Apply to college.

I had just graduated from high school, and I needed to choose what to do next. I had thought about trying out the 3-year technical Nursing program in college for quite some time, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay close to home or to move in with my boyfriend who was going to study two hours away. Should I apply to the Nursing program at Montmorency College, and break up with my boyfriend? Should I move in with my boyfriend for the whole summer, and start the Nursing program later on in Sherbrooke?

Choice 1 : Apply to Sherbrooke College.

Choice 2 : Apply to college in Laval.

Apply to Sherbrooke College.

I moved in with my boyfriend for the summer and applied to the Nursing program in for the next autumn semester. I got accepted to the program, but things rapidly went bad with my boyfriend of the time. We ended up breaking up during the summer before I even started school. After this drawback, I had to move back to my parent’s house and cancel my application which was maddening. What was next? Should I try the Nursing program in Montreal, should I take some time off to travel?

Choice 1 : Apply to Montmorency College.

Choice 2 : Take time off to travel.

Apply to Montmorency College.

Sadly, the Nursing program wasn’t all I had expected. I found it too stressful, and I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would, so I dropped out after my first completed semester. What would I do next? Should I take a year off to travel? Should I apply to another program next semester? Or should I take a year off to work full time and think about my future?

Choice 1 : Take some time off to travel.

Choice 2 : Take a year off to work and think about what I’m doing.

Choice 3 : Apply to another program next semester.

Take some time off to travel.

I decided to take some time off to travel and reflect on my past choices. I was thinking of leaving for a whole year, but a few months in my vacation and after having visited a few countries, I was starting to miss my home, my friends and my family. I also realized how costly this little trip started to get, as I was burning through all of my economies. Should I end this trip earlier than expected, or stick with it for the whole year?

Choice 1 : Stay the whole year abroad.

Choice 2 : Apply to another program next semester.

Take a year off to work and think about what I’m doing.

When I decided to take a sabbatical year from school, it actually took me a while to find a place that was hiring with the little experience I had. After a few weeks of handing out resumes, I finally was contacted the manager of an expensive restaurant who had done all the leg work and felt that I would be a benefit to their team. Soon after, I was hired there as a waitress, and through the year, I proved myself to be an asset to their crew. As I was thinking of going back to college, a management position, that had opened up because a superior had taken a leave of absence after her pregnancy, was offered to me. This position also came in with an interesting salary upgrade. What should I do? Do I go back to college as planned and apply to a program next semester, or do I take the management job offered to me?

Choice 1 : Take the management job.

Choice 2 : Apply to another program next semester.

Apply to another program next semester.

I didn’t have much time to reflect on what I’d like to do next, but I needed to make choice and fast, as the period for applications was about to end. My two options were to either apply to the Diagnostic Imaging 3-year technical program at Ahuntsic College, or to study Pure and Applied Sciences at Ahuntsic College.

Choice 1 : Choose Diagnostic Imaging at Ahuntsic College.

Choice 2 : Pure and applied sciences at Ahuntsic college.

Choose Diagnostic Imaging at Ahuntsic College.

I chose to start the Diagnostic Imaging technical program at Ahuntsic College, hoping this would finally be the right choice for me. And luckily, it was! I ended up loving this field of study so much that I kept getting straight A’s in all of my courses. After two hard years of college courses, it was time to choose my final 1-year internship. Should I apply for my internship at Sacré-Coeur, Hospital and trauma center? Should I apply to St-Eustache’s Hospital instead which might be a less stressful experience?

Choice 1 : Internship at St-Eustache’s Hospital.

Choice 2 : Internship at Sacré-Coeur’s Hospital.

Choose Pure and Applied Sciences at Ahuntsic College.

As I was two semesters into the program, I still was unsure that this was the right fit for me. I was still wondering if I had made the right choice going into this program instead of the Diagnostic Imaging one, which was still on my mind. Two choices were then possible for me. Do I pull through with the Pure and Applied Sciences courses, graduate and go to university? Do I drop off from this program, once again going back to the start and apply to the Diagnostic Imaging program?

Choice 1 : Diagnostic imaging at Ahuntsic college.

Choice 2 : Push through and go to university.

Stay the whole year abroad.

I stayed the whole year abroad and loved every second of it. I learned so much from other country’s ways of living, cultures. I learned a third language and got the opportunity to volunteer in shelters as I was staying there. It was such a rich experience, and it really helped me learn about myself in all kinds of ways. It was truly an invaluable experience, and I felt like it helped me understand my purpose in life : I was now sure I wanted to work in healthcare to help people. Once back home, I knew I needed to apply directly to college. What program would I go into?

Choice 1 : Choose Pure and Applied Sciences at Ahuntsic College.

Choice 2 : Choose Diagnostic Imaging at Ahuntsic College.

Take the management job.

I took the management job at the restaurant I was working at. I was in charge of schedules, employees, orders and of managing all the expenses. At first, this position really made me feel valued, but I quickly started to realize the dead-end job I got myself into. I was working crazy overtime hours which weren’t all paid, and I then realized what a toxic industry this was. I needed to get out of there as soon as possible, this wasn’t the life for me. Would I take time off to travel before coming back to school? Or would I directly apply to another program in College?

Choice 1 : Apply to another program next semester.

Choice 2 : Take time off to travel.

Push through and go to university.

I was finally done with College and ready to move on to university. I managed to get into my first choice program : med-school! This had been my lifelong dream, which I thought would never be possible for me, but here I was, starting my first semester strong. The integration week had been quite a crazy one. All the students integrating the medicine program were brought together by older students for many activities and parties the week prior to the classes starting, as the classic university tradition wants it. We all regretted partying so much instead of preparing ourselves for what was coming. When the classes started the week after, the rhythm was really hard to keep up with. I had made many friends trough the integration process that weren’t as serious as me with this program. They wanted us to keep partying, but I realized I wouldn’t be able to do both. Should I concentrate on my classes and loose the friends I made or choose the party school life?

