Patience and perserverance

pa·tience (pshns)

noun

–  the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious

Today, after 159 days of waiting, I was notified that I was not successful in gaining an interview at a medical school I applied for. I have always wanted to be a Doctor, but I wasn’t ready for the commitment required to get into the undergraduate medicine course straight out of high school. When I graduated from University the first time with a science degree, I was sick of being a poor student and was ready to earn some money. Hence, my entry into the financial services industry.  Not long after finishing my first degree, I decided to start another degree that was more related to my employment but I wasn’t challenged by the content and, at that point, I was also unsatisfied with job. My heart lay with the sciences and until I was able to immerse myself in it every day, I wasn’t going to be happy.

That’s where my journey to become a Doctor began….. In Australia, there are two ways that you can get into medical school; you either try and get in straight out of high school (undergraduate), or complete any degree, sit the Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) and use the results of that and your degree to gain a place at one of the consortium schools (postgraduate). Because I had already completed a degree, my only option was to take the postgraduate route.  The overall score for my science degree was pretty woeful, so my next degree was my opportunity to improve my situation.  For the next few years, after my decision to go down the medicine path, I worked my tush off and managed to get my grade point average (GPA) up enough to be competitive.  Then I had to tackle the beast they call GAMSAT.  This test is a 5.5 hour long exam which tests your reasoning skills in the social sciences, humanities and the biological/physical sciences.  I was dropped off at the testing centre a 8am, and I did not leave until 4:30pm the same day.  The test is not for the faint hearted. It definitely tests your physical and mental stamina.

After you sit the test, you have to wait about 8 weeks for results. Then, after you receive your results, you can apply for an interview at 12 different medical schools around Australia. When applications close, you have to wait approximately 3 months to see whether or not any of the schools you apply for will offer you an interview.  An offer for an interview does not mean you have a place to study at University.  You have to get a good enough score when you interview to be offered a place.  And this brings me to today….. no interview = no chance to get into medical school for 2013.

per·se·ver·ance (pûrs-vîrns)

noun

– persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success

When you want something bad enough, you will do anything to get it.  This is how I feel about medicine and becoming a Doctor.  I plan to sit the GAMSAT again next year. I have even started revising for it, seven months before the proposed test date. The moral of the story is; don’t give up on your dreams even if it seems like it is unobtainable. Nothing is ever achieved by quitting.  Here’s to GAMSAT 2013.

All definitions were referenced from http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english.

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