Interview Two: University of Manitoba Medical School

Two weeks after my trip to Calgary, I set off on the second leg of my "national tour". The destination, Winnipeg.

My flight to Winnipeg wasn't as early in the morning as my Calgary. That meant I actually got a respectable amount of sleep, and woke up at a decent hour (7 am). That weekend was a major cram time for me, as I had to finish off my take-home midterm for Endocrinology. Long story short - I wrote a lot over the weekend. You'd be amazed how productive you are when you're sitting very bored in an empty airport terminal!

Bye Vancouver, see ya soon!


Welcome to the prairies: the whole city of Regina in one shot.

Winnipeg airport.

I arrived in Winnipeg around mid-afternoon. I had given myself a few hours to explore the city centre - my first stop: McDonalds in the underground mall for some lunch. I was starving, as I hadn't had a thing to eat since 7am. Alas, Winnipeg has even less to see than Calgary. I walked in the other direction to another mall, and decided I'd had enough and wanted to get back to my hotel and rest. Total touristy time: 1 hour, 15 minutes. I made an excellent purchase, though. I picked up a copy of Freakonomics. What an exciting book to read, I highly recommend it. Part economics, part entertainment - great combo.

My hotel room..two starts at its best.

Going towards the city centre.

I thought this was a pretty cool statue.

That's it...back to my hotel.

I pretty much read the whole thing throughout the course of my trip.

My attempt to sleep was thwarted by a group of youngins. They thought it to be a great idea to party till 3am. I lost count of how many times they slammed the door. At least I could sleep in a little bit the next day. I found out later that my cheerful floormates were probably American teens on spring break. You see, legal drinking age in Manitoba is 18 - it's 21 just across the border. Case closed.

I arrived at the medical school quite a bit earlier than my 2:20 pm interview time. I had a great time sitting down and chatting with other interviewees and first year med students. Everyone was in a good mood, and the vibe was great. The interview itself went well, in my opinion. It was incredibly relaxed, and I felt that it was a very fair chance for me. After the interview, I went on a rather short tour of the building, chatted a bit with some of the first years, then got on my taxi to get to the airport and go back home.

The health sciences building from outside.

The atrium of the health sciences building.

Another angle of the health sciences building atrium.

Finally, my overall summary of the medical school at the University of Manitoba, as well as some comments about the city of Winnipeg. (Some of them may seem a bit, odd...this list is just as much for my memory as it is for public consumption).

Pros:

• The medical program has a small class size. This forms a tight knit class, as well as gives a great chance to get to know instructors if one wants.
• The university seems to really take care of its medical students, I was very impressed by this.
  
• Lots of clinical exposure since the facility is the only major care centre for a very large region.
• St. Boniface Hospital is in a nice place (the French Quarter of town), and it's where I'll spend a lot of time in my clerkship years.
• A new Clinical Skills Centre is in the initial phases of building; unfortunately, it's uncertain whether it will be complete in time for our class.
• Opportunity to do research and graduate with an MD & BSc Med. Research is conducted during Summer 1 and Summer 2. Also, we get a summer stipend of $4500. Research can be conducted in many topics and in many areas.
• Lots of opportunity to get early clinical experience. Doctors are willing to take University of Manitoba med students in an observer role.
• Cost of tuition is VERY low. Cost of living is VERY low.

Cons:

• Health Sciences Centre & Hospital are in a shady part of town.
• The city centre is full of loitering homeless people; downtown Winnipeg is depressing.
  
• The city has no freeways?!
• It's very cold during the winter.
• The transit system is not highly recommended

Unsure:

• Teaching is lecture focussed: starts off with basic sciences, then goes through each system studying physiology/anatomy/pharmacology/pathology/etc in the clinical context.