#adventuresunderthemapletree

My first placement was in Halifax, NS at an outpatient cardiorespiratory rehabilitation program. I went with one classmate and between the two of us, we had 2 clinical instructors that shared the load with teaching us. To make up for not having the opportunity to get our feet wet with inpatient cardiorespiratory, we often had the opportunity to visit the local hospitals. My favourite visit was the day we went to observe surgeries. Admittedly, my partner saw a triple bypass with complications that lasted 8h, but I saw 3 total knee replacements and 1 total hip replacement. Within the rehab. clinic we ran exercise classes geared towards various abilities and conditions as well as educational sessions. All of the classes were run with a registered dietitian, a nurse, and a physiotherapist. By the end of this placement, we were handling our own classes, their exercise prescription, our own intake sessions and assisting wherever else we could be used. This placement was incredible, not necessarily because of what I was doing, cardiorespiratory isn’t my favourite subject, but because of who we were with. The staff were incredible and the clients were gems. Leaving this placement was a hard thing to do, but it encouraged me to look forward to future placement experiences. 

My second placement was in Shelburne, NS in a rural hospital. This meant that there was a blend of inpatient and outpatient. This was supposed to be my MSK placement, and that was covered with the outpatient setting. I went with one of my classmates to my setting to work under one clinical instructor. There were two other classmates that were in Shelburne with us, but worked at another clinic. This placement was very interesting because our clinical instructor had never had a student in Canada before. They had been trained in physiotherapy in another country and wrote the cross-examination to practice in Canada. Man, I don’t think I’ve ever had someone so dialled into how I was learning and where I needed a hand. I’ve never felt so supported and trusted, but they always knew to a finer detail where I was in my learning than I could articulate. It was an incredible experience to work with someone so seasoned and so good at educating. The inpatient process was an interesting adjustment and along with that, we found how the local rural hospitals worked together to provide care to the residents. In the particular place I was staying, there weren't many post-surgery, those folks stayed in Halifax, but rather there was a lot of people who were awaiting long term care placement. Since I was at a rural hospital, the physiotherapist saw everyone for everything. This gave us a chance to see what it would be like working with neuro patients as well as doing things like home visits. Again, even though this placement was entirely different from the last, the people are what made it amazing.

During the first placement, I travelled by taking my husband all around Halifax to show him all the cool places I’d already found. It was a blessing to get to spend his first 6 weeks in Halifax as a resident here doing enjoyable little evening trips. During the second placement, I did a lot more exploring with my classmates. We were always going for hikes, runs, having a fire and seeking out new adventures. If my friends weren’t available, I would adventure on my own or with the woman I was staying with during the week. I found Shelburne to be rich with history and local art, so of course, I brought some home with me. I made it a goal to visit as many of the local white sand beaches as I could while I was in Shelburne. I only got to 4 but each were unique in their own ways. My favourite by far was Welkum Park. 

While I was home I was able to spend time with some dear friends as well. It’s always so heartwarming to return and find familiar hearts to connect with. I feel blessed to have so many healthy friendships. I believe I’ve expressed this before; I’m finding that home is much less about the place but the people who are there. The best part about coming back to Ontario isn’t going back to my hometown, it’s going back to my friends and family. 

We found out during my final exams that my husband was able to find work here in Halifax! this meant that he no longer needed to live nomadically between family members in Ontario, but he could come and live in the house we bought with me. Everyone we know was excited for us, it certainly makes a difference having him around. Now there is two of us to keep our cats in line! 

First aid training;

Last day celebrations;

Man this term has flown by! It’s hard to believe that so much time has passed and yet I can’t wait for the term to end. 

I’m genuinely concerned about failing out of my courses, not for lack of smarts but for lack of time. Our last day of classes is the day before our first final. Admittedly, that’s not what was supposed to happen according to our program director but at this point, we still need to learn the content so nothing can be done about it. 

This term has really highlighted that we have incredible instructors, but none of them communicates well together. Most of them have too much on their plate and so being prepared and effective can be hard to achieve. It’s a little bit ironic as our class seems to have gotten the rep as underachievers but we are all working harder than the class ahead of us. Our fear and fretting keep being proved worth it because the administration doesn't have our back. We have each other but it’s created this dynamic of us against the school and I don’t believe that this is healthy. With the lack of communication between our faculty and administration, there is a lot of misinformation and so as a class, we over think or classes at times will contradict one another. It makes for an interesting learning environment. I can honestly say I came into this program with high hopes and I’m disappointed to find that I’m losing trust and respect for it as time goes on.

