Dietician

What Does a Dietician Do?

Here are just a few examples:

• educating and advising clients on how food and healthy eating habits can prevent illness and achieve and maintain optimum health
educating and advising a wide range of patients on how therapeutic diets and dietary therapy can improve the management of their conditions
calculating individual’s nutritional requirements using standard equations based on assessments of blood chemistry, temperature, stress, mobility and other relevant factors
analysing the nutritional content of food
devising eating plans and manipulating recipes
delivering group sessions to a variety of audiences, including children and patient groups
educating other healthcare and non health care professionals about food and nutrition issues;
working with large companies to support well being programmes for staff
advising catering departments about specific dietary requirements
running clinics in hospital outpatients departments or general practitioners’ (GP) surgeries for patients who have been referred by hospital consultants, GPs or health visitors
advising athletes and sports persons on how diet can optimise performance and recovery from injury

How Do I Become a Dietician?

 

The process for becoming a registered dietician is kind of confusing from what I gather, so I will do my best to try and explain it here. There are two basic routes, as depicted by the following lovely flowchart: 

 

 

Track 1: Integrated Internship Route

• Complete an undergraduate degree in dietetics with an internship. These programs are available at the following schools: UBC, Saskatchewan, McGill, Montreal, Laval, Moncton, Ottawa
• It looks like most of these programs admit students into the third year of an undergrad. You need to have at least 2 years of university credits, certain prerequisite courses, references, a paper, and get invited to an interview. Check out the above links for further info.
• Admission is highly competitive, but not as competitive as entry into a Masters program

Track 2: Post-Degree Internship Route

• Click here for a full list of schools that offer the program. In Ontario, Guelph, Ryerson, and Western offer them
• You need to have a 4 year honours degree from an accredited dietetic program completed within the last 3 years
• Minimum GPA of 75%
• Need to have taken statistics and research methods, possibly other prerequisites (check out the school websites)

For more information on how to become a registered dietician, please click here

Cytotechnology

This is yet another healthcare career that I've never heard of. Check it out!

What Does a Cytotechnologist Do?

•  Study cells and cellular anomalies
• Using a microscope, they examine slides of human cells for any indication that a cell is abnormal and/or diseased (i.e., cancerous or precancerous lesions, infectious agents or inflammatory processes)
• Often play a crucial role in helping patients to recover from illness by identifying a disease while it is still at a treatable stage
• Examine slides microscopically, mark cellular changes that indicate disease and submit a report to the pathologist for final evaluation

How Do I Become a Cytotechnologist?

• Michener is the only school in Ontario that offers this program. Cytology programs are also offered at SIAST, Rosemont, NAIT, Dalhousie. I'll list the prerequisites for the Michener program here
• You must be a Canadian certified Medical Laboratory Technologist or have an undergraduate degree in science
• If you have an undergraduate degree, you must have taken 1.0 courses in anatomy, and 1.0 courses in physiology with a minimum grade of 70%
• You must have a minimum GPA of 70%
• Top-ranked applicants are invited to an interview
• Admission offers are determined using the following formula: CGPA (35%), professional and academic experience (15%) and the Multi Mini Interview (50%)
• Application for Michener is due February 1st on the Ontario Colleges website

Genetic Counselling

What Does a Genetic Counsellor Do?

• Genetic counseling is a process to evaluate and understand a family’s risk of an inherited medical condition
• A genetic counselor is a healthcare professional with specialized training in medical genetics and counseling
• For A LOT more information, click here

How Do I Become a Genetic Counsellor?

• Toronto offers a Masters program. Application is due early January here
• The minimum GPA required is a B+
• Must have a 4 year university degree
• 2 letters of reference

I've tried to find a few other programs in Canada that offer a Masters in Genetic Counselling, and this is what I got:

• UBC
• McGill

Speech-Language Pathology

What Does A Speech-Language Pathologist Do?

