Don’t Go to a Caribbean Medical School Unless You Have Grit
So, this piece was inspired by Angela Duckworth’s book titled Grit. Previous to reading this book, I did not have a term for what I felt like separated medical students from my school who succeeded through the program and those many who may fall short at various steps along the way. I think Duckworth has a way of capturing the essence of what I have noticed in some of my colleagues, as well as within myself, that helps to explain what it takes to thrive at Ross University. Grit is a combination of passion and persistence that anyone studying medicine will attest is essential to being able to spend hours upon hours of tedious studying each day working toward short-term goals (ie. passing exams) in order to reach that broad goal of obtaining residency. Sure, you can do everything it takes to complete the degree requirements but without residency the degree is essentially meaningless. So, for those of you considering applying to an offshore medical school, or those of you in the thick of studies now needing a reminder of what makes Rossies so great then continue reading by all means.
Passion
Ah, a passion for medicine. This is not something everyone comes to medical school with due to either limited exposure via shadowing in undergrad, or feeling compelled toward medicine due to coaching from parents or some divine feeling within dictating that it’s medicine or bust. However, students who attend a Caribbean medical school tend to be of a different variety. Many have some type of work history that has given them exposure to medicine that has allowed insight into some of the not-so-glamorous aspects of medicine that disenchant many students once they enter third year clinical rotations. Personally, I was an ophthalmic technician for two different practices in San Antonio, and then also had some unique insight into medicine as an investigator for child protective services. I have some peers who have been scribes, nurses, paramedics, athletic trainers, etc. In some way or another, it is not uncommon for these students who have held these positions and developed the passion to pursue an M.D. because someone in the field made them believe “I can do this.”
However, passion has to be fueled from a deeper place than some type of life experience and a can-do attitude. For me, I have a geek-like nature for the sciences that made me think I really can devote hours each day toward learning medicine. As a child, I had a robust curiosity for how things work which developed into a curiosity in undergrad and grad school for pharmacology, microbiology, and biochemistry. Can you guess which were my best two subjects during the basic sciences? Anyway, if you cannot find the subjects in medicine interesting then you will find that your hours of studying may lack quality and be wrought with social media distractions and negative self-talk. The island experience for the first two years helps isolate the student from the many distractions our developed country has to offer, coupled with the “Ross bubble” of seeing others around you who can relate to the arduous experience, generates the perfect environment for the student in the short term. The challenge really comes when you have to acclimate to living in the U.S. after having been on the island with a great support system, and you are tasked with studying for the USMLE Step 1 exam. Having passion for the subjects within medicine will help take such tedious review of the systems and transform it into something enjoyable that you can dedicate 10 hours each day to studying.
Another way to maintain passion for medicine that I think is overlooked by many is learning when to turn it off. Your medical brain, for lack of terminology, is something that can easily spill over into other aspects of your life. When your spouse tells you about a challenge he or she is facing, and your brain automatically listens with the intent of diagnosing and treating then it is prudent to recognize that and learn how to turn it off and be a spouse. It is hard for me to describe what I mean by this as it is definitely a lived experience for me. Whenever a family member starts telling me about how things have been going and slips in a line about some recent leg swelling, I am hard-pressed in my mind to find out more details that has evolved into me now cleverly making sure the family member is going to their primary doctor (instead of trying to be their primary doctor in a telephone conversation). Friends and family have reached out to me over the last few years with medical concerns and questions (which I love and always am willing to give insight into what knowledge I know and making sure they know to see whatever pertinent doctor), but having the medical brain in the ‘off’ position unless you need to have it on is something I think is important to not feeling like “all I ever do is medicine”.
One important way to do this, I think, is by maintaining some type of hobby or interest outside of medicine. Although I blog about my journey through medicine, it is a creative outlet for me to describe things from a humanity perspective and there is little to do with the art of practicing medicine. I also love reading, playing with my kids, and talking with my friends. I think having some interest you can spend a little time doing here and there, without distracting you from your short-term goals in your medical journey, is essential to being able to give your brain time to rest between periods of intense and productive studying.
Persistence or Perseverance
Being passionate about the subject is not enough to bring about success in medical school regardless of which country you may be going to school. However, one thing Rossies tend to bring to the table is persistence and perseverance. Some of my colleagues, and myself, work hard to be our best selves. Persistence is what I think has helped me keep going and do well. I do not think I am smarter or more clever than anyone, and it has been genuine hard work and a continuing drive toward succeeding that has pushed me to keep improving. I was close to failing a semester early in medical school. Luckily I was still well above the minimum passing score to move on to the next semester, but I used that has fuel to make sure I never came that close to not succeeding. I have taken practice test after practice test for my upcoming Step 2 CK exam on June 11, and each time I make slow improvements to my weaker categories. Moreover, I let each stumble be just that, a stumble, because falling (or failing) is not an option. I think it helps that I am intrinsically motivated to succeed, as well as I know my children see the hard work I put in and I want them to see the long-term reward I will have in a meaningful career that I am passionate about….but I digress.
Each time that I do not perform as well as the goals I have set for myself, I step back and try to see where are my opportunities to improve. Then, because I am persistent, I make changes to actually improve. If you spend your time analyzing self, without implementing change, than all you are doing is being your own worst critic. It is easy for us with all the pressure forced on us that everything boils down to your STEP 1 and 2 scores, to be inundated with negative self-talk about how we aren’t good enough or aren’t going to be able to get a residency with those scores, etc. However, that is crap. Never once have I asked my doctor, “So, what did you make on STEP 1?” or “So, where did you go to medical school?” because that isn’t what you think as a patient. Therefore, if you have any setbacks along the way then be persistent and keep trying. I have answered thousands of practice questions, and I plan to answer thousands more over my lifetime. When I get a concept wrong, especially when I know I have gotten it wrong before, that is when I know it is time to take a different approach. It doesn’t matter what resources you use as many of them have the same basic medical information you need. However, what I think matters is how you use those said resources to serve as an adjunct to your weakness, and that you use them in a way that allows you to overcome your weaknesses. There is not secret trick to studying, or at least I haven’t found it, and the tedious nature of studying requires our diligence to keep persevering even when you’d rather give up and take a nap.
Anyone who has been on the island during hurricane season knows about perseverance. When I was moving to Dominica in August 2015, Tropical Storm Erika delayed our moving and had students stranded on various islands, some without running water or electricity. We kept going. We made it to the island, driven by this notion: this is it; I am all in. Two years later, in the fall of 2017, students experienced a category 5 hurricane that decimated our school. Luckily for me, my timeline already had me back in America doing my clinical rotations. However, I did get the opportunity to meet a student who was on the island during that fiasco and she was determined. We were at the ACOG conference in Austin, and here was this rising third year student determined to place into Ob-Gyn, and was going to do whatever she had to in order to start networking and learning the processes now. Wow, did I feel delayed being a rising fourth year going to my first conference… Anyway, I admired her relentless attitude and can’t help but think this is an aspect of being a Rossie that the majority of us possess. When it gets difficult, we will keep pushing to succeed because we want this more than we have wanted anything else.
So, for those of you wondering if you should go to a Caribbean school then if you have passion, persistence, and the ability to persevere then you have the ingredients to join a group of students passionate about becoming great doctors. However, if you have a laissez-faire attitude and think that it is up to the school to ensure that you succeed then you will be met with challenge after challenge and are not likely to succeed. The school provides the forum and resources for you to do well, and the rest is in your control. If you have any questions about the process of going to Ross, or any question really about anything, then feel free to reach out to me!
