Session 333 Emma is Canadian, played D1 basketball in the U.S., and then went to Ross in the Caribbean for medical school. She is now starting her residency in the U.S. She takes us through her journey and shares helpful tips for Canadian students. I found Emma on Instagram with her handle @d1todr. A lot of you are probably thinking about going to the Caribbean. Emma did poorly on the MCAT but did well in the Caribbean. She even matched at a very prestigious residency program in the states. [02:25] Interest in Becoming a Physician Emma went back to medical school at 27. But her interest actually stemmed from her sister having been diagnosed with both rheumatoid arthritis and Grave’s disease. They were on a vacation in Florida and her pills for her rheumatoid arthritis interacted with medication for Grave’s disease. She got so stiff that they had to bring her to the hospital. At that point, she wanted to know why that happened. This was that little seed that got planted onto her at 17. So she took the undergrad courses as premed, majoring in Biology. She was playing D1 basketball at that time and she was told that it wasn’t going to be possible to do both basketball and the necessary science courses. Everyone basically said she wasn’t going to make it. “When the ball stops bouncing one day, what do I have to show for it? I wanted a degree that I was proud of and that I wanted… I fought every single day to do my degree.” [06:03] Shadowing in Canada Volunteering was initially challenging for her during undergrad. So she went to Canada after undergrad and took some years to shadow at a local hospital as well as some volunteering. Especially in Canada, finding some shadowing opportunities can be very, very hard. What she found very effective was to volunteer first. She volunteered at a Queen’s University’s affiliate school in Ontario. So she volunteered at the health program at the hospital’s elder care program, where she was doing physical therapy exercises with elderly patients. Volunteering allows you to meet doctors that come in and that’s when you can make those connections. “Make sure you do volunteering and make those connections first and then the shadowing will happen after.” [08:44] From U.S. to Canada to the Caribbean Emma graduated with honors with a 3.7. She was the first of the players to graduate with a science degree. It was a nice feeling for her to be able to pass on stage and nod at her coaches, letting them know that she did it! However, she knew that applying back home in Canada was going to be tough. Although she did her undergrad in the U.S., she always knew she wanted to go to medical school in Canada with the dream to be an Olympic sports doctor. So she applied for two application cycles but both were unsuccessful. She got tired of waiting so she ultimately looked at the Caribbean route as she didn’t get any interview. The Canadian application is very similar to the application in the U.S., but still it’s different. There’s no rolling admissions in Canada and no application services outside of Ontario. There are six medical schools in Ontario that’s why an application service helps – all six of which are part of the application service. Emma applied everywhere. Out of 17 medical schools in Canada, four are in French. So you’re now only left with 13 options if you’re an English speaker and this just limits you incredibly. And there’s no point applying to those unless you’re a fluent French speaker. [12:43] Canadian and CARS One of the things that always comes up in the Premed Hangout Group is a student getting a 517 and having to take it. They forgot to mention they’re Canadian and their CARS score is only 127. A lot of the programs in Canada only take a certain part of the MCAT. For instance, McMaster University only takes the Verbal and Saskatchewan only takes Biology. So it’s tough to study for these exams since the overall grade doesn’t matter. A lot of the Canadian medical schools don’t even take the MC