• Assessment and treatment of language disorders to improve ability to understand spoken and written language, convey ideas verbally and in writing, and communicate in social situations
• Assessment and treatment of cognitive communication disorders to improve the reasoning, problem solving, memory, and organization skills required to communicate effectively
• Assessment and treatment of speech disorders to improve articulation (pronunciation) and to help those who stutter improve their fluency Assessment and treatment of voice disorders to improve vocal quality, pitch, and loudness
• Assessment and treatment of swallowing disorders to ensure that patients/clients are on safe diets and not at increased risk for choking or food/liquid build-up in the lungs
• Patient/client and caregiver counseling on communication and swallowing disorders, patient/client abilities and challenges, and strategies to improve function and help compensate for difficulties
• Consultation with other professionals to provide comprehensive programs of care (e.g., audiologists, dietitians, nurses, occupational therapists, physicians, physiotherapists, psychologists, social workers, and teachers)
• Clinical and academic research to investigate complex processes underlying human communication, explore the impact of various factors on communication and swallowing, and develop new approaches to treat people with communication and swallowing disorders.

How Can I Apply?

• Western and Toronto are the two schools that offer this program in Ontario. Application is due early January on ORPAS
• You need a 4 year university degree
• You need the following prerequisite courses:
• child development/psychology
• general linguistics
• phonetics
• elementary statistics and/or research design
• human physiology
• 2 academic references
• A statement of intent
• 14 hours of clinical experience (minimum)
• A clinical reference

Pathologists' Assistant

This is one of the more interesting and random programs I've found while researching careers in healthcare. There is only one school in Ontario that I've found offering it, but I will try to list other schools I find in Canada too. One note on this program...it is pretty expensive! Tuition is over 20 grand per year.

What Is A Pathologists' Assistant?

• Basically, you do everything a pathologist does up to but excluding diagnosis
• Preparation, gross description and dissection of human tissue surgical specimens
• Preparation of human postmortem examinations 
• Instruction of anatomy and physiology, gross pathology, photography and gross dissection skills for surgical specimens as well as autopsy techniques
• Training of pathology residents/fellows, pathologists’ assistant students and other pathology lab personnel (as needed)
• Research
• Procurement of samples for biospecimen banking
• Performance of administrative, budgetary, supervisory, teaching and other such duties as may be appropriate and assigned

How Do I Apply?

• You must have completed a minimum of a 4 year honours degree in science
• You must have taken biochemistry, biology, chemistry, math, organic chemistry, and a course with an essay requirement
• Additional courses at the undergraduate level in anatomy, histology, microbiology and physiology are strongly recommended
• 2 letters of reference
• Essays on the following (1000 character limit per question)
• Personal Statement (tell us about yourself)
• What experiences have led you to pursue graduate studies in the PA Program?
• What are your future aspirations?
• copy of your CV
• Apply by April 1st here

Other Schools Offering This Program

• Manitoba
• Calgary

For more information on this program, please click here
Here is a cool link to a blog I found by a Canadian PA!

Audiology

What Does an Audiologist Do?

• perform hearing assessments to determine the degree and type of hearing loss
• administer diagnostic tests to determine the sources and causes of hearing disorder
• use state-of-the-art technology to evaluate and treat hearing loss in children and adults
• fit amplification systems such as hearing aids or cochlear implants
• screen the hearing of newborns 
• provide aural rehabilitation to individuals with hearing loss and their families to reduce communication problems and facilitate adjustments to hearing loss
• prevent hearing loss by educating the public and other professionals about the effects of noise on hearing

How Do I Become An Audiologist?

• There are only 2 schools in Ontario (Western and Ottawa), and 3 other schools in Canada (UBC, Dalhousie, and Montreal) that offer audiology. Ottawa's and Montreal's programs are only offered in French
• Applications are due early January on ORPAS for Ontario schools

For Western:

• Applicants must have a 4 year university degree with a minimum B average in the last two years
• Prerequisites: 0.5 developmental psych, 0.5 statistics, 0.5 anatomy/physiology/neuroscience, 0.5 psychology/social sciences/linguistics
• Need to have a minimum 14 audiology clinic hours and reference from clinic
• Need to have 2 academic references

Dentistry

Dentistry is one of the most super-competitive programs out there right now (at least in healthcare)!

