3 is better than 2

Woke up this morning, still feeling hellish from the apparent TB* that I caught before coming home from Ireland.

It was my usual routine of

1. regain consciousness
2. realize where I am on the planet
3. worry about having a job on July 1st
4. hit 'refresh' on my phone to see if any emails have come through.

BAAAAAZIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGG!!!

Let me tell you, after all the rejection emails I received when applying to medical school in Canada, seeing the subject heading "Invitation for Interview" is a sweetness I can't even describe.

Without taming the Medusa-like mane, or smoothing out the red flannel pajamas, or brushing my teeth, I walked up the stairs into my sister's kitchen, phone held high in the air. My brother in law saw the rising iphone and said,

"Ooooooohhhhh!!!! I THINK WE'VE GOT ANOTHER INTERVIEW!!!!!!"

Cue familial happy dance.

--
UPDATE: Just received 2 rejection letters. Sigh. Keeping me honest, I suppose.

*I didn't actually catch TB. I just have a horrendous respiratory tract infection which I cannot seem to shake, though no night sweats, weight loss, or hemoptysis (for the record). 

Inside Job

Yesterday I had the chance to finally meet Dr. Brian Goldman. It was quite the adventure, getting there and away. But, how many times do you get to to eat seared tuna with one of your medical heroes?

And how many times do you get to be inside CBC Toronto??

The answer to both is: not very many.

It was starting to unfold like a 1993 comedy. Of course, there was the tornado warning west of Ottawa just a few hours before my flight. Then the flight was delayed. Then just as we were about to taxi for takeoff they grounded the plane on the tarmac for an hour because of a major thunderstorm warning in Toronto. Followed by my arrival in a 31 degree city and a broken down shuttle bus.

Eventually I arrived at the hotel, which happened to be hosting a massive Make-Up-Sold-in-Houses convention. The scene was of drunk middle aged women smoking out front, in completely over the top prom dresses with sashes, proclaiming their yearly sales. Yes, yes I did also see a tiara.

The next morning I arrived at the CBC building in downtown Toronto and had to keep my credit card far far away from the schwag store (I'll take two coffee mugs, one aviator bag, an old-school CBC logo t-shirt and a scarf, thanks). By the way, CBC, if you're reading this I wear medium and I will shamelessly promote you forever on this blog...CBC.....CBC.......CBC.....!

Brian and I did manage to get a lot of work done despite my urges to photograph everything from the security guards to the Anna Maria Tremonti elevator. What do I need to do from this moment forward to someday have an elevator with my face on it?! Seriously. CBC radio is the soundtrack of my life. My earliest memories often involve long car rides with Peter Gzowski's gravelly voice or the As It Happens theme song. 

I was in my Mecca. But I think I behaved. I didn't leave any little Jian Ghomeshi action figures lying around, collect cigarette butts that could have been touched by Peter Mansbridge, or steal pencils off Elanor Wachtels desk. 

I did, however, manage to miss my flight back to Ottawa and ended up having to take the train. All well worth it. Brian and I have worked together on pieces for WCBA before but it was great to finally meet him. Bottom line, if you miss a plane because you're having lunch with a CBC radio host, there really is nothing to complain about.

I was pleased though, to arrive back at Dan and Lisa's for an arctic char feast, and relieved that the final leg of my journey did not involve riding in the back of a pick up truck with migrant workers and hillbillies. 

Though, it would have made a good story, I suppose...

Ding! Ding! Round Two.

Today I bought:

-Toronto Notes, 2011. Yes. All 1400 pages. I think it's officially in the lead as most expensive (135 Euro) and heaviest textbook of my collection. Yet it is light compared to the weight of worry which is post graduate training....dun....dun....dunnnnnn. It is basically the study guide for our Canadian boards, known as the "EE"'s because there are too many letters ahead of that, so even the acronym gets shortened.

I've held off until now because I thought it was a bit much in every sense of the word.  But, I've realised that if I don't get 99% on the EE's I'll either be staying in Ireland to train or working as an RN in Canada, with M.D. after my name. And almost half a mil of debt. Sub-awesome. So the Toronto Notes are now becoming my new BFF.

It's true though. The fourth years in my program have just found out their Canadian interview offers and two (of 13 Canadians applying to get back) didn't even get an interview. Nada. The shopping spree continues...

I also bought the kindle version of First Aid Cases for Step 2. Mostly just as a way to structure some of my studying using cases instead of just reams of multiple choice questions. Which brings me to my next purchase...