That being said, our finals season is gruelling. With classes leading right up to our first one, a combined OSCE of 2 Movement & Exercise Science stations with 3 MSK ones. We have the weekend to study and then back to back finals for the next four days. Monday is the written for Movement & Exercise Science, worth 40% of our final grade. Tuesday is the first half of the written MSK, worth 15% of our final grade. Wednesday is the second half of the written MSK, worth another 15% of our final grade. and Thursday is our last MSK OSCE featuring the use of electrophysical agents. Each written is 4 hours long, with my time and a half that makes it a solid 6 hours in length. Going into it I’ve been fluctuating around a pass, so I really can’t afford less than a 70% on any of these. 

I’m tired and worn out. The end of the semester is in sight, but I pray that it’s not the end of my time here in this program.

On a bus ride home I was in my usual routine of decompressing while reading a book. The King was coming to visit one of his officials (set in Europe) and the official was not prepared in the slightest, asking his assistant to call housekeeping and ask them to be prompt about cleaning the place. My mind settled on the term ‘housekeeping’. I reflected on how in this setting I expected it to be a mix of people, but predominantly female and Caucasian. My mind jumped through synonyms and through the language used in a scene from The Greatest Showman, I landed on contrasting my mental image from the book I was reading to The Help. To my embarrassment, though I only really know that it was a good book/movie, what the cover looks like and that I want to read it, I just now connected the dots as to what the content could be about. It was interesting how phrases so similar could paint such vastly different mental images. 

Through a series of thought train hoping that even I can’t recall. I landed somewhere between blending these thoughts with International Women’s Day. Many people post about loved ones that have made a large difference in their life, people who they have regular contact with, be them family or famous (via media). It struck me that there is one young woman, who was a stranger, that had a large impact on me with a simple conversation. I want to celebrate her this International Women’s Day because the impactful women who I have regular contact with know that I love them, respect them, and appreciate their wisdom on a daily basis. 

The conversation I had with this girl was a simple exchange, in the girl's bathroom at the end of my time in high school no less. She had beautiful dark skin and a makeup style I could only dream of pulling off. As she reapplied her lipstick, I complimented her and followed up with something along the lines of ‘I wish I could pull that off too’. I felt far too pale to be able to wear such beautifully bold colours. She thanked me, finished applying her vibrant lipstick, and challenged me with ‘If you want to do it, just do it’. I recognize that I’m already stubborn/determined but it gave me just enough gas in my tank in an area where I felt inadequate to try new things, particularly with hair colour/cut and makeup styles. Years later, I’ve ended up having very similar short exchanges with other women but these times the shoe has been on the other foot. I can only hope that a little spot of empowerment from me to them has impacted me as positively as hers was to me.

I had a rough go last term with making friends and once I made what I thought would be a good friend, he was unable to continue in our program. I thought that maybe I was doing something odd, socially speaking, but after talking to my sister we determined that it wasn’t me. I spoke to a few people about it, my husband and my 2nd-year buddy for example and we figured it was probably a presence thing. Since I live far enough from the campus it’s hard to make it back without a vehicle in the evenings to attend social gatherings. So, I put in the effort to get out with my classmates more and things have been going a lot better! 

It means less sleep and less time to study but It’s not good for me to go to class and feel like I have no friends either. There needs to be a sense of balance and security in order to succeed in this program. We need each other. Even if it feels like I could be shooting myself in the foot as I try to find a good work/social balance, I think I will be the better for it. 

First Friday back, there was a party!

Bachelor night! w/ sleepover at a classmate’s house.

There was a birthday party at Garrison Brewery. I went after going swing dancing.

I have met amazing people in Halifax, though I’ve struggled to make friends in my classes. I am much closer with people from church and swing dancing. My community in Halifax though it has grown quickly, feels rather shallow in comparison to what I have in Ontario. A friend of mine who also moved away expressed that though coming back to our community in Ontario is nice, she found that it was like getting into an old rut. In my elementary school years, a good friend moved away to be closer to their cultural community in Toronto and she expressed a similar feeling. While I can say that I sympathise with the sentiment, it’s a bit of a comfortable rut. I like being around the people that know me best, who understand my isms and oddities. 

That being said, I don’t know if either the town I’m from or Halifax could be a forever home for me. I prefer the history and outdoorsy lifestyle of Halifax in comparison to my hometown, but nothing can beat the people. I wonder about a place a little further north so that I’d still be within a 30 minute drive from everyone but get a bit of what I like from Halifax.

Among it all, God is good and I know he has good things in store for me. Growing is good, and I need to be taken outside of my comfort zone for that. Knowing that he is constant, he is a great provider and that he is always at my side is a great encouragement. Adventures aren't meant to be easy or smooth but along the journey, we can learn a lot about ourselves, our communities and what could be in store for us. As I gear up I find myself returning to the verse that has branded 2018 for me, Isaiah 41:13 “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you’.” I am thankful for the time with the important people in my life and I look ahead to the tasks ahead with new wind in my sails.