What Does a Dentist Do?

• Dentists diagnose, prevent, and treat problems with teeth or mouth tissue
• They remove decay, fill cavities, examine x rays, place protective plastic sealants on children’s teeth, straighten teeth, and repair fractured teeth
• They perform corrective surgery on gums and supporting bones to treat gum diseases
• Dentists extract teeth and make models and measurements for dentures to replace missing teeth
• They provide instruction on diet, brushing, flossing, the use of fluorides, and other aspects of dental care
• They also administer anesthetics and write prescriptions for antibiotics and other medications
• Dentists use a variety of equipment, including x-ray machines; drills; and instruments such as mouth mirrors, probes, forceps, brushes, and scalpels

How Do I Become A Dentist?

• There are only two dental schools in Ontario: Western and Toronto
• You probably shouldn't even consider applying unless you have a GPA higher than 80%. The cut off to apply is 3.0, but applicants typically do not get in with a GPA lower than 3.75
• Need to have a least a 3 year degree for Western or a 4 year degree for Toronto
• Prerequisite requirements include chemistry, life sciences, humanities, and physiology
• You need to write the DAT
• Top-ranked candidates are interviewed

The DAT

• There are 4 sections: manual dexterity, survey of natural sciences, perceptual ability, and reading comprehension
• It is a 5 hour test and is scored based on how well you do compared to other people who wrote the test
• The manual dexterity portion isn't required by certain dentistry schools - check the DAT website
• The cost to write the DAT is over $200

Notes

• Tuition for dentistry is wildly expensive. It's about $40 000 per year with all fees included!

Veterinary Medicine

If you've always dreamed about becoming a doctor and also are an animal lover, maybe you should consider veterinary medicine!

What Does A Veterinarian Do?

• Diagnose animal health problems
• Vaccinations
• Medicate against infections or illnesses
• Treat wounds and injuries
• Set fractures and perform surgery
• Advise owners about animal feeding, behaviour, and breedingMost veterinarians diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against diseases, medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses, treat and dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
  
  Scholarships
  Most veterinarians diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against diseases, medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses, treat and dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
  
  Scholarships
  Most veterinarians diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against diseases, medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses, treat and dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
  
  Scholarships
  Most veterinarians diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against diseases, medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses, treat and dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
  
  Scholarships
  Most veterinarians diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against diseases, medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses, treat and dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
  
  Scholarships
  Most veterinarians diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against diseases, medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses, treat and dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
  
  Scholarships

How Do I Become a Veterinarian?

• There are only 5 veterinary schools in Canada, and only one of those is in Ontario. They are: PEI, Guelph, Calgary, Saskatchewan, and Montreal. I'm just going to mainly focus on Guelph here.
• Write the MCAT. There is no minimum score, but they are going to take people with higher scores, obviously lol
• Have at least 2 years of university completed
• Do the following prerequisite courses: 1.0 credits biology, 0.5 cell biology, 0.5 genetics, 0.5 biochemistry, 0.5 statistics, 1.0 humanities/social sciences
• Veterinary experience, animal experience, and extracurricular experience
• 3 references, one of which must be a vet
• Top-ranked candidates are interviewed
• Application is due January 1st on OUAC

Pharmacy

What Does a Pharmacist Do?

• Pharmacists are responsible for:
  • the quality of medicines supplied to patients
  • ensuring that the supply of medicines is within the law
  • ensuring that the medicines prescribed to patients are suitable
  • advising patients about medicines, including how to take them, what reactions may occur and answering patients' questions.
  Pharmacists also:
  
  • supervise the medicines supply chain and ensure pharmacy premises and systems are fit for purpose
  • advise other healthcare professionals about safe and effective medicines use, and safe and secure supply of medicines
  • respond to patients' symptoms and advise on medicines for sale in pharmacies
  • provide services to patients, such as smoking cessation, blood pressure measurement and cholesterol management
  • supervise the production and preparation of medicines and assessments of quality of medicines before they are supplied to patients from pharmaceutical manufacturers.

