Bilingualism

[Spencer]

I know for a fact that the language of instruction for the Medicine at McGill is done entirely in english unlike the faculty of law which does both english and french...my question is...during the McGill interview, do they test you on french fluency at all? and if you are accepted into McGill as a anglophone who you not have trouble in years 3-4 during clinical rotations speaking to patients who may only be francophones?...thx for any input u may be able to give :D

[dfenst]

You're not tested for French fluency at your interview. I can't really answer the second part of your question factually, but I would think that knowing French would allow you to have some better experiences (ie: you wouldn't have to pass a patient onto a francophone colleague).

Dan

[medicator007]

Knowing french isn't an explicit requirement, but it would certainly make things easier. I know that several out of town students have taken french courses in the past to make things easier in clerkship. To the best of my knowledge you wouldn't be required to pass off a patient to someone who spoke french, but rather would have to adapt to the situation as best as possible. Use relatives, nurses, other healthcare workers/staff in order to the get the job done.

Cheers,
Medicator

[milkytooth]

A nurse from Montreal Jewish (one of the McGill major teaching hospitals) told me that 50% of their patients are french-speaking.