Last interview, last CaRMS flight:

Off to Vancouver for the weekend! Where it is sunny and warm and it feels like spring. We cut the timing a bit fine as our plane landed at 10:45am and the interview was 11:30...

Interview #12 (and last!) UBC family medicine

People had said that this interview was "weird" and that they asked "weird questions" but I did't find that at all. It seemed pretty standard to me. I rambled on about my life and my goals and they nodded appreciatively.

Our friend Jess (who is from Vancouver) was also interviewing and offered up her house for a bunch of us to stay in.

Here's Terry and Jess on the beach in Vancouver.

They were filming a movie on the beach with a plane wreck scene, and so it was quite bizarre to come across this broken jetliner:

I got quite sick overnight so I really just hung out in Jess' house while everyone else went out. The next day we had brunch and chilled out and Terry and I caught the plane back to Winnipeg in the evening.

Next stop- CHINA!

I'm sick.

I guess it shouldn't be a surprise, given the hectic schedule. I started to feel it coming into Newfoundland, and then it got worse back in Toronto. By the time I made it to Edmonton I was pretty miserable (and whiney, no doubt). Terry and I splashed out for a fancy hotel room so that we could relax on one of the last legs of the tour.

Interview #10- University of Alberta Internal Medicine.

Edmonton has one of the best programs in the country, and Terry and I had both done electives here so I think we have a good chance. However, I really wasn't feeling this interview. People kept telling me that it was very relaxed and friendly, however I really didn't feel that way during mine. I think that I rambled on a bit, and that they really weren't feeling it. Anyway.

There was a meet-and-greet in the evening at a pub that was luckily attached to our hotel, so I could go for an hour and then crawl back to bed. The next morning we flew back to WINNIPEG in a tiny plane. We both quickly washed clothes and slept and got ready for the next morning which was

Interview #11- University of Manitoba Internal Medicine.

U of M is a bit of a dark horse. I really think that we have one of the best programs in the country and that the residents are extremely happy and extremely well taught. However a lot of people across the country discount coming here simply because they would have to move to Winnipeg. Luckily enough the orientation session was EXTREMELY well done (best I had seen on this tour) and they really sold the program. I was very proud to be from Manitoba. My interview was actually probably the best one I have had. It was basically the opposite of my Edmonton interview. It was very friendly and I felt like I had a good conversation with the panel- I also feel like at the end they had a good sense of who I was and of my goals. It was nice to have such a good feeling at the end of this day!

Only one more to go!!

Ugh. More flying.

I woke up at 4am to fly to Newfoundland for an internal medicine interview. The flight was long and I slept through most of it (and I slept in the airport, on the shuttle bus, in the airport, on the cab on the way to the interview...)

Interview #9 MUN Internal Medicine.

All these intervews are starting to run into eachother. It went well. There weren't really any hard questions. This was the first time they actually asked a medical question "what would you do if you were called to assess a patient with a fever?"

Ken and Sara were there so we went out for dinner and found an awesome candy shop in St Johns:

The next day Ken and I flew back to Toronto (really EARLY) and had a few hours in the city before needing to go back to the airport.

This is construction they're doing on the Toronto Museum.

Later that day Terry and I flew to Edmonton. We checked into a nice hotel (a nice splash-out after spending a lot of time staying on people's floors...) and today is another interview.

Interview #8 Toronto Internal Medicine.

The big one!! The mecca of medicine, Toronto. I was definitely expecting some grilling here.
But actually it was very relaxed, and if I can so venture- laid back?? Something I defintely did not expect from Toronto. And (although this may not be seen as a plus by some) there were no hospital tours so I just get to come back and hang out in the apartment and see some of the city this afternoon.

Interview #6 McGill Family Medicine.

Terry's plane touched down in Montreal at 7:10 this morning, and so after letting him into Heather's place so he could drop off his luggage, we were a bit late for the 8am orientation. No matter. I was quickly whisked away for an interview by a single staff member. The whole interview seemed to go well- a bit disjunct- he kept asking random questions about my CV- jumping around from place to place- and then sometimes jumping into another question before I had finished answering the first one. After about 20 minutes, I was let go, where I quickly hopped a cab to Montreal General Hospital and had

Interview #7 McGill Internal Medicine.

