Name: Christabelle Bitgood
Hometown: Kelowna, BC
Program: SMP
What have you enjoyed the most about your MD Undergraduate experience?
While sitting at the feet of world-renowned teachers during our pre-clinical years was such a joy, the real privilege was learning from the patients I encountered on the wards and clinic offices while a medical student intern. It was certainly rewarding to be a part of their disease prevention, treatment, and occasionally cure, but the real teaching came from their perspectives of illness and suffering. As they let me feel physical findings on their broken bodies and discover their laboratory abnormalities I learnt the patterns of disease and was welcomed into a supernatural experience of hope and healing. I will never forget some of these precious encounters and the lessons I learned at the foot of a hospital bed.
What has surprised or challenged you in medical school?
The learning curve for the last four years has been incredibly steep, and rising to that challenge has helped me grow in character. That I have now completed this challenge is the dearest surprise. The sheer volume of information we must study has at times been overwhelming but learning to swim in that depth of knowledge will certainly help me as I enter a career of general medicine.
What advice would you offer to upcoming students in the UBC MD program?
Keep an open mind about moving around during medical school. A nomadic lifestyle really becomes the new normal for a while, as you take on electives in 3rd and 4th year. Remember that electives continue in residency and these adventures will help you gain perspective to locuming as well as finding a home as a new practitioner. My clinical training found me completing clerkship as 1 of 6 students in Kamloops and then in 4th year had me driving across our supernatural province – from Dawson Creek on the Alaskan Highway to Nanaimo on the mystical Vancouver Island – with an autumn trip to the east coast in New Brunswick. While I didn’t anticipate the traveling early on in training, I am so grateful for all the learning I completed in these places.
What’s next for you?
My residency will take place in the rural corners of beautiful BC where I begin my next endeavour training as a family doctor, based out of Prince George.
Name: Jesse Ory
Hometown: Victoria
Program: SMP
What have you enjoyed the most about your MD Undergraduate experience?Getting an opportunity to pursue my training amongst such a broad range of locations and experiences. I was privileged to be a part of the inaugural class in Kelowna, and then move to Chilliwack for my first year training in the hospital. Both were small programs with extremely supportive staff. My training was punctuated by personal experiences with caring teachers, and the small teacher:student ratio fit my learning style perfectly. I hope to pass on that same attitude to learners in the future.
What has surprised or challenged you in medical school?
The most surprising aspect for me was the barrage of medical questions from family, friends, and strangers, starting as early as my first year of training. Thankfully I’ve been able to hide behind my “I’m just a student” defence for 4 years. Now I have to think of a new line! The most challenging thing for me was that despite all of the training we undergo, there seems to be a distrust of doctors when it comes to a variety of issues; something I saw first-hand in Chilliwack with the measles outbreak and vaccine resistance – opinions that are often formed based off of hearsay, rumor, and anecdote, which unfortunately end up hurting those we are all trying to protect.
What advice would you offer to upcoming students in the UBC MD program?
Try not to stick with the status quo. There is a plethora of personal and professional rewards that can be achieved from trying new experiences and pursuing the “unsafe” option. My experiences in Kelowna and Chilliwack followed this mentality and rewarded me enormously.
What’s next for you?
Urology in Halifax! 5 years of training there, then possibly a fellowship in pediatrics or infertility, to eventually settle down somewhere in Canada with a small farm and a commune of doctors (that’s the dream, anyways).
Name: Dianne Valenzuela
Hometown: Abbotsford
Program: SMP
What have you enjoyed the most about your MD Undergraduate experience?
I greatly enjoyed learning from and interacting with patients in various settings, and going through the rigours of medical training with amazing colleagues who will now be my lifelong friends.
What has surprised or challenged you in medical school?
I am surprised by how fast the 4 years went by!
What advice would you offer to upcoming students in the UBC MD program?
My advice to upcoming students is to make the most out of every opportunity and to enjoy the ride.
What’s next for you?
I am excited to begin residency training in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at UBC in Vancouver.