, In the article you read this time with the title A Final Word, We have prepared this article for you to read and retrieve information therein. Hopefully the contents of postings
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*** Pre-viewing announcement - Just in case you didn't see the last post, I will be ending this blog within the next couple of weeks. The explanation is there, as well as future blogging news. If you are interested, click here to read it, as there there are important instructions on how to stay updated, as there will be no more Facebook updates from this point forward ***
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| And the ex-pat adventure begins, yet again! |
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| The total distance for the move driven |
Residency.
I'm here.
I guess I've been here for just over the better part of a month now, but it hasn't actually felt like "Oh yeah, I've moved" until about now. It makes sense with the upheaval I've experienced in the last few years, hell even the last few months.
And it didn't get easier, as our beloved Zeus man, our more-human-than dog family member passed away from an aggressive spreading of cancer this past week. I'm still processing the fact that he's gone, as is the rest of the family.
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| Rest in peace, fuzzy little luck dragon. |
I left Ontario end of June, and made my way through the (flat flat) US route, taking just over 3 days to get to Prince Albert. Slowly but surely, between retrofitting bolts to making supports for my bed to learning the ways of Walmart shopping cart loonie saving, I've been settling in. I had a few days to get my life sorted before heading to the Resident Boot Camp in Saskatoon before Canada Day. For the most part, there wasn't much in the two days that we didn't already know (or couldn't figure out) but it was good to network a bit and meet some other residents (or to meet up again with friends from electives last summer!) The days went quick enough, and before flying out on my 1 am flight to Ontario for the Canada Day long weekend, I went out for dinner and drinks with another resident I hit it off with (but she will be at a different site for rural family med). It was a lot of fun and a perfect way to kick off the last weekend of freedom!
I didn't sleep on the plane, but I managed to get a nearly-free upgrade for a rental vehicle, allowing my classmate-from-Ireland-outdoor-adventure-buddy Raf to bring his bike up to the cottage. Poor guy, being thrown into the Cottage fray!
It was also my dad's 65th birthday, though it was a little bit different than most years. My middle sister and I were able to come back, but my mom had to stay home due to a health issue with Zeus (who we didn't know had cancer at this point). The rest of the extended family was supposed to come up to celebrate my dad's big day as well, but as the cards fell, it ended up being just my sister and I, Raf, my dad, my aunt and uncle and my cousin Alex. (A huge thank you to my Aunt, Uncle and cousin. It meant a lot to our family you came up to share the weekend and make it more festive and fun for our dad, especially this year)
The weather was a bit fickle but we still got out and about a bit. And we got to enjoy the new dock ... decked out in Red and White. Two nights of fireworks made it one heck of a celebration.
Totally worth flying back for 2.5 days without any sleep.
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| Living the casual Crowe Lake life |
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| Bit of West Kerry |
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| Canada Day sunset |
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| Wall of flags |
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| We even get our guests in the Canada Day spirit |
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| New dock |
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| Crowe Lake fireworks |
And then it was back to reality. Starting to be an adult, again, as a contributing member of the working world. And, to me, actually contributing a little bit to the world, on a personal level.
I really had meant to write this a week or two ago, but I just couldn't sit down to do it. So, after a week of orientation (including a welcome dinner from the program and a BBQ with most of the other residents over the 2 years) and a week of actually working, here I am. I've joined the local Crossfit (love it), I've gone out for patio drinks and board game night, and I've trekked it up to the closest National Park for a day (here are a few pictures from the 15.5 km hike - though I didn't see bison or moose, I saw LOTS of their fresh prints and droppings!)
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| Made it! |
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| Bison-inhabited meadows |
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| Playing with the iPhone 7 portrait feature |
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| More portrait feature experimentation |
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A big cat tracking the horse tracks I was following.
At least it was going in the opposite direction to me?!
