1. CaRMS and You: A Love Story?

2. What Is CARMS? ??

3. Wait, what? CaRMS is the Canadian Residency Matching Service
Central matching service for Canada, has limitations (Alberta has it’s own system)
Only need the MCCEE to apply
To write the MCCEE you will need to do a source verification request with the PCRC (Physicians Credientials Registry of Canada)

4. New System Launches May 23rd
Combination of PCRC and MCC online services (and presumably others)
Called Physiciansapply.ca
Don’t know much about it

5. 2012 Match Results
Bring The Noise

6. 2012 Match Results Lots of charts out there
Google “Carms Reports”. R-1 Match results sorted by year will be the first hit
A ton of data here, but if you focus on just the IMG stuff you can get through it pretty quickly

9. Match Results: Numbers
2156 total IMG participants (2700 CMG)
407 Matched
19% Match rate overall
323 were 2012 grads
141 matched
43% Match rate
1833 Previous year grads
266 matched
14.5% Match rate

10. Official Looking Official Chart

12. Fun Facts Abound!
Note 1: 45% of IMGs only applied to one discipline in the match.
Note 2: 60% of the IMGs who chose Family Medicine as their 1st career choice only applied to Family Medicine

13. But What Does It All Mean?
Don’t get too focussed on the numbers
They can be interesting and informative if you’re looking at specific specialties and are forming an application plan (I want to do X, but last year only 5% of applicants matched etc.)
Usyd specific numbers might help a bit more

14. Our Match Results
2011: 7/10 matched. FM, Anesthesia, Ortho and Gen surgery
2012: 5/7 participants matched with 1 unmatched and 1 unknown result.
Also, one other person that may or may not have participated, but no one has been in touch

15. Our Match Results: Result Harder
2012 Matched specialties were: 2 pediatrics (UoT and UoM), 3 FM (UoA, UoO and UoT)
Not a big surgical push this year

16. How Did You Guys Do It?

17. Devin “The Brown Bandit” Singh
UoT Pediatrics

19. Canada: Paediatrics Devin Singh: devin.singh@mac.com
Matched #1 choice: UofT / Sick Kids Paediatrics
MCCEE 398
LORs 2 paeds, 1 non-med, 2 FM: 1 Usyd, 1 paeds UBC (PICU elective), 2 Ontario FM letters written for Paeds (Electives), 1 YMCA Day Camps (non-medical)
No published research BUT 3 yrs working at Woolcock
Applied to Paediatrics and Family Medicine where possible across Canada
Interviews:
FM Ontario + Dal
Paeds UofT, Ottawa, U of Manitoba

20. Canada: Paediatrics Do as many placements as possible in Canada!
Electives/Canadian Places:
FM Core term: Kingston 6 weeks, Whitby 4 weeks
Electives:
Paeds PICU UBC (4wks)
Unofficial Research Elective, Anesthesiology – UofT – no publication resulting from it
PRINT: Tried so hard to arrange Paeds but couldn’t
FM Sherbourne Health Clinic – UofT (4wks)
FM Stonechurch Health Clinic – McMaster (4wks)

21. Rob “LoverBoy” Flook
UoA Family Medicine

23. Interviews for IM & FM Across Canada
I matched into FM at the U of A (Matched 1st round /1st Ranked Position) (Via AIMG Program)
Interviews for IM & FM Across Canada
McMaster-IM is bullshit !!! Two Solid letters of Rec + 4 Week Elective there = No interview For IM
But FM is solid there, and they do like Usyd students
Also – Mayo Clinic : Sent me a letter that said I matched into IM just prior to the last day to make any changes to my Rank order list (ROL) in Canada

24. Rob Studies Hard
EE mark was in the top 1 percentile and QE was top 5 percentile, NAC OSCE Mark was 90%. 
Electives : McMaster IM, Calgary IM, Uof A FM. Mayo IM. 

25. Jane “Anonymous By Request” Doe
Pediatrics

26. Experience Electives Community term entirely in Ontario
Internal med with UBC
Pediatric heme/oncology with UoCalgary

27. Marks MCCEE 3 months of prep
Used Toronto Notes, USMLE World Step 2, Kaplan videos and Canada Qbank
Got a 402

28. Interviews Pedes, internal med and GP in both Ontario and Manitoba
6 total interviews (2 per specialty)

29. Cameron “Coco” O’Connor
Ottawa Family Med

31. Experiences Electives in Kelowna BC PRINT
4 weeks anesthesia followed by 4 weeks orthopedics
Arranged independently through the College of Physicians and Surgeons, but in coordination with UBC and through direct communication with preceptors on the ground
PRINT
4 weeks of Anesthesia in Halifax through Dalhousie

32. Marks
415 On the MCCEE
Study more spread out and then concentrated again in the last 1-1.5months
Completed the entire USMLE World Step 2 Qbank and reveiwed every question with highlights etc. 2 times
Completed the entire Canada MCCEE Qbank, did not review
Completed the Doctors in Training Step 2 course
Studied mainly with Step Up to USMLE step 2 and some Toronto Notes

33. Marks At USyd
Slightly above average. Nothing to write home about

34. Other Stuff Wrote for Med Revue Position as part of Global HOME
Electives Officer for NAMSA
Ran Logistics for GHC 2011
Assisted a fellow from Halifax on a literature review (unpublished)

35. How I Applied
Applied to every single program in the following disciplines that I qualified for
Gen surg
Orthopedics
Anesthesia
Emergency
Also, all of the Ontario FM programs
30+ applications in total, each with their own unique letter

36. My Results 4 Interviews granted
Halifax and UoT anesthesia
Thunder Bay (NOSM) Orthopedics
Ontario FM (done as one big group for all of the programs)
Rank Order List: #1 UoT Anes #2 Halifax #3 NOSM #4 Various FM programs (Ottawa was #5 I think)
Matched to Ottawa FM!

