On the road

• I'm writing this post from a little cafe in Halifax on a beautiful but cold sunny day while I await the airport shuttle to begin my journey to Winnipeg. So far, here's the scoop re the programs and the cities. I think I'm more confused than ever and I'm secretly praying that my friend's magic spreadsheet including 30 criteria on which I'm ranking each program/city helps me make the decision about which residency program to rank #1, #2, #3, etc.

BC

• Greater Vancouver- Not for me. Spread out over 8 hospitals in the lower mainland, when you're not commuting to work, you're alone without your resident colleagues in a hospital where no one knows you. No thanks.
• St. Paul's Hospital (Vancouver inner city) - Due to it's location, this hospital attracts the downtown Vancouver crowd which is overly represented by the elderly, gay men and at risk/homeless population. It's supposed to be a fantastic program and has some very attractive features about the way the rotations are set up that provides plenty of flexibility. The hospital is old and my mom doesn't want me to work there because it will fall down in the event of an earthquake. (they can't do seismic upgrades so are planning to build another hospital across downtown or on the same site - a debate they can't settle and therefore is stymieing plans to move forward).
• Abbottsford - a new program but will be modelled after the extremely popular and well-run Chilliwack program. Opportunities for leadership but need to be ready for bumps along the way. I understand the city is a bit of a mini-bible belt too.
• Chilliwack - Very popular and competitive program with a top-notch reputation for training family docs. Rural 1 1/2 hours from downtown Vancouver. that's far. In their presentation, they focused on all the outdoor activities to do but did agree in response to my question, that it smells like manure a few times a month but reassured me you get used to it.
• Nanaimo - Lots of flexibility in this Island program but got a strange unsettling vibe from the presentation from a couple of residents who didn't seem to be very good friends and there are only maybe 6 residents in the program. Not sure about this one.
• Victoria - a good program but they're known for working you HARD by maximizing your call schedule to squeeze every little bit of free work out of you that's possible. while your quality of life is a bit less, you learn a lot. Not unlike my entire last year but with more responsibility. Would be good but I think I might like a change of scene for the next 2 years. we'll see.

AB

• Calgary - The land of oil & gas where the car reigns supreme. At least that was my impression as we had to criss-cross the city via the freeway network to go the 4 city hospitals out of which the residency program is based. The program seemed fine, nothing particularly noteworthy for me.

ON

• Queen's (both Kingston & Peterborough sites) - I can't lie. I added Queen's as a last minute choice because the program director scared me and all of my classmates to applying to way too many schools in order to ensure we secure a residency position. But wow, those Queen's people impress. The city is cute and very central to Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal (and New York) which makes it close to lots of good friends a 2 hour train-ride away. This program has 2 months of out of province electives possible (equal only to Calgary), a good number of residents (35) and a high quality 3rd year in palliative care in case I don't get into the Victoria UBC program for that year of extra training. Quite impressed. Seriously considering these 2 sites as my top choice.

NB, NS & PEI

• Dalhousie - I thought this was going to be my first choice but it's not turning out that way. The residents in the Halifax program don't seem as happy as those in the smaller sites (drag, I love Halifax) and there's a number of drawbacks to this program compared to Queen's. Hmmm. Not sure.

Manitoba

• Winnipeg - Haven't had this one yet. Flying there this afternoon but it's going to have to blow me away to outweigh the cold winters & buggy summer climes. We'll see.

• That's the update with me. I've enjoyed seeing friends along the way on this trip and have loved getting to spend a few days on the east coast again. My ranking decisions are due on Feb 25th so I'll update you on that. Match day (when I log onto the residency website and find out where I'm going to be going for the next 2 years) is March 8th. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!