PGY-1 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

Updated July 5, 1999

This message is from Kevin Leung, MUMC family practice R2.

Unfortunately, this is a very early work in progress and as such, much of the organization of the material hasn't been put together yet. In addition, these comments reflect my PERSONAL opinion although I'm trying to solicit more participation from the other residents.

Once again, welcome to the program and here are a couple of items:



Q) Internet access?

McMaster health sciences will be providing you with a new email address if you require one. As for access, they have a university system that costs roughly 50 cents/hour and supports up to 56k modem speeds. This is a great plan if you only use the internet intermittently but if you're like myself and use the internet > 20 hours/month, you might want to consider going with an independent internet service provider (ISP) at around $20/month for unlimited internet access.

If you live within a certain radius of McMaster, you can get cable modem access for roughly $30 / month.

If you use wish to go with Cogeco Cable's @Home wave access, it costs roughly $40 / month. Having said this, the cable modem route is just so much faster that if you can afford it, give it a try.



Q) Gym facilites

I haven't used the Mac gym facilities but technically, as residents you need to pay an additional fee to use the student facilities. My understanding is that it is in the range of $40 / 3 months.

Most of the residents at our family practice that are using gyms have enrolled in private gyms due to convenience issues.



Q) Do I need a car?

No. I know of about 3-4 residents that hav emanaged just fine without requiring a car during their PGY-1 year. Of course, this all depends on where you live and where you do your rotations. In general, most of your time will be spent at McMaster and when you ARE doing full-time family practice, you can probably do without the care.



Q) Parking

Yes. This is perhaps the most important point. Perhaps they don't make it clear (they certainly did not to me) but at Mac, you practically MUST have access to a car. I know some residents that do not, so it is possible, but it makes things much more difficult.

Parking is around $45-50 / month and will give you access to parking facilities at all of the teaching hospitals. As a resident, you are (to my understanding) assured of a parking spot and you can set this up the day you register and pick up your incoming information from postgraduate education.

The parking office is not always staffed by knowledgable attendants so here's a tip -> get them to deduct the parking cost from your monthly salary. Otherwise, you'd have to fork out $600 up front (which some residents were asked to do).


Q) Car Tax receipts and deductions

T2200 Forms. These are the official forms that indicate that you need a car for your residency program. Although officially, you are only allowed to claim a very limited amount of mileage (theoretically :) but your lease payments, repairs, etc... should be deductible in one form or another. At least I hope so since that's what I've submitted on my tax form. I'll keep you updated when I get my tax refund back.

These forms will not be available until Feb/Mar. 2000 for the current tax year.

"The program office forwards names of all residents in the program
verifying they require use of a vehicle as part of their duties as a
resident. A T2200 form can be issued to those wishing to use it for
income tax purposes by calling Lynn at Ched Payroll 521-2100 Ext. 7869. "



Q) How do I get email/internet access?

I cannot emphasize how important it is for you to get a functional email account of some sort. You can even get free internet accounts at: "www.hotmail.com" or "mail.yahoo.com". With a functional email address, you will be able to keep in touch with the rounds happening at the hospital and official announcements. In addition, it will be the main method of contact for the chief residents to disseminate information to you.



Q) How do I get a password to access the computer for lab work/scheduling.

You need to show up at MUMC 1C7 with your ID badge to activate your account to access the hospital's lab and radiology report system. It will allow you to look up patient demographics as well as get current and past reports.


11) Where is the food? freebies?

This is a true tradgedy. The official McMaster line is that drug company sponsored food will rot your mind and cause widespread decay and corruption. Seriously. There is a serious top-down negatory line on the whole free lunch thing.


How about taxes? Line or credit?
1) What selectives/electives/longitudinal elective times are there?
2) How do I know which ones to select? Which day will it be on?
3) How does obstetrics coverage work?
4) How does call work? When are we on and what are we responsible for?
Should we be calling staff all the time or should we wait. Does the staff have to see the patient?
5) How is the call schedule made up?
6) Where can I submit more questions?
7) What the hell do you do?
8) Can you give me some rotation reviews? Where can I submit one?
9) When and where should I a) submit holidays; b) where should I take them c) how will it work in terms of call d) is it better to take them all together?