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DO for Canadians: 2011-2012
Started by UBCvan
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Ho man, that's a tough question to answer. I typed out a reply but deleted it - it just didn't sound right. I'll try it this way, see if I can't get the tone right:
It's busy. I was cocky coming in, I was thinking "Pfft, Canadian ugrad is so much more involved than US undergrad that this should be a lot easier for me than it is for them". And, to a point I'm sure that's true (or based on all the rumors, but those tend to be exaggerated). BUT. It's overwhelming for me too. As a bit of background, I was in Honors Immunology with a Biochem minor in my ugrad, so I figured I would be used to memorizing minute details. And I definitely am, it comes really easy to me to memorize all the little stuff. But there's 5x more little stuff to memorize, so I'm a little overwhelmed.
And that's basically the end of the negative side. I do spend ~25 hours a week formally in class, and a solid 35 hours a week outside of class studying (we have exams every Monday, not block exams like some programs. So you can't relax for a week and pick it up the next). But, that leaves me time to cook dinner every night, go to the gym for 45 minutes and watch atleast 1 episode of TV a night. Monday night post exam we go out for drinks for a couple hours. Sat night we try to go out and play pool all the time. We play basketball on our lunch hours. What's awesome is everyone is very similar, we all worked hard to be where we are and we all have the same work ethic, so atleast in my group we all burn out and are looking for a break at around the same time.
What I'm learning is fun, I've always enjoyed medicine so now getting to formally learn it is thrilling. Everything we learn in class is applied to clinical cases - I was a biochem minor so I know a ton about proteins, but that was the extent of my knowledge. I knew what they did. Now, I know what they do, what happens when they go wrong, what to look for and how to fix it.
Lastly, living in Arizona is sweet, I highly recommend it. I still love walking outside into +40*C heat. I know, some people find it too hot, but I'll take running between AC'd buildings in +40 than -40. I don't need to keep a toque, mitts and scarf in my bag anymore. And I prefer dry heat to humidity, hence why I'm here and not in Florida/California.
If any of you guys have any specific questions in regards to the going ons of medical school feel free to drop me a line. This was a huge resource for me last year, so I feel I may as well give back what I got from it. I'll try to reply promptly, but tomorrow my girlfriend is flying in from AB to keep me company for the long weekend so when I'm not buried in an Anatomy book I'll probably be with her. But I'm sure I'll sneak away for a couple minutes to check this thread.
One last tip: Enjoy yourself! I'm only 22, but I already feel like I've missed a lot of experiences because I was too enamored with school. This year I'm making sure I take a step back to smell the roses every now and again.
It's busy. I was cocky coming in, I was thinking "Pfft, Canadian ugrad is so much more involved than US undergrad that this should be a lot easier for me than it is for them". And, to a point I'm sure that's true (or based on all the rumors, but those tend to be exaggerated). BUT. It's overwhelming for me too. As a bit of background, I was in Honors Immunology with a Biochem minor in my ugrad, so I figured I would be used to memorizing minute details. And I definitely am, it comes really easy to me to memorize all the little stuff. But there's 5x more little stuff to memorize, so I'm a little overwhelmed.
And that's basically the end of the negative side. I do spend ~25 hours a week formally in class, and a solid 35 hours a week outside of class studying (we have exams every Monday, not block exams like some programs. So you can't relax for a week and pick it up the next). But, that leaves me time to cook dinner every night, go to the gym for 45 minutes and watch atleast 1 episode of TV a night. Monday night post exam we go out for drinks for a couple hours. Sat night we try to go out and play pool all the time. We play basketball on our lunch hours. What's awesome is everyone is very similar, we all worked hard to be where we are and we all have the same work ethic, so atleast in my group we all burn out and are looking for a break at around the same time.
What I'm learning is fun, I've always enjoyed medicine so now getting to formally learn it is thrilling. Everything we learn in class is applied to clinical cases - I was a biochem minor so I know a ton about proteins, but that was the extent of my knowledge. I knew what they did. Now, I know what they do, what happens when they go wrong, what to look for and how to fix it.
Lastly, living in Arizona is sweet, I highly recommend it. I still love walking outside into +40*C heat. I know, some people find it too hot, but I'll take running between AC'd buildings in +40 than -40. I don't need to keep a toque, mitts and scarf in my bag anymore. And I prefer dry heat to humidity, hence why I'm here and not in Florida/California.
