My life in a Nutshell

After leaving the United States in 2012, I felt like I was at an academic crossroad. From literally training forty-five hours per week PLUS university studies, to sitting on the couch at my parents' farm twiddling my thumbs with no responsibility...it took a good three weeks for me to stop having a pity party for myself. I remember I would get so angry for no reason, maybe because I missed the regiment of basketball and school? Maybe it was that I just missed basketball? Maybe I did not want to be at my parents' farm at 23 years of age with an amazing degree with nothing to show for it? I had to slowly take a step back from my life and ask myself: "What do you want to do now?" For me, this was a very tough decision. Do I go overseas to play professionally? Do I apply to Queen's like every single Kingston girl does? Do I apply to Toronto and pack up my stuff and head for the city? What I decided to do was: work.

I have realized over my five total years in the states was the fact that student- athletes have no time to have a job. Basketball was our job. We would eat, sleep, train, repeat...and we needed every ounce of spare time to study and eat more (ok..maybe that was just me!). I remember being on an away competition to Maine University, which is a grueling 10 hour bus ride to the most coldest gym EVER..ok..maybe because it is used for both a hockey rink and basketball court, but I could never forget that gym. It is the most dreaded away game that each athlete despises because you miss at least two to three classes that week. For me, missing three classes of organic chemistry, plus my labs puts me back about a weeks worth of reading. I was lucky enough to meet some amazing students in my classes that would help me out tremendously, with giving me photocopied lecture notes, stapled together, and dated (Sarah..I don't know what I would do without you!) I always made sure my little light above my seat was bright enough to study on the bus, as I would always bring my books with me. If the entire bus was pitch dark and everyone was sleeping, you would notice a little light in the back where I would be going over what I had missed in those couple days. It was a tough four years...to say the least. Point of the anecdote: I had no work experience. Problem: real world likes work experience.

I decided to move to Kingston and work at lululemon athletica. It was there where I had met some amazing people who motivated me beyond my own expectation of myself. It was refreshing. Very refreshing and it was during that time I really learned about myself. I still talk to many "lemons" and I am grateful to have worked at such a fantastic Kingston store. That being said, I finally had some customer service experience, cash handling, shift-work, late night and early morning product stocking-I could feel myself itching to move on to the next best thing. Traveling! I was fortunate enough to travel the world before I finally settled down and applied to medical school. I encourage everyone to go to a country they would love to go to..just do it. Set a date. Buy a plane ticket. Buy a cute dress (or shirt and pants for the guys :) ) and just go. You will be forever changed. I promise you. From Australia, New Zealand, to Vietnam, I have learned tremendously about myself that I could have never learned inside a classroom. It gave me the motivation to figure out what is important to me, which I am so thankful for. So here I am, at age 26, finally pursuing medicine and I do not think I would have gotten here if I did not work, travel, reconnect with Stephen (that is a whole other blog post haha), and really find myself. Being a student-athlete is such hard work and having that end so abruptly, it is easy to lose yourself.

It is Monday Oct 20th and in about a two weeks I will be moving to Toronto to start my pre-medical course and I could not be more excited. I am anxious and nervous as well, but as soon as I start studying again I know I will remember how to do it! I am so thankful for my support system that I have, and for every blog post that I have ever read about medical school-a support system is the number one thing to have before you venture off. I am so lucky.

I have attached some pictures of my travels last year as they are too epic not to share!

Bye for now,

-E xo

Hamner Forest

King's Cliff

Hobbiton!

Mount Cook

Clay Cliffs

Lake Tekapo

Waitomo Glow Worm Caves

Byron Bay

Dr. Manh, the anesthesiologist in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
(Yes..the scrubs don't fit me!)

Welcome to "From D1 to DR.!"

Let me start off by saying WELCOME to our wonderful new blog that both Stephen and I will be contributing to throughout the next four years. To be honest, I actually miss blogging and this will give me a chance to document the dreaded fourteen hour days of studying that lie ahead (yayy). First things first, many people have been writing me to ask me tons of questions, which I love, so I thought I would try and answer a few on here: "why medicine?", "why now?" and "why on Earth are you attending Ross University and not a Canadian, or even a U.S medical school?" All are extremely valid questions and ones that I will try my best to answer.

