Officially a T1!

I have been in NOLA for nearly three weeks now, and what a wild three weeks they have been. When I tell you, I have gone through every emotion, I truly mean it. From tears of joy to tears of sadness, I have felt it all (multiple times).

Making the move from Vancouver to NOLA was incredibly difficult emotionally. I knew it would be hard, but it’s incredibly hard leaving a place you consider home when your life feels so full and content. Obviously, moving for medical school is a great reason to leave, but it doesn’t make saying goodbye to the life you’ve loved living any easier. I had to say goodbye to my amazing first apartment that I spent the last year living in with Will (my boyfriend), leaving the Vancouver Canucks ice team, saying goodbye to my best friends, petting my cat Cleo for the last time for a few months, and coming to terms with the fact that I will never have the life I was living back. Now I am back to long distance, learning how to make new friends again, and navigating a whole new city (and country!). To top it off, my move to NOLA was the opposite of smooth. Instead of settling in, I spent the first week of being here frantically searching for a new apartment. IYKYK! Luckily, I have found a quaint spot that is slowly starting to feel like my space (mostly due to how many trinkets I brought from home). My parents, Will, Will’s mom and sister, and amazing friend Ryann were also here for part of this transition period to help me settle in and celebrate starting medical school with me.

Even through all the chaos of moving, we tried to make the most of NOLA during July. FYI, it is 30+ degrees Celsius here in July, so emphasis on trying our best to make the most out of exploring the city without melting. We tried a lot of amazing New Orleans food spots, watched the Odyssey in 70mm at the Prytania Theatre, celebrated my beautiful mama’s birthday, went to three different jazz clubs, and enjoyed some classic tourist activities like sailing up the Mississippi River on the Creole Queen, having Bananas Foster at Brennan’s, and having a drink at the famous Carousel bar at Hotel Monteleone. It was really fun seeing new parts of the city and learning the history of New Orleans.

Then came the time to finally start medical school. My fellow classmates and I had our first day of orientation on July 31st, where we got to meet one another for the first time and hear all about what our next few days, weeks, and four years will look like. I caught myself multiple times a day, reminding myself that this is my life now, a life I have worked toward for the last 10+ years. That feeling became amplified during my White Coat Ceremony that took place on August 2nd. My classmates and I gathered inside the McAlister auditorium to officially receive our white coats and recite the Tulane Physician’s Oath as a class. The White Coat Ceremony began with words of welcome from the Tulane faculty, a brief history of the White Coat Ceremony, and a powerful speech from the keynote speaker, Dr. Paul Finger. Dr. Paul Finger is a world-renowned ophthalmologist, third-generation physician, and a Tulane Medicine alumnus. Dr. Finger spoke about how frontline personnel, aka healthcare workers, always answer the call. Throughout history, during every disaster or pandemic, physicians show up ready to use their knowledge and skills to heal those who need it most. He emphasized to us that this ability to place the welfare of patients above oneself is a privilege, and having people trust you when they are most vulnerable is sacred. He also instilled in us the idea that the best thing we can do for our patients is to treat every one of them like a loved one. I don’t think my blog does justice to his words and story, but hearing it live was truly moving. By the end of his speech, I had tears in my eyes and was reminded of why I pursued medicine- to make a meaningful difference in the lives of my patients through patient advocacy and practice. At that moment, it truly felt real that I was finally on my path to becoming a physician. Following Dr. Finger’s speech, the class of 2030 was introduced. Each student walked along the stage and had to share one word their family and friends would use to describe them. Since this was done alphabetically by last name, I had some time to think. I knew I wanted to use a word that no one before me had used, so classic words that I would use to describe myself, like resilient, passionate, determined, etc., quickly began to disappear. By the time it was my turn, there were only a couple more words I could think of. I decided to go with the word capable, which the Cambridge Dictionary describes as “able to do things effectively and skillfully, and to achieve results”. I chose this word because it encompasses resiliency, determination, and talent. I know that I can achieve whatever I set my mind to, and up to this point, I have done just that to get here. Fun fact, my backup word was star because that’s what my dad calls me, but I decided to go for the professional vibe. Following the introduction of the class, my classmates and I took the Tulane Physician’s Oath. Once the ceremony ended, I went outside the auditorium, met up with my family and friends and cried some happy tears. It finally felt like the goal I have been chasing for years was coming true, and being surrounded by those I love (in-person and online) made me so grateful for all the support I have had along the way to get here. I truly can’t believe this lifelong goal of mine is finally coming true.

After the ceremony, we all headed to Superior Seafood for our last dinner together (I highly recommend that restaurant). Everyone was flying out the next day, making it a bittersweet evening. Sweet that we were all celebrating my huge accomplishment, but sad that by this time tomorrow, I would be all alone. The dinner was delicious, but the goodbyes were once again very hard. If you couldn’t tell already, I feel all my emotions, so going through this giant life change brought on a lot of them over and over again. Luckily, I had a good distraction to help me get over the looming reality and sadness that I am officially on my own for the foreseeable future, and that was that class started the next day. I spent the next five days going through orientation with little time to be sad. I really loved the first week of Tulane orientation because integrated throughout were talks about the social determinants of health, the history of New Orleans, and how those two things continue to go hand in hand. Honestly, that’s the reason I chose Tulane. Medicine cannot be practiced without understanding the various social structures and dynamics that directly impact people’s access to care, so having talks like this integrated into our curriculum felt reassuring that I am in the right place to learn to become the doctor I aspire to be. In between classes, I continued settling into my new apartment, cooking my own food again, and trying to attend all the social events to try to get to know my classmates. The social events were super fun as I got to explore new parts of the city and meet many new people. Each afternoon/evening was different. I played pickleball, headed to Audobon park and Creole Creamery, experienced my first med school pool party, went to Tchoup Yard for our first class social, and then participated in my first Red Dress Run. For those who aren’t from NOLA (myself included), Red Dress Run is an annual charity event where participants of all genders wear red dresses, head down to Bourbon Street, and enjoy live music to celebrate the run that some of the actual participants take part in before the celebrations. All the proceeds collected are donated to local charities. While I did not run, I did enjoy the post-run celebrations with my classmates. After some time on Bourbon street I got a shrimp Po Boy and got to see the NOLA skyline from a rooftop apartment with some new friends.

And there you have it, my first week of medicine. I am proud to say I survived it, and I am officially a T1 (first-year medical student at Tulane). The first one (and the weeks leading up to it) were again very hard, but as Roosevelt once said, “nothing worth having comes easy”. I still often feel waves of homesickness, but I am hoping that with time, I will catch my footing here and be able to fully enjoy all that this vibrant city has to offer without constantly comparing it to home. I am excited to see what each new week brings and take you all along with me.

Thanks for reading my first blog. Tune in next week as I write about how my first week of actual classes goes, and all the things I do along the way.