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RichardDegrasseSagan

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RichardDegrasseSagan last won the day on February 27 2022

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  1. It's been almost exactly 10 years since I made this post. I am wrapping up residency right now and wow time has flown by. Unfortunately, it's been an extremely challenging final year of residency. My brother died two months ago after a long battle with addiction. He leaves behind his young children. He was my big brother and mentor. Through action, he allowed me to see that high academic achievements were possible, despite our disadvantaged/low SES background. Being a physician in a way in which I positively impact patients/their families has been such a blessing and protective factor for me. There are many areas of the profession that breed cynicism, but there are also so many areas through which you can have an incredible impact on patients/their families. Often, in the name of marginal efficiency (and to the detriment of their own mental health), many physicians may not take that extra couple of minutes to have as positive an interaction with patients as otherwise would be possible. I find that these are often the physicians who are burnt out. There is certainly plenty in medicine right now that is quite challenging, but I also think many of us rob ourselves the opportunity to make positive impacts on others and ourselves. We learn at academic centers that stress/reward efficiency and sometimes dehumanization of someone into just a pathology All that to say - I see such refreshing and passionate energy in the non-trad forum. As someone who has been through the process - it has NOT made me cynical. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Continue to be the person you are through the incredible life experiences that brought you here and don't compromise that for anything. We're non-trads for a reason: we have had roads that traditional candidates may not have had to take. You're not alone in being on those challenging roads. You're not a failure because life threw challenges at you. Use those challenges to strengthen your character and use all the motivation you have to push through hurdles. We need you in the field. Inject the compassion you carry into your lives, your volunteer commitments, and when you get there, your clinical interactions.
  2. I believe you have to write it before the end of first or second year. I deferred my exam and went on vacation instead of writing my exam at the end of 4th year. Had 0 issues with writing it during the fall of PGY1 year.
  3. As others have commented on the logistics of this, I will comment on the practical side of the decision. It really sounds like the decision is not prompted by a true desire for medicine over law, but more by perceived failures and inadequacy. I think before you decide to commit at least 6+ years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt/lost earning potential, it would be important to explore where these feelings are arising from. A few weeks of reflection and counseling/therapy where you explore these feelings would be: 1) important to really solidify your decision and 2) save you years and hundreds of thousands of dollars. I think sometimes when we feel unsatisfied with something, we convince ourselves that pursuing the next goal will help give us happiness. When you get there however, sometimes you realize nothing has changed.
  4. Thanks for all the advice and reassurance on the journey rmorelan. You're amazing <3
  5. Its funny that this will be my 8-year update to this post. When I was feeling so lost all those years ago, I couldn't have possibly pictured myself being in this position as a doctor/PGY-1. I've been quite reflective recently and figured I'd post an update on my day off That being said, I wanted to add that although I find myself positioned to be successful in my professional career, many of the earlier life events/personal issues that lead to a derailment of my undergraduate grades persist or have gotten even worse (i.e.., addiction and health issues with family/friends). I am personally doing well: I have a great partner, lots of cuddles from my pets, lots of social support. Additionally I have been fortunate enough to have developed a great deal of resilience. However, it is objectively more difficult to manage all these different facets of your life as you get into residency/staff physician life and take on more responsibility. Ultimately, I think many of us in the Non-Traditional forum have faced challenges that brought us to medicine at a later time in our lives. I am confident many of you have/are going through similar struggles. I'll sound like a broken record saying this, but while you guys pursue medicine, make sure you are taking care of yourselves. Do not put your life on hold thinking that getting into medicine will magically make things better. You will certainly enjoy a sense or accomplishment and more financial/career security if you get in, but medicine does not ameliorate personal problems. Continue to work on your personal life, work on your happiness, seek therapy to develop tools for resiliency or navigate ongoing issues, and do not neglect your loved ones in the process. Life passes by all too quickly. At the end of the day, despite how noble your intentions may be, medicine is still a job. And your ability to care for yourself will really affect your job performance. Will you truly be able to devote the emotional energy to your patients if you feel that you are barely staying afloat in your personal life? I personally believe the answer is a resounding no. So remember guys - work on yourselves, be happy, and I hope you have an amazing rest of the summer!
