Resident

It's been an interesting few months. I am now officially a resident, halfway through my first year. It seems like it's gone by so fast!

Highlights:

-Working for my uncle all spring.

-Singing in a benefit concert this spring in Toronto.

-Packing up my stuff, buying new stuff, collecting other stuff that had been stored in various friend's basements and garages, packing it into a uhaul, hitching my car to the truck and driving across the border to start this adventure.

-Moving into a lovely apartment that wasn't finished renovations.

-Assembling a lot of Ikea furniture.

-Getting a lovely greyhound rescue that I realized very quickly I didn't have the time or money to take care of.

-Meeting my residency class and getting to know some fantastic people.

-Catching my first babies.

-Putting my first IV into an infant.

-Getting to the hospital at 4:30 in the morning.

-Eating some great food in some world-class restaurants.

-Enjoying a long distance relationship.

-Buying finger shoes and running my first real road race (5k).

-Losing ten of the twenty pounds I gained in my ER rotation as a med student.

-Wearing a kilt at my twin sister's wedding.

Biography

So I've been invited to sing in a benefit concert in Toronto in March. It seems weird to be writing a singing biography, after all the time I've spent working on my medical CV and essays. Here's what I came up with. It's not terribly creative, but it works.


Tenor, Beach Bum, has performed across Canada, and in the US, the Caribbean, and England; in a variety of genres including opera, oratorio, and musical theatre. His credits include: Ralph (HMS Pinafore), Rolf (Sound of Music), and Harry (What about luv?). He has appeared as tenor soloist in works by Mozart (Requiem, Solemn Vespers), Handel (Messiah), Haydn (Lord Nelson Mass), and Stainer (Crucifixion). He has performed with ensembles including the Saskatoon Symphony, Opera NUOVA, the International Symphony Orchestra, the St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir and Orchestra, the Parry Sound Choral Collective, and Musical Theatre Productions, London, Ontario.

In addition to performing, he has worked as organist for churches across Canada and England, taught music and drama, and directed and stage managed for theatre companies in Alberta and Ontario.

He is currently studying voice with Jean Ronald LaFond, based in New York and Berlin. He holds undergraduate degrees in music and biology, and recently completed his MD degree. He will be starting a Family Medicine residency this summer.

Personal Statement

Several months ago, I posted the first few drafts of my attempt at writing a personal statement for residency. I received some excellent suggestions, and offers for help. Thank you to everyone who contributed and gave advice. I thought I'd post the PS I used for my US applications. It was positively commented on by everyone I interviewed with. One PD even commented on the Tennyson quote. Thanks again.

I want to be a Family Doc.

Holding the scalpel poised, I make my incision. This is a “lumps and bumps” clinic; routine stuff for a family doctor. But as I carefully remove a suspicious lesion, I am struck by a curious sense of completion; that my life, my skills, and my medical training led me to this moment. An early passion for medicine, a family of family doctors, a genuine interest in people, varied experiences, a love of learning, a wide range of interests, and clinical experience in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States; all these have prepared me to be an excellent family physician.

I want to do that.

A little boy sitting on a hard bench under tired ceiling fans fretfully stirring the heavy African air, I sat waiting for my latest malaria smear results. Watching my fellow patients in that dirty place, I still remember wondering what brought them to the hospital; fascinated by the elderly man with weeping ulcers on his legs and by the local snake farmer who came running in after a bite from one of his snakes. But as exciting and exotic as the snake man was, my most indelible memory of that day is of the Doctor running across the dusty courtyard reading the directions on a packet of antivenom.

I have a clear memory from that day of wanting to do what that doctor was doing. And while I have developed and explored other interests, my passion for medicine has been my constant companion.

This is my place.

Leaning on the nurse’s station in a rural Canadian Emergency Department, I am the doctor’s nephew, shadowing to explore the world of medicine. Watching my aunt guide my sister, already a medical student, in placing a suture correctly, I turn green at my first sight of minor surgery. Sitting in the hallway with my head between my legs, a silly grin spreading over my face, I can’t wait for more.

