The Calgary Transition

When CaRMS (Canadian Resident Matching Service) told me I was going to Calgary I was excited. I was going to a new bigger city, I would be close to the mountains, I would be moving in with one of my best friends, and the Family Medicine program was exactly what I wanted. I had grown up, gone to high school, undergrad and medical school in Winnipeg. I thought, and still believe it was a good time for a change, but moving can be overwhelming. When I first arrived we were evacuated from my friend's apartment because of the devastating Alberta floods. The hospital that I was to be working at was closed, and the Mission area that I had remembered from my last visit was shut down indefinitely. It was all a lot to take in - starting a new program, being displaced...

I was lucky enough to stay at another friends place during the flood. Everyone in Calgary was extremely accommodating, and willing to lend a helping hand. I was able to finally unpack my bag, the clinic I worked at reopened, and I began to feel a little more settled.

Transitioning to new city can be hard, I think a lot of people may find change uncomfortable or intimidating. Change is important, it helps you grow, and I think especially as a doctor it is important to remain flexible when things do not go exactly as planned. So here is how I made the transition to a new city that much easier. Take it slow. Go home more often at the beginning of a move (if you can). You appreciate those things you may have taken for granted before. Meet awesome people. I have been lucky to meet some amazing new friends through my program. Take time to find a new place. Discover new areas, determine what the rental market is like, find your niche. Enjoy your job, and find a mentor. For me this will be important to have a mentor who provides advice about practice management, and guide me through the residency process. Plan trips home or away. Travel is very important, and planning to discover new (or old) places gives me something to get excited about. Do the things you love. For me going out for dinner, travelling, being active (more to come on all of these things later).

Hopefully in the future my posts will be a little shorter! I will be writing about everything from cooking to travel to medicine. Enjoy!

Carolyn

Caribbean Med School say whaaaa???

YES, I go to a caribbean med school, St. George's University in Grenada, to be exact. I get a lot of questions and statements about it, for example the standard would be: what is it like to go there? Must be nice to be on a beach all day. Do you actually do work? How do you feel about it? To answer all of the prior with a few simple words- If I had to do it over, I wouldn't change at thing. I've met life long friends from all over and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I like to describe it as "med school camp". You're surrounded by the same people within a very small radius, while all pursing the same goals. Yes, at times you feel like you're trapped on an island, because you literally are, but I think the experiences I've had have helped me develop skills that will further help me in my career. 

From day one, St. George's University makes you aware of hard work that is ahead of you; the curriculum immediately begins to direct you towards the next major step in your medical career, the USMLE board exams. SGU teaches you that your classmates are not your competition, but could possibly be your future colleagues, who should be used as an additional resource, helping one another out along the way.  From my experience, the closeness in space with your friends, all with the same goals, has taught me the importance building a dynamic relationship of friendship/colleague- to push each other along the way, emotionally support each other and to help everyone work to their utmost potential. A value cannot be placed on having close friends to ask a question, quiz each other, and to talk concepts out when you're too tired to read anymore. 

In summary, no, I don't go to the beach everyday. Yes, it is hard work. Yes, it can be emotionally draining at times. Would I change it if I had to do it over again? Not a chance. 

-Carling

Integrative Medicine

The more patients I see in clinic, the more I realize that not everyone is looking for a "medication" to treat their illness. Many patients are interested in herbal remedies, yoga, meditation, acupuncture, and other alternatives to conventional Western medicine.

While we briefly touch on some of these therapies during medical school, I don't currently feel confident expressing opinions on many of these treatments to my patients who are asking about them. Hence, when we were asked during our orientation to residency whether or not we would like to participate in an extra two year online course in Integrative Medicine (through the University of Arizona), I was obviously intrigued. I signed up for the course, and completed my first session on my laptop out at my cabin in Minaki, Ontario this morning. Part of the module was a self-assessment, which heightened my awareness of my knowledge gap (which I hope to close) in this area.

For anyone who is interested, I can't wait to share some of the evidence based knowledge I hope to gain during this course!

Lindsey

Welcome to our blog!

We hope to enlighten you with interesting experiences we have encountered while undergoing our training on the road to becoming doctors.

Meet my best friend Carolyn:

Born an raised in Anola, Manitoba, she received her MD from the University of Manitoba, alongside moi. She is now out in Calgary (much to my dismay) completing her Family Medicine residency, with hopes of doing an extra year of training in Dermatology.

My sister Carling:

This girl doesn't like convention. That's why she escaped the harsh Winnipeg climate and took off to the Caribbean for her medical training. Grenada has turned out to be quite the amazing place, with an awesome curriculum, that seems to allow for some beach time as well. Carling has finished 4 out of 5 terms out there and after her next term, she heads to New York for her hospital rotations.

And then there's me:

During my last year of medicine, I decided to pursue a residency in Radiology. Well, sometimes things don't work out as planned; I have found myself enjoying Family Medicine in Manitoba instead, with my eye on an extra year in Sports Medicine! As my dad would say, "Serendipity".


We all have many interests outside of medicine and while we don't quite know where this blog will take us, we will soon find out ;)

Lindsey