Katie Baba, SMP Class of 2019
Hometown: Oromocto, New Brunswick
What attracted you to the field of medicine?
I’ve always been attracted to medicine because it combines sciences and humanities like no other field. The flexibility of where you can take your career, and the daily opportunity to connect with people one on one makes it an exciting and rewarding field.
What are you most excited about beginning your studies with the Southern Medical Program?
I’m most excited about getting to know my colleagues better and the amazing teaching environment that SMP has to offer.
What do you like to do in your spare time to relax and have fun?
In my spare time you can find me cooking, painting, or spending time with my BC family (my cat Yoshi and Granny Choi).
What’s one thing we might be surprised to learn about you?
I got my black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do at the age of 9 along with my two older sisters!
Dexter James
, SMP Class of 2019
Hometown: Vernon, B.C.
What attracted you to the field of medicine?
The idea of life-long learning is one aspect of medicine that is really appealing to me. I am comforted by knowing that medicine is a very dynamic field where new procedures, treatments and findings are being made regularly, which will prevent the career from becoming dull.
What are you most excited about beginning your studies with the Southern Medical Program?
I am most excited about being part of a tightly knit medical community with smaller class sizes and increased one-on one time with patients/preceptors.
What do you like to do in your spare time to relax and have fun?
I enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking, snowboarding, watching movies and eating wings!
What’s one thing we might be surprised to learn about you?
I am a fully certified financial advisor and life-insurance representative…. And I did all for fun! Two clients and counting.
Michael Slater, SMP Class of 2019
Hometown: Victoria, BC
What attracted you to the field of medicine?
I knew I wanted to end up in a career that involved lots of face to face interaction with people and some dynamic problem solving. I also wanted a profession in which I’d have a large capacity to make a positive impact on the people I would be serving. What drew me to medicine over everything else was the breadth of different experiences available for physicians in terms of the wide range of different specialties as well as opportunities to get involved in public health initiatives, education, research, and collaborations with many other diverse professions!
What are you most excited about beginning your studies with the Southern Medical Program?
I’m very excited to be working with a really close group of 32 students and a supportive faculty that is going out of their way to know each of us by name.
What do you like to do in your spare time to relax and have fun?
My favourite ways to relax are to go out for a run or sit down and watch a hockey game. I enjoy playing and watching a wide range of sports and I’m really looking forward to getting outside and exploring Kelowna!
What’s one thing we might be surprised to learn about you?
I have a fraternal twin brother. I’m 5 minutes older and he’s 5 inches taller. Considering we both played basketball growing up, I think I got the worst of that trade.