The holiday season wraps up and 2013 begins...
Oh how I have missed spending time with family and being able to fully relax. I wrote the USMLE Step 1 a month ago, received my mark last week ( I PASSED :) ) and then proceeded to sleep 16 hours straight! I didn't realize how anxious and stressed I was until I had finally got the much anticipated email. The studying paid off and I am happy to have started 2013 on such a good note!
I am currently working on a research paper (one of Saba's new requirements before starting clinical rotations) - the only thing standing in the way of me being in the hospital.
Being home is great, seeing family was wonderful but I noticed everyone has the same question for me "what type of doctor do you want to be?". Such a hard question to answer. If you asked me this 2 years ago I would've said one of two things: Surgeon or ophthalmologist. It was an easy answer. Now? not so much. Ophthalmology is ridiculously competitive, and I'm trying to be realistic. Surgery still sounds appealing - except for those dreaded hours and the fact that I would be spending the rest of my life in the hospital. The one thing I realized about myself in the last two years living on Saba was that I love to live a balanced life. I love to be outdoors, to hike, to go diving, to enjoy a nice meal. I love to always be active. I was never happy when I had to study 24/7 and never leave my house. Of course, there is always a trade off and there are times where you need to do it. I was alway more productive after a workout. So to sum up my ramblings... I don't know if the surgery lifestyle would fit with what I know makes me happy. I'm still going to keep an open mind to surgery because I think I will still like it but I think I will also be interested in Obsetrics/gynecology and paediatrics.
My friend found a medical specialty aptitude test from Virginia School of Medicine (click here to try it). It's based off of 130 questions relating to your personality. Below are my top 20 ... I think there was something wrong with the 1st choice. Radiology? me? No thanks, I like being around people. Other than that the choices were interesting :)
Hope everyone had a great christmas and new year celebration! Good luck to those going back/starting Saba! Looking forward to being an active blogger once again with the upcoming excitement of clinical rotations.
Hey, good job on your USMLE score, and I hope you achieve the goals you've set yourself. I enjoy reading your blog as a prospective student myself, and I hope you continue to update it, because its very informative. Good luck on clinicals
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the post and, please, keep on blogging. It has been a source of inspiration and reflection to many readers including our family.
DeleteWe wish you blessed and successful New Year.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! I was wondering how long you have to wait until rotations start?
I heard there was a long wait due to back log.
Thanks
J
Congratulation on your exam! I love your blog <3 I am applying to Saba right now and I would like to hear about some of your reasons for choosing Saba over other foreign schools. Also, now that you have done your two years in Saba, would you recommend other students going there? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteDON'T GO YOU'LL REGRET IT.......AUC OR ST GEORGE
ReplyDeleteIf I have a Godfather who is the Fellowship Director of Glaucoma and also trains ophthalmology residents, do you think I can bypass the competitiveness? I'm not sure how the whole match system works, but I am a smart person and would't just pass my USMLE 1. I haven't directly asked him yet as I have not even applied to medical school, but I am looking to apply to SABA.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to bypassing the competitiveness in the match for residency, check out the official 2014 match results on the saba website. We did very well and landed spots in surgery, neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, anaesthesia, radiology....and quite a few spots back in Canada. It's hard but not impossible.
DeleteWhat was the USMLE Step 1 score average for your Saba class?
ReplyDeleteI would ask what did your score, but I have when get asked that!
Love your blog, because it shows the good side of Saba and not what you read on ValueMD or Studendoc forum...it's medcshcool! of course it;s gonna be hard! great blob\g and congrats on your achieving your goals :)
sorry for the typos! ;)
DeleteThanks for all the comments everyone! Sorry it took so long to reply back. As for the average USMLE step 1 score for saba... its hard to say as I don't really know the scores of many but you can expect to get higher than the national average if you continue your work ethic from saba into 3rd and 4th years!
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