How Do I Become a Pharmacist?

• The only two schools in Ontario that offer this accredited program are Toronto and Waterloo. For a list of all other schools in Canada, click here
• Applications are due early January. The applications are done through the university websites: Toronto and Waterloo
• There are a lot of prerequisite courses: for a full list, click here for Toronto or here for Waterloo
• Applicants need to have a minimum GPA of 70% for Toronto and 75% for Waterloo. Most applicants that are accepted have a GPA in the A- range
• Everyone has to write the PCAT. The PCAT is a test that is divided into 6 sections: Biology, Chemistry, Quantitative Ability, Reading Comprehension, Verbal Ability, and Writing. Applicants are expected to score in the top 20% in order to be considered
• Waterloo also requires a reference and an Admission Information Form
• Top-ranked applicants are invited to an interview

Optometry

What Does an Optometrist Do?

• For an in-depth description, click here
• Along with regular eye examinations, optometrists may also:
  
  • Prescribe glasses and contact lenses
  • Rehabilitate the visually impaired
  • Diagnose and treat ocular diseases
  • Perform comprehensive examinations of both the internal and external structures of the eye
  • Evaluate patients’ vision and determine appropriate treatments
  • Treat clarity problems or eye diseases such as glaucoma and ulcers
  • Diagnose complications due to the aging process, accidents, or malfunction

How Can I Apply?

• There are only two optometry schools in Canada: Waterloo, and UdeM. There are also 20 schools in the states. For a complete list, click here. I'm just going to focus on Waterloo, since that is the only school in Ontario.
• Apply on OUAC
• Minimum university GPA of 75%
• Write the OAT and get a minimum of 300
• 2 confidential assessment forms: one has to be from an optometrist!
• Prerequisite requirements:
• 3 or more years of an undergrad in science
• 0.5 credits of English
• 0.5 credits of ethics
• 0.5 credits psychology
• 1.0 credits biology
• 0.5 credits microbiology
• 1.0 credits physiology
• 1.0 credits physics
• 0.5 credits statistics
• 0.5 credits calculus
• 0.5 credits biochemistry
• 0.5 credits organic chemistry
• 0.5 credits general chemistry
• Non-academic requirements:
• Academic awards
• Non-academic awards
• Work experience
• Volunteer experience
• Job shadowing or working with an optometrist
• Top-ranked candidates are interviewed

The OAT

• It's basically broken down into sections: natural science, physics, reading comprehension, and quantitative reasoning
• For a complete guide, click here

Paramedicine

I considered going into paramedicine when I first started researching healthcare careers, but then I sadly came to realize that I'm not physically strong enough lol. Seriously though, in order to be a paramedic, you have to meet certain physical fitness requirements!

What Does a Paramedic Do?

• Perform emergency respiratory procedures for people with blocked airways

• Administer IV (intravenous) fluids

• Bandage wounds

• Stabilize head and neck injuries

• Stabilize broken bones

• Resuscitate drowning victims

• Perform emergency childbirth procedures

• Perform cardiac support for heart attack victims 

• Administer medications

How Do I Apply?

• There are many paramedicine programs in Ontario. For a list, click here.
• Apply on the Ontario Colleges website
• Applicants must have a high school diploma with a focus on science and English courses
• Must possess a class "F" driver's license
• Must have basic first aid and CPR certificate
• Must meet physical fitness requirements

Some Additional Notes...

• Being a paramedic is a tough but rewarding job
• Most shifts are 12 hours long, but you do not work 5 days a week. So you could be working long days, or long nights
• This job can be mentally draining. You see a lot of traumatic things because you are the first on the scene of an accident

Registered Massage Therapy

Registered Massage Therapy (RMT) is something you can apply for right out of high school. The average salary of an RMT in Ontario is about $42 000. One thing I like about this program is it can be used as a stepping stone for further education in healthcare.

What Does an RMT Do?

