Full coverage
JLim's Med School Notes
Multi-component note set covering pre-clerkship blocks. One of the most widely circulated note collections in recent UofT cohorts.
Open Google Drive folder
Section 04 · Academics
There's more than
one way to study.
A working library of notes, decks, and guides shared by upper-year UofT MD students. plus a year-one calendar, study tips from upper years, and a practical guide to shadowing
Study Notes
Notes shared by upper years. Upper years — submit
Personal study notes from UofT MD students who shared them forward. Treat them as a starting framework, not a substitute for engaging with primary material. every cohort's curriculum drifts year to year.
Introduction to Medicine
Omar's ITM Notes
Notes for the Introduction to Medicine block by Omar Elbardisy (2T5). Often paired with Bhadra's ITM Anki deck below.
Open Google Drive folder
WFQ Answers
Weekly Feedback Question answers
Cohort-compiled answer banks for WFQs, organized by week. Two parallel sources circulate, both linked here. Cross-reference rather than trust either alone.
Have notes to share? If you've made comprehensive notes for an MD block and want them surfaced here for future cohorts, submit them via the Feedback page. Open access (Drive link with sharing enabled) makes adoption much higher than request-only files.
Anki
Decks that have circulated through UofT.
Spaced repetition is divisive; some students live in Anki, others find it inefficient relative to active retrieval through CBL prep. If you use it, these are the decks UofT students have built and shared.
Anatomy
Bhadra's Anatomy Deck
Full anatomy deck covering pre-clerkship anatomy. Built by Bhadra Pandya (2T5).
Download .apkg
Anatomy
Aka's Anatomy Deck
Earlier-cohort anatomy deck by Akachukwu Nwakoby (2T4). Some students prefer this style; others prefer Bhadra's. Worth opening both before committing.
Open Google Drive folder
Anatomy
Sara's MAPS / Anatomy Deck
Anatomy deck covering MAPS content, shared by Sara. Another option to compare against Bhadra's and Aka's before settling on one.
Open Google Drive folder
ITM, CPC-1, CPC-2 + Y2
Bhadra's ITM, CPC-1, CPC-2 & Y2 Decks
Full pre-clerkship Anki coverage by block. Largest UofT-specific deck collection currently circulating.
Link distributed in cohort channels. Search "BP Years 1+2 Anki" or request via Feedback.
If you're new to Anki: install desktop Anki (free) plus AnkiMobile (paid on iOS) or AnkiDroid (free on Android). Don't try to start your own deck from scratch in M1. adopt an existing one and edit cards as you learn. Most successful students do 20–40 minutes of reviews daily, not multi-hour sessions.
Study Guides
Block-specific guides.
High-leverage guides written by upper-year students who'd been through the block recently. These tend to age better than personal notes because they emphasize structure over content.
ICE Block
ICE Guide
Walkthrough of the Integrated Clinical Experience block: what to expect, how it's structured, and how to get the most out of preceptor pairings. Updated each year.
Open the ICE Guide
Coming soon
More guides being collected
If you've written a study guide for a specific block (Foundations, Brain & Behaviour, Life Cycle, etc.) and want it surfaced for future cohorts, submit it via Feedback.
Submit a guide
OSCE & Clinical Skills
For physical exams, histories, and the OSCE.
The OSCE is the year-end practical assessment. These resources cover the building blocks: physical exam maneuvers, history-taking templates, and rubric-style checklists.
OSCE Prep Notion
OSCE Prep workspace
Organized Notion workspace covering the major OSCE stations, common pitfalls, and structured approaches.
Open Notion
Clinical skills doc
FitzGerald-authored clinical skills notes
Long-form Google Doc covering OSCE rubrics and clinical skills, originally compiled by FitzGerald academy students. Heavily used across all academies.
Open Google Doc
MAM-authored notes
MAM clinical skills PDF
Compiled by 2T6 MAM students. Covers similar territory to the FitzGerald doc with a different organizational style, worth comparing.
