(upbeat music)
- Hey guys, my name is Chelsea.
I'm a second year medical student
here at St. George's University.
It's about 5:00 a.m.
I am headed to campus to get some studying in
before I have some obligations.
And this is just a day in my life.
(upbeat music)
Hey guys,
so this is kind of an atypical day for me.
I have two big tests coming up next week,
so today consists of a lot of studying.
I'm gonna work out in
and I'll practice for my OSCE tomorrow.
So like some physical exam stuff
with some friends later today.
(upbeat music)
So I just finished studying,
and then grabbing a quick bite of breakfast
before I head off to my IMCQs.
My IMCQs are basically we go answer
a bunch of multiple choice questions,
and our professor's there
to basically explain why the answer's right
or why the answer's wrong
and kinda walk us through
how we should have gotten to the right answer.
Okay, so, a lot of people wanna know,
like, why St. George's and why the Caribbean.
So, you know,
I didn't get into American Medical School
and my cousin went here and she said,
"Well, Chelsea, do you want to be a doctor?"
And I said yes.
And she said, "Okay, well then go to St. George."
And, but I picked the George specifically
over the other Caribbean medical schools
because it's accredited,
I have a much better chance of matching
in terms of residency,
they do have a really good match rate.
They also have a very good pass rate
on their Step.
But beyond that, I would say
the most important factor is that they are
very well internationally connected.
And I think that's really important.
I personally wanna do
some international medicine,
and they're connected everywhere
from Kenya to Thailand to the UK to India.
I think that's really incredible.
I think that's a really incredible opportunity
for a medical student as well as anybody
who wants to work in international medicine
or advance their career internationally.
It's a really incredible perk
here at St. George's.
(upbeat music)
Okay, so I just got out of IMCQs.
Basically the whole point of that
is to ensure that we know
the material for the test,
and that we're kind of paying attention
to the details.
It's a good place that we can kind of like see
where our weak spots are,
and like, maybe if you misunderstood something
in lecture, it's a really good place
for you to find that out before the test.
And right now I'm gonna go get a workout.
I try to work out every day.
But yeah, that's kind of where I'm at right now.
(upbeat music)
Hey guys, so I just finished my workout.
I really tried to work out every day,
like five or six days a week.
Because I think that
it's more than just physical health.
It's a lot of mental health too.
It's kind of like my hour every day
that I can disconnect from studying
from people like I just turn on my music
and I just let my brain relax.
It's really helped
with like stress management in medical school.
It's also just helped kind of like
my mental health in general.
And so it's something
that I make a priority every single day.
(upbeat music)
Hey, so I just kinda wanna address some things.
I know there's like a lot of misconceptions
about Caribbean schools versus American schools.
And like, what it really is like
in a Caribbean school,
and what are the pros and the cons.
In general, I think
that no matter where you are,
and no matter where you're at in your life,
there will be good things
and there will be bad things.
And it's all about how you address those things
and how you kind of proceed with the cards
that you were dealt.
And so as far as medical school
in the Caribbean goes,
at the end of the day,
you're gonna become a doctor.
You're gonna get
what you've been working for the whole time.
I think that that's the end goal.
Beyond that there will be opportunities here
that you won't get anywhere else.
I've been given the opportunity
and it's been incredible
to be immersed in a culture that's not my own.
I've been able to learn from these people.
And it's been really beautiful.
Now, that doesn't address the cons.
So I would say that the cons are
that it's really hard to live in another culture.
It's very hard to be 3000 miles away
from everything you know.
I would also say that,
in terms of resources,
and in terms of academic opportunity,
you have to fight for your own.
You have to be a self learner,
and you have to be a self advocate
for your own education.
And so I think that if you're ready to do that,
then a Caribbean school is definitely a choice
that should be on your plate,
when you're considering whether or not
you'd like to be a physician.
So as far as matching goes
and pass rates on your Step.
So matching is going to be more difficult
at the end of the day.
So we have a 94% match rate
I think the thing about that statistic
is it doesn't show a lot of people
who are interested in coming
where those people are matching.
A lot of people are matching
in things like internal med, OBG/GYN
and family medicine.
And if that's something
you're really passionate about,
then obviously, that won't be an issue for you.
For anybody who's maybe a little more
wanting to go towards like a surgical route
or a neuro route,
it will be more difficult
and so when you are looking
at a competitive specialty,
you really need to go above and beyond
to ensure your spot.
So I'm not saying it's impossible
'cause it certainly is not.
We have plenty of grads
in competitive specialties, I know them.
But they had to work extra hard to get there.
(upbeat music)
So I was like,
I'm just out here enjoying my break,
eating some lunch.
Looking at this stunning ocean in front of me,
I just want to talk about,
some things that kind of happen
to medical students.
So depression and kind of anxiety
kind of riddle medical students, quite often.
And I just wanted to say like,
to anybody who feels like they're struggling
or maybe they don't feel okay right now,
like, reach out, you know,
and take a deep breath and ask yourself like,
Okay, how am I doing?
Check in with yourself all the time
and kind of proceed based on how you're feeling,
but just make sure you always reach out
because it can make a really big difference.
(upbeat music)
Yeah, so what I'm doing right now
is I'm doing percussion,
and we percuss the lung fields
to test for dullness to percussion
or hyperresonance.
Basically, it's gonna tell us
if there's fluid in the lungs
or maybe some gunk
like from pneumonia or air.
So something like a pneumothorax.
(upbeat music)
So I just finished practicing my OSCE,
but now, my night's not over,
I'm gonna go run an exam review
for a term below me, term three.
So yeah, I'll be teaching
until about nine or 9:30 tonight.
(upbeat music)
So that was pretty much my day.
Kinda got up, I did some studying.
From studying, I went to,
my IMCQs and then from IMCQs,
I got some more study in, a workout in,
I got some OSCE practice.
And then I ran an exam review.
This isn't the most typical day,
but timeframe wise,
it's definitely what I do.
I normally get up at 4:30,
and I'm usually home by about 10.
And then wake up, rinse, lather and repeat.
(upbeat music)
So I just really wanna thank you
for watching me today
and kinda seeing how my life is,
for anybody who's tryna get in medical school.
Just keep working, just keep going.
You're gonna get there. (laughs)
And no matter what path you take,
you're gonna end up being a doctor
and it's all going to be worth it in the end.
For anybody who has any questions
or wants to follow me or see my journey.
You can follow me on Instagram, @cspenc10.
But yeah, thanks so much for tuning in.
(upbeat music)