Executive-D

Good luck everyone! ???

Connections never hurt you, but obviously it'd be ridiculous if it was only well-connected people whogot admitted to Clinical Psych programs. As others have said, first impressions are key. So if you are likeable and seem down to earth (or if you are similar to your supervisor's personality, which might be very far from down to earth, lol!) you will do great!

If you like both career options then go for it! I applied to both, got offered the PhD about 2.5 months ahead of MD. I accepted the PhD then reneged my acceptance when the MD offer came. You are allowed to do this given it is not your fault both programs have incompatible deadlines. My PhD supervisor was aware and completely ok with me deciding to do either.

So in Ontario I think both professions will want to follow-up on their patients long-term. But psychology is not covered by public health insurance. Patients have to pay except for certain situations where it is covered (e.g. hospital setting, family health team with funding for allied health practitioners). I’ve definitely heard of a minority breed of psychiatrists who consider themselves specialists that only focus on psychopharmacology, but most see the patient as more than just a biological problem and develop incredible therapeutic relationships with them (as do psychologists). In Ontario and probably most of Canada, psychiatrists are responsible for caring for the most severely ill individuals (who often have low SES, so no money to pay a psychologist especially not long-term), which often involves a need for medications, so yes this is a huge part of their work. Therapy done by a psychiatrist might involve building trust and insight so a patient sees the need to treat their symptoms. Arguably both professions are also interested in weening their patients off treatment whenever possible, like if a person becomes stable without an antipsychotic (it can happen) or a psychologist has successfully treated someone with OCD and now it is time for them to be independent. Psychologists are definitely the profession of choice for prison settings. I’ve met one who loves her job. In a past role on a hospital psychiatric unit, I would periodically see prisoners admitted for psychiatric care (in a hospital but accompanied by correctional guards). In other words they needed to be admitted in hospital to see a psychiatrist. However the forensic setting that sees many psychiatrists is the “forensic psychiatry” units attached to specialized hospitals that assess and rehabilitate offenders deemed not criminally responsible (NCR) on account of a mental disorder. There are psychologists on these treatment teams as well. These offenders are often supervised for many years after being released and are mandated to meet with their psychiatrist.

What patient populations are you most interested in working with @grayjay? While there is overlap in the populations both professions treat, psychiatrists will be heavily called upon to care for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness, such as individuals with psychosis, mania, major depressive disorder, etc. Psychologists can work with these populations, but inevitably an initial pharmacological or other medical intervention like ECT will be needed, implemented and managed by a psychiatrist. There is also the legal aspect of psychiatry - they are the ones responsible for the overwhelming majority of decisions involving committing patients to involuntary status in the hospital or deeming them incapable with respect to treatment or other decisions (beyond the initial holds/inquiries made by other professionals, e.g. psychologists, GP's, ER docs). Again, psychologists have a small role here (especially neuropsych with regards to capacity assessments) but usually a psychiatrist or other physician is legally responsible for making the finding, and defending it in court if need be.

Agree with this. Also you have the benefit of being taken more seriously among your non-psychology clinical peers, which can lead to research opportunities, collaborations, etc. Not saying it’s a must but I’ve talked with some C. Psych researchers who have said this.

If anyone is applying to University of Ottawa for Clinical feel free to PM me. I received an offer last cycle and I’m happy to help future applicants!

Go ahead and send the CV with the first email. Not presumptuous at all. In fact it allows them to immediately look into your background if they are interested in you.

For mortgages there are strict stress tests in Canada as you probably know @Andersonppc. I remember a mortgage broker saying scholarship income wouldn't be counted by most lenders because it is tax-free. Would be interesting to hear if anyone got a mortgage based on their SSHRC or other scholarship income.

This is more or less the same format I would use when contacting professors to do research with. You will inevitably have some who simply don't respond as others have mentioned, but this is a solid approach. Attaching your CV is a great bonus for them, saves back and forth and shows confidence.

Honest question is why not? It’s a relatively short application to prepare (compared to the other awards you are going for), is competitive and merit based. So even if you decline it that can still go on your CV as a declined award.

One of the low hanging fruits in research are systematic reviews. Very commonly done for evidence-based medicine but also seen in the social sciences and Psychology for sure. And by no means am I implying that they are super easy or quick to do, but they are very feasible to get co-authorship on. So an idea for you is to identify a professor who's research is interesting to you and who you'd like to work or volunteer with, see if there is a systematic review already published on a specific psychological treatment in their research area: if existing review is really old, or no systematic review has been done before, there's a great potential publication! Another bonus is you can often work very closely with a data librarian associated with the professor's university who will often work with you step-by-step to plan the systematic review and help you along the way if you get stuck. A good reference as well: https://www.wiley.com/en-gu/Systematic+Reviews+in+the+Social+Sciences%3A+A+Practical+Guide-p-9781405121101 (you can probably find a copy online).

I was waitlisted at uOttawa, but have withdrawn from the graduate program so I am no longer on the waitlist. I have not heard of any movement for OGS... perhaps OGS recipients are less likely (on average) to decline the award? I hope you get some movement!

This was the response I got from uOttawa back when I was on the waitlist and wondering about my position and size of the list: We still offer some awards as late as August or even September. I do not have any information on your position. There are hundreds on the waitlist. So, likely lots of people still listed as Alternate for CIHR, if your school waitlists as many as uOttawa does (and Ottawa only has 20 CIHR allocated http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/CGSAllocations-QuotasBESC_eng.asp)

I think OGS is more competitive than in previous years. At my school I received a CGS-M off the waitlist, but was still on the waitlist for OGS. Could be that OGS is also open to non-research graduate degrees, thus a bigger pool of competition and different scoring criteria?

I've cancelled my acceptance of a CIHR CGS-M at uOttawa. Best of luck to those still waitlisted, there may be one coming your way!

I've cancelled my acceptance to uOttawa Clinical Psychology. I hope they go back to the waitlist. You are all very deserving!

I don't see a CIHR thread so I'll post here: just got offered CGS-M (CIHR) for uOttawa off the waitlist!

I can confirm for uOttawa - deadline to accept offer is April 15.

I received an email March 1st saying I have been accepted to uOttawa Clinical Psychology! Email came from someone in the department, saying a formal offer from the Faculty will follow. In case anyone is wondering, at this time my admissions file still says "Under Evaluation"