"Why medicine?"-one of the inevitable questions that each candidate experiences in the interview process at their corresponding school, and one that I took time to answer in mine. I made sure to tell my interviewer that the typical "I want to help people" answer is still an excellent reason to pursue medicine, but it does not give him a sense of who I am at all. I told him that I have had two "light bulb"moments in my life where they were too bright to ignore (cliche? kinda...but he obviously liked my answer!). One was when my family was vacationing in Florida in March of 2012, where my little sister was taking medication for her Graves disease (an autoimmune disease which is directly related to an overactive thyroid), but in turn affected her rheumatoid arthritis (she was diagnosed at an early age with JRA..poor girl) and this caused a flare up in all of her joints, she could not even dress herself or brush her teeth. So there I am ...the Division 1 athlete and my sister can not put colgate on her toothbrush. It was a moment where I realized that there needs to be more research done on Graves and the possible side affects of these medications. Second "light bulb" moment was when I was doing a month long medical placement in Vietnam last September. I was volunteering at an orthopedic hospital in Ho Chi Minh City and this little girl got hit by a truck, her entire left side had been crushed. I was able to stabilize her head while the nurses, surgeons, and anesthesiologist rushed to stop the internal bleeding. I was fortunate enough to see how this little girl's family looked at these physicians and nurses. They have invested so much trust, that the physicians became a beacon of hope for this family. THAT is why I want to pursue medicine, to be able to research medication side-effects more in-depth and to be that beacon of hope for patients and their families. After stating this in my interview, my interviewer looked at me and said: "Emma, I am so happy you took the time to think about your answer, very well said. I know you will be a great candidate for Ross University."

"Why now?"-my answer to this is "well...why not?" From graduating from Binghamton University back in 2011 with a B.Sc in Biology, I was allotted one more year of basketball eligibility (because I sat out one year from transferring from Gardner-Webb University) and decided to attend Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY. Such a great year to end off my collegiate basketball days and to acquire a couple more prerequisites for medical school. After 2012, I made the decision to travel the world. From Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, to Vietnam, I was able to gain such valuable knowledge that I would never have learned inside a classroom. After taking these two years off, I was ready to get back to a higher level of academia. Having medical school always in the back of my mind, these light-bulb moments gave me the motivation I needed to get my applications started. I am SO excited to begin my studies at Ross University in May of 2015 after I complete a 15-week prep course offered by the University. It is recommended for students that had a bit lower MCAT score (which I did) and have been out of school for awhile. Check and check. MERP (Medical Education Readiness Program) here I come!

"Why not a Canadian Medical School?" For all the current Canadian medical school students, Canadians studying medicine in Ireland, Australia, U.S, and the Caribbean, we ALL know how hard it is to get into Canadian medical school. There are only FOURTEEN (14!?) total Canadian medical schools throughout Canada, which makes it that much more difficult to secure a spot. The amount of applicants that apply, compared to those who actually get in..is a mere 6%. Wow. This picture is from OMSAS, detailing the six universities only in Ontario..a mere 4% of applicants get in. Please tell me why there is a shortage of Canadian physicians? Here is why.

For me, my CGPA is a 3.49 out of a 4.0. Not bad right? With playing basketball about forty-five hours/week, you would think an A average would suffice? From my volunteer work abroad but also throughout my undergraduate studies, and even at Kingston General Hospital in the intensive and critical care units, it was still a no. I did apply one more time this year in hopes of maybe getting an interview, but I will not hear until Jan 2015. I am still focusing my efforts on Ross University and the MERP program which starts this December!

I decided not pursue U.S medical schools for the sole reason that as an international student, I would be paying almost double that I would at Ross. Even though I will be taking out a student line of credit with BMO, I am trying to find a middle ground where I am not $400,000 in debt by the end of four years. Ross University checked all of the boxes that I am looking for, and going to a seminar in Toronto this past June and speaking with recent Canadian physicians now practicing in Canada, I know it is definitely do-able. Am I worried about the stigma of going to a Caribbean? To be honest, there really isn't a stigma anymore. With more than 10,000 graduate physicians from Ross practicing in North America, it is quite normal to meet residents and attending physicians that have gone the Caribbean route. I am just happy that I get to follow my passion of medicine, whether it's in Timbucktwo or Dominica, I am ready to take on this challenge of medical school! I will hopefully match in 2019 and be back in Canada as a Physiatrist (no...not psychiatrist) resident at University of Toronto <-- this is my ideal goal!

This is the first post of many, and I will try to upload once a week (maybe I'll make it my Sunday evening activity) as I document MERP, island life, core rotations, electives, and then residency! Thank you for reading this novel of a post and please leave a comment if you have any questions!

Bye for now,

-E

p.s Awesome read for students thinking about Caribbean medical school, check it out on Amazon. It was written by the four physicians that I met at the seminar and it documents amazing stories and check-lists for Canadian students: