r/MedSchoolCanada

I started my first research project, a literature review, with a kind but extremely strict PI. He simply didn’t like my final draft at all, to the point where he told me he doesn’t think it’s worth finishing the project. His research assistants all told me he’s insanely harsh and that papers take a while to come out because of that.
Obviously, it’s disappointing as fuck, and disappointment is the name of the game in medicine. But I’m worried I blew all my chances of being even slightly competitive for IM. I lowkey feel like I wasted three months on this publication even though im grateful for the opportunity and all. Is the project still valid for CARMS?

Sorry if it feels like im venting a bit, just looking for any input or people who went through similar experiences.

We get 2 weeks off in December for Christmas/New Year - was wondering what do ppl typically do during this break? Travel/studying/prepping for carms etc?

Hey folks

I'm interested primarily in EM but also in IM. I was wondering how you could manage a competitive dual application, especially in terms of elective distribution + LORs/SLOEs.

I'm assuming I'd have to get at least 3 SLOEs for EM + 3 IM-focused LORs for this to be viable. I'm not sure about how to distribute electives.

Also, do you think a critical care elective would reflect well for IM? Or would reviewers not necessarily be fond of that compared to a GIM or another IM subspecialty elective?

Thanks

Hi, in a bit of a pickle. I can genuinely see myself happy with doing plastics or IM. The reason for this divide is because I worked in general medicine (allied role) before med school and thought that was the only path for me, but I’ve also discovered plastics and love it.

I do want to try for both. But would a spread of electives over very different specialties disqualify me, especially at competitive locations?

Thanks a bunch!

Hi everyone I was invited as a guest to attend my friend’s stethoscope ceremony.

I was planning on wearing white top and cream pants. Is that appropriate colour wise as a guest?

Thank you

1. For those with 15+ publications, did you list them all? The research part itself seems to be using over 2 pages of the CV itself. Is this normal?
2. What is the suggested format for writing out your research. Is it simply a list of publications or should you also make space to describe your role/what you did? I fear it will run over 3-4 pgs if I included that.
3. Does anyone have any examples of a template to list out your research?
4. Lastly is there a max for how many pages your total CV should be?

Speciality context: IM and Rads

What are some strategies to give good pt presentations on clerkship that worked well for those of you who just finished or are currently in clerkship?

How does one achieve all of this?! I wish!

Hey, as the title suggests, I want to hear about any success story of external transfer within the same specialty. If a specialty is considered competitive it’s even better!

For a background story: I matched very low on my RoL in my dream specialty and I’m not loving my experience thus far (not the academic exposure I was seeking) in my new program (I know, it’s only been ~ 2 months, I need to give it time) and I don’t like the city either. I’d be interested to go to almost any other university.

Is there any hope for external transfer within the same specialty or should I forget about it, be grateful to have matched in my dream specialty and remember that residency is temporary?

If you’ve experienced something similar and are willing to share, wether you were able to transfer or you suck it up, please dm me 🫶

NB: non surgical specialty so I can’t rely on regular drop out (nothing personal surgery - there’s just a good amount of people who transfer from surgery)

reading through the comments in the thread about what’s going on at uoft with lectures no longer being recorded, i feel like everyone is debating the downstream effects instead of asking why attendance dropped in the first place.

as an incoming ms3, i can promise you this isn't about students being lazy or not caring about medicine. it comes down to the fact that the system forces us to constantly overload our time.

in an ideal world, med school is simple: you go to class, learn the material, and focus on becoming a good doctor. but with how carms and residency matching work now, that just does not cut it anymore. at uoft especially, where so many people aim for competitive specialties, time time “built” into our schedule is not enough to stay competitive for the match.

because of that, people adapt. we try to study as efficiently as humanly possible— whether that’s using AI to synthesize notes, using third-party resources, or watching recorded lectures at 2x speed to get through the material in half the time.

when non-classroom metrics carry so much weight for our actual careers, sitting through hours of live lecture ends up being low-yield. students aren't skipping to slack off; they’re using that time to run research projects, shadow, network, build portfolios, or honestly just get enough sleep to avoid total burnout.

writing this off as a "lack of student commitment" totally misses the structural reality of modern med education. removing recordings and forcing attendance just adds extra friction and stress without fixing the core issue. if leadership wants people in seats, the answer is not coercion, it is looking at why the system forces students to triage their time like this in the first place.

hi everyone! starting MS1 soon, and was looking to see if anyone had any tips on what to prepare before class? and any things to buy u thought was helpful?

thank you!

Hey everyone!

I've been focusing on getting more pubs recently and have gotten quite a few oral presentations for my research at local and international conferences. I havent yet published a paper (original, review, case study) since beginning med school.

I am an incoming 2nd year student, and I am wondering if these oral presentations at conferences (i suppose for the opportunity to network) hold weight in the CARMS application by way of research output?

Or should I be focusing on publishing papers mainly, for competitive specialties like ophtho?

Also, does it matter if most of my research is in that competitive specialty or not?

Would love to hear from residents who've matched!

Thank you!

Interested to know how much one can make after overhead/taxes as a FM in Ontario (the GTA) if I work as a hospitalist 5 days a week or in a clinic/walk-in clinic. Like if I really grind the hours.

I’m considering both specialties, although I’m currently leaning more toward general surgery. I’m going into MS2, so I have plenty of time, but I had four questions for anyone familiar with either field:

1. What made you find general surgery or vascular surgery more interesting? How varied is the day-to-day practice, and how repetitive do the bread-and-butter cases become?
2. How often do you feel that your work is genuinely life-saving, particularly in vascular surgery compared with general or acute care surgery?
3. How do the two specialties compare in terms of technical difficulty and the breadth and complexity of the knowledge required?
4. What is the call burden actually like in each specialty? How often are you called in overnight for a genuinely life-threatening emergency?

Thanks in advance

Medical student interested in family medicine residency in Ontario. I am curious to hear what the relative salaries are for hospitalist family medicine trained physicians compared to salaries of general internal medicine?

Incoming MS2! I felt like I spent most of first year struggling with how to study for medical school exams. By the end of the year (last exam) I found that making my own anki cards that explain the content in detail worked best for my retention.

In undergrad I wrote my notes by hand religiously and loved diagrams and mind maps, but I’ve found the volume and pace of med school to be incompatible with this method.

This said, I am worried that I won’t have solid notes to look back on in clerkship. For anki people, has this been an issue? Let me know if you have any suggestions on how to balance!!

For surgical electives for CaRMS, do you need to bring anything like carrying trauma shears for surgery? Should you also review stuff prior to the elective? And do you get to suture? Would love any tips or things to do to stand out (for the right reasons).