Newest gig

Well I'm not sure if I can call it a gig because I'm not getting paid, but I got the volunteering position I wanted at BC Children's Hospital!

I'm really excited about this opportunity because I have head that BCCH gets a lot of applications and that they have pretty high standards for their volunteers (as high as it can be for volunteering). From what I know about the hospital and about the position also is what is making me excited for it as well. I only really have a rough idea of what a Child Life volunteer does, but aside from the other reasons, I'm accepting it because the position has patient contact, which is really a must for my application, as I need to do everything possible to make up for my low grades from the past.

I don't want to get too excited about the position before I start...oh but I might as well - this seems like a dream position for me. I mean it's at BC Children's Hospital, which I'm pretty sure is a renowned children's hospital, at least in North America, I get experience on all of the wards, it's with kids, and it has patient interaction. I mean what else could I ask for. Even when I was walking from the front of the hospital to the ER, I got this feeling like it is such a special place and basically the place to be. I need to do an excellent job at BCCH and I'm going to treat it like a job and wear some dressy clothes. Nothing too crazy just a dress shirt and dark khaki pants and dress shoes. I think I should dress well also because I'm a mature student and it can be pretty easy to assume that if you've been in undergrad for 6 plus years then you are lazy or not very bright or something else negative. I just had a rough start - a rough start that unfortunately ended up lasting about 4 years. But I'm in a groove now and I'm not going to be looking back.

Also the interviewer really liked me. So pretty early on in the interview, I had a feeling I would get the position I wanted. She was really impressed with all of the experiences I've had, so it felt good to get some acknowledgement on that. I really don't consider my experiences that impressive though. I probably have more patient contact than the average  med school applicant, but my application lacks in other areas.

I have a little PSA for all of you pre-med volunteers out there. I think it is important that you treat all of your volunteer positions like a job. If you don't enjoy some aspect of it, you shouldn't be doing it. I say "some aspect" because some volunteer jobs are very intense and demanding and maybe the only enjoyable part is seeing the outcome or what not. But the point is you need to believe in what you are doing. If you are folding gowns in a hospital, then fold those gowns like nobody's business! I feel like some hospital volunteers become apathetic because they get discouraged that they are doing "minimal" roles. But the hospitals usually need those roles so they can function effectively. It is all generally a good learning experience for healthcare in one way or another.
But the reason you need to treat your volunteer positions like a job is because you need to get that professional experience. I mean volunteering is so important for so many applicants and it's because it enriches your application and makes you a more well-rounded person. Dealing with patients can be extremely tough ( I have clinical volunteer experience at hospitals but also experience as a paid caregiver for a company) and all volunteers should get a feel of what that's like. Most of the applicants for medicine have the knowledge side of things down (good grades, maybe good MCAT), but I feel like so many people out there neglect their interactive people skills. This is so important for medicine and for life! The ability to positively interact and think quickly on your feet are things that are so valued anywhere you go, and not to mention just really impressive. Yes I've failed many courses and had poor academics for a long time. But I have pretty damn good people skills. But hey you can take my PSA with a grain of salt if you'd like, but I think it makes too much sense not too. And deep down even us volunteers who are checking the clock every 5 minutes know that treating your volunteer roles like a job really is the right thing to do :P

Interview at BC Children's Hospital

Tomorrow morning at 10:30am pacific time I have an interview at BC Children's Hospital. I am really excited about this as I think BC Children's has quite high standards. The children's hospital I volunteered with in Victoria BC had quite high standards as well, so I think it is kind of the norm for those types of facilities. I also heard it can take up to 10 months to be placed at BC Children's Hospital too, so I'm glad they got to me so quickly.

I loved going to the children's hospital in Victoria. A children's hospital is such a special place. The circumstances of a sick child can be devastating, and I'd argue that it can feel more devastating than if someone above the early adult age gets critically sick. So because of this, this stakes can feel a lot higher at a children's hospital.


I'm applying to be a Child Life volunteer. I don't know too much about the position, but it sounds amazing.


I will give updates on how the interview went tomorrow. Here's hoping I can make a good impression! (knocks on wood)

Accepted into UBC Interdisciplinary Studies

So I just got confirmation that I have been accepted into the program I applied for.

For my program, I have to have a primary category of classes, a secondary category of classes, and a concentration within my primary category. So an example would be a primary category of humanities with a concentration in history and a secondary category of social science. There are credit requirements for each of these requirements.

My official degree is a UBC Bachelor of Arts, major in Interdisciplinary Studies, with a concentration in Biomedical Science. And the overall theme of the program is human health. I'm really happy and really relieved. I was also surprised that I got confirmation today, with it not only being a weekend, but also a holiday. When I checked earlier today, I hadn't heard back yet, but when I checked a couple hours later, I found out I got in. Someone must've been working from home over the weekend.

I really do believe that this program is better for me than the Bachelor of Kinesiology. Even though I would've been able to to apply for kinesiology jobs with a kinesiology degree, I wouldn't have been passionate about the majority of my courses. I will be passionate about the majority of my current courses though. Also, my current program is going to challenge me to my absolute limits, and I am going to learn about the areas of science and social science that I'm really interested in. I also believe my current degree is more relevant to medicine, which is kind of important to me. My gut is telling me to do Interdisciplinary Studies. I feel much better about doing a human health/biomedical science degree than a kinesiology degree. So now I am going to be sticking with my gut. Even if this degree takes me another 3 years or more.

UBC Interdisciplinary Studies BA

This morning I submitted my UBC Interdisciplinary Studies application. Interdisciplinary Studies is a major program within the bachelor of arts. I got readmitted to the UBC Bachelor of arts program yesterday.

I furiously did research on UBC science courses and their prerequisites last night so that I could meet the chair of the Interdisciplinary Studies department at his office hours this morning to go over my proposal for the program. The application consists of choosing your focus areas of study along with the core courses of each area, and also writing a short 300 word response on the reasons for choosing the focus areas that you selected, along with information about goals, interests etc.

Since I had to visit the chair of the program in person, I wanted to make a good impression on the person who is helping to decide my future, so I dressed up. Not a suit, not even a tie, but just a checkered dress shirt with dressy dark khakis and dress shoes.

I'm not sure what it was, but I left a good impression on him for whatever reason. He said my proposal was excellent and very well thought out. I think it's pretty common to consult the chair with an outline and then be told to rework it. Well he accepted mine and said no revision was necessary. We also talked quite a bit, just about random stuff. Maybe he was in a good mood because of the long weekend. Funny thing is, as I approached his door, he was walking out of his office. He said he was leaving office hours early because of a doctors appointment (kind of ironic), but he said I can come in for a few minutes to discuss my application. It wasn't rushed, and he took his time to go over any concerns and also how I can maximize my plan and my remaining time at UBC. I just hope I didn't make him late for his doctor's appointment.

I do have a few concerns of my own, particularly that I have selected many physiology courses in my application to Interdisciplinary studies, which I will have to complete. But it can be a bit tough to get into physiology courses at UBC (I spoke with the UBC science advising office this morning as well, who told me that), so I'm a bit worried about that. It may take a few semesters to get into the courses I want to take. I could potentially rework my application with courses that I'm actually able to get into and then graduate early, but I wouldn't be taking my most preferred courses. Plus I don't actually need to graduate to get into UBC medicine, but it would be preferred. Right now, I'm leaning towards sticking to my original application.

It's all a bit fuzzy right now because I haven't worked out my schedule for my degree. I haven't even worked out my schedule for the September semester. If I do get admitted to the Interdisciplinary Studies major, the chair told me that I would hear back potentially on Monday. I'll probably be too anxious to wait until then to start course planning, so I'll start that. But first, I need to get some lunch.