Open PDF
Site · ICE focus
Lau ICE site
A standalone site organizing ICE / clinical-skills content: physical exam approaches, history-taking templates, and structured station prep. Good for browsing by station or system rather than scrolling a long doc.
Open the site
Drive folder
OSCE prep collection
Cohort-shared Google Drive folder with assorted OSCE prep materials: station notes, rubric breakdowns, and practice cases. Use as a supplement to the FitzGerald and MAM clinical-skills documents above.
Open Google Drive folder
App
OSCEr
iOS app with rubric-style checklists for physical exams and histories. Useful for self-quizzing or simulating an OSCE rubric while practicing with a partner.
Available on the App Store. Search "OSCEr".
Study Tips · Upper Years
Study strategies from real students. Upper years — submit
Short reflections from upper-year UofT MD students on how they approached pre-clerkship. There is no single right method. read across them and pick what resonates.
Treat CBL prep as the spine. Everything else. Anki, lecture, notes. wraps around the cases. Going to a CBL underprepared once was enough to convince me.
I used Anki religiously in M1 and burned out by November. In M2 I switched to active retrieval through past WFQs and felt better and learned more. Anki is a tool, not a religion.
The biggest unlock was studying with a small group on the same case. We'd each prep individually, then meet for an hour to compare answers. We caught each other's blind spots.
Don't overspend on textbooks. Costanzo for physiology, BRS Anatomy, and the FitzGerald clinical skills doc carried me. Everything else was free or in the library.
Show up to lectures live for the first month, then decide. I assumed I'd be a 2x-recorded-lectures person and learned I retained way more in person.
Block one is the easiest one to over-study. The exam is pass/fail and the bar is reasonable. Save your peak intensity for ICE, OSCE, and clerkship prep.
Want to add yours? Submit a 2–4 sentence reflection through the Feedback page. Stays anonymous unless you ask otherwise.
Year One Calendar
ITM → CPC-1 → CPC-2.
The shape of your first year. Three sequential blocks bridging the science of disease to clinical reasoning, with weekly CBLs and an end-of-year OSCE. Exact dates vary year to year. confirm against the current Faculty academic calendar.
01
The on-ramp. Introduces the language of medicine, foundational anatomy, histology, biochemistry, immunology, and pharmacology principles. Pairs with the first wave of CBLs and the start of clinical skills sessions in ICE.
Topics covered
Embryology
Medical Genetics
Pathology
Inflammation & Infection
Immunology I
Cancer
Drugs & Pharmacology
- Cadence: daily lectures + weekly CBL + ICE half-days
- Watch-out: volume creeps up faster than students expect. establish a system early
- End-of-block: CEE (the learning consolidation session, not an exam. see Handbook)
02
The first organ-systems block. Cardiology, respirology, hematology, and renal. taught through cases. Anatomy and physiology integrate with pathology and pharmacology around shared clinical presentations.
Topics covered
Pediatrics
Dermatology
Immunology II
Microbiology
Blood
Health Promotion
Cardiology
Respirology
- Cadence: longer than ITM, with a winter holiday break midway
- Watch-out: cardiology is often the steepest learning curve of M1. start strong
- End-of-block: CEE per system; cumulative concepts carry into CPC-2
03
The second organ-systems block. Continues the case-based approach across additional systems (typically GI, endocrine, MSK, derm, and reproductive). Closes out M1 with the Year 1 OSCE.
Topics covered
Endocrinology
Gastrointestinal
Kidney & Urinary Tract
Integration
- Cadence: faster pace than CPC-1; less margin if you fall behind
- Watch-out: OSCE prep starts earlier than you think. practice clinical skills weekly, not just in May
- End-of-block: Year 1 OSCE
Throughout all three blocks: ICE (Integrated Clinical Experience) runs as a parallel track. half-days with a community preceptor. and Portfolio sessions punctuate each block. Both are graded pass/fail and are easy to neglect; treat them as priority work in the weeks they fall.
What a week actually looks like.