If any of you guys have any specific questions in regards to the going ons of medical school feel free to drop me a line. This was a huge resource for me last year, so I feel I may as well give back what I got from it. I'll try to reply promptly, but tomorrow my girlfriend is flying in from AB to keep me company for the long weekend so when I'm not buried in an Anatomy book I'll probably be with her. But I'm sure I'll sneak away for a couple minutes to check this thread.
One last tip: Enjoy yourself! I'm only 22, but I already feel like I've missed a lot of experiences because I was too enamored with school. This year I'm making sure I take a step back to smell the roses every now and again.
Totally agree with the cocky attitude lol I came in that way too. But there is a TON of very very smart people in my class who got into multiple MD schools. However there is also complete idiots (more related to what they do non-academically).
As for Cali being humid? Not a chance. At least not where I am at Western U. Its so dry here and also 35-45 degrees. I have heard that Florida is definitely humid though (NSU).
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Yeah I interviewed at NSU yesterday and it was definitely REALLY humid. I thought it was more humid than Hawaii
I had the same cocky attitude when I went to Marquette. I will say that I did get the highest mark in biochem, but there were many smart people in my class. In the end I ranked 14 of 77 students on graduation day. In the end, whats important is learning the material, establishing important relationships and having some fun too. Its definitely all about balance. I've always worked out and continued to do so throughout dental school.
On a side note, I'm running my 6th marathon this saturday in Idaho, as well as doing a couple of shadowing days with my DO mentor.
I have noted recent correspondence regarding whether or not in Canada that A.O.A. residencies are accepted now or anticipated to be accepted in the future. I also note one thread where an individual claimed to have spoken to a Canadian D.O. in the United States who has worked for years for osteopathic licensure in Canada. There are no Canadian Osteopathic physicians practising in the United States who have been involved in obtaining licensure for osteopathic physicians in Canada. As one of the few Canadian osteopathic physicians in Canada practising for over the past 25 years I have worked toward this goal and know all the players. If one spoke with us at the A.O.A. convention then that individual has the facts distorted. In Canada today there is an agreement amongst the provinces to allow those graduates of American osteopathic medical schools licensure but they must have ACGME accredited residency. We may have told individuals that we will be trying to allow acceptance of A.O.A. residencies but at this time one must do the ACGME residency. I would not count on this changing in the near future. If you are intent on returning to Canada then we want you to represent our profession well. D.O. students who work hard should be able to obtain residencies in ACGME programs although admittingly some areas are more competitive for all concerned, D.O. and M.D.. In Ontario you need to do an ACGME residency. Please be very careful when you post so we don't give misinformation as we would like all of you to have access to return to Canada if that is your intent.
Thank you for the clarification, I assume you are referring to me with that information about AOA. I did for a fact indeed talk to a Canadian who attended a US D.O. school and has been practicing in the US for a very long time. However, he said he has been following the licensing/ recognition extensively. Whether or not he was involved, I may have misunderstood him.
I apologize as it was not my intent to give false information, although the doctor did say he was expecting AOA residency to be approved one day (this was just his opinion though) and I was just repeating what he said, and posted it with excitement. I erased my previous post to ensure no one gets confused or gets false information
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hey guys!
now i know many here have had experience with Western COMP.. so while going over their interview confirmation email, this part kind of made me concerned:
"If you are an international student or possess a permanent visa, please be prepared to provide proof of legal United States residency before you leave campus. Proof of legal US residency is required prior to any offer of admission."
they do accept international students...as they have mentioned on their website.. then why would they need proof of US citizenship or residency prior to offers of admission? :S and i don't have a US visa yet...
i got this email when i reached home this evening, otherwise would've called them right away just to clarify this.. posted this in Western's thread, but decided to post it here as well, as this is where i may get some clarifications..
now i know many here have had experience with Western COMP.. so while going over their interview confirmation email, this part kind of made me concerned:
"If you are an international student or possess a permanent visa, please be prepared to provide proof of legal United States residency before you leave campus. Proof of legal US residency is required prior to any offer of admission."
they do accept international students...as they have mentioned on their website.. then why would they need proof of US citizenship or residency prior to offers of admission? :S and i don't have a US visa yet...
i got this email when i reached home this evening, otherwise would've called them right away just to clarify this.. posted this in Western's thread, but decided to post it here as well, as this is where i may get some clarifications..
Don't worry about that for now. If you get an offer they will send you all the visa info. KCUMB is the same.
You wont be given a visa until you have been accepted. The school does all the work and mails you a few forms which you sign and cross the border with when you move down permanently for school. In my case it took 5 minutes in the immigration office at the border....and than I was on my way
That is referring to non-canadian international students. As a canadian, you don't need to worry about it. Good luck with interview!