This was my first IM interview since Halifax and I was nervous. The interview was basically 10 minutes. I'm not sure how it went at all: it was like they had already made up their mind one-way or the other. It was nice to be interviewed at the same site I did my elective at: I felt like I knew the staff and it was nice to see the residents I knew. Still, bizarre interview.

After a few hours at Heather's house, i whisked off for the train to Toronto. I'm staying with friend of Terry's, who has an apartment with a kick-ass view:

I'm off to have dinner in Toronto!

Just wandering around through Montreal. Browsed the shops on Ste Catherines Street. Walked further east into the seeder areas, including some interestingly titled shops:


Then I walked down St Denis and treated myself to some sushi:

Looks good doesn't it?

Sitting in a cafe in Montreal, the same cafe I sat in a few weeks ago here when I was doing an elective here.

This whole CaRMS process is so bizarre: never before have I done this much travel in such a short period of time. I like travelling normally; its fun seeing different places. But this travelling is kind of exhausting- and i end up back in places I've already been with a weird sense of deja-view.

I've now become very well acquainted with Air-Canada's personalized TVs: thank goodness they changed the movie selection yesterday- I was starting to run out of things to watch. Now when I'm in Montreal, sleeping in the same bed that I slept in when I was here, the thing that is exciting me the most isn't that I'm in Montreal and its cool, but that I get the chance to SLEEP IN.

After I finish arranging things for the afternoon (arrangements that will mean another trip to Newfoundland, and then to Edmonton over 48 hours) I'm going to go over to St Joseph's for some peace and quiet. And then maybe check out the shops.

Sitting here in the plane, waiting to take off for Montreal. Luckily I'm able to pick up a wireless signal from somewhere.

Interview #5: U of Alberta Family Medicine. The interview in Edmonton was fine: all of the family medicine interviews are really friendly. I felt a bit at the beginning like the interviewer might be trying to open with a few not-so-friendly questions, but after I answered and she saw that I wasn't really nervous and was articulate she eased off a bit.

The drive back to Calgary was blustery and snowy, but not as bad as the drive up. Today we drove to Lake Louise and went SKIING!!

Conditions weren't great: there was a lot of fog and the visibility wasn't great. However it was still a good time.

We rushed back from the mountain to get me to the airport for my flight at 5:20 pm. I thought I had lots of time when we got back into the city around 3:45- then despair hit when it took me 50 minutes to get across town! Luckily I managed to get there in time: in fact, with far TOO much time- we've been sitting on the runway for an hour and a half waiting for them to fix some technical problem. Tomorrow I have the day off in Montreal where I get to think about the bulk of my internal medicine interviews that are coming up.

Interview #4: Calgary Family Medicine.

We got into Calgary around supper time and rented a car. I had never rented a car before: unfortuantely because Terry is 24 he can't drive it! (that's what comes with dating a younger guy...)

We spent the night with Terry's Aunt and Uncle and I interviewed the next morning. Terry was interviewing for internal medicine only a few days later. The best part about this interview was that there was a whole bunch of people from our class there and that we all got to catch up. The interview went really really well! One of the better ones I'd say.

After the interview both of us hung out with Jess, one of our classmates who was also interviewing for family med. Here we are in our suits:

Later that day we drove to Edmonton in the blustering snow (doesn't Edmonton EVER have good weather??) and saw about 4 overturned vehicles in the highway ditch on the way there. Today is Edmonton family medicine.

Interview #3: University of Manitoba family medicine.

After getting into Winnipeg at 1:30 am the night before, I probably wasn't at my best for this morning interview. Fortunately it was the one I was least worried about: the Manitoba students are almost guaranteed a spot in family medicine if they want one.

The whole setting of the interview was surprisingly formal: the interviews took place at the Fort Garry Hotel. As I was applying for the bilingual program, my interview was in french. Its very hard to interview in a second language. I found myself struggling and wondering if I sounded as unpolished as it seemed to me.

The best part of this interview was seeing all of my classmates at the lunch. After being away for 6 months, it was nice to see some friendly faces!!

Today off to Calgary, for another interview tomorrow...

Interview number 2: Memorial Family medicine.

I had never been to Newfoundland before, and when I got there, I was completely blown away: it is BEAUTIFUL.

Also the people there are amazing: we stopped and asked people for directions and then they would DRIVE us to our destination. Our cabbie turned off the meter and gave us an impromptu tour of the town and the sites before dropping us off at the airport.

And the interview went fine.