Choice 1 : Continue to party and hope for the best.

Choice 2 : Work hard, push through Medical School.

Continue to party and hope for the best.

I chose to keep partying with my new friends and did a cursory job at school. I would have seen this coming, but as I was having a good time outside of school, I rapidly got behind in all of my classes, and failed many exams because of all the homework I put aside. This lifestyle went on for a while, and the director of the program finally asked to meet with me to put me under a success contract. If I was to fail once more, I would get kicked out of the school. It was one of the most embarrassing times of my life. I studied so much for the next exams and kept my grades up for a little while, but it was still too late to come back from how behind I had put myself. There I was, getting kicked out of the program I had worked so hard to get in. I was petrified. A few weeks later, I woke up and realized it was time to get back on my feet and start something new. I felt like I only had once choice left, and it was to go back to college and choose the Diagnostic Imaging program I had considered before.

Choice 1 : Choose Diagnostic Imaging at Ahuntsic College.

Work hard, push through Medical School.

I decided to split paths with the friends I had made, as they would be a distraction from the mindset I needed to have in Medical School. All was going well, the program was tough, as expected, but I was doing quite a good job with my time management. As years into this program went by, courses got tougher and tougher, and I went into a depressive episode. I started questioning myself, to whether this was maybe too hard for me. I was unsure if I was going to continue my final years of med school, or go back to college to study Diagnostic Imaging.

Choice 1 : Choose Diagnostic Imaging at Ahuntsic College.

Choice 2 : Surgery.

Apply for the Internship at St-Eustache’s Hospital.

I got into this internship! All went as well as it could. The internship was tough, but I met some amazing people while working in my field of study and the on-the-job training was offered to me which helped me learn the ropes of the job. I wasn’t given a wage during that year working full-time at the hospital, but that’s just how healthcare studies work sadly. Fortunately, I had set some money aside during the last years. Now that this was done, and I passed all of my finals, many choices were open to me. I could’ve gone into university if I wanted to pursue another program, but I didn’t really feel like it. I could study for an extra year in college (an AEC) to specialize furthermore in a Diagnostic Imaging field. I could also just directly start working at the hospital, where I had just got offered a job as a Diagnostic Imaging Technologist. What should I do?

Choice 1 : Mammography AEC.

Choice 2 : Start to work as a Medical Imaging Technologist.

Apply for the Internship at Sacré-Coeur’s Hospital.

We were many, many students to apply to this hospital for our internship as it had the reputation of having the most diverse cases due to it being a trauma center. There were only 8 places available for interns, so out of the 12 that had applied, I wasn’t one of the 8 who made it in. I had to apply to my second choice of hospital for my internship.

Choice 1 : Apply for the Internship at St-Eustache’s Hospital.

Start to work as a Medical Imaging Technologist.

I felt like I had had enough with school for now, so I made the choice to accept the position offered to me at St-Eustache’s Hospital and start working there immediately. I was already acquainted with the workplace and the employees there because I had done my 1-year internship at that same institution, so I was already in some sort of comfort zone. It was so relieving finally working for a wage. I finally felt like I had my life together. I was so ready for life’s next big steps. I couldn’t wait to buy a home, start a family. All would finally work out for me.

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Mammography AEC.

During my 3-year technical program, the teachers had mentioned the possibility for us to work in the Mammography department after graduating from college, but only after completing a further 1-year program specializing in this field. This modality had really interested me during my classes and I decided to stay in school one more year to complete this additional AEC. I’m really happy that I did it because it allowed me to pursue a career that interested me even more than the classic Diagnostic Imaging Technologist.

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Radiology.

Since radiology had always been a field that fascinated me, I felt like this was the right choice for me. I wasn’t wrong. When I got in and started to learn the ropes of a radiologist’s job, all felt like it fell into place. This was the right path for me, I was so sure of it. I loved every second of it, all the courses, and the whole internship. Of course, sometimes I felt overwhelmed, and healthcare isn’t always a happy place. But I wouldn’t want it any other way. Once I finally graduated from this specialty, so many opportunities opened up for me. My lifelong dream had come true, I was going to work as a licenced doctor. Even more, a radiologist.

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Surgery.

Surgery was one of the first choice specialties for many students, and out of the 13 students that had applied, I was one of the 5 who were lucky enough to get in. I so proud of myself, as this was one of the most prestigious fields of medicine. Sadly, my internship quickly started on the wrong foot. I was attributed to an older surgeon, a man in his sixties. I was spending most of my time by his side to learn, and as time went by, he started to make more and more inappropriate jokes and flirtatious remarks. I tolerated his behaviour even though I shouldn’t have, because I really needed his internship feedback to be good. But one day, when he moved on to physical sexual harassment, I couldn’t deal with it anymore. I reported him to my university, to the hospital, and it got accelerated to the board of surgeons. The perpetrator in question had his licence taken from him because of his misconduct, and I got offered to be matched with another surgeon, but I was dreading coming back in the surgery department. Fortunately, I was offered to start another specialty, so I went back to my second choice : Radiology.

Choice 1 : Radiology.

Stay in medicine school for good this time.

After I realized I was meant to stay in med school and decided to do it, I was the most grateful that I did. I got better mentally as time went by, and finished the 5-year of general medicine. All of my years of hard work finally paid off to this moment. Now was the time to choose my next step, which was applying to a specialty. Both Radiology and Surgery interested me, and I had no idea what to do next. What specialty should I choose?

Choice 1 : Radiology.

Choice 2 : Surgery.