Interview Hopping

I missed the last Medical Monday because I was desperately trying to get to Richmond, Virginia before my interview at VCU. But lets back up a bit to get you up to speed about what has been going on for the last few months.

In January, I received interview invitations for 3 different schools in a span of three days. One for VCU on Feb 4th (my top US choice), one for Michigan State on Mar 28 (second choice), and one for Northern Ontario School of Medicine on Mar 29th (that one was a shocker). In that same week, I received an invitation to write the subject test for the Neuroscience MSc/PhD program in Göttingen, Germany. 7 days later I received an invitation for THE interview that I really wanted, which was at my home school, the University of Calgary.

February 3rd I left the frozen Canadian waste land to fly to Richmond, Virginia for my interview at VCU. Except, my flight out of Calgary was delayed an hour and half due to a mysterious light being on. When we landed in Minneapolis I abandoned my Canadian manners and full out sprinted about 2km from gate A to gate F where my flight to Richmond was departing from. I got to the gate, and the women in Delta colours told me the plane had just closed its doors, and wouldn't re-open them, and that I had been rebooked on a flight that would get me to Richmond at 12:30pm the next day. I had to be at VCU by 11am for the interview.

Me: "But I have to be there at 11!."
Delta woman: "Well, you won't be."
Me: "This is literally my future we are talking about, the results of tomorrow may very well dictate the rest of my life."
Delta woman: Fake smile
Me: "What about a flight to DC tonight?"
Delta woman: "Oh, yes. We could do that. The last flight closes its doors in 7 minutes. Its back at gate A."

So, I full out sprinted back to the exact same place I had just come from, but managed to sequester a nice man driving a Delta cart to get me there a little faster. I get to the gate just on time, and I get handed a boarding pass which indicates a 1st class seat (score!). I hurried on to the plane (nobody checked my passport by the way...I guess flights to DC aren't as secure as we thought), I was sweating buckets, clearly didn't belong in first class, and when I arrived at my seat, I noticed it was a window seat....right next to a very nicely dressed US Senator. I have never gotten such a severe death stare in my life. Upon arriving in DC (which is the scariest runway ever, it looks like you are going directly into the river), I was provided with a $300 taxi voucher to get me to Richmond, Virginia. I made it to my hotel by 1 am, after having to spend half of the taxi ride on the phone with the driver's daughter in order to get directions to my hotel because my taxi driver didn't know where he was going. End of story, I made it, I think my interview went well, and VCU blew my mind. I didn't think such amazing schools even existed. As an aside, if Delta had waited 3 minutes, they would have saved them approximately $700, and reduced my cortisol levels about 2 fold...this is why we Canadians love Westjet...they wait for everybody.

This past Saturday I did my interview for Calgary, I think I nailed 9/12 MMI stations, completely blew 1 (had an awkward 2 minutes of silence because you can't leave the room until the 7 minutes are up and I was totally done discussing the question), and 2 stations that I am a little unsure about. I hope it evens out...on to May 15th!

Next up on the interview schedule is Göttingen, Germany next Monday. I didn't study for the subject test, and figured my chances of getting an interview were pretty much 0 as I guessed my way through the 40 physics and chemistry questions. But apparently not...or I just failed less than the other 300 people who wrote the test. The program is paying for my travel and accommodation, which is awesome, worst case scenario is that I have a free trip to Germany :).

But here is my dilemma. The only reason I applied to the program in Germany is because I thought I had no chance of getting into any medical schools that I actually wanted to go to after not hearing from VCU, Michigan and being rejected from UBC. Now I am worried that I will get into a top choice medical school (or any at all), plus the program in Germany. I was hoping to not have to make any decisions. It will be hard to turn down a 3 year PhD program at one of the top scientific institutes in the world (and in Germany), but I also don't know how I could possibly turn down medical school. Best case scenario, I get to defer for 2 years and do an MSc in Germany and come back to a medical school spot. But, its pretty rare to get more than a 1 year deferral.

Also, my thesis is due in 18 days and I am no where near finished. I don't have time for Germany...but I can't not go...

Side note: check our Waves for Women blog, which my friend Caryn and myself will be chronicling our training and fundraising journey for our 35km open water ocean swim in July to raise money for Women's Cancer Research.

The first week of the end of my degree

I think title says it all, but this is the first week of classes of the last semester of my undergrad degree. Come June I will be happily not walking across the stage to receive my degree in Health Sciences because I will likely still be in Tanzania. (Who would want to sit in stuffy gymnasium for three hours when they could be deep in the Maasai region of Tanzania at a field camp with giraffes walking around?) Needless to say, I am pretty excited that this is the end of my first degree and that I get to finish off with a pretty awesome global health research studentship to Tanzania.

