With the first SMACC conference a wild success, I think it is becoming obvious, at least to the early adopters, that FOAM is here to stay. Some of the recent discussion on the future of FOAM has centered upon building a structure for the FOAM “tree of knowledge.” The tree of knowledge reference and a very eloquent summary of this topic is available from a new member of the FOAM-o-sphere, the Mid Med …
Interview Inducing Elective Behavior
In response to my post on reference letters (The Reference Letter Triple Crown), one of my favorite bloggers Facebooked me the following request (note, she also plays the “Would you rather” game!): I would rather lick a public toilet seat than have to ask someone for a reference letter. I apparently went into the wrong profession to have that personality trait. Any tips on getting over the awkwardness?? As I’d rather she …
The Reference Letter Triple Crown
Interviews for the Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMS) are over and they were as difficult as ever. One thing nobody appreciates on the medical student side of the CaRMS equation is how difficult it is for the programs to come up with our rank list. The applicants this year were spectacular and ranking them was more difficult than splitting hairs. Fortunately, the depth of the applicants makes us confident that we will be …
Top 10 Ways to Rock EM Clerkship
In our commitment to keeping posts up-to-date, this post was updated by Eve Purdy in December 2014. You’re a bright-eyed young medical student and you think you want to be an emergency doctor. You haven’t made life easy for yourself. While it may not be the case in other parts of the world, Emergency Medicine in Canada has become a highly sought-after specialty. The stats from our matching service indicated that last year …
I’m drowning in FOAM!
Over the past year my education has been enhanced by the wonders of Free Open Access Meducation (FOAM). While I have found the innumerable podcasts and blog posts to be extremely educational, I’ve noticed a problem: I’m drowning in FOAM! For the most part, it is a good thing. I am learning a ton from the many podcasts and blogs that I follow. This was working out great until I got to the …