Rosalind Franklin University Campus Visit

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, home of one of the only 11 accredited PathA programs in North America (9 in the US). This school and Wayne State have been my top choices, as they are the nearest. Most of the other programs are on the East Coast, a little too far and unfamiliar for me, though I may still apply to one or two.

This was my first campus visit to any of the PathA schools, though I did go to an info session of sorts for the health science programs at Wayne. Overall, this was a fantastic experience. An admissions counselor gave a presentation about the school and its offerings, as well as application information and tips. The most intriguing part about the school was the interprofessional focus - it's a relatively small school and only houses health science programs such as medical, pharmacology, psychology, PA's, etc, so it seems the community of students is tight-knit both in and out of the classroom. Students in one program take classes with students of another (where there is crossover, of course, like anatomy), and there are even interprofessional courses where you learn to work with other disciples directly, learning how each profession would approach a case. I would expect it gives students a more holistic view of medicine, and a greater ability to work in teams. It reminded me of my days in advertising - so I'm hoping I can use that as an edge in my applications!

Me being a nerd

Another thing that struck me about RFU was the namesake herself - she's everywhere! If you don't know about Rosalind Franklin, educate yourself - she is best known for her research on the structure of DNA, though you may not even know that because Watson & Crick are in the textbooks. As a woman in science at that time, she wasn't as respected, and her lab partner basically slipped them her notes behind her back, and they got all the credit. But my inner feminist digresses - it's actually very awesome how the school has embraced her legacy and turned it into a model for education. And because I'm a nerd, it's cool how it influences other things - there's a part of the building with a giant DNA double helix!!

We also went on a campus tour. All of the buildings are connected - fantastic news for someone like me who HATES being in the cold in the winter! They have a really neat SIM lab, which has super fancy robot patients that can be controlled to have symptoms and squirt blood. Fortunately I will not be learning patient care (at least, live patients!) so  I won't have to worry about that. But I did get to see the cadaver lab!

Overall, I was very impressed, and I'm very excited about the prospect of attending RFU. After this tour, it's definitely my number one prospect right now. Everyone cross your fingers for me!

Instead of the usual Harry Potter quote, I'll leave you with one by Rosalind Franklin herself:

"Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated. Science, for me, gives a partial explanation for life. In so far as it goes, it is based on fact, experience and experiment."

5 Years Later

The end of last month marked five years since I graduated from the University of Michigan with my bachelor's degree. Humans of course assign a certain significance to markings of time in fives and tens, so it is significant in that way, but more so to me because of just how much my life has changed since. In the span of things, I realize five years is nothing. But looking back, five years has never seemed like such a long period of time. Since then I have had six different jobs, moved four times, lived in three different towns, and met and married my husband. But the most significant change seems to be internal, if that makes sense - the person I am today is so, so different than the one who walked out of the Big House that day, and even different from the one I thought I would be at that time.

I mostly feel like, for the first time at least since graduating and maybe since before then, that I am going in a forward direction. It feels pretty good. I am optimistic for the future. This is significant for me to say, because in the past I have struggled to look ahead rather than behind. Honestly I don't like thinking about the past - I spent too much time there while battling depression. I am not fascinated with nostalgia as my "Millennial" generation label would have you believe. Keeping myself in the present allows me to plan for a future.

Speaking of, I also think that five years from now will be significant. I'll have graduated, I'll have been working at least a year as a professional again. We'll have moved again, hopefully out of the Midwest, definitely out of the state. Our family will likely have grown - certainly in furry members but maybe human ones too. It is exciting to think of the change that lies ahead.

But it's also nice to know one thing hasn't changed. I did just receive a cumulative 4.0 this semester, which I don't think I actually ever did in undergrad, though I came close. Once a Hermione, always a Hermione :-)

"It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be." - Albus Dumbledore