Carmen is in her third year as a medical student at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. We found her in Kenora, a rural town of about 15,000 in Northwest Ontario, on an eight-month clinical clerkship.
What was your Question while at Quest?
What biological and social factors foster the spread of infectious disease?
Tell me about life at med school.
I’m finishing an 8-month clinical clerkship in Kenora, Ontario. It’s a town of about 15,000, so we get a lot of hands-on experience throughout the hospital and community, which is quite unique for third year med students.
I love the variety of work and the feeling of community you get in rural family medicine. We are primarily based in family physician practices in the community, but I’ve had a lot of experience in the hospital. I’ve assisted with surgeries in the operating room, delivered babies, worked in the methadone clinic and participated in ride-outs with Ornge Air Paramedics, an emergency helicopter and fixed-wing medical transport service. I’m going into an Emergency Room shift tonight.
Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s program focuses on social determinants of health in northern and rural areas, with special emphasis on Indigenous populations. Growing up in rural BC, I understand the unique healthcare barriers rural populations face, and I want to work to help address them. A host of factors influence the health and wellbeing of every patient. This focus on social health mirrors my Question while at Quest closely!
I’m headed back to Thunder Bay to start fourth year very soon. I’ll work at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre for six months, then travel around Canada for my electives for the next five months. I have a perinatal addictions elective at UBC this spring that I’m very excited for.
How did Quest help you prepare for your life and career?
We have small classes at NOSM—there are 28 students on the Thunder Bay campus—so a huge component of my degree is small-group learning with break-out sessions to discuss topics and investigate themes in healthcare. And we have great accessibility to our professors. It’s very Quest-like!
The written and oral communication skills I learned at Quest have served me immensely with physicians and preceptors. I can see the difference in how equipped I am compared with students coming from larger schools with classes in lecture halls. While I undeniably did not have the science background some of my classmates did when starting medical school, I have been able to catch up quickly because Quest prepared us with the skills and resources to teach ourselves when needed.
If you had one piece of advice for a current Quest student, what would it be?
I know some students might have concerns about getting a non-traditional degree. I’d tell them not to worry and to go for it with confidence! Our Quest education prepares us so well for both the real world and academia. It gives us the soft skills that other universities may not.
What’s next?
I graduate in spring of 2019 and write my Canadian licensing exams. My next step is to apply to rural family medicine programs in Canadian universities across the country for possible residencies. Once I’m done my residency, I’m planning to take specialized surgical training. This will give me an advanced obstetrical care scope of practice and allow me to perform caesarean sections and other gynecological procedures.
Do you have a favourite quote?
It’s not exactly a quote, but the TED Talk “A Doctor’s Touch” by Abraham Verghese had a profound impact on the way I see myself practicing medicine.
