Hil, can you ask the people who gave you the offer if they have any advice or help on the Canadian doctor issue?

I'm IMing with my best friend from Vancouver right now - I've asked her to weigh in on the reality of that. (Also, she's currently living in Niger. Wonder who's living in her house?)

Pretty much every professor who I've told about the Vancouver offer has said "take it." But so far, all the professors that I've talked to have been people who I know have very different ideas about what constitutes a "good" job than I have. This one is all research, no teaching, which people keep telling me is great and fabulous, but I like teaching.

I guess my question would be this. My perception is that research is often considered a lot more prestigious/valuable than teaching at that level. So I'd wonder if doing a pure research position for a year would mean you were in a better position moving on from there having gotten your bones, so to speak. Since it is short term, I would think that being away from teaching wouldn't mean tracking away from that for the long term.

But I have no idea how this plays out in the mathy world, so that could be off base. And of course, it would have to be research you'd enjoy/want to do in the first place.

ND, Pix, best ~ma for your careworker.

Hil, if it doesn't position you to do what you want, how good will it really look?

Ah, ND, that's terrible news. I hope she recovers, and that your family can find someone who works out in the meantime.

Thanks. I'm waiting to hear back from my sister with more news, but if the accident was as severe as she was describing earlier then I don't think D will ever be coming back to work. From what I've been told the car she was driving had to be cut into four pieces to get her out and he legs were almost severed. Hopefully I will find out in a bit that it wasn't quite that bad, but my guess is she's fortunate to have even lived an anything beyond that is going to be a lot to hope for.

Gah, Drew, that' horrifying. So sorry for you and yours.

Hil, dunno how helpful this is but here's one take:

me: Hey! Just got the following from a friend who just got her PhD. She got a job offer but is leery because "Plus, I'd need to figure out the logistics of moving to Vancouver for a year, and then moving somewhere else next summer, and health care would be an enormous hassle -- I'd get health insurance after three months, but everything that I'm reading says that most Canadian doctors have a six-month waiting list for new patients, so by the time I got to actually see a doctor, it would be time for me to move again."

Any truth to this?

well, i guess it could be three months to get provincial health care.. but six months waiting list may be if she needs something specific. there are clinics she can go to, and a website to check out to see who is accepting new patients. i had no problems finding a doctor taking new patients.

BC is a little weird, we have a fee we pay every month for health care, often at least half paid by employers.

if she was moving from inside canada, the three months would be probably paid by her own province. dont' know how that plays for outside canada.

galpalval: i would say, depending on her income, that, unless she has health issue, that finding affordable housing is a bigger isue than health care.

galpalval: but we could send an email to friends to find her a place. i don't know if she finds a "residence" in bc if the clock starts ticking on the three months thing if she's able to pay the 50 dollar fee before starting to work?

me: That's an interesting thought - given it's a uni position it might not start right away so she might at least be able to scope out/get on waiting lists for docs ahead of time.

galpalval: >[link]

if she's at UBC, they of course have a med school there and clinic... etc.

galpalval: she could also call the province and ask, or even if it's with a uni (sfu? UBC?) she could call their new faculty org or something. I'm sure she's not the first to face this issue.

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I guess my question would be this. My perception is that research is often considered a lot more prestigious/valuable than teaching at that level. So I'd wonder if doing a pure research position for a year would mean you were in a better position moving on from there having gotten your bones, so to speak. Since it is short term, I would think that being away from teaching wouldn't mean tracking away from that for the long term.

All true. It's just that, after seven years of grad school, I'm getting sick of doing stuff I don't like now in order to do stuff I do like later. I want to get to "later" already.

There's a job that hasn't actually been offered to me yet, but the feeling that I've gotten from them is that, as long as I don't totally screw up my campus interview, it will be offered to me. And it's a job that's much more teaching-focused, and without any of the logistical issues that I'd have with moving to Vancouver. I'm waiting on a definite answer from them before I decide anything about anything else, and I told that to the person at the Vancouver job, and she said that was OK -- she gave me a deadline that I know is a reasonable deadline for getting an answer from that job.

That sounds like the right plan of action to me.

Hil, it's just so great that you're getting offers after all that time waiting and feeling rejected! Congrats!

ND, I am really sorry about your mom's caregiver. I hope she is able to heal and rehab quickly. And that you're able to find another wonderful caregiver.

I was happy that her doctor brought it up. Now to gently nag her to fill it and then use it.

It's an in-the-doc's-office-procedure, so I hope she schedules that 2 hours office visit soon!