Today, as I was running last minute errands to get my apartment and pets situated for my upcoming trip home, I received some very upsetting news:
“At the present time (June 2011), the US State Department is not issuing B-1 visas to non-US medical students for the purpose of clinical training in US hospitals. The University is in continuing discussions with the US State Department to address this issue. Until further notice, with the exception of Canadian students, all non-US SGU students will be placed in affiliated hospitals outside the US for their clinical training program.”
I, as a American, am obviously not affected by this directly, but if affects close friends of mine, and countless of other students not only in my program, but other foreign medical schools. Please understand, I do not consider myself an expert on foreign policy in any way, shape, or form, nor do I care to debate the politics of immigration. But this really disappoints me... it angers me! We are closing our shores to students pursuing higher education, one of the most advanced and competitive degrees one can obtain. Students who are coming to the U.S., working and training in largely under-served areas, neighborhoods that most U.S.-trained med students wouldn’t even consider working in. The majority of these students have very little intention of staying here, they just want an opportunity to have a well-rounded medical education, maybe experience the joys of studying abroad for a bit, and go back home to serve their own communities. And so what if they wanted to stay, they’d be doctors! Last time I checked, we had a shortage of physicians in this country, particularly in primary care, which is what most foreign graduates specialize in. So how is this in any way beneficial to anyone? I’d take a foreign medical student any day over any of the worthless U.S.-born garbage polluting our trailer parks and projects, contributing nothing other than more lives that they are not responsible for to society... yeah I said it.
Anyway... Fuming from the news, I decided to take my dog on a walk, choosing a different path as we often do. Passing many million dollar villas (I live in a ridiculously posh little area of Grenada, NOT purposefully), we stumble upon this point, with amazing views of the coast and the ocean- I’ll make a point of going back tomorrow with a camera. I let Chloe explore off-leash for a little, while I kick around in the dirt searching for seashells, and it hits me- how fortunate I am. I’m not saying this was a life-altering “Ah-ha” moment or anything, but really... I feel truly blessed. Other people may see attending medical school in the Caribbean as a career destroying death sentence, or as some sort of failure. But my being here is not out of rejection, I made a deliberate choice to not apply to medical schools in the US. I saw the application process destroying friends of mine, and the ugliness of the competitiveness, and the pain of the rejection, and wondered why anyone would put themselves through it. Then I visited a friend in another Caribbean program, and had the time of my life, surrounded by brilliant and interesting people, in a beautiful environment. And I came home and knew where I was meant to be. Of course there were other factors in this decision- my age, what I believed my overall chances of getting into a US school were, particularly wanting to stay in NYC... going to the midwest, or out of state even, wasn’t something I was willing to consider. So I chose an option that I thought would allow me to start school right away, and end up back in NYC for rotations if that’s where I ultimately decide I want to be. And again, this was my choice, for myself, and certainly not necessarily what I would recommend to anyone, or encourage anyone against doing. I believe that this process is just that, a process... a long one at that, and requires a great deal of reflection and re-evaluation every step of the way. But I also believe that if this is your dream, it is possible, it just may not happen in the “traditional” way. So, I applied to two schools, got into both, and chose the place I felt was better... and from there it was like I was living someone else’s life, or maybe it was that I was living my own for the first time. But things really became different for me... no more constant struggling against my job or loathing what my life had become. I was doing what I wanted to do, and working towards what I truly feel I was put on this planet to do, in a more tangible way than ever before. Whatever your idea of fate, or belief in a higher power may be, I subscribe to the notion of some form of destiny, or everything happens for a reason. My personal experience has been that the more confusing and unexpected the journey is, the better it ends up being for you, and the more meaningful. So I find myself here, on this point in Grenada, with a dog (she chose me by the way, on my way to the study hall), at this university that has proven to be just what I needed on so many levels thus far, far away from home, yet living in one of the most beautiful places I could ever hope to be. And while my country’s policies anger and disappoint me at times, I am proud and lucky to be an American who can travel and live anywhere in the world, without difficulty. I am blessed with the most supportive and understanding family anyone could ask for, who has done everything in their power to support me on this journey. And I am thankful for some of the most understanding friends, who love and accept my crazy ass, and forgive the extended absences in communication during school. I’m a lucky woman.