I have four rural Family Doctors in my family, and their example and encouragement has meant that my knowledge of and passion for Family Medicine is strong. I have a real sense of commitment to providing continuous care for families and becoming part of a community.

I will drink life to the lees.

My life, study, and work experience has prepared me well to be an excellent family physician. Growing up in West Africa has made me acutely aware of other perspectives and cultures, and has made me uniquely positioned to practice cross-cultural medicine. My undergraduate degrees in music and general biology trained me to think across disciplines and see the bigger picture, both from a psycho-social and artistic perspective and in terms of inter-connectedness inherent in the physical world. My extensive experience as a music and drama teacher has allowed me to hone my communication and motivational skills, both of which will be extremely valuable to me as a practicing physician. My journey as a professional operatic tenor has taught me the value of hard work, and the sense of satisfaction that comes from being a part of a team working at a world-class level. My work as a church organist and choir-master has taught me the simple joy of becoming part of a community of people, and working with them to help them live their best lives.

I am a generalist, and a global thinker. I am excited about new experiences, love learning new information and skills, and do my best to live as intensely as possible. Family Practice appeals to me because of the breadth and wide scope of practice. I enjoy seeing the big picture, and am excited about coordinating medical care for patients as part of a team of health care professionals. I am interested the possibilities that rural Family Medicine offers in working in both rural inpatient and outpatient settings, emergency departments, and obstetrics.

I want to be a Family Doc.

Working stiff

So after accepting an offer for residency in the US (Family Medicine, starting June 2011), the trip I had planned to NYC to interview was a moot point. But since I had my plane tickets already, and they were non-refundable, I went anyway. I had a wonderful week wandering around NYC, seeing shows and eating in great restaurants!

Now, I'm back in Southwestern Ontario, and started work today in my uncle's office (I was supposed to start on Monday, but was snowed in for two days). I am involved in a project to help update his EMR and transfer data from his paper charts. And seeing as he has somewhere between 2000 and 3000 patients, it's a big job. But it's a job I am qualified to do, and by pouring over several thousand charts in the course of the next few months, I expect to learn a lot. And because I expect a LOT of snow this winter, I have purchased snow tires for my little car. It's not that much of a waste, because where I'm moving for residency gets a LOT of snow too.

In other news, I am getting serious about getting back into shape. I have an incentive; I would like to wear my kilt at the New Years dinner/dance, and need to lose a few inches in order to do so. So I have three weeks to lose a couple of inches off my waist. Which will be doable, but just. So I will be sore and tired (and downing protein shakes and eating poached chicken and broccoli) for the next few weeks. Those of you on FB can expect daily whinging.

I am still somewhat surprised whenever I see correspondence labeled Dr. BB. I wonder how long it takes to get used to that.

And in other news, I passed my next Canadian licensing exam, and am in the process of applying for USMLE Step 3. I have four more exams to take before I am completely license-able in the US and Canada: USMLE 3, US FP Boards, MCCQE2, Royal College FM exams. It's kind of weird to think that, including the MCAT, I have already taken 6 big medical exams. More than halfway done!

It's official...

It's been a while since I last posted (and my blog was private for a few months). But my medical school diploma arrived in the mail this week. It's official...

...I am a doctor.

And in other news, I have accepted a pre-match residency position. So I know where I'll be next year.

These last few months have been somewhat surreal. It's weird when someone I meet asks me what I do. I am a doctor, but because I don't start residency until next July, I'm not much good of one. Yet.

Anyway. I have a bit more time in the next few months, so I hope to start writing more. And I'll have to decide whether to keep writing here, or to start up a new doctory blog, like many of the medical student blogs I've followed over the last few years have done.

It's official, I'm finished. This part.

BB

Engage with Grace

For three years running now, many of us bloggers have participated in what we’ve called a “blog rally” to promote Engage With Grace – a movement aimed at making sure all of us understand, communicate, and have honored our end-of-life wishes.

The rally is timed to coincide with a weekend when most of us in the United States are celebrating Thanksgiving and are with the very people with whom we should be having these unbelievably important conversations – our closest friends and family.