Hey Everyone! Hope all is well completing secondaries and that everyone will start receiving interview invites if you haven't already. I was super excited to get my first interview invite for CCOM yesterday. I'll be going Oct 24th. Very exciting 🙂.
PS this thread was too far down the main page!!
PS this thread was too far down the main page!!
Good luck SRC!
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Thanks, thumbz!
Hey, I'm looking for some input from the group. I've completed my secondaries for Western COMP, CCOM, AZCOM, ATSU, UNE-COM, NSU but I haven't completed LMU-COM or PCOM. I'm really thinking about not doing the LMU one because of a slim chance.. what do you guys think about LMU and PCOM Philadelphia & Georgia.. do the secondary or skip any?
LMU DCOM contacted me via email and told me that I was going to be given an interview if I accepted the international student agreement. I did, but they still haven't called me to set a date up.
congrats! I haven't heard from ccom at all and have been complete for a while. I'm complete at MSU, and scheduled interviews at azcom, kcumb and western so far. KCUMB is sept 26.
You know drg... I think my interview came so early out of luck. I've noticed on the ccom discussion thread that people with solid stats that completed in July were still waiting.. I'm not sure what the deal is with that.. hopefully you'll hear soon.. good luck with the others!!
I have an interview from LMU on Sept 27 (Completed on Aug 8th). They are quite big on rural medicine and the under-served apparently. So the school does consider Canadians =). When I called the hotel, the guy told me he isn't aware of any shuttle/public transit to the airport (200 miles away)... I guess the campus must be really tucked away.
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Thanks! Originally they had lost my secondary, but then found it -- they told me it would be reviewed the next day and it was. I got an email telling me that if I agreed to the international student visa rules I would be given an interview. My Complete email came at the end of August, but they haven't called to schedule anything yet.
I'll let you know how it goes - I'm interviewing there on Sept 26
I'm interviewing at KCUMB on Sept 19 so PM me after that date if you want to hear about interview day. I can also tell you about AZCOM (Sept 16) and Western (Sept 22) as well.
soo, i just called william carey today.. i had submitted the primary, and wanted to confirm with them whether they accept Internationals or not...because AACOMAS said they do..
the lady told me they do accept international applicants...then I asked her if she could tell me the status on my application, which was released by AACOMAS early Aug, but no reply yet from WCU.. she said it's still under review..
whatever. i'm not really expecting much out of this one.. but still, why can't these schools (PCOM, TCOM, WCU etc) just give a straight no, if they do not want internationals...why the "we do accept internationals" prior to secondaries, and then the silent treatments ?!? 😛
out of curiosity, did anyone send in applications to LECOM-E or PCOM this year?
the lady told me they do accept international applicants...then I asked her if she could tell me the status on my application, which was released by AACOMAS early Aug, but no reply yet from WCU.. she said it's still under review..
whatever. i'm not really expecting much out of this one.. but still, why can't these schools (PCOM, TCOM, WCU etc) just give a straight no, if they do not want internationals...why the "we do accept internationals" prior to secondaries, and then the silent treatments ?!? 😛
out of curiosity, did anyone send in applications to LECOM-E or PCOM this year?
I hear ya! LECOM-E - no.
PCOM - yes for both campuses.
I also haven't heard from PCSOM, Edward Via -VCOM... they should just be direct with us. The silent treatment is not fair and not cool.
Did not even get a secondary from Lecom E. The 3 year PcP was attractive to me, but now I'm excited for the schools that have invited me for interviews. I do have 2 top choices right now. The waiting is killing me 🙂
@Optoed: aah, i was just thinking about sending in a primary to PCSOM.. guess i'll forget that one.. no secondary from pcom either??
@drgioiadds: did you check with LECOM-E on what was up with the application??
@drgioiadds: did you check with LECOM-E on what was up with the application??
I did get the secondaries from both PCOM campuses recently.
I didn't call - but I emailed with no response. I'm ok with that because I have other schools that would take priority over Lecom and have responded Favourably. I'll probably get 1-2 more interviews and realistically, I would go to any of those schools.
Accepted today!! MSUCOM
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No, submit them asap. Obviously they you have good stats for them to do that, so get those letters in.
Congrats on the acceptance!
Good job!! Congrats!!
Thanks everyone!! I think the Canadian crew will do well this cycle!😀
Congrats drgioiadds!!!