The unfortunate part is that I will be starting yet another semester with post-concussion syndrome. You may remember this post from October, well the saga continues. I still have daily headaches, yet they are mainly orthostatic (I get them when I sit up or stand up, but if I lie down they go away). This has led the concussion specialist physiatrist that I am seeing to suspect I may have a CSF leak (which is what I asked about a week after my concussion when I threw up every time I stood up and the ER doc told me it was impossible to occur unless there was a skull fracture). Soo... I have to do a radionucleotide cisternogram (say that thee times fast) in two weeks, which essentially involves a lumbar puncture, an injection of some radioactive nucleotides and me lying on a table in the angiogram suit for 6 hours. I'm not excited...and I think that if it shows I don't have a CSF leak, I likely will have one after this procedure (every time a needle goes into my epidural space I end up with a CSF leak that doesn't resolve its own). From what I am told, this the best test to check for a CSF leak, and apparently they can't do a blood patch (the procedure done to stop CSF leaks) unless there is indication of leak, which there will be no matter what after this procedure because I am 100% certain (based on past experience) that I will end up with one. Some rules and systems don't make any sense and in this case will likely cause unnecessary patient suffering. This procedure seems pointlessly expensive (to taxpayers of course, GO CANADA) and I am fairly certain I will end up needing a blood patch in the end regardless of the test outcome.

And for further updates, I got wait-listed at Wayne State SOM (which was better than I though based on the strangeness of my interview) and rejected pre-interview by UBC by 0.5 (they give you your application score and the cutoff score for interviews). The UBC thing really upset me because BC has a huge shortage of doctors in rural areas, yet they reject rural applicants at higher rates than those from urban areas (they publish these stats). It has to be recognized that opportunities to build up extracurricular activities in a small town are limited (like there are none), I made some of my own, but even that was a struggle. Anyway, if i don't get in anywhere this year, I know my GPA will be high enough to put me above the interview cutoff for next year for UBC.

On another note I spontaneously decided to apply for graduate school in Gottingen, Germany. But sadly if they like me I essentially have to repeat the a German version of the MCAT (in English thankfully) so now I have go back to studying plant ecology, physics and chemistry.

Who wouldn't want to get a MSc or PhD from here? 

Despite all of these emotional up and downs, and headaches caused by the physical ups and downs, I'm excited for what 2014 has in store. This year represents a void of the unknown and not knowing what is going to happen is always exciting. It also represents long hours in the lab trying to finish my honours thesis on time (so I can actually graduate) and the challenge of fulfilling these 10 goals. 

I hope your 2014 is filled with moments of joy but also full challenges that help you realize its okay to not be in control, and of course, many Medical Mondays (12 to be exact).

Thanks for stopping by!!

(I should also share that I get to snag link up spot 1 because I am in a different time zone,  so technically it is still Sunday here. There are some perks of living in mountain time, in addition to the mountains and -20°C weather.) 

21 Reasons

Today is a big day for me.

Today is the day I turn 21, and to honour this day in history, I thought I should make a list of 21 reasons why my life is awesome right now.

1. Today is my birthday, which just makes today great despite what may happen today.
2. I got a Macbook Pro for my Birthday, now I don't have to stress about having a computer that keeps crashing.
3. I have an amazing family, and they drove all the way to Calgary this past weekend just to celebrate my Birthday.
4. I have interview at Wayne State School of Medicine on Nov. 27th!
5. The global health conference that I have been planning for almost a year happens this weekend, Nov 9-11th. This is the biggest project I have ever attempted to pull off, and I am excited to help other students become passionate about global health.
6. I have some pretty amazing friends who are not only there for the ups in life, but who are also there for the downs.
7. All of my medical school applications are done!!
8. I got mounds of chocolate and food for my Birthday, so now I'm good until Christmas.
9. I've come to accept the fact I will likely never really race a bike again, and that cycling will become a pastime, rather than a lifeline, and I am okay with that.
10. I might be going to Tanzania in May!
11. I have super comfortable bed (this is actually pretty important).
12. I am completely okay with not getting to medical school this cycle. My plans for next year are actually awesome no matter what. If I don't get in, I'm going to work, and then travel to as many countries in as many continents as I can. Sounds better than dissecting cadavers right?
13. I have GF cake left over from my family Birthday party yesterday (cake makes life better no matter what).
14. I am actually doing pretty well in gross anatomy, even if it does feel a bit overwhelming sometimes.
15. I might be really behind on my research for my honours thesis, but my lab members are awesome, and I know that they will support me through it.
16. I don't have life figured out yet, and I think that is just fine, we don't always need a plan.
17. My parents brought my guitar from home. I haven't played since grade 9, but I am excited to get some more music back in my life.
18. It snowed this weekend! While winter is not as pleasant as summer, I like to appreciate all seasons for what they are and the gifts that they bring, like skiing!!!
19. I'm thankful that I decided to take the plunge and transfer from UoGuelph to uCalgary a year ago, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I don't regret going to Guelph, I don't think I would be where I am today had I not started out there. Everything works out as it should in the end.
20. I'm a strong person, I've been through more than I should have after only being on this earth for 21 years, and I appreciate everything that I have learned about life through trials and struggles. It will make me a better doctor.
21. Being able to dance like nobody is watching. We can all do this, and doing it makes life way more awesome. You should try it sometime.