At the heart of Engage With Grace are five questions designed to get the conversation about end-of-life started. We have included them at the end of this post. They are not easy questions, but they are important -- and believe it or not, most people find they actually enjoy discussing their answers with loved ones. The key is having the conversation before it’s too late.
This past year has done so much to support our mission to get more and more people talking about their end-of-life wishes. We’ve heard stories with happy endings … and stories with endings that could have (and should have) been better. We have stared down political opposition. We have supported each other’s efforts. And we have helped make this a topic of national importance.

So in the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, we’d like to highlight some things for which we’re grateful.

Thank you to Atul Gawande for writing such a fiercely intelligent and compelling piece on “letting go”– it is a work of art, and a must read.

Thank you to whomever perpetuated the myth of “death panels” for putting a fine point on all the things we don’t stand for, and in the process, shining a light on the right we all have to live our lives with intent – right through to the end.

Thank you to TEDMED for letting us share our story and our vision.

And of course, thank you to everyone who has taken this topic so seriously, and to all who have done so much to spread the word, including sharing The One Slide.
For three years running now, many of us bloggers have participated in what we’ve called a “blog rally” to promote Engage With Grace – a movement aimed at making sure all of us understand, communicate, and have honored our end-of-life wishes.

The rally is timed to coincide with a weekend when most of us in the United States are celebrating Thanksgiving and are with the very people with whom we should be having these unbelievably important conversations – our closest friends and family.

At the heart of Engage With Grace are five questions designed to get the conversation about end-of-life started. We have included them at the end of this post. They are not easy questions, but they are important -- and believe it or not, most people find they actually enjoy discussing their answers with loved ones. The key is having the conversation before it’s too late.
This past year has done so much to support our mission to get more and more people talking about their end-of-life wishes. We’ve heard stories with happy endings … and stories with endings that could have (and should have) been better. We have stared down political opposition. We have supported each other’s efforts. And we have helped make this a topic of national importance.

So in the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, we’d like to highlight some things for which we’re grateful.

Thank you to Atul Gawande for writing such a fiercely intelligent and compelling piece on “letting go”– it is a work of art, and a must read.

Thank you to whomever perpetuated the myth of “death panels” for putting a fine point on all the things we don’t stand for, and in the process, shining a light on the right we all have to live our lives with intent – right through to the end.

Thank you to TEDMED for letting us share our story and our vision.

And of course, thank you to everyone who has taken this topic so seriously, and to all who have done so much to spread the word, including sharing The One Slide.

We share our thanks with you, and we ask that you share this slide with your family, friends, and followers. Know the answers for yourself, know the answers for your loved ones, and appoint an advocate who can make sure those wishes get honored – it’s something we think you’ll be thankful for when it matters most.
Here’s to a holiday filled with joy – and as we engage in conversation with the ones we love, we engage with grace.

To learn more please go to www.engagewithgrace.org. This post was written by Alexandra Drane and the Engage With Grace team. Please feel free to join our blog rally by copying this post and putting it on your own blog for this holiday weekend.

Birthday weekend!

So we have an evolving tradition; my sister's and my birthday lies very close to an aunt and uncle's wedding anniversary, and my cousin-in-law's birthday. So for the past several years, there has been a family get-together at Stratford, Ontario for a weekend of holiday theatre-watching at the festival there.

This year was the first year in four that I've been able to attend. It was great to be able to get away, even for a couple of days, watch some plays, and hang out with family. And shop, never forget the shopping. I didn't purchase much, just a few kitchen knick-knacks, and a new wallet. And a lovely shirt and jacket for work.

It's actually been a good summer for theatre. Last month, I drove to Iowa, to watch a friend perform at the Des Moines Metro Opera summer festival production of Nozze di Figaro. And this weekend, while we saw three productions, the highlight had to have been seeing Christopher Plummer as Prospero in The Tempest. In a celebrity sighting moement, Mr. Plummer was staying at the same B&B we were, so while we didn't meet him, we did see him wandering around all weekend (and he graciously signed copies of his autobiography for those in the family who'd purchased it).

