What makes an inspiring person inspiring ? Is it what they do, who they are, how they are ? Or maybe it’s based on social standing, being known and popular ? I realized none of that, for me, makes someone inspiring, especially in the field I want to go in: humanitarian trauma surgery. One thing to know about this job, is that’s it not one that loads of people do and it’s very specialized. There are no leaders or experts in the matter, because the few that do want I want to do are all leaders and experts. So how could I choose who to talk about ? What makes someone inspiring to me ? Through research, I found Dr. Harvey Hawes. I tried to learn more about him and ended up contacting him. As I pondered the previous question, I realized that background and actions are inspiring. During our conversation, he mentioned that, by working night shifts in his youth, he came across multiple car crashes. Not being able to help was hard on him and motivated him to pursue trauma surgery. I have similar stories and my motivation comes partially from the same place. Seing that same kind of « origin story » in a Canadian who is successful is really inspiring. He’s trained extensively not only here but also in the US. He has bachelor in Cellular and Molecular Biology, a doctorate in Medicine and a master in respiratory physiology at Calgary’s university, and went on to become a trauma surgeon. How’s that, it’s kinda a weird path ? Well, he’s also a graduate of the University of Alberta in general and acute care surgery. In Houston, Texas, he trained as a trauma surgeon. Now, he’s a fellow with the Royal College and a professor at the University of Texas. This only proves how dedicated to his training and committed in his learning he is. Just like I wanna do, once he finished his long and time consuming training, he wanted to go out to see the world and live life a little. Fuelled by the need to help others and the doctor’s oath to help all human beings, he trained to do humanitarian work abroad. Joining Doctors Without Borders and ICChange, really started his journey. Although the first organization wasn't his calling, it allowed him to realize something I myself have only recently come to realize. In his words: « I was struck by the tragic disparity between the country I was going to practice in, and the parts of the world I was traveling to. » For us, this doesn’t make sense. How could we keep going, how can we keep practicing, when we know that in other parts of the world, and even here sometimes, not everyone has access to healthcare. Some parts live though disasters, wars and worse without appropriate healthcare. Although Dr. Hawes training time with Doctors without Borders was insightful, he wanted to have a greater impact, on millions, not just the few. From my perspective, he now does, as the current director of the Vancouver branch of Innovative Canadians for Change. ICChange is an intersectional entreprise that strives to make healthcare accessible for all. One recent exemple of achievement they’ve had, is their project called : Safe Affordable Ventilators for All, which is basically a think tank, advocacy and innovation initiative designed to get things moving regarding access to covid-19 care. With his company Metric Technologies Corporation, he pursues further that calling and will always keep pushing the boundaries of medical technologies in low and middle income countries. The three main points in his career, providing humanitarian trauma care, advocacy/innovation and teaching is the same triad I’d like to do later, which only makes him even more inspiring to me. Of course, his past, present and future actions are not the only things that make him inspiring. His softs skills are just as impressive as his hard skills. Though our couple of chats, some things struck me about him: how is accessibility and humbleness. Doctors, and especially surgeons who teach and advocate, are incredibly busy. I really didn’t expect him to answer. but he did. He was, and I quote «not sure that [he] could help » but of course, his answers had even more than the depth and richness I was expecting. The fact that someone like him would take time to offer a zoom call and long answers is awe-inducing and really paves the way for other physicians. I think that reverence like his is truly a leader’s quality. Building his team up, helping other and showing respect to physicians that both share and do not share his opinion, allow, in the long run, for a better development of ideas and connections. Finally, what Dr. Harvey Hawes seems to value, is in itself inspiring. I was curious to know if, granted the chance, he’d take a different path. His answer was definitive: « I can't imagine being in another field. The north star of helping others is what brought me here. » It’s quite easy to understand that helping others is important to him, whether as a trauma surgeon, a colleague, an advocate, entrepreneur or even just… as an inspiring person to a random student. That also proves how valuable knowledge is for him. I feel like that love for knowledge can truly make a difference in a field as evolutive as medicine. Also, by the work he does, equity seems also primordial to him just like to me. Not equality, equity. Some parts of the world, some populations need more help, more ressources than other in order to provide appropriate healthcare to their citizens and Doctors Without Borders, ICChange, MTC and Harvey Hawes all contribute to making that happen and I want to do too. I think it’s safe to say that when I grow up, I wanna be like him. He can’t see himself do anything else and I can’t either. I also wanna inspire the next generation. As I close my presentation, I wanna share something he told me and that resonated with me. It’s a bit silly, but it shows the grandness of our field. « I've always been a humanist. Oh, and I enjoy battling death and winning. »
