To Mayflower

Hey Peter,

If my memory serves me correctly (and isn't too full of psychiatry stats for tomorrow's exam!), your interview is either today or tomorrow. Best of luck. I'm sure you will be great! Let us know how it goes!

Andrea

aneliz...you scared the "poo" out of me :eek ...I actually had to run downstairs to re-check my interview date! Whew, thankfully I was right...it's next friday, March 14th at 8:30am

Thanks so much for the good wishes...I am flattered that you have me somewhere near the top of what must be an incredible work load and personal life. You're very considerate and thoughtful...it's so nice to know I have so many friends in this forum...one of the best aspects of hangin' around here.

I'll definitely let you know how I "perceived" my interview...although, based on my experiences last year and the stories of others I'm not sure how helpful that will be in predicting the outcome at the end of May.

Ooooh...and by the way...I can't wait until the psychiatry stuff...and the epidemiology...parts of the program should I ever manage to get in...those will be the "review" parts for me.

Thanks again.

Peter

Hey there Peter,

Did you complete a degree in Epi along with your M.Sc. in Psychology (I think I recall that being your grad degree)?

Cheers, and a dose of good luck when the big day rolls around,
Kirsteen

Kirsteen,

Nope...but I've done quite a bit of EPI along the way...most recently with Health Canada (Department of Healthy Human Development and Epidemiology). I love EPI...stats...and everything else that goes along with it!

Peter

SORRY!!!! I imagine that I managed to spike your heart rate up quite a bit -- and totally unintentionally! I guess that the deep dark distant corner of my mind remembered the "4" part and not the "1" that was before it!!! (I am running out of deep dark corners in my mind to put things in!) Anyway, I sincerely wish you the best of luck and if it was up to me, you'd be in, absolutely no question.

aneliz,

No apology necessary. You are very kind. I'll let you know how things turn out. Best of luck on your exam.

Peter

just a quick question to Mayflower:
do you sleep?

Dannyboy,

I am a very efficient sleeper This is one of the attributes which, if I ever get accepted, is likely to keep me in relatively good shape during call... :\ I typically go to sleep pretty early during week nights...between 10:00pm and 11:00pm...but my internal clock ALWAYS gets me up between 3:00am and 4:00am. It is quite annoying sometimes...for sure...I'd love to be able to sleep more...but when I wake up I feel rested...refreshed, etc...so I can't really complain. Being up early also has some great advantages...I get a lot of stuff done that many people are rushed to get done after work or on weekends.

Cheers,

Peter

Mayflower: Very happy for you that your interview went so well. You deserve to get in as you seem to be so kind and caring in these posts, to everyone.
I wonder if you mind sharing what did you get to do when you volunteer at ST John Ambulance. And also, what level of certification do you need for this?

Hi kelly,

Thanks for the support...and kind words.

I'm with Brigade 1042 in Ottawa. There are, I believe, three other active groups in the area...one in the west end...one in the east end...and one associated with, I believe, Carleton university. Of course, ours is the best brigade :b

The brigade is a ton of fun...obviously, one of the things we do is provide first aid at various public and private events. Typical events we provide service at are: the Ottawa Exhibition (one of our big events); Ottawa 67's hockey games; various home, garden, boat, craft, cottage shows...basically, we could be doing duties at any event which draws a large number of people. Last year, after not getting into med school at UofO, I covered the outdoor concert at frosh... and darn it, the UofO meds student frosh came bye... while I was happy for them, it made my heart sink...they seemed like a great bunch of people. Anyway, I got over it.... ha ha. We provide first aid...it's amazing the range of injuries and problems we encounter...hours of absolute boredom...interrupted by seconds of sheer terror (well terror is way to strong...but it makes a point).

Aside from duties we attend, there are weekly Brigade meetings. During meetings, participation in duties is organized and other matters of business are taken care of in the first hour...the second hour is devoted to learning. Each week a module on some part of first aid is prepared by our training officer...we go over it... then we practice the principles from that section with mock situations, using each other as casualties...some of us are naturally better at being casualties than others

To volunteer with St. John Ambulance, you need your CPR "C" and basic first aid courses...when you're joining a Brigade you get this training free of charge...at least, that was the case with our brigade. When you're on duty with these qualifications, you are always paired up with a more experienced partner who has BTS-1 (Brigade Trainng System, Level 1) certification. BTS certification is basically the same as the CPR-C/first aid you will get when you join, but it's much more in depth. In the CPR-C/basic first aid courses, only some of the modules in the St. John Ambulance training manual are covered. In the BTS-1 certification process you have to learn the entire manual front to back. To get the certification you must pass a written test and you are also required to do 3 mock patient scenarios which you are graded on by an examiner.

I have to say, SJA is much more than volunteering for first aid duties (although this is obviously a large part...and a great deal of satisfaction and fun can be had)...it's also about comradery, continuous learning, etc. It's an amazing experience.

If you're interested in finding out more, please post here or feel free to email me at peterhill16@hotmail.com

I hope this has been helpful.

Peter