Life is great, even when it sucks sometimes, it is still pretty great.

Shadowing

I had a pretty impressive morning of shadowing last Wednesday, followed by a somewhat less exciting afternoon of looking at mice in square boxes, cleaning up their excretions and testing their grip strength. But I am sure, you don't want to hear about what I do with mice...back to shadowing.

I shadowed my PI in the neuromuscular clinic, and it was needless to say a really great learning experience. I wasn't too sure how good of a teacher he would be, but he turned out to be pretty great. He explained all the cases to me, what each part of the neuro-exam looks for, the EMG results, and patient histories (some which were more complicated than mine). The first patient we saw was a younger women (early 40's) who had massive file and extensive history. I empathized with her because it seemed like she had been through a similar experience as me when I first got sick. She has seen pretty much every specialist in the city (a neuroimmunologist? I didn't even know that existed), has had extensive testing, has been "combative" towards doctors demanding tests/medications, and at one point wanted to go to the Mayo clinic. Her story seems kinda like mine (I was never combative though, but definitely frustrated). I almost wanted to just give her a hug, and I really wanted to tell her that I truly understood what she was going through, but alas, I was but a mere shadow.

The last patient we saw was a woman in her 50s who had an ethanol induced neuropathy. She doesn't take the vitamins that she needs (B1) which can reverse the neuropathy, she continues to consume alcohol, won't go to physiotherapy and doesn't have a family doctor. She had so much muscle wasting that she looked like a person with muscular dystrophy, and she can no longer straighten her legs so she is wheelchair bound. Non-compliance has committed her to a death sentence from a curable disease. Because of her, I witnessed for the first time what it is like to tell somebody that they will die, and soon, from a condition that is in fact reversible.

It is going to be interesting when I finally become a doctor, I think I am going to see myself reflected back to me in the experience of patients. In almost every patient we saw, I recognized something of my own story in the story of the patients. I empathized with the frustrations of one, the research tenacity of another, the ability of one patient to push through the pain, and realization of a grim future of another. I hope I never lose this empathy. At the same time though, I would give anything for my condition to just disappear by taking some vitamins, most people would, so I don't know how I am going to react when I encounter non-compliant patients. I see non-compliance as selfish, and I feel it makes the role of a doctor almost meaningless.


Needless to say, shadowing was an enlightening experience, which motivated me to submit my AMCAS application on Friday (even though I am still waiting for one transcript to arrive at AMCAS). I also started my application for UBC and the rest of the Canadian applications open up in a couple of weeks. The ball is rolling, and I have started to have nightmares since I submitted my AMCAS application. Looks like it is going to be a long wait until May 15, 2014....


PS Happy Canada Day!!!

Pain and Sleep

I am a very high functioning young adult with chronic pain. Seriously, how many people do you know with straight A's, who volunteer 10 hours per week, and ride a bike 16 hours a week who have chronic neurological pain? (If you do actually know somebody, please let me know, I would like to meet a this person.) I somehow manage to do things that most normal people, let alone people with chronic pain, can't do. To be honest, I have no idea how I can ride a bike, but somehow I do.

When you have chronic pain, you struggle to sleep, some people struggle to fall asleep, and some struggle to stay asleep. I am a member of the later group, I usually fall asleep within seconds of hitting the pillow, but I wake up about 4 hours later. My pain gets worse when my leg is still, so when I am awake my leg is in constant motion, but when I am in a deep sleep I don't move (like a normal human) and then my pain gets worse and I wake up in a grip of pain. On occasion, I actually sleep through the night, which means I get 9 hours of sleep. I usually go to bed around 10:30 and get up around 6:30-7:30 in order to maximize the potential amount of time I might be able to sleep. This tactic works pretty well because usually out of the 9 hours I spend in bed, I am asleep for 7 of them, meaning on average I get more sleep than my peers. So, strangely, chronic pain probably makes it so I actually sleep more....weird, huh?

My idea to write this post came from this article: "Extended Sleep Reduces Pain Sensitivity" And, as the title suggests, sleeping more means less pain. So, maybe the reason I am able to do all this stuff is that I actually experience less pain than my fellow nerve pain suffers because I sleep more? It is a possibility.  And, even if you don't have chronic pain, sleeping more may help you recover faster from that flu shot, dental procedure or surgery pending in your life. In the world of cycling, those who train hard and sleep a lot are generally the fastest. So if you don't have chronic pain, and are not predicting pain, sleeping might in the very least make you a faster cyclist.

On another note, I crashed riding in the ice/snow yesterday on a corner and sprained my thumb pretty badly. It isn't broken, but I think there is some ligament damage, hopefully the doctor will give me the verdict tomorrow. The worst part is that exams start next week, and it is my dominant hand. Maybe sleep will make it hurt less?

I learned how to tape it via youTube...it worked!