Do:
. . . choose your “pre med” academic program with a view to the very real statistical possibility that you won’t get into Medicine.  In other words, have an alternate career in mind.  As many brilliant and well suited students don’t get into Medicine as get in, and the difference that divides the two cohorts is often unfathomable even to the faculty types who set up the selection criteria.

. . . keep an open mind when it comes to academic options that will “round you out” rather than honing in on just sciences.   Med schools across the country are looking for applicants who can speak about arts, history, politics and popular culture in some depth and even allude to some personal experiences and achievements that show their connection with the real world.  After all, it is the members of that same “real world” that you will be dealing with as doctor.  If you having nothing in common with them, how can you effectively empathize with them?

. . . make time in your days at university to take on a cause and become an advocate for what you believe in.  This does not mean becoming a volunteer in a hospital lobby but organizing, leading, and promoting a basically altruistic task which you sincerely believe in.  It takes time, and if you are just aiming for high marks to get into med school you might justifiably fret over the impact it might have on the “bottom line” of your transcript, but in these times, it is what admissions committees are looking for. It is also what the public is looking for in terms of the kinds of doctors wanted and what the profession itself needs to do to redefine itself in the public forum. 

Don’t:

. . . focus your medical aspirations too far in advance.  We know that you want to get into Medicine.  Stop there when you tell others of your career aspirations.  You can’t possibly know what specialties and areas of medicine are going to appeal to you until you have “tried them on for size” after you are in a program.  Go into Medicine with the idea that the four years will be a time for sampling broadly and that only gradually will you find the fit between yourself and the areas of medicine that are available to you.  

. . . cut yourself off from all that you enjoy in life in order to get the marks that you think are necessary to get into Medicine.  Whether you believe it or not, in the grand scheme of things you are young and still growing.  You need access to all that life offers to grow to your potential.  You will make mistakes, but you will mature in the process.  That “maturity” is what shows at medical school interviews.

 . . . try to rehearse maturity and experience into your “script” for a medical school interview.  Admissions committees have seen it all and can pick up the “phony” very quickly.  Go in to interview with what you’ve got and aim to be spontaneous and “real.” 

. . . listen to those who try to tell you that one school is better than another.  There are 17 medical schools in Canada and they are all accredited by the same body.  Faculty members are constantly moving back and forth across the country to accept positions as they come up.  The only difference between schools is the way that each organizes its curriculum.  Figure out your personal best learning style, do some homework on the schools you think you’d like, and then apply to those schools which seem to offer up the knowledge in a way that works best for you. 

A last word . . . Be Careful

Do your homework before you apply to a med school outside the country. Some are excellent, such as in the UK and Australia, but tuition is crushingly expensive and there are never guarantees that you can get licensed to practice in Canada after you graduate.

Some international schools are not accredited and offer less than complete programs, relying instead on students’ abilities to get “elective” clinical experiences in the U.S. when the time comes for clerkship.  This is not an ideal or coherent educational  experience and should be avoided unless it is your “last resort” and you have lots of money to spend.  Again, getting a Canadian license after graduating from such a school can be difficult.

Jim Silcox, Professor Emeritus, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Western Ontario, and 3M National Teaching Fellow.

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3 Comment(s) 

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universitybound3 wrote:	Although I'm not going into medicine, this was a truly interesting outlook on a well discussed subject! Posted on Aug 10, 2012 at 11:10
jadeojade wrote:	I have a question regarding undergraduate. Is it true that medical schools put very little importance on which undergraduate school you went to? The emphasis is on marks and by attending an easier university, you can get higher marks. Posted on Oct 10, 2011 at 10:28
bubblepenguin wrote:	this is kind of unrelated, but is there any post secondary institutes that offer dentistry? Posted on Jun 30, 2011 at 02:32

 

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