The skeleton is the same most weeks: lectures Monday, anatomy Tuesday, Wednesday off, ethics/research + CBL Thursday, clinical skills Friday. The example below is the actual first week of classes from a recent cohort. fuller than most weeks, but the pattern holds.
Mon
Block lectures
+ Portfolio occasional
Tue
Anatomy
(MAPS lecture + lab)
Wed
Off
self-study, shadowing
Thu
AM: ethics / research
PM: CBL at hospital
Fri
Clinical skills
+ ISAL pre-ME weeks
Example: Week 1 of M1, recent cohort
Monday
Aug 25
Tuesday
Aug 26
Wednesday
Aug 27
Thursday
Aug 28
Friday
Aug 29
8 AM
Intro to Mastery Exercise
Mandatory · 8:00 – 12:00
Clinical Skills
9 AM
Gametogenesis & Fertilization
Assessment Orientation
Mandatory
Intro to UME Ethics & Professionalism
10 AM
Implantation & Early Development
OLA & Accessibility Services
11 AM
Placentation & Extra-embryonic Development
Intro to Skeletal System
Mandatory
CanMEDS Leader: Working in Teams
12 PM
1 PM
Mandatory
Intro to CBL
Mandatory
Anatomy Lab Orientation / Cadaveric
Mandatory
CBL: Faculty-Led
Mandatory · 1:30 – 4:00
ISAL
2 PM
Mandatory
CBL: Student-Led
3 PM
Session types:
Block lecture
Anatomy
CBL
Clinical skills (ICE)
Ethics
Leader / longitudinal
Assessment
ME Weeks
MEs are roughly every 2 weeks.
A Mastery Exercise lands every other week or so within each block. ME weeks add an 8–9 AM exam slot Monday morning; the rest of the week looks normal. ISAL sessions tend to run on the Friday before an ME week, after morning clinical skills. so you're seeing this week-on, week-off rhythm of pre-ME prep + ME execution layered on top of the regular schedule.
Quieter weeks
Many weeks are lighter than this.
Week 1 is unusually full. orientation content compressed alongside regular block sessions. By week 3–4 most days have meaningful gaps for self-study. Wednesday remains off most weeks; CBL Thursdays and clinical-skills Fridays are the most consistent fixed points.
Portfolio
Portfolio sessions land on Mondays.
When Portfolio is scheduled, it slots into a Monday afternoon after CBL.
Where the real schedule lives: MedSIS is the canonical timetable. sessions, locations, and changes sync there, and you can subscribe via iCal so your calendar updates automatically. Elentra is where the lecture slides, pre-readings, and CBL cases live. Bookmark both on day one.
Looking beyond the standard four years? UofT MD students can pursue concurrent programs. MD/PhD, MD/MSc, MD/MEd, MD with research enrichment, and other combinations. Each has its own admissions process, funding structure, and timeline. Worth investigating early in M1 if it's on your radar. Faculty: Additional Educational Opportunities ↗
Shadowing · EEE
Shadowing is called EEE here — and it's part of the curriculum.
At UofT, shadowing is formalized as an Enriching Educational Experience (EEE). EEEs are short-term clinical placements within the ICE:CAP (Career Advising and Preparation) curriculum, organized directly between you and a physician whose specialty you want to explore. They're a required curricular component. not just an extracurricular nice-to-have. and every shadowing activity must be registered in MedSIS in advance.
What
What is an EEE?
A non-curricular clinical activity where you observe a licensed physician in their environment to help you appreciate different specialties and professional identities. EEEs are part of the ICE:CAP curriculum in Foundations. The required hours are set yearly by the Faculty based on available opportunities. EEEs are distinct from formal electives, which only occur during the 14-week fourth-year course (ELV 410Y).
Where
Where to log everything: MedSIS CAP Module
All EEE activities must be logged in the CAP Module in MedSIS before they happen. The module also gives you a searchable preceptor database, supervisor & student guidelines, and clinical site requirements. You may not participate in EEE placements that aren't registered in advance on MedSIS.