It was astounding to see someone hold the stage the way he did, and to see him inhabit the character and breathe life into Shakespeare's old-fashioned language. And while the rest of the cast was good, it was somewhat amusing to see how much better Mr. Plummer was; he made them all look a little dim when on the stage beside him. A wonderful lesson on stagecraft, and a wonderful evening. And then just as instructive to see him wandering around the next morning in his sweatpants and cool sunglasses looking decidedly ordinary out for his morning constitutional.

And now, I'm back to the grind. I can't believe this rotation is half-over, and in two weeks, I'll be heading back to the US for my last three months of rotations.

It's going to go very quickly!

In any event. Hopefully, I'll be able to go to more theatre. But that may have to wait until I'm done, and have some time off.

New Post

It's a hot July in Southwestern Ontario, and I had forgotten how muggy and nasty it could be. But who's complaining? Come January, we will be wishing for warm weather.

I have just started a 4 week rural family practice rotation here in SW Ontario, the one Canadian elective I was able to arrange. And that was only because the doctor I am working with was willing to go to bat for me. Thanks Dr.!

I am still in the proving and explaining myself stage. But hopefully, as the clinic I'm working with gets used to me, they will realize that I am not a moron, and things will get better. It is a good group of people to work for, though, and I'm enjoying the experience.

It's really odd to be back in the city I lived in for 3 years before I got into medical school. Things are at one hand familiar, and yet not. And I am now a very different person than the one that left here three and a half years ago. And much of my social network has either moved away, or I have lost touch with.

And once the month is over, it's back to Detroit for 3 more months, and then I'm done. It's a little scary to think that I'll be finished so soon. And then I'll have 8 months off and residency applications/interviews (hopefully).

So the big push is on. And as I start the process of applying to the US and Canadian Matches, this blog may degenerate into a rant on the Canadian medical establishment and how they treat IMG's. I'll try to keep my frustration in check.

So I'm off for now. Be well!

Bitter

I have just been turned down for a visiting elective in Canada. I am fast discovering why other Canadians I have spoken to are so disheartened by their attempts to return to Canada they are not planning to return to Canada to practice.

Seriously, I don't have leprosy. I wash behind my ears and use deodorant. And I have consistently honoured my clinical rotations in hospitals in England and the US (i.e. not under a tree in Outer Mongolia).

I'm a little bitter right now. And weary. I didn't expect a red carpet when I went this route (I knew I was going to have to jump through some significant hoops to return to Canada to practice). But I didn't expect to feel the kind of contemptuous indifference I have experienced from the Canadian medical establishment.

It makes me more than a little bit sad.

Ugh

It's been a while since I updated my two readers. I was done in the UK at the end of Feb, and returned to Canada for March, where I studied, did paperwork, shadowed my sister in the hospital and office, went skiing, took the cat to the vet, cooked, and drank Jamesons on St. Patrick's day while remembering margaritas last year in Dublin.

I have since moved to Detroit, where I have just started my second fourth year rotation (inpatient FM, after a month of Nephrology).

It's been good here in Detroit, although I must admit it was somewhat wearying moving again, and while I am getting used to this new place, I was grumpy about the necessity of finding where the good grocery stores are, etc. Thankfully, I was able to spend the first few weeks staying with a friend who helped get me acclimatized. I do need to find a good barber.

I have now (mostly) gotten my bearings, and am enjoying myself, although I still can't wait to be done. Speaking of being done, if all goes as planned, I should be done sometime this fall.

Which means that this summer will be full of residency applications. Look for more procrastinatory/ranty posts.

I am now in full-blown procrastination mode, with exams coming up in the next few weeks. Ugh.

Be well.

Personal Statement - Second Draft

Thanks everyone for your input. Still editing.

Personal Statement - first draft

Thanks everyone for your comments. I've posted a second draft, which I think works a bit better.

Piano, 8 hands

Falling in love with a fish...

This looks like a great movie!

A Trailer for Every Academy Award Winning Movie Ever -- powered by Cracked.com

Sorry, I couldn't get the embedding to work...