FEBRUARY — I'm proud to say
I survived the CaRMS interview process. After writing
26 personal letters, convincing seven preceptors to
be my references, spending $2,000 on flights and ultimately
interviewing for 12 different programs across the country
in two weeks, I think I probably just went through one
of the most stressful periods in my life.
LAST
MINUTE TERROR
I suppose it was partly my fault for waiting until the
last day to upload all my application information to
the CaRMS website. Still, it wasn't reassuring that
it took five excruciating minutes for each page to refresh
as the midnight deadline hovered a mere thirty minutes
away.
Scheduling interviews proved to
be another headache. Because I applied to both pediatrics
and internal medicine, I found myself frantically crisscrossing
the country. At one stretch I had an interview in Toronto
followed by London, then Montreal, back to London and
finishing again in Toronto, one right after the other.
I had to wonder whose idea it was
to hold the national interview in the middle of January.
Could there be any worse time in Canada? One of my flights
from Toronto was forced to turn back after flying a
holding pattern over Montreal for 20 minutes.
There were positive aspects though.
When else would I have the opportunity to go out to
St John's, NL, and face 85km/h winds on Signal Hill?
Or eat smoked meat sandwiches in Montreal, shop at the
gargantuan West Edmonton Mall, see the other
Thames River in London — all in the space of a
few weeks? When else can I book last-minute airline
tickets with reckless abandon, and take advantage of
friends and family whom I haven't seen in years?
REALITY
BITES
It was definitely a whirlwind tour. Now back at home,
I sit in front of my computer staring at my rank list
trying to decide where I'd be most happy doing what.
"Who cares if you end up making
tens of thousands of dollars less and working harder
than anyone else, you'd be living in the coolest city
in Canada!" says my friend Bradley, trying to convince
me to rank Montreal first.
My parents are more practical.
"Make sure you rank every place including Saskatoon,
St John's and Timbuktu. Even if you end up not liking
it, you can move after three years."
The advice of one mentor stands
out in my mind. He said: "Don't worry too much about
making a wrong decision between pediatrics and internal
medicine. Unless you actually practice one of the specialties,
you'll never know what it's really like. Whatever you
end up doing, you'll find that you'll like it more and
more and one day you'll look back and wonder why you
ever had such a tough time choosing."
But still, as I log in to the CaRMS
ranking program, I can't help but think this is some
landmark moment in my life. With a few mouse clicks,
I'll be relegating myself to an eternity of dealing
with either babies or old people's innards, either in
Toronto or Winnipeg. As med students have done before
me, and as others will do after me, I click the "Submit
Final Rankings" button, and cross my fingers.
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