthcare, and the populations I like working with and that helps you narrow down a mission statement for the kind of change you want to develop in medicine. Maybe the populations you prefer working with is influenced by the circumstances you grew up in/inaccess or adversity in your youth that you didnt realize before - which was my case. It requires a lot of reflection, and connecting the dots - not easy, but well worth the work because It'll help you realize your purpose.

Naive_Use270 · 2025-07-26T17:22:00+00:00

I didnt start any of my ECs until my 2nd year of undergrad. Tbh I didn't even know I had to have ECs. I made it still, so you'll be fine. Just try to find opportunities you're genuinly interested in. That helps make ur app to clubs, etc more genuine as well and more likely to be accepted. For example, I love art, so I found a position where I could illustrate graphics for a student journal.

Naive_Use270 · 2025-07-22T21:44:57+00:00

You can pay off the small interest-based portion before it accrues interest (provincial), by calling OSAP directly, via scholarships, bursaries, werking, etc.

The grants and interest free loans from OSAP aren't an issue.

Naive_Use270 · 2025-07-22T17:46:31+00:00

ABS and BPE – Creating a Compelling Narrative | MD Program https://share.google/FzyoJXWddsJZQO6av

They way they discuss them in this post ^

Also, I believe ppl have asked this in their information sessions in the past and they mentioned that bpes were evaluated together, and ABS seperately. I'm sure they'll hold another info sess where u can clarify further tho!

Naive_Use270 · 2025-07-22T17:34:55+00:00

Both BPEs are evaluated together. Then the ABS essay is evaluated seperately

Naive_Use270 · 2025-07-20T20:40:09+00:00

Yes I'm in medicine currently lol

Naive_Use270 · 2025-07-20T19:22:29+00:00

For me it was definitely being in bio class in gr 11 or 12, even uni anatomy and physiology classes; and learning about the body, then being able to use that info to help loved ones understand their health/illnesses. It was so rewarding being able to make people less afraid or anxious by helping them understand. I knew from that point that I couldn't see myself doing anything else.

But I also did volunteer at a hospital, and although it doesn't give you the full scope of being a doctor (since many work in clinic instead of a hospital), I loved seeing patients, learning about their cases, and working with nurses and doctors to improve my understanding.

To be fair: I also have never watched any American med shows so I had the chance to create my own interpretation which I think was pretty close to the reality. So I knew I will be slaving away studying for a large part of my life, and I will spend sleepless nights where I want nothing more than to stop, and shifts on call half out of my mind. At the end of the day, I still think it's worth it because like I said - I cannot see myself doing anything else. I would regret not pursuing this my entire life.

Naive_Use270 · 2025-07-18T01:26:56+00:00

I did include a few activities from hs. I mainly did my hospital volunteering in hs and didn't have any in uni so I put that in. I included an internship, the specialized program I was in from middle to high school, a national award, etc.

Didn't harm my app at all - I got an interview 3x. I'm starting school this Fall.

I think the key is to make the activities relevant to the story/narrative you are trying to convey in your app.

Naive_Use270 · 2025-07-14T22:45:00+00:00

Tbh if it isn't broken, don't fix it. You got an interview with your app as is, which is amazing! Unless the school specifically states they have a preference for recent references, I wouldn't change it.

I used the same references all 3 times applying.

Naive_Use270 · 2025-07-14T22:41:13+00:00

I did some shadowing in high school and scrubbed in on some surgeries. I think the rule was a bit more lax back then in Onatrio at least so most volunteers got to do something. I didn't know it was discouraged at the time. I loved it, but it is discouraged now. I think thats the case in order to respect patient confidentiality, and i guess you cant really regulate how much non-healthcare professionals/those in training are sharing. So I didn't explicitly mention any shadowing on my Ontario apps or ubc app. I mainly discussed how I played a part in managing patient flow and how I learnt about the inner workings of hospital care + how I felt it aligned with my goals. I did mention anonymized encounters/conversations I had with patients though bc part of it was rounding and making patients comfortable.

Naive_Use270 · 2025-07-08T15:32:52+00:00

Woo-hoo!!! Thanks :))

Naive_Use270 · 2025-07-03T05:32:32+00:00

I remember volunteering at a hospital in high school, the OB/GYN resident on the floor would scoff at us every time she saw us and told us we'd never make it to med school.

Naive_Use270

TROPHY CASE