CaRMS Journey: The Team Behind Every Applicant
CaRMS is like a black box. It is a step in medical school that
you always know will come, you realize everyone makes it through,
but what exactly happens in between is a mix of rumours, some
facts and a healthy dose of faculty injected fear.
The best I felt I could do to face this was to make lists and be
organized which kept me focussed and on track. It avoided going
back to re-check my past steps to make sure things were
complete.
Starting early and working on the application nearly daily were
key. And again, as I had noted in pre-clerkship, I needed to
continue prioritizing, putting work first and learning to say
"no". While facing this challenge, I realized how important it
was for me to apply a skill I often fail to use; help.
Writing personal letters was humbling; though I knew I was not
the best writer, I could never have anticipated how many drafts I
would write to obtain the final product. Reaching out to family
and friends for input was difficult, and being critiqued on my
work was a hard bite to swallow. During the process, I had to
practice not taking their feedback personally but rather as a
favour towards obtaining a better final product.
As I have now received good news for my interviews in the
programs of my choice I am tremendously grateful to the people
that supported me through the application. Though I am not out of
the CaRMS black box yet, this whole process only reinforces that
as a well rounded physician identifying others’ strengths and
using the help they offer is critical to success.
On match day, CaRMS will only spell out my name by the selected
program but truthfully, there should be a list of all the
cheerleaders I’ve had along the way because behind every success
there is always a strong supporting team.
Claudine Davidson, Class of 2016, University of Ottawa