“What we think, we become. ”
As I sit here surrounded by music, the ocean waves, the Caribbean sun, and my computer, I can only appreciate this place more so, as Stephen and I leave in exactly three weeks.
Life has changed a lot since I last wrote, a lot of updates and exciting new beginnings. The NBME COMP is officially over [yay!], USMLE Step 1 is officially in sight, and I can already feel my anxiety shooting through the roof. These next couple months of dedicated board studying are going to be hard, but I am also excited to get this exam over with already.
I have started a brand new YouTube channel! Woo! [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHns7PvccWs75PX2uEpcxgw]
Which will help me immensely with trying to reach the amount of students that I want to reach. I have gotten numerous emails in the past couple months, and I am trying my best to get back to you all! I thought this YouTube channel would be able to touch on a lot of the common themes that I get asked about, and be able to interact with my followers! I have also attached my Step 1 study schedule, which shows my six week outline for the exam!
The most common question that I have been asked lately is: "what's next?". That is actually a very good question. My tentative plan is Step 1 in the beginning of December, January IMF [which is a six week program that is mandatory for us Ross students before we enter clinical rotations], then probably New York for rotations or Michigan starting in Feb/March. That is where I will be for a full year doing my core rotations which are: Family, Pediatrics, Surgery, Psychiatry, Internal medicine, and Ob/Gyn. My fourth year will be filled with elective rotations, which is similar to undergrad, where we get to choose rotations that are specific to our interests. I CANNOT WAIT for fourth year, as even though it is a lot of traveling across the country, being able to do family medicine in Colorado, or PM&R [physical medicine and Rehab] in California, or a Sports Medicine elective in NY would be so fun to experience. I am definitely ready to be in that moment right now, but I know that I will appreciate it that much more after going through the struggle..ahem...Step 1 lol.
This post is more of an update post that let's you guys know what the next steps are for me, and to let you all know that becoming a doctor IS possible. I probably have the lowest MCAT score out of my graduating class [not exaggerating], but that score does not make you a great physician. I have been at the top of my class here at Ross for the full four semesters, and I have gotten Dean's List for all of those semesters as well. It takes grit, tenacity, not giving up, and knowing what you want in life. Every. Single. Day. I was one of the few people that had no idea what I wanted to do after undergrad, yes I took the pre-requisites for med school just in case I wanted to go that route, but I also did not have a definitive plan. I was not a little girl that had a stethoscope around her neck that knew she wanted to be a physician, or in high school when people would fill out their year book info, I honestly didn't know until about three years ago. I traveled, I saw the world, I did a medical placement in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and helped a little girl on a surgery table. I have LIVED a little bit before I have entered this profession and that is a major factor in my success. It is so hard to see what the real world is like as a doctor when we have our heads in the books all the time. Having those experiences before I entered med school was the foundation I needed before I completely immersed myself into the material, and knew that at the end of four years, and then residency, it is going to be SO worth it.
Alright folks, I just wanted to let you all know that the island Basic Science semesters were definitely doable and to be honest, I have really enjoyed my time here. I will miss Dominica, and when we finally get on that plane at the end of November, I know that I will be sad. I have loved staying here to study for Step 1, and I know I am more prepared than ever to cross this next hurdle. If it were easy....then everyone would be doing it, and I know residency programs will see that I did not take "no" for an answer in Canada, and I sure as hell worked my butt off to get the best scores possible while here on island. The work is not over yet, not by a long shot, but if the first two years started off like they have, I am excited for the next two.
Bye for now,
-E xo
Pics!
