The Amazing Race: Dominica

Wow! Have you ever seen the Amazing Race? I feel like I've been on that show for the last three days. It feels like an eternity since I left Florida for Dominica since everything is so different and new, but I guess I'll digress and start at the beginning. I woke up on Friday at 5 AM in order to make a 7:30 AM flight from Orlando to Miami. It sounds early...I agree, but to me it actually seemed late since I didn't sleep at all the night before (a lot of things on my mind, especially when you have to pack your whole life up into three bags). But the flight to Miami and the second flight to San Juan went perfect, and I thought it was going to be smooth sailing from there on out...wrong! Just as a little background: the flights to the island of Dominica are very limited and often get cancelled due to weather, being too dark out, etc. I have heard quite a few horror stories about students traveling to Dominica and being stuck in shady cities and hotels. So around 4 PM, after several delays, our group of Ross students and other travelers were informed that our 2:30 PM flight had indeed been cancelled due to maintenance issues. This meant that we would be spending the night in San Juan. Of course at this time our Ross group (some by themselves and some with family) had made a few introductions to each other and struck up some light conversation, but once we were told about the flight cancellation by the airline workers, our minds began to wander about what the night would have in store for us. And we would have to get through it together. After some time the airline, American Eagle, set each passenger up with a dinner voucher, breakfast voucher, two taxi vouchers, and a one night stay at the Gran Melia of Puerto Rico. I immediately thought it was going to be a dump, but...in the end we were all pleasantly surprised. Gran Melia is a golf resort about 40 minutes from the San Juan airport designed and owned by none other than Donald Trump himself. Let me tell you, the guy may not know how to make the thing on top of his head look good, but he does know how to design a luxurious hotel. Here's the link if you want to check it out:

http://www.melia.com/hotels/puerto-rico/coco-beach/gran-melia-puerto-rico-golf-resort/index.html

But first we needed to take a cab ride there and it was an interesting experience. On the way, with six of us Ross students packed into a van, a cop pulled up behind us with their lights on as we were on the highway. All of us immediately told the driver that she was being picked up for speeding, but she kept on driving and even speeded up insisting that she needed to change lanes. Because of traffic, about a minute later she finally did and the cop sped on by. Then she proceeded to tell us that all cops in Puerto Rico must drive with their lights flashing according to law. She said that there was a guy in Puerto Rico who was arrested for committing a robbery. He was taken to trial and argued that he wouldn't have committed the robbery had he known that there was a cop in a parked vehicle close by. Believe it or not, he won and the law was made. Unbelievable. 

Side note about the taxi ride: they love Taylor Swift in Puerto Rico.

Room at the Gran Melia. Priced over $200 per night

We finally made it to the hotel around 8 PM in absolute awe after seeing the place. I made a goal for myself right then and there that some day when I am a doctor, I am going to stay at the Gran Melia on my own time and money (and actually get to see it in the daytime!). We grabbed a lengthy bite to eat at a seaside grill and weren't able to get to bed until after 11 PM. That doesn't sound that bad at first, but considering we had to wake up at 3:45 AM the following morning to make it to the airport in time for a 7:00 AM flight and after barely sleeping the night before, I was exhausted. It was sort of tease staying there because we had the whole resort experience at the airline's expense, yet we didn't have time to do anything. Oh well, it could have been much worse.

We arrived at the airport the next day around 5:30 AM; right when the airport was opening up (security wasn't even operating yet). However, we were at the gate at 6:20 AM. By 7 AM we were on the plane ready to take off. It was a pretty small plane with 64 seats and I'm lucky that my legs weren't any longer because my knees were crunched against the seat in front of me. Even luckier, there was nobody to sit next to me, so I could sit sideways and finally get some of that ever elusive sleep. This was my first time flying to the Caribbean and I'll tell you what: I have never seen bluer water or greener land than during that flight. It was amazing and the scenery was beautiful since it was clear blue skies the whole flight. Now, there are two ways you can land at Melville Airport in Dominica: coming from over the water or from over the mountains depending on the wind (there is only one landing strip so wind direction is kind of an important thing). We chose the latter. I wasn't able to get any pictures of our descent, but if you want an idea of what it looked like and what song was playing in the back of my mind as we were landing, take a look at this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiLQh0memLY

Jurassic Park!!! Obviously we were in a plane and not a helicopter, but you get the gist. It was pretty much the same thing, minus the dinosaurs of course. You could imagine the round of applause all of us passengers gave the pilots once we touched ground. Descending over millions of dark green trees covering mountainsides was an amazing experience and I'll never forget it. We had reached Dominica, but the trip was not over. 

