Advice for a 2nd-year Cegep student interested in med school?

[ralph]

Hello! This is my first post on the boards, as I've found these boards only recently. There seems to be heaps of useful information on here which I'll be reading as I finish my second year of CEGEP here in Montreal.

Hard part's over, I've just begun my third term, so already two under the belt which went well (well by my standards at least, I have a 35.49 R score). Of course I'm pursuing my volunteer/extra-curricular activities meanwhile.

This summer I really gave alot of thought to why I'd like to become a physician. I have a genuine interest in health sciences, and also from a human perspective, being an MD seems like quite a fullfilling and rewarding career, to be in constant contact with people, listening to their problems and doing the best you can to improve their health, which in my opinion is the most fundamental and important thing in life.

What I'm basically asking for is for guidance. There are so many sections on this board, it's a bit easy to get intimidated! Are there any must-read threads for people at my level of schooling? What about books? I will need all the help I can get for the admissions process (which begins in only 5 short months), I figured these boards would be a good place to start.

Thank you and hope to get to know some of you!

[Jochi1543]

I think what you need to start with is to familiarize yourself with different schools' admissions requirements, so that you can pick the schools you can apply to, and/or take courses that will make you eligible to apply to schools whose requirements you can't currently meet.

[ralph]

I'm considering applying to UoM, McGill, Laval and Sherbrooke, I already read up on all of their individual applications processes. Therefore I'm not too concerned about how the admissions work, but more about what I should start reading up on in regards to studying medicine/the medical field in general, in order actually get admitted.

[Jochi1543]

Originally Posted by ralph

I'm considering applying to UoM, McGill, Laval and Sherbrooke, I already read up on all of their individual applications processes. Therefore I'm not too concerned about how the admissions work, but more about what I should start reading up on in regards to studying medicine/the medical field in general, in order actually get admitted.

Well, I found "The Intern Blues" to be an interesting book about the life of a newly hatched medical resident - I think it's considered a classic now, one that can really turn off those who do not have their mind entirely set on medicine. It paints a rather depressing picture, but it's unique because it is structured out of recordings made by 4 young doctors in residency, so rather than having the author alter their view of their experience, the book allows you to see it first-hand, from the mouth of those currently undergoing what they are describing.

As far as the admissions process itself, save yourself from reading the ubiquitous "what did you guys do to get into med, so I can do the same thing" threads, and try Paul Jung's "How NOT to get into medical school" - I think it's a good, straightforward, easily readable, and fairly short guide of what not to do to end up being a clone and having your application tossed away during the admissions process. I think it describes the admissions philosophy adopted by most medical schools quite well.

[ralph]

Thanks for all the help. However I didn't quite understand the part where you said "not being clone and having your application tossed away during the admissions process". I mean I know for a fact that med school looks for certain qualities in a person aspiring to be an MD... if I write or speak about how I meet these "criteria" (so to speak), and other applicants have the same general way to lay it all out and explain their reasons for picking med school in the same way as I do, does that make me a "clone"? What is a clone anyway... I mean not the sheeped named Dolly kind. I take it you're talking about students who basically say whatever they think could get them into med school. However is it bad if my reasons are similar to theirs? That's what you make it sound like.

Sorry for the excessive run-on sentences, coffee will do that.
Thanks for the replies!

[ralph]

Additionally do you have any websites to read up on the Canadian healthcare system and current health issues? I'm wondering what I should read about before applying to med, or how I should prepare at all.

[Jochi1543]

What I mean by "clones" is groups of students whose applications tend to demonstrate nothing but a fixation on med school admissions. They generally major in biology or chemistry, join the pre-med club, have "research experience" that in reality boils down to having washed some glassware for a professor, and their ECs are entirely centered around medicine-related activities - and all of this not because they are enjoying what they are doing, but because they think they are following the magic "admissions formula."