So, I Am Moving to a Tropical Island for Medical School...What Should I Bring?
- Hesham Hassan, M.Sc.
- Jul 17, 2017
- 12 min read
Moving to Dominica yielded more questions and anxiety everyday closer to the actual move date. And this was one area where the only way to know what my family needed was to live the experience. We shipped 7 barrels and brought 7 checked bags (my mother-in-law sent an eighth barrel halfway through the semester when we realized what we actually needed and couldn't get on island). Keep in mind my boys were 3 years old and 6 months old the day we left for the island so we wanted to be sure we had everything. We did end up bringing way too much, and I should have brought enough to last me as though I were going on a two-week vacation in terms of clothing. Alas, we brought everything practically and still had a storage unit back home. Do not bring keepsakes that might get broken or you want permanently as you never know what will get lost en route. I will break this up with a section for the student and a section for the family.
STUDENT NEEDS
School supplies: Bring what is on your supply list. You are starting medical school and should not skip out on supplies as a way to cut corners. If you do need to be frugal because you are financially limited then buy the cheapest items possible. If you can hear heart sounds with the basic most stethoscope, you will be better able to hear heart sounds under more extreme conditions...and switching later in your medical career to a better stethoscope will feel like switching to a luxury car. Buy a cheap ophthalmoscope and find a friend with the top-of-the-line model to practice with because you will find someone who wanted to buy the best one regardless of price. You should also bring a watch with a second hand for checking pulses and rates.
Think about what you need in order to study or take notes. You will get a print allowance through the school, but you might want to bring your own notebooks, pens, 2 non-mechanical pencils for the three anatomy lab practicals, color pencils, flashcards, highlighters, etc. Everyone is different. I personally brought everything you might find at an office supply store (including a hole puncher, ha!) but you might find that you do not need as much as you think. I ended up being an electronic studier and really only needed writing supplies for annotating my First Aid book throughout the semesters (see my post on preparing for Step One for more details). Once you can envision how you will study or prepare study products then you can prepare for what you need to bring to the island.
Home comforts: bring things to put in your apartment that make you feel like you're close to home. Whether it be family photos or familiar keepsakes that you can look at and smile occasionally when you are feeling home sick. 6 weeks into the semester you will get homesick as most people do as first semester settles in and the reality of medical school in a foreign country hits hard. Go to the counseling center and it just might save your sanity.
If there is a particular food that you cannot go without, then bring it. That theme goes for anything you typically would expect to go to a big-box store or specialty store to buy because you cannot predict what can be found on island. And bring extra of it because chances are if you love it then other students might buy it off of you too if you really do bring too much. For example, one student went home every break and brought back many, many pounds of ground Starbucks coffee and you better believe that I was quick to buy as many off of her for 50 EC a piece to get me through the semester.
I stayed on island all 16 months because flying a family back and forth for break is expensive and the difficulty in travel made it stressful to consider. I am glad I spent my breaks in Dominica because you get to enjoy the island and it is a much quieter and serene place when the students go home for breaks and holidays. So, keep this in mind that if you plan to go home at the end of first semester then use that to bring back what you feel like you forgot to bring. Or if you need to bring more of a specific product that you should not bring 16 months worth of that item if you are going home.
Bedding: I brought my pillow from home and I highly recommend it. Most beds are full-sized or twin sized, and our place had a queen-sized bed. Ask your landlord and bring sheets if you like comfort. You do not need a comforter, but a light blanket or quilt might be nice to have. The bedding in Dominica tended to be itchy and uncomfortable but many students brave it and get used to it.
Clothing: It is always hot and you will sweat walking from home to campus so keep this in mind.
White coat is provided at Check-In.
Bring two business professional outfits. You do not dress as often as you might think so two outfits will suffice I think.
Green scrubs and blue scrubs - I only brought one set of each but I wish I would have brought two sets of blue especially by the time fourth semester came. You'll only use the green scrubs your first two semesters unless you become an anatomy TA.
Sandals, flip-flops, tennis shoes, dress shoes - I went through three pairs of flip-flops in the 16 months and the Merrill Flip-flops I paid more for are the ones that lasted the longest and provided the most comfort. See my comment above about it always being hot. The tennis shoes were for the gym. Dress shoes for the professional dress days. I went with black dress shoes from Walmart (the Dr. Scholls brand): they were comfortable and could be worn on scrub days too.
Shorts, shorts, shorts - gym shorts, walking shorts, comfortable shorts, swim shorts...you will likely wear a lot of shorts.
