MD/PhD and Residency

[brandonite]

Just a quick question... What kind of a shot would I have coming out of the University of Manitoba with a MD/PhD for getting a top residency?

The school is generally thought of as middle-of-the-road in Canada, but I should be at or near the top of my class, except everything is pass/fail. The research lab I will be working at is one of the top in the world in diagnostic biophysics - I have talked to a variety of people and they say it is an amazing place.

I would ideally like to get some sort of Medicine spot at a top 10/20 hospital and then go on to Cardiology or something similar. I don't think internal medicine is all that competitive, is it?

Any ideas? I know the matchlist was posted from Maryland a while ago, and it was pretty impressive... But this program wouldn't be MSTP, obviously.

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[Ponyboy]

Canadian students usually do very well in the US Match. I know of three students who just matched to the US at either their top or second choice of residencies. I think that having a PhD will only help you if you want to go to the US.

Three warnings:
1)Never say that you'll be at the top of your class unless you already are. You will be amazed at the incredible students in your class. You will also realize that how you do in your first two years has absolutely no predictive value for your performance on the wards.
2)While top 20 residencies are often prestigious, they are never a guarantee of good training. For example, UToronto has a great reputation. However, because it is so well-known and has all these subspecialty fellows, the fellows run the show. This means that the residents are bossed around and don't make their own decisions. I've talked to many residents who say that they would never train at UT because they simply wouldn't get enough independence to learn.
3)While a PhD is a great thing to have, training in diagnostic biophysics may not necessarily be the most useful for an internal medicine residency. If you want to do research in internal medicine, you may want to focus more on research about mechanisms of disease, therapy, etc.