• Hands-on manipulation of the soft tissues of the body, specifically, the muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and joints for the purpose of optimizing health

How Do I Become an RMT?

• There are several colleges across Ontario that offer the program. For a complete list, please click here
• You need to have graduated high school. A background in biology is helpful
• Apply on the Ontario Colleges website
• The program is 2-3 years long

Naturopathy

If you want to be a doctor but have a very..."natural?" mindset, then this career might be for you. It is becoming a lot more popular these days as well.

What is a Naturopathic Doctor (ND)?

• Primary focus is on a natural approach to healthcare
• Acupuncture, homeopathy, massage, hydrotherapy, clinical nutrition and lifestyle counselling are among typical treatments
• They do not have access to diagnostic imaging or pharmaceuticals
• For more information, click here

How Do I Apply?

• There are only two schools in Canada that offer this program: Boucher, and CCNM. I'm just going to talk about CCNM here as that is the only school in Ontario
• There are a few prerequistites required to apply: 1.0 credits of biology, 1.0 credits of anatomy and physiology, 0.5 credits organic chemistry, 0.5 credits psychology, and 1.0 credits humanities
• You also need to write a personal essay, a CV, and get 3 reference letters
• Apparently a 3.3 GPA is considered good enough to get in, and you need at least a 3-degree
• Top-ranked applicants are invited for an interview
• Application is done through NDCAS, and is due at the end of November

Chiropractic College

I feel like chiropractors have kind of taken a bad rap in the past few years because OHIP and a lot of insurance plans don't cover their services. Everyone seems to think that going to a chiropractor can be dangerous, because manipulating the spine the wrong way can cause serious harm. Chiropractors are licensed and regulated healthcare professionals, and it is another option if you are interested in pursuing a career in healthcare.

What Does A Chiropractor Do?

• Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the neuro-musculoskeletal system.
• Places an emphasis on manual therapy including spinal manipulation and other joint and soft tissue techniques.
• Exercises and lifestyle counseling
• Assumes that spine problems interfere with the body's general functions and innate intelligence (what?!), a notion that brings criticism from mainstream health care

How Do I Become A Chiropractor?

• There is only one school in all of Canada that you can apply to
• Applicants needs a minimum of 3 years of university with a minimum of a 2.5 overall GPA
• Application is due online October 31st
• There are no specific prerequisite courses requires
• Top-ranked candidates are interviewed
• Application is done through CMCC's website

Physiotherapy/Physical Therapy

A popular healthcare career choice is physiotherapy. A lot of people seem to find this to be a good fit for themselves if athletics have been a big part of their life. There are also a number of people who look to physiotherapy as an alternative to medical school

What Is a Physiotherapist (PT)?

• Someone that completes an extensive assessment that may include your health history, evaluation of pain and movement patterns, strength, joint range of motion, reflexes, sensation and cardiorespiratory status
• Examines relevant xrays, laboratory tests, medical records and surgical notes
• Establishes a diagnosis and works in partnership with you to develop individualized goals and treatment programs
  Physiotherapy treatment can include therapeutic exercises, manual therapy, acupuncture, electrical modalities such as TENS or ultrasound, and work hardening.
• For more information, click here

How To Apply

• There are 5 different PT schools in Ontario: McMaster, Ottawa, Toronto, Western, and Queen's
• All require a relatively high GPA. Most do not get in unless they have a GPA of 3.75+ (on a 4 point scale) in their last two years of university)
• Queen's has been known to accept people with lower averages (3.55+)
• All need reference letters and personal submissions
• All have interviews
• They all have courses you are required to take before applying. See the school websites for further details
• The application is done on ORPAS and is due early January

What's the Difference between a PT and an OT?
I found this chart really useful:

Midwifery

To be honest, I didn't realize that midwives were licensed healthcare professionals. The idea of a midwife seems like an old idea; something that was around before access to doctors.

What is a Midwife?

• Someone that provides primary care to low-risk women during pregnancy, labour, and birth
• Provides care to mother and baby up to 6 weeks after birth
• Can consult or transfer patients to physicians
• Do NOT practice alongside physicians
• Offer a range of natural and pharmaceutical pain relief
• Can arrange all prenatal testing (the same tests a doctor would arrange)

How Can I Become a Midwife?