When
Advance registration rules
Placements at TAHSN hospitals can typically be logged shortly before the activity. Placements outside of TAHSN hospitals must be logged at least 3 weeks in advance so the University can negotiate a placement agreement with the site. Where an agreement isn't in place, shadowing cannot occur. Follow individual site rules too. many hospitals require you to register with their student centre.
Who
What's expected of you
Wear your UofT/Academy Student ID badge at all times. Follow CMA and UofT professional behaviour standards. Don't perform any unauthorized examination, procedure, investigation, or advice. Report any change in a patient's condition to your supervisor. Don't show up to a placement sick, or impaired in any way. Understand and follow patient confidentiality and PHI policies at the site.
Why
Why do EEEs?
The Faculty's framing: as you develop your career identity, early clinical exposure helps you appreciate the range of specialties and professional identities available to you. including 'selecting out' specialties that turn out not to be a fit. Beyond that, students consistently raise three practical reasons: specialty exploration (the gap between "I think I'd like surgery" and "I've spent a day in an OR" is large and shadowing closes it cheaply), mentorship (a single staff who knows you can become a research supervisor, reference letter writer, and CaRMS strategist), and clinical context (material in CBL hits differently after you've watched a real case unfold).
Coverage: Registered UofT medical students doing approved EEE placements are covered for malpractice and are generally eligible for workplace injury coverage and liability insurance in Canadian clinical settings where you've identified yourself as a UofT med student. This extends through summer months. For specifics, contact the Faculty Registrar.
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ICE: Career Advising and Preparation (CAP)
The Faculty's home page for CAP, the umbrella curriculum that EEEs sit within. Includes the official EEE description, FAQs comparing EEEs vs. electives, and the Supervisor & Student Guidelines.
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MedSIS — CAP Dashboard
Log in with your UTORid to access the CAP Module: searchable preceptor database, EEE registration, site requirements, and all course documentation.
How to ask a physician: a short, specific email beats a generic one. Mention you're a UofT M1 (or M2), one specific reason you're interested in their work, and propose a half-day. Most staff say yes more often than students expect. they've all been on your side of the email. Once they agree, register the EEE in MedSIS before you go.
Official UofT Resources
Faculty pages worth bookmarking.
Beyond the day-to-day study material, a few official UofT pages cover curriculum scaffolding (IPE), career planning, and summer research. Worth knowing they exist. most M1s don't touch them until M2. MAM-specific resources are grouped at the bottom.
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IPE Curriculum
The Interprofessional Education curriculum site. mandatory IPE sessions pair MD students with nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, social work, and other health-profession students. Schedule, learning objectives, and attendance requirements live here.
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Learning Strategy + Clinical Skills
A free Office of Learner Affairs service. One-on-one sessions with a Learning Strategist on study approaches, reasoning, and how to translate that into clinical skills as you move through the program. Book through Veribook when you want it.
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Career Planning
Central UofT career planning page for MD students. specialty exploration, advising contacts, and planning timelines for M1 through M4.
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Career Services — Temerty
Undergraduate medicine career services hub: advising, workshops, and CaRMS guidance run by the Temerty Faculty's UME office.
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Career Resources + Summer Research
Broader resource list with summer research opportunities. useful if you want to line up lab or clinical research between M1 and M2.
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Summer Research Opportunities Spreadsheet
Student-maintained tracker of research positions open to M1s for the summer between M1 and M2. Updated annually by upper-year students.
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MAM · QuEST Program
The Quality Enhancement in Scholarship and Teaching program at the Mississauga Academy of Medicine. MAM's framework for scholarly activity, research, and quality improvement during the MD program.
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MAM · Research Opportunities
Research opportunities available to MAM students. faculty contacts, projects, and how to get involved in research while at the Mississauga campus.
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MAM · Student Information
General student information hub for MAM. campus-specific policies, resources, and contacts for students at the Mississauga Academy of Medicine.