Shirts - keep this one to a minimum when bringing casual shirts. The campus clubs have many shirts that you get with membership or can buy for a decent price and you are going to want shirts with the school's logo on it. I ended up bringing back many, many RUSM shirts (30 to be exact and I ended up using 25 to make a t-shirt quilt).
Socks and undergarments - whatever you are used to but I know some friends who specifically brought more breathable undergarments especially if you are worried about chaffing with the sweat and the heat.
Hygiene - You can get the deodorant you likely use at Uncles. Same with many different shampoos and body washes as guys are usually easier to please in that area (although they will be more expensive). If you like something specific, bring it. I also recommend a soft cologne if that's what you're into but stay away from heavy scents as these can trigger asthma in patients and you can start getting used to not having it now. For your mouth, toothbrush and toothpaste should be brought with you but you can find mouthwash on island. It might even be what you're used to from back home if you go to Uncles or IGA as they both have a selection of mouthwash....usually.
Electronics: This gets it's own section because I am an electronics lover and used electronics primarily to study. I am glad I brought my iPhone (the line was through AT&T and I suspended it for 16 months). I never used any app other than Facebook messenger or FaceTime to call home. Wifi is everywhere you go around campus, and you will likely have limited times without wifi so you will get used to it. If you have a waterproof smart phone, you might have more fun on the beach or various excursions. Bring a few extra charging cords.
I also brought my Fitbit because you will reign champ in step goals with as much walking as you do on the island. My laptop and iPad were both instrumental in studying. The Apple pencil/iPad Pro did not release until after I started, but I would have definitely used that in the basic sciences since I annotated on my iPad most of the time. The nice thing about Apple products is they automatically convert electricity between the 220 or 110 (and I never really am sure which is where).
You can buy transformers and converters on island (and should if your apartment does not come with them and an upper semester student isn't selling one on the Facebook Craigslist page).
I did bring some small appliances like a coffee maker, toaster, hot water kettle (which I highly recommend!!!), and office lamp (which I still use and loved because I studied at home a lot), and other small electronic things. Most of these things were extra and I didn't need to bring them. The desk lamp was great but you prepay electricity so go study on campus and save money. Buy a coffee maker from another student if that's your thing or bring one from home but keep in mind that you will likely need a converter if your apartment is wired for 220v. I also recommend a permanent coffee filter to cut back on waste and not have to think about finding filters. I had to study at home because reduced distractions but most people find a spot on campus and love it, plus that is where the coffee was. I did not like Dominican coffee but they do produce it so you will be taxed by customs more for items that are exported already by the country...bury them deep in your barrel basically. If you have kids, put there things in the top part of the barrel and diapers will basically get you barrel prices cheaply through customs.
FAMILY NEEDS
My family had needs to consider too and I think I was better at packing for the kids than for myself honestly. Kids do not need as much as we think, but with every doomsday scenario thinking you will likely over pack for them as well. Eric was 3 years old and Ethan was 6 months when we moved and this is what we brought for them:
A year supply of diapers that we vacuum sealed. This helped prevent mold from growing on the diapers, and we brought a brand we were used to using. The island has a limited selection of diapers and they are three times the price of what you'll find in the states (or Canada, eh?).
We calculated 10 diapers a day and brought expected sized for as he grew. If you're unsure how long your child will be in a certain size, then size three and four seems to be the most used size for our kids. It is always easier to use a larger diaper than it is a small one for anyone who has experienced blow outs....Also, bring diaper rash cream because diaper rashes will happen more with the heat and the diapers. I hear cloth diapers work better against this (and you won't have to bring a year supply of diapers but it's up to you and your partner). Wipes we also brought a lot of but you can typically find those on the island but at a higher cost. A good rule of thumb is if you need it for a baby it will be expensive on island.
Formula. Again, you can find formula on the island but it is not a brand you will have seen likely and who knows really what is in it. We brought enough to last us for six months which lasted about five and a half, and then he was at an age where we transitioned him from formula to table food. Fresh foods on the island were perfect in transitioning our little one as bananas were pretty much his staple. Bottles and bottle brushes were also great to have. Plan to boil your bottles regularly too.
Clothes ... we brought way too many clothes for the boys. Again, the island is hot so that the PJ set might seem adorable until your little one gets red and sweaty because you have put him into his own personal sauna. Be mindful that the clothes that you put on your kids should be breathable. Also, the kids did not need blankets to sleep. The temperature ranges from moderate to warm, and the blankets would just make them too hot.
