miss akay

All aboard! Gtown Interview

All aboard!
Originally uploaded by akay.

For the third weekend in a row, here I am in Washington DC, again. I have spent more time at home with my parents than I have in Philly. Their kitties know who I am, finally! It's cute. When I walk in the door they ask to play and Blue crawls right up on my lap. Being home has been sooo nice and a great luxury, really. My parents are awesome and nice company around the house, while I study.

My interview at Georgetown was fantastic! It changed my view of the school. Yes, it is quite conservative as far as philosophy and high expectations of their students go, but on the other hand the Jesuit philosophical value of cura personalis resonates with my own appreciation of the World. Cura personalis means caring for the whole person. This means, care beyond the physical or biological factors and includes the values, cultural and spiritual values that are also important because they contribute to a person's wellness and quality of life. Caring for a person means respecting the beliefs and needs of others. Setting our personal judgements aside to effectively contribute knowledge and the ability to help. There is a state of mind taught at Georgetown that is taken very seriously and weaved through the curriculum.

Though the students who interviewed with me seemed more dignified and conservative than those I interviewed with at George Washington, in walking around Georgetown's campus it was clear that through the diversity of art students, humanities, medical and law students, that it is indeed a very colorful student body with a lot of personality. Looking around the library I saw that it is a very different place from University of Penn, where it begins to look a little bit... well, plain.

My interview was conducted by a wonderful, high-spirited, good natured, Internal Medicine doctor, named Dr Knowlan. Before singling me out of the 12 other students for the very first interview of our group, he sat down and made small-talk with everyone. He was funny and genuinely interested in us. Then he and I left the "fishbowl" to find our interview office. We got lost, so had a good time running around trying to locate the right place. Phew! We found it. He didn't want to sit behind the desk, so he pulled a chair out to sit in front of me. And then we talked about all sorts of great things.

He asked what problems I saw in healthcare and how I thought they should be addressed. He wanted to know the last book I read. Kite Runners, I told him. From that point we talked about refugees and what it meant for those who came to the United States as the first person in a family. We talked about the strength and our own admiration for the first in his own family, as well as mine. He asked why I wanted to go to Georgetown and I was able to break it down to a bunch of reasons. I explained my positive impression on the philosophy of the school and what purpose I believe it serves for medical students and their patients, as well. My other reasoning for Georgetown is the location. Proximity to my family! My mom dropped me off that morning and it was only an 8-mile drive. My Godfather was a student at Georgetown and his mother, my mother's aunt was the only physician in our family. She was a strong woman. Another of the first generation United States family members. My impressions of the rigorous load and responsibility put on Georgetown med students, helped me understand what makes their graduates so highly saught after for residency. During the fourth year of medical school, at Georgetown you act in the role of Intern and that is unique to do so early. This means, their graduates are very well prepared for the first year of residency, called internship. So, in essence their students have experienced intership already and can already do many of the tasks that are asked of interns for the first time.

There is stiff competition at Georgetown, among students. Most everyone works very hard to get the best grades possible, because they are curved and students ranked. But, as a result Georgetown gets some of the highest USMLE Parts I & II board scores. This makes more options for residencies and many of their students go to Stanford, UCSF, stay at Georgetown, or go up to Hopkins, Princetown, Yale, etc. It sounds like a good springboard for those who want to go back to California.

I am honored that Georgetown invited me for an interview and I would feel very priviledged to get an acceptance. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Near the end of my interview, my cellphone rang. A little bit embarrassed, I laughed and leaned over to silence the ring. I glanced at the ID and said outloud that it was my Dad was calling. Dr. Knowlan laughed and said, "he must be calling to ask how you did. Tell him you did GREAT!" I can't help but take that as a positive sign!

However, like every other school the majority of interviewees are NOT offered an acceptance. Though I'm excited to have interviewed there and I felt a level of compatibility, I am not setting my heart in it. I appreciate the experience and will see what happens in January! My friend Steve is a student at G-Town and we met after my interview. He brought me around campus and took me to the library cafe where we sat and had a quick cup of tea, to catch up. He has been so nice to talk to along the way, helping out with my application this summer and he even offered to go into the Admissions Office next week to put in a good word for me!

Things are so different this year than last year. It's amazing how quickly things turn around. And of course I attribute all of the change in luck to my trip to Kauai for New Year's, because in the past Hawaii has been a place to resetting, for me to get grounded, focus and turn life around. Last year I never would have imagined that I'd be living in Philly, going to Penn and interviewing for medical schools. 2005 has been very good to me! I hope 2006 has as exciting prospects to look forward to, like '05 did. I'm sure my week in California this January with my friends won't hurt! *beaming* Things are good. I am thankful and very happy. Hurray!

posted by miss akay @ 2:04 PM