*Honest Review* of My Medical School | McMaster University's 3 Year MD Program

[@nxtgenmd]

Hey everyone :) Please remember to like the video if you did find it helpful! In addition though, I just wanted to say once again that the views shared in this video are mine. Just because I had a really great time at McMaster doesn't mean that you shouldn't still do your own research when deciding which program is right for you. All the best and good luck 🤙

[@jennifersimone8914]

I would be interested in a video on failures in med school if you are comfortable sharing. Like maybe things that caught you off guard or exams you bombed/had to retake or moments you felt overwhelmed and how you picked yourself back up or felt supported by your program. I really find motivation in your videos and as a new med student I'm hoping for insight

[@nxtgenmd]

Hi Jennifer :) Thanks for the suggestion. Admittedly a 12 minute video on my multiple failures in medical school (which most medical students will go through) might be a little bit difficult since I've forgotten the details of most of them😅 We're all learning (rapidly) and every student has more than a few moments of "wow that was a stupid question to ask my attending," or "I shouldn't have studied this abstract detail for this exam." However, I might be able to pick a few good examples and share some times with current and future students. I'll add it to the list and will hopefully get around to it before classes start for the majority of students in September. Thanks for there suggestion and keep your eyes out for something along those lines in the future 🔥

[@Michael-bf4ud]

Always a pleasure to watch your videos. At some point in the future, would you consider making a video about McMaster Indigenous stream? The application to the Indigenous stream, the process, the workshops? I know the Mac is a strong supporter of the Indigenous community but there is next to no information available about their Indigenous stream. Thanks for considering and have a great evening.

[@nxtgenmd]

Hi Michael :) I'd love to expand more on specific applicant streams for the different medical schools, but unfortunately because I didn't go through the process myself, I'd have nothing more to say than can already be found on the school websites. Having said that, I recently started doing a few interviews on the channel and will be sure to keep an eye out for a student who can speak a little bit more about the process. The problem is that finding someone comfortable enough to speak about their experiences on camera is reasonably difficult 😅 I promise to try may best to find someone - all the best for now!

[@teacup3064]

Could you do a video on what you learn from pbl system? What approach did you learn on how to break down the problems

[@nxtgenmd]

Hi teacup :) probably not since it won’t really be that applicable to most people. The pbl tutors in charge of your group are there to offer you tips to succeed and will help guide you through the process. Also, you have student advisors that help you if you’re struggling 🤙

[@s96822]

The early clinical exposure is not bad idea providing you don't get an exhausting sleep deprived schedule that interferes with studying for exams especially basic science.

[@nxtgenmd]

Exactly :) Early clinical exposure was never excessive imo. Family medicine clinic was once per week and horizontal electives (a day in surgery, EM, Ob, etc.) were optional and you decided when and if you wanted to pursue them.

[@orlin3673]

Hey! Thanks a lot for this video! It was really interesting to hear about all your experiences. I'm going into grade 12 this year and recently got the opportunity to conduct a research project with a Professor at Brock in the Psychology/Neuroscience Department. I've passed by the McMaster Niagara Campus area/rooms multiple times and always wondered if that was ever open for a tour or even just for inquiries. Do you have any information on this? I would love to stop by and learn more on one of the days that I'm there. Thank you so much!!

[@nxtgenmd]

Hi Orlin :) I believe that they do tours of the university but I'm unsure if the medical school wing is included in that. Speak with campus tours and ask them specifically about the McMaster NRC rooms

[@lisahines532]

I am laughing a little at the "early clinical experiences." I was a patient in the McMaster system and have met a whole variety of students working with my rheumatologist. One in particular was super young and did a patient exam of my ankle without having me sit on the bed, and it was super awkward. I hope he learned from that!

[@nxtgenmd]

I’m sure he did :) thanks for being patient with the new learners (myself included at the time). It goes a long way for the training 💪

[@jeanetteraichel8299]

Question: how come family medicine is only two years and others like internal medicine and emergency medicine are three years? Wouldn't it be better to have a three year family medicine to know more.

[@stepbruh3101]

bc internal med and emergency require more rigorous training than fam med??????????????????

[@nxtgenmd]

Hi Jeanette :) I'm not sure if I'm the correct person to be speaking about this at my current training level, but from my understanding, it is a well known fact that family doctors do not reach their maximum competency in their field straight after the 2 year residency. I believe the studies have shown that we usually hit our peak at about the 5 year mark post medical school 🤙 having said that, the 2 year residency program is very effective in preparing family doctors to handle the majority of cases that they will typically encounter as well as prepare them for further training in more specific areas if they choose to do so (i.e +1 specialty training years in EM, palliative care, OB, etc.) It also prepares us to identify when we're dealing with something that isn't common and should reach out and learn more about it. An interesting thing to know is that in the US, family residency is 3 years compared to our 2 years and their emergency medicine residency is 3 or 4 years compared to our 5 years. Also, the 5 year emergency medicine residency is fairly new to our system and originally, it is my understanding that most emergency rooms in the country were run by GP's and family doctors. Trying to pin down "ideal" training requirements isn't so much of a science and oftentimes probably includes weighting the benefits of additional training vs. the potential turning away of prospective physicians who would rather not be stuck in residency for another year.

[@abhaymenon1756]

Awesome video, about to start watching Steins;Gate, thanks a bunch!

[@nxtgenmd]

You're in for a wild ride dude 🔥 Enjoy!

[@gabriellaamarixe4511]

Could you share what resources you relied on for first year pbl studying? I.e did you get an osmosis membership etc.? Thank you for the video :)

[@nxtgenmd]

For sure :) My bread and butter resources were Osmosis (which I may or may not have split a membership with my friend 😅), UpToDate (NRC students get a subscription for free with Niagara Health 🤙), and the Toronto Notes document. Quite honestly those will get you through almost everything - but for a few cases your tutors will recommend other resources as well. Best of luck this year!

[@Olivia-no5qj]

Undergrad McMaster student here - thank you so much for this video!! ❤️❤️ SO SO HELPFUL!! Just a quick question- how did you find the work/life balance of med school (any resources that were helpful?) and any tips for stress management?

[@nxtgenmd]

Glad to hear it Olivia :D For the most part, I found medical school to be a steep learning curve in terms of work/life balance - i.e it was rough to figure out a good schedule in the beginning, but we all adapted pretty quickly for the most part. Before clerkship, I usually still had around 1 day per week (usually Saturday's) in my schedule that I kept free for myself and to hang out with others. Exercise and fitness were huge for stress reduction - cardio and resistance training. Good luck with everything!

[@uttammakadia8187]

Do students dissect cadavers in your med school themselves or those are pre dissected and they just observe them and learn ???

[@nxtgenmd]

At my campus (Niagara) we had 1 cadaver that was shared for the entire class. We were able to perform dissections ourselves, under supervision from staff. In addition, there were samples from other cadavers that had already been prepared specifically to showcase certain structures 🤙

[@uttammakadia8187]

@@nxtgenmd thank you for sharing the information !

[@adamnordinrogers]

This program is good for already someone holding bachelor of science/biomedical/nursing/EMT degree and motivated already. Not straigh from high school

[@nxtgenmd]

I’m Canada, you cannot enter medical school straight from high school. Even for the queens QARMS program, you still do undergrad studies first

[@sasquatch8268]

I am Groote

[@nxtgenmd]

LOL. Thanks for the funding 🤙