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.