I didn't even realize bobcats, lynx and cougars were around here ... |
By the draw of a hat (literally), I became Chief Resident (which really means I do the call scheduling this year, and attend a few meetings, but also gives me a chance to network). I've also started to write my own orders and seeing patients on my own (with a lot of questions for my preceptor). I've even had a patient ask to see me for a follow up on one of my weekly half days in the clinic when I'm on a different block.
I started on my family medicine block, so it has been a nice ease in, and the clinic I'll be working with for the next two years seems right up my alley. It's both exciting and daunting, but taking it one day at a time, and learning a lot already. My first emerge call shift is tomorrow, which will great for learning but I'm understandably still nervous.
It's quite different than medical school, because now - it counts. I feel supported, which is a relief, but also challenged in the best way. It's also different in that the studying is different. It has a different focus. It's not just to pass exams or to learn for X rotation, but it's for keeps. I've come up with a new method of studying which I hope will work out for me. After one week, it's already proved to be very useful, especially as I try to combine it with the daily Field Note feedback sheets we get done for our files.
In some ways, I can't believe I'm here. I still have trouble introducing myself as "Doctor" and I admit, sometimes I still end up using my first time, and then explain my role as a resident. I'm sure it'll become easier, and I'll feel less like I have Imposter Syndrome, but it's all part of the the adjustment, or so I figure!
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| New workplace for this R1 |
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| Disregard the background, face of a resident on her first day |
It's strange to be ending this blog, this massive piece of my adventure, after 4 years of (more or less) consistently writing about the struggles of the unconventional path I took to get here. I still plan on having the conversation about a new medium for residency, but I plan to get settled in a bit before I do that. However, as promised, for those interested, I will keep you in the know. Should a new blog be created, I won't be posting it to Facebook. Hence, the importance of signing up for updates through the instructions. The instructions are found on a previous post (you can get there from the link at the top of this entry).
If you choose not to, that is completely okay - and I hope that you learned something, felt something or heck, even just felt entertained a bit along the way. I tried to keep it honest, and tried to keep it real - the end goal giving a glimpse into the life of a medical student. Heavy on the life bit, and not too much on the student bit.
This is usually the part of the Oscar speech where I'd have a minute to thank people who helped me along the way before the music carries me out.
Unsurprisingly, I wouldn't be able to fit that into a minute. Let alone one post. Four years of support, from around the world, is huge. From family, friends, lost and former acquaintances, message board armies and travel fellows along the way kept me afloat when the going got tough. Or tougher. Or toughest.
The "toughest" at any given time became less tough with the support I knew I could call on when I needed it, even up to 5000 km away.
This is when the time difference came in handy with the insomnia kicked in - that I will miss as well!
There were times were I felt like my little world was crashing down around me, with news about family members, personal-life decisions / consequences / fallouts, and the ever-changing hoops to jump through for my future.
The support came in many ways - messages (both silly and serious), phone calls, texts, meeting me in random cities / towns as I blew through on my busy way somewhere, last minute flights to another country, surprise connections where and when I least expected it, and from strangers that both humbled me and in a way validated what I was pursuing - doing something right in my life, and that it was actually going to count. It also came in not only better than Sheldon's "there there"s when I needed it, but a few kick in the pants "snap out of it"s ... even when I
really didn't want to hear it.
So I thank you for the resilience. The resilience that would have been harder to forge had I only had the experiences I had, but without the people backing me when those experiences challenged my limits. Though I may not have handled everything perfectly, the bottom line is that I learned and adapted ... and the resilience came.
Armed with this resilience, a bit of Irish-inspired life perspective, the feeling that I'm going to be doing something I love and believe in, and a healthy dose of pun-riddled dry humour that will never quit - I start this crazy two year roller-coaster ride called residency.
And this crazy kid can't wait.
Residency, let's be havin' ya.
-- Dr. MP Nosugar
Bonus pictures of the week:
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| Newly built TV stand. |
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| Fancy wine rack |
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| Patriotic decorations |
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| Centre of North America - on my 4 day trip out west |
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| Best care package ever from seestra middle and her man |
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| And people say Air Canada doesn't deliver |
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