To start off, say a little about yourself, your interests, undergraduate degree and what you are doing now. “I’m from Fredericton, New Brunswick, and I completed my undergraduate degree at UNB in 2019 obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Biology, and a minor in Mathematics. I spend my free time at the gym, playing guitar, and obsessing over fantasy football! Currently, I’m a first year medical student at Dalhousie University with an interest in Emergency Medicine.”
What do you wish you had done to prepare for medical school? “My advice to anyone interested in applying is look into things early so you can plan ahead. There’s a lot to the admissions process and if you do indeed choose to apply, knowing what’s expected of you ahead of time will make a world of difference.
Regarding things I wish I had done to prepare; I think I would have to say diversify my courses. In my undergraduate degree I took classes mostly related to my degree. While science is a big aspect of medical education, it’s certainly not the only. You’ll take classes to learn about law, ethics, public health policy, etc. and I think it’s important to be comfortable learning about multiple subjects at once, rather than sticking to one.”
What made you decide to go to medical school? “I never had a “breakthrough” moment, but overtime I began to see medicine as a collation of my interests. After having my knee operated on, I became fascinated with science, which ended up pushing me to pursue a degree in it. Throughout my undergrad I started to learn that one of my greatest passions in life was helping others achieve their goals. After spending some time volunteering in the healthcare field, I saw my values and interests aligned directly with the role of a physician. The opportunity to work with others, advocate for community needs, become a life-long learner and making a difference in the lives of others were all things that drew me down this career path.”
What are your best survival tips for undergrad to succeed? “I was bad with procrastinating and I would often only study for an exam when I needed to. One thing I find helpful to combat this is to review small amounts of material well ahead of time. It doesn’t have to be anything major! Even reviewing half of a lecture a day will save you the effort of needing to re-learn older material closer to the exam.
School is busy, and on top of extracurriculars you may struggle to find time to enjoy yourself and relax. Every day, I try to give myself one thing to look forward to. For me this could be going to the gym, watching a football game, or catching up with a friend. Keeping one thing to look forward to each day kept me happy, motivated and (sort of) stress free!
Don’t engage in activities simply because “they would look good on a resume” or you think a program or future program would think highly of them. Doing so is a quick road to feeling burnout. The more passionate you are about an experience, the more you’ll get out of it, and that’s really what counts.
Believe in yourself! Your mentality really does impact the outcome. For example, if you don’t believe you’ll do well in a class your actions will follow those thoughts, and you will not set yourself up for success. If you keep a positive outlook, your actions will follow accordingly and WILL set you up for success. This goes well behind the walls of the classroom.”
How did you prepare for the interview process? “First things first, different schools have different styled interviews. It’s important to acquaint yourself with them, and then prepare accordingly! I started by reading about medical ethics and applying them to real-world problems. The next step was staying up to date with current topics in medicine, and understanding some of the issues the Canadian Healthcare System is currently facing. The final step is to do timed practice! There are lots of resources for these online, and no matter the interview format, I highly recommend practicing traditional interview questions as well.”
How did being a member of the ASRJ impact the trajectory of your academic career? “The ASRJ exposed me to countless opportunities in which I could explore my interests, and really helped solidify my decision to pursue medicine. The ASRJ also provided me with a support system full of like-minded students I could rely on for advice and share ideas with. The ASRJ has one simple mission: help students access the resources necessary to achieve their goals. No matter if you are team member, or just browsing the ASRJ website, I believe the ASRJ has something to offer.“
Daniel can be reached at Daniel.Hanscom@dal.ca for further questions.