On island there is this citronella petroleum jelly stuff... ask the locals for it. Ethan was a mosquito magnet and he would be found in the morning with many bites. Using this stuff would keep them off of him for days it seemed. It is affordable to buy, found at IGA and uncles, and looks like a Vaseline jar with a green lid, and is great for kids and adults. Bring bug spray and sunblock from home for the kids as well as you will need one set for home and one for the day school.
WATER BOTTLES. We did not think about reusable water bottles for the kids but they need it for the hikes they would go on through the school and for the walks we would take as a family. A good water bottle for your kids is a great thing to bring.
Keep toys to a minimum and let them use their imaginations. Children's books are easy to pack too, and so are coloring books. We did bring a tablet for Eric and he loved having it. There will likely be limited television access depending on your apartment, but having a tablet was nice so that he could play educational apps to supplement his learning but also could watch Netflix for Kids. For some reason Netflix was based on Puerto Rico as the location so we got to see Paw Patrol in Spanish a lot and our son loved it....just an FYI in case you get annoyed by children's songs in English as they seem to be equally annoying in other languages.
To Barrel or Not to Barrel
It is scary trying to plan out what to bring for your family but it is doable. My wife and I worked well together with brainstorming the needs of the kids, and we felt well-prepared for island living but it did come at a cost. Barrels can be expensive and we spent well over $1,000 USD to ship seven barrels and receive them through customs/Alexis Taxi Service (they are amazing btw and if you ever need to move apartments then they will help you out for a reasonable fee). You can make due with a lot less than what we brought, and you should try to bring the minimum because planning on leaving the island when your 4/5 semesters are over is also a feat. It is much easier to ship barrels to the island than to ship them back home (and cheaper too). We did not bring barrels back, so we ended up selling or using most of what we brought (like that year supply of diapers).
Some barrel tips: if you cannot ship through Tropical Shipping, as we could not since we lived in Texas, then I recommend finding out which shipping company is at your local airport. We lived in San Antonio and ended up driving our barrels to Houston International Airport and shipped through Amerijet. They were cheapest we could find in Texas at the time, and I believe each barrel was around $160 to ship. We paid around 100 EC per barrel in customs, and a flat 100 EC fee for delivery of barrels. These prices are different for everyone so I am trying to give you a rough estimate. I have heard of people paying as much as 200-300 EC in customs and as low as 50 EC. Alexis Taxi handles all the details with customs for you and the convenience of having them bring it from the capital to the RUSM area is worth whatever they charge you.
Also, do NOT buy your barrel from the shipping company. Look on your local Craigslist or for barrel supply companies in your city. In San Antonio, there was a place called The Barrel Guy where we bought barrels for half the price of the shipping company. Sometimes you can find used barrels on Craigslist that are really cheap. I recommend the large blue barrels over the cardboard as you never know how much rain will happen en route, and the plastic barrels can function as a back up water reservoir if you fill them with water after you empty them.
This is great to have if your place does not have back up water, you have children, and you can already expect the water to go out often (like every time it rains, maintenance on the water has to occur, and other random times). Now you see why that water kettle was a great buy because you can learn how to shower with buckets of water if ever necessary. The school has its own water and power plant so you can always get water on campus and shower at the gym. The gym shower will have the best pressure and heat you will find in Dominica, and was generally my main motivator for working out. The electricity is reliable on campus too. Do not feel bad for charging all your electronics on campus as that is smart practice given the cost of electricity. My family spent between 250-300 USD a month in electricity but we constantly ran the A/C and I was home often. Many people use less electricity and are home less often than we were.
The footlockers you see in the photos were our checked bags. They were easy to pack and usually about 50 lbs when reasonably packed. Be sure to know the weights before you fly, buy a luggage scale, and distribute items evenly in your luggage so you don't pay ridiculous overages. For us, it was cheaper to bring another bag than to go over the weight limit. Barrels are cheaper than bringing a ton of extra checked bags, so plan accordingly.
I will answer any questions you have if I am able and I hope this helps answer questions you have or see things you may not have thought about. Best of luck in your preparations, and welcome to medical school!
If you have a spouse or support person (sibling, friend, parent) coming to the island and have any questions, feel free to message me as my wife has agreed to answer any additional questions. She served as President of Ross Spouses Organization while on the island. Or, check out www.rossspouses.com for more information.
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