After going through immigration and customs at the airport (literally a "hall"; approximately 100 ft X 100 ft room), we collected our bags and were herded into a Ross transport bus for our 45 minute drive to Portsmouth (where Ross University is located). Let me preface this by saying, our driver honked at least 500 times. Reasons for honking: (1) You honk to tell the vehicle in front of you that you want to pass, (2) You honk back to let them know that's its ok that they can pass, (3) Pedestrians wave at you, and most importantly (4) To warn approaching vehicles around the hundreds of sharp turns that you are indeed coming around those hundreds of sharp turns! We were told to take dramamine before the drive and told to tell the driver if we needed to throw up so he could pull over. Lucky for us, nobody did. After miles of varying terrain (mountains, seasides, jungles) and weaving through small towns around the north side of Dominica, we finally pulled into Portsmouth and made our way to Jenner Hall for our Welcome to Ross University School of Medicine. The Amazing Race was over, and even though I was extremely tired...I sort of got a second burst of energy when I took a minute and realized where I was. Med school. Dominica. The view. Perfect. 

View outside the door of my room. Looking at Portsmouth where the two cruise ships are docked. The two mountain peaks make up a national park. The buildings on the left mountain are remains from a British colony.

Two Week Countdown

The days are beginning to go faster and faster, and today is officially two weeks until I fly to Dominica on December 28th. I will leave around 7:30 AM from Orlando International Airport and arrive at Melville Hall Airport in Dominica around 4:30 PM by way of Miami, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Unlike most flights that I have taken where I would pack for a certain occasion or with vacation supplies in mind, this time I need to pack all the essential gear one would need for spending 16 months as a medical student in Dominica. Impossible. And if that isn't tough enough, I am limited to two check-in bags with a combined weight of 70 lbs and a carry-on that can weigh 40 lbs. So I guess that means I won't be bringing my own bowling ball...ba-dum-TSH! Bad joke, sorry. But I was interested to find out there are three different types of things you cannot bring to Dominica: #1. Illegal Drugs. Understandable. #2. Weapons. Ok, but do Swiss Army knives count? #3. Anything camo. What?! Well, there goes half of my wardrobe.

With all kidding aside, it will be difficult to pack my life up into three small bags, but also liberating knowing that once I am packed, there is nothing I can do about it. I've heard through both students and faculty that you want to refrain from shipping things to Dominica because it is a difficult process and your goods are taxed at a high rate once they get there. Dominica does not have all of the amenities that are back here in the United States, but then again you don't need them there. It will be a nice change to live more simply. So what I bring on the plane is all that I'll have; among them are light clothing (cotton t-shirts and shorts), swimsuits, shoes, dress clothes for working in the hospital, laptop, medical supplies (stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, otoscope/ophthalmoscope, dissection kit, scrubs, etc.), electrical converters, flashlight, bug spray, and filtered water bottles.

Hopefully these things, along with a high-powered fan (apparently air-conditioning as well as electricity is pretty expensive in Dominica), will make my room at the Portsmouth Beach Hotel feel somewhat like home. It can't be too different than Siesta Key, right?...or maybe it can! Only time will tell. I will post pictures of where I will be staying once I get there, but if you are curious and want to check it out now, take a look at:

http://www.portsmouthbeachhotel.dm 

Not much has happened since the last time I posted, besides figuring out housing and checking things off my list of what to bring. One thing that I have done since then is registered for classes. I know this may look like gibberish to some of you, but my class schedule for my first semester will look like:

Fundamentals of Biomedical Science I

Musculo Heme and Lymphatic Systems I

Cardio and Respiratory Systems I

Clinical and Competencies Skills I

As of this moment, I am incredibly excited to start this new adventure and the next stage of my life! I am thankful that I will be able to spend Christmas with my family in Orlando before I head to Dominica three days later. So...the next time you will hear from me, I will have landed safely in Dominica and will be able to share some "actual" experiences during my week-long orientation period before school starts on January 7th.

Merry Christmas and have a fantastic New Year!