  6. Unfortunately your GPA is by far your limiting issue for Canadian schools. You will have great extracurriculars and ABS items given the success you've had in your MSc and work, but that portion of the file review is not relevant if you're automatically filtered out due to not meeting GPA cutoffs. I am not sure if there are currently any programs that offer an accelerated two to three year degree, but you can try to see gauge that option. I ultimately had to delay my graduation and complete a 5th/6th year to bump up my undergraduate GPA. You can read more detailed info in my post history. All that being said, you have to realize that medical school is getting more and more expensive as each year passes. If you choose to go the route of an additional undergrad, that is an additional 6-8 years of lost income AND ~160k to 200k in just tuition costs alone. I am currently a 1st year resident, and many of my friends who worked straight out of undergrad are in significantly better financial positions than I am. The Carribean route is fraught with uncertainty. Having just recently gone through the residency application process as a CMG (Canadian Medical Graduate), where the match rates are typically >95%, it was still extremely stressful. I can't imagine having to go through that process with a match rate of ~50% (not sure of exact numbers). The huge financial cost, constant stress of having to perform at the top of the class/board exams, and the extreme stress of residency applications makes this option not seem worth it at all to me. Just be reflective/introspective about what you want out of medicine. I find that in the process of applying to medicine, we sculpt ourselves into these seemingly perfect beings because "medicine is such an altruistic profession". It can be jarring to get in and see the reality of how your doctors are regular people with huge variations in personalities. There are some very kind people and there are some not-so-king people. The "rose-tinted glasses" pre-meds often wear can lead to some logical fallacies in their decision-making. Medicine is a great field. It is definitely is a privilege to be able to contribute to the care of your patients. However, know that you are working in a system that can often limit your ability to feel like you can truly help your patients (there is quite a bit of variability here depending on which specialty you go into). At the end of the day, medicine is still a job and the financial factor of things is something you should NOT ignore - ESPECIALLY when you are considering completing an additional undergrad to potentially get in. However, if you are extremely driven to contribute to a certain field of medicine, then the reward you get from being in medicine should outweigh the financial/emotional. I am happy to answer any other questions you have!
  7. The girlfriend recently forced me into watching Grey's Anatomy. This meme seems appropriate. Jokes aside, we're all truly going to be OKAY regardless of what happens tomorrow/April 20th. Good luck everyone!
  8. If you're not going to be doing any video/picture-editing or comp sci stuff, you're best off with an iPad Air (because these ones now have stylus compatibility). I have one and it works really well for me. I use it exclusively for PDFs and note-taking (with synced notes in OneNote). Here's a great breakdown by a resident doc comparing the different ipads available.
  9. Took me 7 years to finish mine (gap year and two additional years). They didn't bother asking me about it during either Queens/Western interviews. I am currently in the process of wrapping up medical school. Good luck!
  10. Depends on your specific situation and the organization. See if there are any records and/or documentation? You can put yourself down as a verifier if you were unable to track down a verifier but have documentation (e.g., 250 hours of volunteer completed certificate). Don't stress too much about it - just put yourself down if you've tried your hardest and haven't had any luck. That's what I did back when I was applying!
