medical specialties

Holiday Special

Gear up for a trip down memory lane. Join us every Tuesday for the next few weeks as we hit rewind and release some of our all-time favourite episodes. Let’s dive back into the primary specialties that sparked your interest.

We’re prepping fresh content for the next season of Specialty Café. Stay tuned for exciting new episodes heading your way in the early new year! We’ll continue delving into subspecialties and beyond!

A huge thanks to our listeners not only in Canada but also around the world! Questions or suggestions for this podcast? Reach out to fellowshipaffairs@royalcollege.ca.

Does a career in Internal Medicine allow you to live a life outside of the hospital? How do community and urban practices differ? What do Internal Medicine sub-specialties look like? Join host Andrew Pauls as he chats with Amy Hendricks, MD, FRCPC and Pooya Dibanjnia, MD, as they discuss the joys and challenges of a day in the life of an Internist. This episode was first published on March 31, 2021. 

What exactly is the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS)? Why does it exist? How does it work?  It’s daunting… how can I keep on top of the process? How do I rank my preferences? Where do I go for help? Do these questions sound familiar!

Whether you’re a curious first-year med student, or in your final year embarking on your CaRMS path, this episode is for you.

Join Cameron Wong as he chats with CaRMS CEO, John Gallinger, to demystify the CaRMS process. This episode is packed with insight into the underlying rationale of the CaRMS algorithm, what the process looks like, tips to start and stay on track with your CaRMS journey, and heaps of invaluable advice.

Here's a sneak peak... The best and most effective ranking strategy is the simplest:  rank your true preferences in your rank order list. You’ll need to listen to this episode to find out why!

Your CaRMS journey takes place over months. Med students are busy and the application process might not be high on your list. However, you can reduce some of your stress level by ensuring you know well in advance what needs to be done when! 

As John mentions on more than one occasion, the dedicated CaRMS team is there to help. Never hesitate to reach out.  https://www.carms.ca/contact/

Are you fascinated by diagnostic tests and biochemical pathways? Do you find it thrilling to know that your specialty continually changes and will look very different in the not-so-distant future? Tune in… Medical Biochemistry could be your future career path!

Host Emily Wu, MD ticks off a list of questions for Andre Mattman, MD, FRCPC in order to demystify this collaborative specialty.  Dr. Mattman gives great insight into the various residency routes, a day in his life, and a look at the rich and vast patient cases seen by a Medical Biochemist.

Dr. Mattman shares his passion for aligning medical biochemistry practices to climate sustainability. He gives thoughtful insight into his work around assessing appropriateness of certain tests vs other tests, while keeping top of mind how lab tests can have a big impact on our fragile environment... and an impact on limited resources. The health of this planet is, after all, the responsibility of all medical specialists.  

And… as an important by the way… work/life balance is really good is Medical Biochemistry!  

Imagine a virtual hands-on learning opportunity where trainees could access patients 24/7, from anywhere in the world. Faculty would have access to the platform, review trainees’ outcomes and provide feedback at any time of day. 

Fast forward to… now! Gone are the days where a medical student shows up at the bedside table flipping through a medical textbook.

Join Dr. Karim Qayumi, FRCSC, as he shares why and how he created CyberPatient - an interactive virtual simulation that provides learners with a clinical environment to practice and learn clinical skills... in a safe space. CyberPatient provides a learning opportunity for many members of a healthcare team, on and off this planet!

Royal College Fellows and residents – are you interested in how can you participate in CyberPatient? Contact Dr. Karim Qayumi, FRCSC  at qayumi@cyberpatient.ca .

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Imaginez une plateforme d'apprentissage virtuel pratique qui permettrait aux stagiaires d’avoir accès aux patients en tout temps, partout dans le monde. Les enseignants y examineraient les résultats des stagiaires et transmettraient leur rétroaction, quelle que soit l'heure.  

L’époque où les étudiants feuilletaient leur manuel de médecine sur la table de chevet des patients est révolue.

Joignez-vous au Dr Karim Qayumi, FRCSC, et découvrez pourquoi et comment il a créé CyberPatient, une plateforme virtuelle de simulation interactive où les apprenants peuvent mettre en pratique et acquérir des compétences dans un environnement clinique sécuritaire. Elle offre une occasion d'apprentissage aux membres d'une équipe de soins de santé, où qu'ils soient sur la planète!  

Nous invitons les Associés et les résidents du Collège royal intéressés à utiliser CyberPatient à communiquer avec le Dr Karim Qayumi, FRCSC, à l’adresse qayumi@cyberpatient.ca.

#059 – On this episode, we wrap up our discussion about medicine as a field of study and as a profession. Today, we expand on areas related to medical school that were introduced during our previous episode. The path to becoming a physician is very challenging and requires a high level of commitment for a long period of time. Students who successfully get admitted and succeed in medical school often begin their preparation many years before graduating high school. Jankel and I have a profound appreciation and respect for the path that leads to becoming a doctor. That is a path that lends itself to plenty of misinformation, and because of that, we decided to talk about the most important steps and requirements that lead a student to become a medical doctor. We begin our discussion by uncovering quick facts related to the medical profession and the different medical specialties that await a medical student upon graduation from medical school. We also dive into the education required to apply to medical school, including the successful completion of the pre-med program courses. Jankel and I go into the details of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), and what is considered a good score. Additionally, we give you an idea of what medical school is like. Towards the end of the episode, we uncover the requirements for admission to one of the most coveted medical schools in the country, the David Geffen Medical School at UCLA. This episode will help you gain a deeper understanding of the college admission process from the perspective of a medical student. If becoming a medical doctor is your goal, you will be further equipped to make the right decisions and take the right steps to get to your ultimate education goal. You can find the show notes and links to everything we mentioned on this episode at https://collegemetropolis.com/59. Please help our show be found more easily by giving us a 5-star rating and leaving us a great review. In doing so, you will ensure that more high school students and parents find us and benefit from the information we provide. Thank you!