Originally Posted by epikness

inquiry, is that all u do?
honestly, is there no practical work?
i know health sci ppl arent doctors, but isnt their any med component to it

How can there be a med component when you don't even have the basics down? Its great that you're eager, but you don't know enough to be let anywhere near patients.. apply for volunteer positions or social work if you want to start doing stuff now.

i m not a kind of person who wants to sit in one room trying to decipher textbooks after textbooks....I WANNA BE OUT THEREE DOING REAL STUFF THAT IS APPLICABLE AND WORKING WITH PEOPLE AND HELPING THEM AND CREATING A BETTER WORLD. lol

>_>

And you believe that med school, at least for the first two years, is not exactly what you just described you want to avoid doing?

Originally Posted by epikness

inquiry, is that all u do?
honestly, is there no practical work?
i know health sci ppl arent doctors, but isnt their any med component to it

i guess there is anatomy & physiology - basis of medicine/health sciences? it's not like they're training us to be doctors or anything.. and yeah i would have to say most of our courses are inquiry/group research based at least in the first 2 years. there are only a few mandatory courses for upper year so you can take whatever you want then though.

Originally Posted by RyanC

How can there be a med component when you don't even have the basics down? Its great that you're eager, but you don't know enough to be let anywhere near patients.. apply for volunteer positions or social work if you want to start doing stuff now.

This. I'd say go into nursing if you're interested in getting practical experience, or social work. I'll most likely be doing a placement this summer at a pain management clinic. From what I've heard, it will be a long time until you get practical experience if you go into a non-professional program. However, professional schools/programs usually do require a practicum so that would be the best route to go.

Med schools don't care what program you came from, so you should choose something that you are interested in. Don't simply choose a certain program because it might be more 'medically relevant', that's what med school is for. Kin and health sci are good options but there are also other interesting programs out there. Explore your options.

Every year, an article is published outlining the acceptance statistics for med schools across Canada. Students from 'non-biology' programs have a consistently higher acceptance rate. (Fewer applicants and fewer rejections for applicants coming from business than say, life science)

They also tend to have consistently higher MCAT scores, strangely enough.


So I definitely agree with the notion that you should take courses you'll do well in, as opposed to a 'Medical-sounding degree."

---------

EDIT: P.S. I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way, and I'm hoping I've simply misunderstood the initial post in this thread...but 'overachieving while effectively managing time and voluntering' is a standard way to characterize any strong applicant for medical school. While it's good to keep your individuality (and once you're 'in the system' your individuality and ideals are what will set you apart), you do need to 'play by the rules' so that med schools notice you and give you the chance to prove yourself. In short, there's a certain 'type' of candidate that med schools are after.

If you feel like this description will 'completely change you' and "you won't be you but a mask created to get into med school" then you may want to rethink things and plan carefully. Med school applications are a huge undertaking and will require a great deal of preparation.

Again: Your grades are important, but not necessarily the specific courses you've taken. Med schools want to see that you can buckle down, study and achieve excellent grades, moreso than the demonstration of specific knowledge (which they'll re-teach in med school anyway).

Originally Posted by Mowicz

Every year, an article is published outlining the acceptance statistics for med schools across Canada. Students from 'non-biology' programs have a consistently higher acceptance rate. (Fewer applicants and fewer rejections for applicants coming from business than say, life science)

They also tend to have consistently higher MCAT scores, strangely enough.


So I definitely agree with the notion that you should take courses you'll do well in, as opposed to a 'Medical-sounding degree."

---------

EDIT: P.S. I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way, and I'm hoping I've simply misunderstood the initial post in this thread...but 'overachieving while effectively managing time and voluntering' is a standard way to characterize any strong applicant for medical school. While it's good to keep your individuality (and once you're 'in the system' your individuality and ideals are what will set you apart), you do need to 'play by the rules' so that med schools notice you and give you the chance to prove yourself. In short, there's a certain 'type' of candidate that med schools are after.

If you feel like this description will 'completely change you' and "you won't be you but a mask created to get into med school" then you may want to rethink things and plan carefully. Med school applications are a huge undertaking and will require a great deal of preparation.

With that, I remember reading somwhere that more psychology students get into medical school relativly than hard science students. Like..they have better acceptance rates. But that might be because they're in a different pool of applicants, so they have a better chance. Your point still stands though-do what you're interested in

And...as for you edit. Not necessarily. The volunterring is evidence of your character. If you've spent time developing that character in other ways that's just as good. You just need to be able to prove it. Mind..I myself have not yet applied to schools, so take my advice with a grain of salt

Regarding the statistics, I can't find the printout at the moment. Think I saw it on Schulich's website a month or so ago.

The pools are the same generally speaking...it's in one sense, a trick of numbers, and in another sheer interest. A business student, or psych student would offer a unique perspective that a biology student may not have. Whereas, given that most students who are accepted are from bio (or related programs), there isn't as much to set you apart.

