So I registered in 3 courses over the summer at UBC - in addition to the two online courses I was already in. Add in that I've had a lot of errands and a few events I've had to attend. All in all, it's made for a super busy last two weeks (when the term started), and I don't think it's going to stop.
For my classes, there is bad news and good news. Bad news is 1) that I hate my bio class and 2) I got under 50 percent on my first genetics quiz. Good news is 1) I love everything about my biopsych class and 2) I have several quizzes in my bio class, and we drop the worst mark, so my aforementioned quiz may not count for marks.
A lot of extremes here. For bio, I don't like the prof, I don't like the people I sit with, and I don't enjoy the content. For biopsych, I love the prof, the people I sit with are awesome and have become my friends, and the content is by far the most fascinating stuff I have ever learned.
I was smart enough to get into UBC but I really have to up my game. In addition to medical school, I wanted to win some awards and scholarships at UBC, and I can't do that with an average under 90%. I've been busy, but there is still a ways to go. I know I have to do more than just survive the bio class, that is not the right approach. There are aspects that fascinate me like the history and the problem solving, and if I get my foot in the door that way, then maybe I can start immersing myself in the material some more. I find when I immerse myself in a topic, then the marks usually follow.
I'll post more about my biopsych class and why it is so amazing in the future. For now, I have another quiz in bio on Monday so I should really go study.
Friday, 22 May 2015
Saturday, 16 May 2015
Canadian Med School classes of 2018/2019
I didn't apply to med school this cycle, but I believe acceptances for most Canadian medical schools are out now, so I just wanted to say congrats to all of the new med school students across the country! Also an extra special congratulations to Kay from http://premedpostmom.blogspot.ca/ (also known as Birdy on http://forums.premed101.com/). She was accepted into McMaster Medicine this past week and her blog is the inspiration for mine, (if you can't tell from the plagiarism already).
When I found her blog, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world how she documented all of her highs and lows, emotions, reactions,hard work, fun times, and great moments and everything else on this great journey that all of us premeds are on to try to get into medicine. I also became hooked to her blog and went back and read every post. I never knew very many premeds, and it was really cool to be on someone else's journey with them, and that is why I wanted to share my own journey with everyone else. If you read my blog, definitely check out her blog! She has a huge following and for good reasons, she is a great person and will be a great medical school student and an awesome doctor. Congrats Kay!
When I found her blog, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world how she documented all of her highs and lows, emotions, reactions,hard work, fun times, and great moments and everything else on this great journey that all of us premeds are on to try to get into medicine. I also became hooked to her blog and went back and read every post. I never knew very many premeds, and it was really cool to be on someone else's journey with them, and that is why I wanted to share my own journey with everyone else. If you read my blog, definitely check out her blog! She has a huge following and for good reasons, she is a great person and will be a great medical school student and an awesome doctor. Congrats Kay!
Sunday, 3 May 2015
Maybe the best $203 I ever spent?
I just ordered the ABC TV medical documentaries Hopkins, Boston Med, and NY Med 1 and 2 off of the ABC News store online. I had found all of the shows on Youtube about a year ago, but today I found out I could order them online, so I decided to for a few reasons. The first is that I was concerned that the Youtube videos could get removed due to copyright infringement at any time, as it is not ABC that posted the videos. Second, is that the quality on the DVDs is going to be way better than the Youtube videos. Third, is that there is a lot of super interesting bonus material for the Hopkins DVD. So all in all, I was really happy that I found out I could order it officially online, and now I'm really excited to watch all of these shows! I bet I'm going to like all of these shows, but I heard NY Med is quite critically acclaimed. Although, I'm not sure if any of the other shows are critically acclaimed either though.
My must-watch list doesn't just stop at TV medical documentaries, as I also wanted to watch Grey's Anatomy, ER (George Clooney version), House and Scrubs. I've watched about half of House and it is one of my favorite shows, if not my favorite. I also started watching Grey's Anatomy, but I'm only on season two, and I think it's okay so far. I haven't started ER or Scrubs yet.