  11. Hi all, I haven't had a chance to be as active or contribute to the community as much I'd like to be, but I figured I'd post an update/reflection on here. I feel like many of us non-trads go through similar challenges when applying to and/or completing medical school. I hope some of you are able to derive some inspiration through my process and avoid the mistakes I've made. Guilt: I feel like this is often a burden to us. Guilt for being behind. Guilt for not performing on tests/courses. Guilt for not preparing hard enough for interviews. That's not to say you shouldn't have a constructive analysis of previous mistakes, just don't feel guilty about your previous life circumstances. I think being able to make mistakes, learning from them, and improving is as admirable (if not more) than never making any mistakes at all. So embrace your past self, learn from their mistakes, and improve on them. Building on your imperfections is what’s made you so strong. For me, I had started feeling a lot of guilt after getting into medical school for not maintaining the intensity that I kept throughout the process of getting there. I started feeling guilt for taking time for myself and not dedicating it towards philanthropic pursuits. And I recently realized: if I don't take time for myself and learn how to be a happy/healthy individual, am I really in a great position to try to provide these tools to my patients/others? It doesn't matter what stage you're in (pre-med, medical student, doc), taking time for yourself to be happy/healthy is not something you should ever feel guilty about. I would argue that this might be one of the more important aspects of life: creating a sphere of healthiness/happiness around you by first making yourself happy and healthy. Participate in charity and philanthropy, but don't overextend yourself. Always remember, charity begins at home! Purposelessness: There's sometimes a tendency to be tunnel-visioned into working extremely hard to get into med. You don't think too much about what happens after, and just assume that things will be amazing after. Its important to realize that 1st/2nd year are primarily lecture-based. There is very limited patient interaction, so you don't the positive feedback of helping others during this time. As an example, I saw my older brother battle through addiction once he got to professional school - after all that hard work/sacrifice he put into the acceptance, he wasn't sure about what came next or what he wanted out of life. Happiness and contentment doesn't wait at the gates of medical school. Your acceptance might give you some security about your career, but it only addresses one facet of your life. I told myself that I would keep a balanced lifestyle and made sure to be a happy person (I may have overcompensated see below ) Complacency: When you get to medical school, you get exposed to the rigorous work schedules of the clerks (3rd/4th year medical students), residents, and staff physicians. I thought to myself "man, I better make the most of my pre-clerkship years before shit hits the fan." In fact, all the upper years tell you the same: "enjoy pre-clerkship while you can." This is true. Pre-clerkship is super fun with all the parties and your suddenly booming social life. Combine that with the fact that us non-trads have often sacrificed so much to get here - it can become very easy to tip the balance. Be on the lookout if you ever catch yourself steering towards this end. ESPECIALLY for you current pre-clerks (incoming 1st years or 2nd years) who will have online lectures. What works for me: actively attending/listening to lectures. The process of just being present is a huge step into keeping you engaged and maintaining your academic life. TL;DR: be kind to yourself throughout the process of getting into medical school – learn from your mistakes, don’t feel guilty about them. Try to learn what you want out of life so that medical school doesn't become your end goal and you are not left with a feeling of purposelessness once you're in. Once you get in, there will be a sense of complacency. Figure out a way to counter this - I always felt that going to lectures kept me engaged (medicine is inherently interesting to most of us, so this should take care of itself). And finally, prioritize your own healthiness/happiness as this will trickle down to your patients and those in your sphere of life. Don't ever feel guilty about not participating in a myriad of extracurricular if it comes at the expensive of your own healthiness/happiness.
  12. I wasn't trying to imply that the average was 20-22. By skewed towards 20-22 range, I meant that the majority of the students fell in this range. There were still a few 22-24, handful of 25-30, and a couple of 30+. They gave us the statistics of it all during some of the intro lectures.
  13. Some schools tend to be much younger (I know the stats of my school were pretty skewed towards the 20-22 range). That being said, no one is ever too old for medical school. However, age difference is definitely a consideration to be prepared for. Medical school can be a bit of a repeat of high school, some of your classmates can be pretty immature, and so being aware of the fact that reduce the surprise of it all.
  14. Congrats on your turnaround Lauren. I am glad you're feeling like you're in a better place now As for starting a new degree, I don't think it will really matters - Ontario schools will primarily look at your last 2 years (Western), best two years (Queens), weighted last 3 years (Ottawa), weighted GPA (Toronto), or cGPA (Mac). So in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't make a difference. Where it might make a difference is your interest in the material. If you've already completed 2 years of your second undergrad, you're probably going to be starting 3rd/4th year courses. I found these to be infinitely more interesting and easier to excel in than 1st/2nd year courses. Whereas if you start a new degree, you might be stuck with arbitrarily bell curved courses etc.
  15. It sounds like you've had a really difficult time coping with the mental health issues. Depression is insanely tough and kudos to you for managing to do as well as you have. There's no doubt you have the motivation and intelligence to accomplish your goals, but I think the biggest hurdle for your right now is your recurrent depression. Your (mental) health seems to be the deciding factor in your long-term success, not the academics (we've seen that you can get 90s when you're in a good place). So please definitely try to look into getting help for the depression so that it doesn't continue to bog you down. Your journey reminded me of this cool motivational video from Tyson Fury. Back story: he became the heavyweight champ in 2015, but soon after fell into a cycle of depression, went through substance abuse, become super out of shape. He lost his boxing licence. But ended up making a comeback in 2018 and working his way up to the championship fight that ended as a draw. Really inspiriting stuff. Here's the video
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