37. Contact

38. Jennifer “Eclectic Application” McDonaldbourne
Hamilton Family Med

40. Experiences Electives Not sure if she did PRINT or community back home
Mayo and Cleveland clinics
Plastics for both I’m pretty sure
Not sure if she did PRINT or community back home

41. Marks
450 on the MCCEE!
Did write the USMLE step 1 (and 2?)

42. Results Interviews Matched to Hamilton FM Ontario FM
Radiology at both Ottawa and McMaster
Derm and Vascular Surgery in Ottawa
Matched to Hamilton FM

43. Quick Notes On Tests
Testy

44. Do Them Get registered. Don’t get scared.
The more of them you do, the better your chances
Scuttlebutt is that the NAC-OSCE is being pushed as a requirement in the near future. Very beneficial if you have it

45. MCCEE A couple of months of hard study will get you over
Canada Qbank is VERY similar to what shows up on the test proper. A really good ego booster
Need to get near 400 to be in the upper echelons
2012: Mean 271 with an SD of 50

46. NAC-OSCE Should do it, have to if you apply for BC I believe
Good predictor of future ability apparently
Expansion to number of writing dates and positions happening right now (likely as setup to making it an absolute requirement across Canada)

47. Rob Says... NAC OSCE A Comprehensive review
This text book is all you need
10 or 11 stations + written section
Physical exam or take a history and
Then answer questions
Physical exam- Cardio exam, Resp exam, MSK – exam lower limb, GI- exam- these come up a lot
History- peds (take a hx from mom)
Look at this ECG- STEMI
Scored 90
For the written section- made flash cards to learn dosages

48. AIMG The Alberta system Requires an Alberta NAC-OSCE and MMI
Rob wrote the NAC-OSCE in September and did the MMI in October of his 4th year
MMI required NO prep. Just flight time.
Need to be from Alberta or have done a degree there (there may be some other ways in too)

49. Don’t Wait
It’s totally an illusion that writing later will get you a better mark unless you are studying for the test the whole time
You’re studying for a specific test. How much material you get through is almost all that matters
“I’ll know way more in 4th year than in 3rd year”
Nope, not unless you studied intensively for that test the whole time

50. Mechanics Of Carms
Engineering!

51. Site is closed, can’t show screencaps
Program description list is up though!
Check it out early and see what’s up
Look at stuff you might not have thought of (it worked for Jenn!)
Accessible via the CaRMS site (sidebar

55. Error?
Giving me an error when I try to access specific programs (anesthesia etc)
When it works: shows you what you need to apply and usually gives a short blurb about the program along with the academic schedule etc.

57. Notes
As it says: dates are not hard deadlines unless otherwise specified
Still don’t recommend being late for stuff, it’s not good for the blood pressure

58. Tips
Whether or not a program is taking applications from IMGs can be surprisingly hard to figure out. Some of mine (like halifax) WERE NOT listed on the description site numbers
Avoid all that junk: when you get access to the CaRMS site proper and are selecting programs there are two drop boxes
One says University and the other says discipline
Just use one OR the other to have all programs that you are eligible to apply for come up TAH DAH!

59. Tips 2
Submitting marks and some other documents: the university can do this directly to CaRMS for you, Just ask the OME
This avoids long waits from mailing stuff as the university is registered with CaRMS
This tip actually saved one of the applicants in 2012 from not getting stuff in and processed on time

60. Tips 3
Get your references uploaded early, don’t want to be waiting on people
Even someone that seems reliable might take way longer than you would expect
s are sent directly to the referee via the CaRMS site, they then upload their letter

61. Tips 4 Letter writing is an art but...
If you apply to many, many programs you might want to make a generic letter for each specialty and then change a paragraph or two to make it specific
Always mention the specific school and program and why you want to go there. Research their sites to find stuff to hone in on
Build a narrative or an angle as to what brought you to them

62. Tips 5
Include examples of the CanMeds roles, but don’t necessarily be explicit about it
Ex: My time heading logistics for GHC required me to work extensively with many other people, lead a team etc. Which has helped to shape me into a candidate that excels in a variety of roles etc etc etc
Don’t say “I have demonstrated the CanMeds roles of X by doing Y”
CanMeds will also show up in your interviews, know them (not all details, just what they are)

63. Interviews
The Big Show

64. Interview Season Starts late Jan and goes into Feb
Noone I’ve heard of ever had conflicting interview times
Fly little birdie, fly

65. Fun! Interviews are fun and come in many shapes and sizes
MMI, panel, one on one, multi-part etc.
Social events: go to them.

66. Tips
Go look up CaRMS interview questions online, there are some great lists out there
Look over the list with a buddy, bounce answers off each other, challenge each other
Practice phrasing etc by yourself
Definitely be ready for the biggies: why here, why the specialty, what don’t you like/what’s the biggest challenge? What’s your biggest weakness? etc.

67. Tips 2
Many different philosophies and ideas, but being yourself and staying reasonably relaxed is going to help regardless
Professional and personable
Pass the 4am test (Is this the person that I want by my side at 4am when we’ve been working for 30+ hours and everything is going wrong?)

68. The Rank Order List
You rank the programs you interviewed at and the programs rank the people they interviewed
Nothing to it
Just rank what you want. The way it works you can’t game the system by ranking what you think you are more likely to get higher etc.
Still the biggest single decision you’ll make after deciding to apply in the first place

69. Ramble section and Questions
It’ll Be Alright