• There are three schools in Ontario you can apply to: McMaster, Ryerson, and Laurentian
• Applications are due February 1st on OUAC
• You can apply right out of high school!
• Each school has prerequisite requirements, so check out the websites above
• Top-ranked applicants are interviewed

If you are in to babies, birth, forming relationships, care, and natural stuff, this seems like a pretty cool career!

For more information, click here

Chiropody

I feel like this is yet another random career path that not so many people know about. I'd never apply to it though, because I think feet are gross...but anyways....

What Is Chiropody?

• The branch of medical science that deals with assessment and management of foot and lower limb disorders

What Does a Chiropodist Do?

• Maintains and improves patient mobility
• Alleviates pain
• Provides health education
• Provides care to a diverse range of patients and can specialize in various areas
• Click here for more information

How to Apply

• Apply on the Ontario Colleges website (it's a 3 year program)
• Have an undergrad in science or a BA in kinesiology
• Have an overall average of at least 70%
• Have at least 1.0 credits in anatomy and 1.0 credits in physiology
• Top-ranked applicants are invited to an interview

Cardiac Perfusion

This is an interesting career choice I found while searching the Michener Institute website. I've never heard of this program before and never even really knew this job existed! The only program I've been able to find for it is at Michener.

What is a Cardiac Perfusion?

It is basically the practice of supporting the normal functions of the heart and lungs during open-heart surgery, which allows the heart to be stopped to facilitate cardiac surgery.

What does a Cardiac Perfusionist Do?

• Acts as a member of the open-heart surgery team
• Helps to conduct cardiopulmonary bypass using cardiovascular machinery
• Monitors patient's blood flow and vital signs during open-heart surgery
• Administers intravenous fluids, blood products, and anesthetic drugs
• Are experts on life support equipment

How Do I Apply?

• Apply on the Ontario Colleges website by February 1st. It is a 16 month-long program.
• Prerequisites are pretty strict. For more information, click here
• Top-ranked applicants are invited to an interview
• Offers of admission go out early May

Respiratory Therapy

I had never heard of the term "Respiratory Therapist" until one came in to present to my third year healthcare class.

What's a Respiratory Therapist (RT)?

• Treat patients that have experienced trauma or are in surgery or intensive care
• Help with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
• Stabilize high-risk patients being moved by air or ground ambulance
• Provide support in high-risk deliveries for babies who have trouble breathing
• Educate the public and patients on appropriate measures to be taken during an influenza pandemic
• Provide information and instruction to health care workers on proper infection control practices particularly in the event of an infectious outbreak
• For more information, click here

How to Apply

• Applications are due on the Ontario Colleges website
• Each school has prerequisite courses you need to take before applying
• You can apply right out of high school
• They only look at your GPA and post-secondary education
• Only Michener has an interview (that I know of)

My Experience

• I applied in February to Conestoga and Michener
• I find out about Michener interviews next week! I am currently waitlisted at Conestoga...
• I looked up some stats on this program. Apparently the cut-off GPA right from high school is in the 90s! I know of people getting in with much lower grades from university though.

Nursing (Fast Track)

When I was in grade 12, I never even considered applying for nursing. I always thought nurses were just overworked and underpaid motherly figures that all wanted to either be doctors or retire to have children and stay home. Don't hate me!!! I know that is a super ignorant view of nursing and I do not hold that view now (maybe just the overworked and underpaid part haha). I never realized how much opportunity and variety lay in the career. I also never realized how COMPETETIVE nursing was to get into! I've read that some schools do not admit students that have a GPA lower than 88%!

Anyways, I'm going to start by defining what a nurse does.

What's a Registered Nurse?

• Nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings
• Nursing includes the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people
• Advocacy, promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and in patient and health systems management, and education are also key nursing roles
• Nurses can work almost anywhere and can specialize in different areas of medicine

Fast-Track/Compressed/Accelerated Nursing

• This type of RN degree is typically completed in just two year, but applicants need to have certain prerequisite courses and a certain number of university credits to get accepted
• Each school has its own requirements. The GPA to get in is usually in the A- range or above
• For a complete list of schools in Canada, click here
• There is not usually an interview process. Applications are due sometime in December to early February
• Some schools require a statement of intent, reference letters, and personal essays
• You apply on OUAC for Ontario programs

My Experience

• I applied to McMaster accelerated nursing last year but was unfortunately rejected. I kind of applied last-minute on a whim and wrote my supplementary application a few days before it was due...
• I applied to Western and McMaster this year. I haven't heard anything yet!

Medical School

FYI: I applied to McMaster medical school to start in September, 2013 (meaning I applied October, 2012). Disclaimer: I have never reapplied or applied to any other medical school besides Mac. I have written the MCAT once and took a review course for it. I'll try to keep this as short and sweet as possible...

Medical Schools In Ontario

1. McMaster
2. Western
3. Queen's
4. Toronto
5. NOSM
6. Ottawa

How To Apply

• Every school has it's own individual requirements, so it is important to check out each school you are applying to (see links above)
• The application is done through OMSAS and is due October 1st
• Every school WILL require reference letters, and they all interview their top ranked applicants
• The first four schools on the list require the MCAT
• All schools require an autobiographical essay to be completed on OMSAS. This is basically a list of all education research, employment, extracurricular, and volunteer experiences you have completed since you were age 16

The MCAT

• The MCAT is composed of 3 sections: verbal reasoning, physical sciences, and biological sciences
• All multiple choice
• You have to register (months in advance) and pay hundreds of dollars just to write it
• You are not scored on how many questions you get right. You are only scored on how well you do in comparison to the group you write the test with (think of it like rankings)
• Each section is out of 15, and the number you get on each section corresponds to a percentile in which you rank
• You study from the MCAT textbooks, taking a prep course, doing practice tests, and/or a combination of these things
• The test itself is about 5 hours long

My Experience

• I wrote the MCAT in August 2012 (back when there was also a writing section). I took the Princeton Review in-class course to prepare. I wrote about 10 practice tests, bought the books, and studied for about 10 weeks while working full-time. My score was disappointingly average and I feel like I completely blanked out while writing because I was so nervous!
• I didn't get an interview at Mac
• Through my experience applying to med school, I feel like I learned a lot about the application process and I'll consider rewriting the MCAT and applying again in the future!

Physican Assistant Education Program

I feel like very few people know about this program as it is relatively new in Canada, and only currently only 3 universities offer it. I guess I should start off by defining what a Physician Assistant (PA) is...

What Is a Physician Assistant (PA)?

1. They work under the direction of a licensed physician to provide patient care 
2. Specific duties vary depending on the individual competencies of the PA, the supervising physician’s area of practice, and the types of duties that the supervising physician chooses to assign
3. Examples include:

• Conduct patient interviews and take medical histories
• Perform physical examinations
• Perform certain controlled acts delegated to them by a physician
• Provide counseling on preventive health care

In laymen's terms, a PA's responsibilities fall somewhere between that of an RN and an MD. They can do most things a doctor can do, but a doctor must be somewhere on the premises when a PA is working.

For more information, click here.

My Experience

I have applied to the Physician Assistant Education Program (henceforth known as PAEP) three times so far. My first time I applying was when I was in my third year of undergrad and I was waitlisted for an interview. Last year, I applied and was interviewed, put on a waitlist to be accepted, and then ultimately (and unfortunately) did not get in. This year, I was once again only waitlisted for an interview (there is still time...right? I have hope..).

The application is usually due February 1st of the year you would start the program. For applicants to PAEP schools in Ontario, the application is done through OUAC. Only McMaster and the University of Toronto offer this program in Ontario, and the requirements for each school are very different.

