dr — BlogPost

Hey everyone!

It is a chilly Sunday evening in Atlanta, Georgia and I thankfully have time to write a blog post and give you some updates of my medical school adventure.

Even though I am at the end of my medical school training, it is still busy as ever. Interview season is upon us and I am getting ready to plan my next couple months ahead. As you might have read in my previous post, I explained the usual trajectory of not only interview season, but medical school as a whole. It is a long and arduous path, but once it’s done, it is such a surreal feeling.

As I reflect on the past (almost) four years, I am reminded how far I have come. From starting the MERP program in December 2014, living and studying in Dominica, moving to Miami for the IMF course, and then a majority of third and fourth year in Atlanta, I have never wanted to buy a house and stay put for the time being like I do right now.

I have said it before and I will say it again- medical school is HARD. A hard that makes you question if you made the right decision. A hard that takes you away from family events, friends’ gatherings, and many special occasions. After the first couple of times saying the word “no” with some trepidation, it is sad how effortlessly I can decline an invitation and so quickly. Knowing that there is no possible way that I would be able to make the occasion, I would rather say “no” upfront than wait until the last second to decline. Medical school has a way to test you, both mentally and physically, to see if you are cut out to make it in this wonderful world of medicine. It has caught me a couple times..okay…probably more than a couple…where I would be wishing the day away, or hoping that I would be let go early of an already long day at the hospital. Not only did that negativity slowly start to get to me, I had to stop and think- I am wishing away the time to learn. I am wishing away the time to make mistakes. I am wishing away valuable life lessons, where if I make this same mistake next year-it is someone’s life. As soon as I told myself this mantra, my whole perspective changed. I had the ability to wake up each day and make a difference in a patient’s life. Even though I was tired, or that I have worked ten days in a row, I was able to walk into the hospital and be a part of a wonderful healthcare team that is making an incredible difference in the world.

Perspective is huge. Especially in terms of how you view your life. We have the wonderful ability to wake up each morning and decide what mood we want to be in. We can choose to be happy and excited for the day, or we can choose to feed our negative thoughts. If there is one thing that I have learned along the way, it is to be thankful….and happy. (So I guess two things). Thankful to be in this position to study medicine, because there are A LOT of people who want to be here, but can’t due to finances, location, other commitments, etc. And to be happy, because I have the ability to genuinely and honestly help people when they are scared, feel defeated, hopeless, and in their most vulnerable state. This responsibility of being a physician is something that I take great pride in, and there will be no more days where I wish away the time spent learning even though I am tired. I am soaking up every moment like a sponge to one day (aka next year) make decisions on my own, and not having the security blanket of being a medical student.

In three more months I will be Dr. Emma Mackenzie Cronk, M.D.

Three. More. Months.

Bye for now,

-E xo

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

-Mae West”

Ok I know what you all are thinking..."WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" I honestly think this has been the longest that I have waited in between posts, and I would be lying if I said it wasn't on my mind every day. It has been such an adventure this past month [and a bit] and I think it has been the hardest in regards to volume of material, being away from home, and almost seeing that light at the end of the tunnel.

I do not even know where to begin, as fourth semester took me by surprise. I do not know if it was because I was quite tired to begin with, the shear amount of material, or the fact that I just wanted to be done as fast as it began. So many mixed emotions and until you physically and mentally experience it yourself, it is so hard to appreciate how medical students feel, and I have the best family and friends for understanding my academic commitment. So here I sit, on a Tuesday night in my apartment, looking at this bright pink sky as the sun sets in Dominica, with no one else on campus, as all of my classmates are back in their home city. You are probably wondering: "Why is she so crazy to stay in Dominica?! Why isn't she at home already?! That, my friend, is a very good question.

Making the decision to stay on island to study for Step 1 [my big bad US board exam in November] was one of the toughest decisions I had to make. I want more than anything to be home with my family and hang out with all of my friends, but after taking that NBME COMP exam this past Friday, I knew that I had made the right decision with staying on the island. That exam was the toughest exam, in my history of exam taking, that I have ever had to endure. Whoa...I still shutter just thinking about it. I would LOVE to be home, but my parents also understand that being here at Ross is vastly different that living in a farm house in good ol' Canada with dogs, cats, people, and not to mention a wonderful herd of cows that just love to "moo" at the most convenient of times. It was tough to stay here when a majority of my friends are gone home, celebrating, seeing everyone important in their lives, and most importantly-the comfort feeling of home. I knew after leaving that exam, that staying here was the best decision, as I get access to unlimited resources and I can bust out a fifteen hour day studying and not even realize it [I know, I'm weird].

Thankfully, I will be going home for a week in September as my sister gets married [!!!] and I have the wonderful honour of being her bridesmaid. I honestly can not wait and what makes it even better is that my Dad actually built a chapel on our land, bells and all. Don't worry I will make sure to post pictures of the big day. If you have not already seen my instagram posts of the chapel, head on over to @d1todr and check them out!

So all in all, I really enjoyed my time at Ross. I have made Dean's List all four semesters [yay!] and I created a brand new club: RUSM Sports Medicine Club that I recently got to hand over the torch to a wonderful friend of mine, Ozzy, who will lead the next group of Eboard members next semester. I believe that everything comes full circle, that if you put effort in, you will receive that satisfaction and do well. The Caribbean route is tough, but I know I will become such a better physician because of it. I can not wait to start clinicals in January, and I will try my hardest to upload some videos of study tips and "how-tos" of surviving med school thus far.

I want to thank you all for following me on my journey, it is crazy how fast my sixteen months on the island went, and only two more years to go until I get that M.D. Thank you for your comments, smiles on campus, and for you all cheering me on. For the whole month of November, I will need your good vibes, that USMLE board exam is not going to write itself and I will give it my all! You know I will!

Off to enjoy a wonderful dinner made by my Stephen, with Domi laying by my feet, I can't help but realize how lucky I really am.

Bye for now,

-E xo

Pics!

Stephen and I at the 4th Bon Voyage Farewell Banquet.