Last year I decided I would watch all of the medical documentaries, along with Emergency Room: Life and Death at VGH, sometime before I start medical school. I think an ideal time would be between my acceptance and two weeks before classes start, so basically between May-August of the year I get accepted. Another possibility is that I watch them between the time that I submit my application and my interview or my acceptance, so basically between August-February or August-May of the year that I am applying. Haven't totally decided which route I'm going to take, but it might be good interview prep to be exposed to real medical scenarios in the shows before I do my interview (MMI). But I'm really excited to watch these shows nonetheless! The thing is that, I'm hoping I receive the shipment without any trouble, because I had them ordered to my mom's house, and I'm just concerned if they ask someone to sign for the package but no one is home. I know they leave a slip on the door that there is a package, but I'm just hoping that they don't forget or if it gets blown away by the wind or if someone takes it. All pretty unlikely, but still I tend to worry about these things. I suppose worst case scenario, I just check with the post office in a few weeks.
Also, as an update to my school work, I've gone through 4/6 modules in my chemistry course. I have two remaining but I have a decent background on both topics. Although I won't know how far in depth the course will go into the remaining topics until I go through them all, I'm pretty confident in my ability to do well in this course just because I've had exposure to most of the course before I even started it. I've only tried some calculations so far, as I've mostly been wanting to read through all of the modules first to refresh my familiarity, then do the practice questions, then the assignments, and then the final. I did do quite a few gas law calculations though. There are only 6 assignments, but there are a decent amount of practice questions. Though, I was kind of disappointed that there wasn't more practice questions, just because I know that with math and chemistry courses, practice makes perfect, at least in my experience. Although, I've only completed 1 university course in either math or chemistry, so most of my experience is from high school. I don't think the course will take me too long to complete, but I do want to be sure I have enough time to be ready for the final, because the rules for all TRU OL courses is, if you don't pass the final, you don't pass the course. Kind of intimidating but at least it forces you to prepare, even if it is in fear.
Here is the link for anyone else interested in buying some or all of these DVDs: http://abcnewsstore.go.com/DVDList.aspx
My must-watch list doesn't just stop at TV medical documentaries, as I also wanted to watch Grey's Anatomy, ER (George Clooney version), House and Scrubs. I've watched about half of House and it is one of my favorite shows, if not my favorite. I also started watching Grey's Anatomy, but I'm only on season two, and I think it's okay so far. I haven't started ER or Scrubs yet.
Last year I decided I would watch all of the medical documentaries, along with Emergency Room: Life and Death at VGH, sometime before I start medical school. I think an ideal time would be between my acceptance and two weeks before classes start, so basically between May-August of the year I get accepted. Another possibility is that I watch them between the time that I submit my application and my interview or my acceptance, so basically between August-February or August-May of the year that I am applying. Haven't totally decided which route I'm going to take, but it might be good interview prep to be exposed to real medical scenarios in the shows before I do my interview (MMI). But I'm really excited to watch these shows nonetheless! The thing is that, I'm hoping I receive the shipment without any trouble, because I had them ordered to my mom's house, and I'm just concerned if they ask someone to sign for the package but no one is home. I know they leave a slip on the door that there is a package, but I'm just hoping that they don't forget or if it gets blown away by the wind or if someone takes it. All pretty unlikely, but still I tend to worry about these things. I suppose worst case scenario, I just check with the post office in a few weeks.
Also, as an update to my school work, I've gone through 4/6 modules in my chemistry course. I have two remaining but I have a decent background on both topics. Although I won't know how far in depth the course will go into the remaining topics until I go through them all, I'm pretty confident in my ability to do well in this course just because I've had exposure to most of the course before I even started it. I've only tried some calculations so far, as I've mostly been wanting to read through all of the modules first to refresh my familiarity, then do the practice questions, then the assignments, and then the final. I did do quite a few gas law calculations though. There are only 6 assignments, but there are a decent amount of practice questions. Though, I was kind of disappointed that there wasn't more practice questions, just because I know that with math and chemistry courses, practice makes perfect, at least in my experience. Although, I've only completed 1 university course in either math or chemistry, so most of my experience is from high school. I don't think the course will take me too long to complete, but I do want to be sure I have enough time to be ready for the final, because the rules for all TRU OL courses is, if you don't pass the final, you don't pass the course. Kind of intimidating but at least it forces you to prepare, even if it is in fear.
Here is the link for anyone else interested in buying some or all of these DVDs: http://abcnewsstore.go.com/DVDList.aspx
Wednesday, 22 April 2015
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
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
Tuesday, 21 April 2015
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)
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)
Sunday, 5 April 2015
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.
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.
Thursday, 2 April 2015
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.
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.
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