Now listen to these wise words..... ENJOY THE LAST FEW MONTHS OF FREEDOM lol
The start of medical school is like dodgeball. It starts out slow (for about a week) with one or two balls flying your way, but before you know it, its you versus a whole team and there is 30 balls flying your way. Its that hectic lol my apologizes for my ridiculous analogy, anatomy is getting to my head
Medical school is 10x harder than I expected, but well worth it. Still, enjoy our last bit of freedom 🙂 Congrats again
Now listen to these wise words..... ENJOY THE LAST FEW MONTHS OF FREEDOM lol
The start of medical school is like dodgeball. It starts out slow (for about a week) with one or two balls flying your way, but before you know it, its you versus a whole team and there is 30 balls flying your way. Its that hectic lol my apologizes for my ridiculous analogy, anatomy is getting to my head
Medical school is 10x harder than I expected, but well worth it. Still, enjoy our last bit of freedom 🙂 Congrats again
You can click my MD apps link. My mediocre MCAT prevented me from getting interviews at some schools that interview Canadians regularly. I also took the MCAT after being away from those courses for almost 15 years. I studied for about 2.5 months, but should have not rushed it last year.
Still, I did receive 3 official interview invites and probably would have got 2 more.
I applied opening day this year, instead of January.
I hear ya! At least MSU starts with anatomy alone in the summer. However, I think OMM will be also starting with anatomy next year. I am taking a CME course in Dec. called Intro to Manual Medicine, offered at MSU, so I will have some background.
Read this cool article:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/ar...rn-hands-on-medical-tradition--129254848.html
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/ar...rn-hands-on-medical-tradition--129254848.html
Nice! Glad to see D.O.'s (or future DOs) in the Canadian media 🙂
Although I did laugh at the "they blend into the US health care system" lol not sure why but that makes me think of ninjas. Perhaps its too early in the morning and the Pelvic girdle is getting to my head😛
I've not checked this thread for 2+ months. Glad to still see so many familiar names on here.
drgioiadds, congrats on your new acceptance!!! 🙂
thumbz, they must not be whipping you guys as hard down in AZ as up here, how do you have time to stay on top of this all?
I'm a University of Waterloo grad, non-traditional applicant and started Midwestern University - Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine this fall. If anyone has any questions, please let me know (in a PM). Good luck to those who are applying! 👍
drgioiadds, congrats on your new acceptance!!! 🙂
thumbz, they must not be whipping you guys as hard down in AZ as up here, how do you have time to stay on top of this all?
I'm a University of Waterloo grad, non-traditional applicant and started Midwestern University - Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine this fall. If anyone has any questions, please let me know (in a PM). Good luck to those who are applying! 👍
Good to see CCOM is keeping you on your toes 😉. This is the only thread I read on here anymore, and occasionally I stumble into the AZCOM class threads. I figure I got a lot from it last year so I better give it back even if it means dedicating my study breaks to surfing the web instead of ... ah who am I kidding it's what I'd be doing anyways.
Thanks, I'm pretty excited about it. I'm working in London, ON right now so I'm pretty close to Detroit and East Lansing Campus. The move won't be so bad in a few months.
it really bothers me how the MSU 15 never bothered to post on this forum...... and they refer to themselves as "pioneers".. puhleease lol... Cando is a pioneer.. these guys are just followers. There's a well established path for return to Canada now, pioneers?. yeah right, more like "the path less travelled".
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Agree totally
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Congrats Drg!!! So are you going to continue with other interviews for this year or was MSU your top choice?
I live in Detroit (originally from the Windsor area) so let me know if you need any info on the area.
I rec'd some more good new with a COMP interview 11/3.. the first one I rec'd was CCOM 10/24. Looking forward to it 🙂. Lots to do though with working full time, taking Biochem and applications/interviews.
What we do for our dreams =)
I live in Detroit (originally from the Windsor area) so let me know if you need any info on the area.
I rec'd some more good new with a COMP interview 11/3.. the first one I rec'd was CCOM 10/24. Looking forward to it 🙂. Lots to do though with working full time, taking Biochem and applications/interviews.
What we do for our dreams =)
I'll PM you -- I'm familiar with the area. My sister lives in Windsor and I've run the Freepress marathon twice.
I agree to, but I also like how MSU is helping the cause. I decided NOT to apply to Canadian MD schools at all because I am a true believer of the DO philosophy. I do think I would have had a good chance at Northern because of the regional preference and No MCAT requirement. Also, because I am a "mature applicant" , my app would have been treated differently.
Everyone has been so quiet.....
interviews approaching...*tension mode* 😛 😎
side note: still haven't heard from ccom.. completed aug 22nd
btw, congratz on ur MSU acceptance!! 👍