The trick of numbers is simply, if 10,000 bio students apply and 3,000 get in, then that's a 30% acceptance rate. Whereas if 55 humanities students apply, and 25 get in, it's a 45% acceptance rate.

So in an absolute sense, more bio students get in. But it does seem to be the case that if you're from a different program you're more likely to be successful simply because the acceptance rates are higher (ie. it's easier to be one of those 25 from humanities, than one of the 3000 from bio).

(Note: figures are all fictitious, but illustrate the point)

Originally Posted by crazyfree

And...as for you edit. Not necessarily. The volunterring is evidence of your character. If you've spent time developing that character in other ways that's just as good. You just need to be able to prove it. Mind..I myself have not yet applied to schools, so take my advice with a grain of salt

While it's true that you don't need to volunteer per se, you do need to actively engage in something that will give you a nice 'back story.'

That being said I think my point still stands...it's unfortunate, but applying to med school is all about jumping through hoops. If you feel like walking that tightrope between academics and extracurriculars (whatever they may be) is something that isn't really you, and would make you feel like a different person entirely, you should think carefully about exactly what it is that you're willing to do. There might be other options that are better suited to you...med school seems glamourous, and is a nice goal to have, but it doesn't make everyone happy.

Originally Posted by Mowicz

Regarding the statistics, I can't find the printout at the moment. Think I saw it on Schulich's website a month or so ago.

The pools are the same generally speaking...it's in one sense, a trick of numbers, and in another sheer interest. A business student, or psych student would offer a unique perspective that a biology student may not have. Whereas, given that most students who are accepted are from bio (or related programs), there isn't as much to set you apart.

The trick of numbers is simply, if 10,000 bio students apply and 3,000 get in, then that's a 30% acceptance rate. Whereas if 55 humanities students apply, and 25 get in, it's a 45% acceptance rate.

So in an absolute sense, more bio students get in. But it does seem to be the case that if you're from a different program you're more likely to be successful simply because the acceptance rates are higher (ie. it's easier to be one of those 25 from humanities, than one of the 3000 from bio).

(Note: figures are all fictitious, but illustrate the point)



While it's true that you don't need to volunteer per se, you do need to actively engage in something that will give you a nice 'back story.'

That being said I think my point still stands...it's unfortunate, but applying to med school is all about jumping through hoops. If you feel like walking that tightrope between academics and extracurriculars (whatever they may be) is something that isn't really you, and would make you feel like a different person entirely, you should think carefully about exactly what it is that you're willing to do. There might be other options that are better suited to you...med school seems glamourous, and is a nice goal to have, but it doesn't make everyone happy.

Yeah I know. I was essentially agreeing with you on the first point.

And yeah, you're right. You still need something there to meet certain criteria they want. Just wanted to point out you don't need to go the 'typical' route

only programs leading to a PROFESSIONAL degree (medicine, nursing, dentistry, OT/PT, etc...) have clinical components because it is mandatory for them to learn, as after they graduate they will be able to practice some form of patient care.

no other program that is not leading to a professional degree can have any clinical aspect. it is unethical, unnecessary and illegal. just thought I would clarify for the OP. as a 2nd year undergrad, nursing is the only program that will have this component but I've heard it's hard to get really high courses in nursing which works against you when you want to apply to medicine. just saying.

Sort of off-topic, but I'm kind of curious about this.

When I was in Life Sciences, a guy in my 1M03 lab told me about how he had intended on going into Health Sciences. He didn't get in, and was later told by someone (I'm not sure if it was an academic advisor or another student) that a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree is worth very little if you don't get into medical school because a lot of what you learned is clinical-based stuff, and therefore was useless knowledge if you didn't actually go on to professional school.

I'm not trying to criticize a Health Sciences degree, obviously - I definitely could not have got into that program. I'm just wondering if there's any truth behind that, or if someone in Health Sciences who doesn't plan on going to medical school can verify that this isn't the case. I'd ask my sole Health Sciences friend, but she's really sensitive and would probably think I'm criticizing her

what are the benefits of having a health sci degree? based on what i have heard from a friend who is in the program, he tells me that he has never ever had any lecture style class, and he basically works with a small group of students. They are given an issue and they do inquiry in that issue from different aspects. He says that it is all "self-learning."

Originally Posted by epikness

what are the benefits of having a health sci degree? based on what i have heard from a friend who is in the program, he tells me that he has never ever had any lecture style class, and he basically works with a small group of students. They are given an issue and they do inquiry in that issue from different aspects. He says that it is all "self-learning."

Seems to me its more about building your interpersonal skills, problem solving abilities, and critical thinking skills, while being directed at learning academics on your own.. seems pretty valuable to me. Most of the health sci people I've met are crazy smart..

if what u say is true, since health sci students have a lot of elective space, they can always do a minor or a major in certain course.

Originally Posted by epikness

if what u say is true, since health sci students have a lot of elective space, they can always do a minor or a major in certain course.

No time for minors, must study study study and get 11GPA