First Post

Well this is my very first post. Now, most of you reading this already know me, so I can skip all the introductions and get right down to what I will be doing for the next 4 years of my life. I will be attending Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Dominica. To be quite honest, I had never heard of Ross University or Dominica until my senior year at Gustavus. I met a representative for RUSM during a health job fair held at Gustavus and wound up attending a presentation about the school. At this point I knew I wanted to fulfill my life-long dream of becoming a doctor, but I didn't know where. Hearing about Ross and its medical program sounded like the perfect fit for me. Studying to become a doctor with the opportunity to live in the Caribbean was right up my alley. After finding out more about the school and deciding that this is a place that I would want to go, the more I kept hearing about it from other people. Its funny how many random connections to RUSM I have learned of since then: one of my dad's coworker's husband went there and is in his clinical trials, a classmate from middle-school currently goes to Ross and is my inside source of what life will be like when I start, a resident doctor that provided care for my sister during labor attended Ross, including a lot of stories of people knowing people that went there and loved it. As each day passes, the more excited and nervous I get at the same time!

Now, you're probably reading this without really knowing much about Dominica or even where it is. First off, it's Dominica! Not the Dominican Republic. It's located among the chain of islands that make up the Lesser Antilles north of Venezuela. It's a pretty small island, approximately 290 square miles with a population of a little more than 70 thousand people. Secondly, it's not like the Caribbean islands that you typically think of. Dominica prides itself on its unspoiled natural beauty, so it has not been taken over by luxury resorts or suffered from the common effects of high-impact tourism. Instead, Dominica is all about the preservation of nature, which might seem like a weird place to have a medical school, but I think it will actually be a great environment conducive to studying with like-minded people. The country is dominated by lush mountainous rain forests, hundreds of streams, coastlines and coral reefs. Yes I will be bringing a snorkel! I am extremely excited to explore the island in my spare time, look at all of the rare wildlife, and even trek up to the famous hot spring, Boiling Lake. Spare time, you ask? Yes, although it may be limited, I hope to make the most of it. But instead of pretending like I am an expert on an island that I have yet to set foot on, I will direct all of questions to be answered by the almighty Wikipedia on the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominica

Aside from the perks of living in a tropical paradise, I will be there to study. So far, many people have asked me, "What specialty do you want to go into?" As of now, I don't have an answer. I have worked in an ophthalmic surgical center and shadowed extensively at an orthopedic clinic, which makes me lean towards those specialties, but there are so many areas of medicine that I haven't even experienced. That is what is so great about the format of medical school, especially at Ross. There are many students entering the program already knowing what field they want to specialize in, but for those who don't, there are opportunities to experience all types of medicine.

Just as some background on the RUSM program, it is comprised of 10 semesters. I will spend the first 4 semesters in Dominica completing The Foundations of Medicine, which will take approximately 16 months and that every student must complete. Semester 5 will be spent in Miramar, Fl, completing a 3-month introductory course to clinical medicine. Following the semester in Fl, I will sit for Step 1 of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE1). During the remainder of my time at Ross, I will be completing my clinical clerkships at various accredited teaching hospitals around the U.S. There are 48 weeks of required clinical core clerkships including: medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, and family medicine. Following the core clerkships, there are 30 more weeks of elective clerkships. The electives will allow students to spend more time in an area they already love or give them the opportunity to explore areas that they may have an interest in. After all of my clerkships are finished, I will sit for USMLE2 and graduate from RUSM. Pending my GPA and USMLE test scores, I will be accepted into a residency, which usually lasts 2-3 years. Finally, after my residency I will sit for the last of the licensing exams, USMLE3, and be licensed as a medical doctor! Wow, even just writing about what I am about to do in the next 6-7 years is daunting, but I know it will be worth it. 

Currently, I am putting the finishing touches on my enrollment. To be at this point is quite an accomplishment considering everything that I have been through: earning a high collegiate GPA, while trying to create a well-rounded resume as a pre-med student, taking an MCAT course from Kaplan and then taking the MCAT, completing the application process, participating in an admissions interview in Atlanta, and now preparing all of the documentation for immigration. It has been a handful and sometimes even painful. Trust me, I have never had more shots or vials of blood drawn in my life until this process. On top of that, I am in the midst of organizing housing, loans, textbooks/supplies, etc.

Ultimately, I am excited for the adventure that lies ahead of me. I know it will be difficult at times, but with the dedication and determination that I have developed over my lifetime with the influence of my family and friends, I know I will succeed in getting through it. Once again, thank you for taking interest in the adventure that I am about to begin by checking out my blog. Hopefully the posts from here on out will be a little less dry information and more about stories/experiences that are going to happen in the near future.