Access to the Canadian MCCEE's Question bank for the next 9 months.

And then I accidentally bought USMLE Secrets For Step 1 for my ipad kindle. Yeah. I already have written step one. I meant to buy step 2. [Hits head on self-assembled desk.]

After reading dozens of reviews on step 2 study guides I opted for Step Up to Step 2.  It will also be arriving shortly via the postman.

Then I bought some pens. You know the ones. Because there is a lot of writing looming on the horizon, and that writing is going to be done nicely in blue-black 0.3mm point style, dammit. We have the technology, people.

It's only a short matter of time until I also cave on a USMLE q-bank but I just can't decide on USMLE-World or Kaplan. Kaplan is cheaper (wow, I can't believe I just typed that phrase!) but everyone seems to say U-World is tougher and prepares you better. In the same way getting hit repeatedly with a hammer makes getting hit with a hockey stick almost seem gentle.

I need to give my visa some time to stop shaking before I use it again. It was an expensive day. I am not even allowing myself a mental tally at this stage.

As always, any thoughts, experiences, frustrations, or treasured methods of study for the EE's or step 2 welcome.

And so, round two of studying for a life-and-career-path-altering exam begins!! Ding! Ding!

Interview Post-Mortem

Just taking a few minutes to enjoy a hot beverage from my favorite world-dominating coffee distributor while I wait for my connecting flight...reflecting on the interview and the last couple of days.

I think, overall that the interview(s) went well. The group interview was, as suspected, somewhat frustrating and harrowing. We arrived first thing in the morning and were divided into groups of eight, assigned an evaluator (mine was the Dean of Medicine from the school) and sent off with a scenario. We were told to spend some time reviewing it and 'solving' the problem on our own and then we were to discuss our solution with the group and come up with a single, unified, answer.

I am not going to give away the problem on the blog as I don't really think the Uni would appreciate it, and I would hate to give someone else an unfair advantage (because I am sure that my readership includes at least dozens of pre-meds that will be interviewing for this school-ha!).

When the discussion began it was as I predicted a bit of a gong show--people interrupting others, cutting applicants off mid-sentence, talking loudly over others...there was no bloodshed but a few claws definitely were bared. I sat back and listened for a while, watching the fur fly. Then realised that if I didn't start doing the same the group part would be over and I would have appeared like a shy wall flower to the Dean. Not good. So I jumped in. It was pretty stressful. Tough to be under the gun, trying to make yourself look good without strutting, while under a major time limitation (about 20 mins).

Finally it was over. I had 3 hours until my classic interview. Scampered back up to my hotel room, had lunch, then went and rode the bike in the gym downstairs for half an hour to settle my nerves. Re-ironed my suit. I think that was the best thing I could have done--the biking I mean, not the ironing.

I was interviewed by the Dean and a gastroenterology prof from one of our Canadian schools. It was only about 25 mins long and the conversation was actually pretty fun! I had done TONS of completely unnecessary prep--I could tell you all kinds of facts about everything from the rugby team to the major industries in the city...how long the school's been around, how the curriculum is organized, how many hours a day we are in class...Both of my interviewers were very congenial and pleasant. We chatted about my work in the North, my criticisms of problem based learning, my music background, and why I was choosing to make the leap from nursing to medicine. I felt I represented myself well and if I am not offered admission I can be comfortable with the belief that it wasn't because I choked during the interview.

So now I wait and try to decide what to do if offered a seat in Ireland.

I hit 'refresh' on my email inbox every 7 minutes or so (the offer comes out this week).

And wait.

And in the meantime give away most of my earthly possessions. Anyone want a full set of Paderno pots?

Eek! Interview Friday!

Just taking a quick procrastination break to say that I am cramming (I know, you'd think I'd have learned by now) for my Irish med school interview which is in two days.

The morning is a group interview which is totally stressing me out as I have no frame of reference for such an endeavor and the afternoon is for classic interviews. How to come across as a well rounded, smart, interesting, compassionate professional instead of a ADD, arrogant, conceited, emotionally unstable, domineering Captain of the Universe?

It shall be a fine line.

There isn't much I can find about group interviews online which is kind of frustrating...so I am prepping as I would for a classic and hope I don't fall flat on my face and say something inane like "because I want to help people" when they ask why I want to be a doctor.

Eeek! I am stressing.

On the plus side, my suit pants look better now that I've dropped the too-much-dahl-in-India poundage.

Look out world, I am on my way in baggy trousers!