For McMaster, you need a minimum of two years of an undergrad to apply, and there are no prerequisite courses required. They only look at your GPA and your supplementary application (which you have to fill out through the McMaster website) when considering you for an interview. They interview about 72 people for 24 spots. This year (2014) they had about 560 people apply, and in 2013, they had bout 450. The average GPA to get an interview appears to be somewhere between a 3.5 to a 3.7 (on a 4 point scale).

They are a lot more strict with the criteria to get in to Toronto. I never applied there because I do not qualify. Anyone applying has to be a licensed healthcare professional or complete a minimum of 1800 hours of patient care (and they have pretty strict guidelines about this). I believe there is a supplementary application, and they look at your GPA as well.

The third school in Canada that offers this program is the University of Manitoba, which takes a whopping number of 12 students in per year. You have to apply on the University of Manitoba website. You have to have a four year undergrad to apply, submit a resume, essays, reference letter, etc, to be considered. The top ranked 30+ applicants are then invited to an interview. I applied there this year but didn't get an interview. They told me that the GPA to be invited to an interview was minimum of 3.87 on a 4.5 scale.

Occupational Therapy

 

What is an Occupational Therapist (OT)?

 

I had absolutely no idea was an OT was when I first started looking into what I wanted to do. Here is a basic breakdown of what I learned:

• OTs "provide the skills for the job of living to help people lead productive and satisfying lives"
• OTs consider an occupation to be anything a person does to occupy themselves
• Depending on what the problem is, the occupational therapist can help you to solve it by:
  

  1. helping you overcome your disability
  2. adapting the material or equipment you use, or
  3. recommending changes to the environments where you do your occupations

• For more information, you should click here

 

 

Applying to Occupational Therapy

 

I applied for my Master's of Occupational Therapy this year (application due mid January, 2014) at Queen's, McMaster, Toronto, and Western. There are no mandatory courses to apply; you just have to have a four year undergraduate degree from university. One drawback I found to applying was that it was quite expensive...it cost me over $500 just to apply to those four schools!!

 

All applications are done through ORPAS. Each school has it's own set of requirements and looks for different things in their applicants. At McMaster, they only look at the GPA of your final two years of undergrad. The top-ranked 300 applicants are invited to an interview, and they pick 65 that get in from their. For Toronto and Western, your two final years are also looked at for your GPA, but you have to do a bit more on the application. There are two essay questions, two reference sheets that have to be filled out, and a personal CV that has to be submitted. Queen's looks at all four years when it comes to your GPA. On the plus side, there are no interviews for these 3 schools.

 

For this year's application, the questions were:

 

1. Clearly describe your reasons for pursuing a career in OT and how your personal experiences and background have contributed to your preparation for this career choice (maximum 5000 characters).
2. Demonstrate your understanding of the profession of OT by identifying 2 current or emerging trends in Canada's healthcare system and discussing how occupational therapists are well positioned to play a leadership role on healthcare teams (maximum 5000 characters).

 

I received an interview for Mac (it's in 2 weeks!) and find out about all OT acceptances on May 16th. Fingers crossed!

Who Am I?

A little about me:

My name is J, and I have been working this year since graduating in April 2013 from Wilfrid Laurier University. I majored in Health Sciences, minored in biology, and did a specialization in medical psychology. Since I was very young, I dreamt of becoming a healthcare professional. I always imagined myself one day becoming a psychiatrist, or perhaps a clinical psychologist. I didn't know anything about applying to school or how to go about planning the steps to one day land me my dream job.

I applied for Health Sciences at Western, McMaster, and Laurier, thinking I had to major in something health-related in order to obtain a career in healthcare. I always knew I would be pursuing further education after my undergrad and thought it would be a requirement. For those of you applying for university now, please note that isn't necessarily true! As long as you have a solid GPA and the prerequisite courses required, you are usually fine. They key is making a plan, and then a back up plan, and then maybe a few more back up plans, and searching these program websites to see what you need to do to get in.

The aim of this blog is to help anyone who feels lost, confused, or stuck on their journey to get to where they want to be. I will post later about different programs I have applied to or considered when I was struggling to carve path for myself. Hopefully someone out there will find it helpful!

J.