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The Talks I've always been one to want constant challenge and progression. There's a quote from the movie "Kill your darlings" that I adore and feel represent my point of view really well: "I love first times. I want my whole life to be composed of them. Life is only interesting if life is wide." The great thing with trauma surgery, is that most days, you'll experience new things. Sometimes, it gets a bit crazy. And an ER is always busy. You could say, the trauma and emergency care gets crazy busy and I would be one to say that, but Dr. Darria Long has an interesting take on the matter. Her TED Talk An ER Doctor on Triaging your "Crazy Busy" Life has made me hopeful that trauma surgery would teach me how to deal with complex schedules and intense days. In a way, after listening to her talk, I believe trauma surgery would be beneficial for me in general. She explains how switching your mindset from "crazy busy" to "ready mode" can help you triage priorities. I absolutely LOVE her triage analogy to everyday challenges. One thing we use in triage is a colour codes. Dr Long teaches that we have to ignore what's noisiest and find our reds. A red tag in triaging is an immediate emergency, but only those you can act on and have a chance of being successful. Emergencies that are lost causes, as heartbreaking as that may be, are black tags. You do not prioritize those. Once all of the reds have been treated, you move on to yellows. Those are important, but can be delayed. Finally, you can take care of your greens. Often, greens are pretty nosy and distracting, but aren't urgent. I had never really thought of applying the same logic to my daily life. Somehow, even if people told me "prioritize", it never made as much sense ad how Dr Long said it. A second tip that she mentions is to expect and plan for crazy. In the ER and the OR, you know things can get out of hand and that unexpected twists are bound to happen; you prepare for it. Why not do the same in with life ? Set your environnement in a way that even in the craziest times, it'll be easy for your brains to take the right decision. That's something very useful that trauma medicine could teach me, because when I get anxious I tend to fall back on the easiest path, the one that feels safer. Finally, her third advice on how to triage your life is to get out of your head. That's something that isn't easy for me as I tend to be really close to my emotions and overthink everything. As much as that can be useful in trauma, as you often work at a quick pace and in emotion packed situations, there are times when you have to be more objective and focused. Daria Long offers a tip that uses the only loophole in my anxiety: focus on someone else. Focus on caring for your patient or whatever is in front of you. Widen your perspective and take in more informations. That's how you go from "crazy busy" to "ready mode". Next up, a talk from Dr. Najma Ahmed, literally titled What I've Learned As a Trauma Surgeon. This inspiring woman exposes what it's like being a woman trauma surgeon. Not only does she mentions the highlights of being a surgeon, but she also shows the worst of it, all with humanity and truth. The beginning of her talk focuses on something I know would be hard to accept for me: there is so much trauma worldwide that is preventable ! Part of being a trauma surgeon, therefore, is accepting that the patient you are treating could have been very well off it it hadn't been for societal issues, behaviours and structures. Most days as a surgeon, you'll be confronted to people that, up to a few hours earlier, had hopes and dreams and all had that shattered away in a question of instant. "Being a surgeon is being a grace in face of adversity." Isn't this beautiful. Waking up every morning, knowing that your day will be challenging and busy and possibly heartbreaking from your blacks and lost reds, but, every morning going to work with the intention of saving as many people as you can. Surgeons get to experience the beginning of life and the end of it. Trauma surgeon, get to see the impact of the worst human behaviours, like shooting someone else, and the impact of the best of human behaviour, like a team of medical professionals from diverse backgrounds coming together to save a patient. Therefore turning the worst day of their life into something a little bit less horrible.
Dr. Najma Ahmed pushes even further the reflexion regarding the highs and lows of humankind and the impact medicine can have on trending issues like discrimination, but also the impact that issues as gender equality can have on medicine. There's one thought she mentions in her talk that really said with me. Differences are way greater on the outside, under the surgical drapes everyone is the same colour. Meaning that, maybe one patient is black and the other is white; maybe one is a homeless person and the other one is studying law, once they get in the operation room, those differences do not stand anymore. Once the augeron cuts open their body, the bones will look the same, the muscles, the organs... I find that quite beautiful: the very science that studies the human body and that tries to help everyone, actually doesn't care, in a way, of the differences. Sadly, what's truth inside the body and inside the OR, isn't necessarily true whilst surgeon train. Even though, women now have the choice to be what we want to be, the very system is against us. It is dominated by male, who can travel more easily for conferences and presentations, who can more easily spend time away from home, who aren't shamed for doing so. Not only that, but women, in medicine, must keep being excellent no matter what, while men can be mediocre once they achieve a certain standing. That is not fair and is something I will have to fight during my journey. In brief, Dr Ahmed's talk remind us that, in medicine even more so, we are all interconnected and should act accordingly. We never the impact our words and actions may have on someone else. The Speakers Dr. Darria Long is a graduate from University of Rochester's School of Medicine. She then completed her emergency medicine residency at Yale. Her experience as a a clinician is extensive, but what makes her truly worth of listening is her unique perspective, because of her health troubles that allowed her to see a patient's point of view. In addition to that, she was an instructor of medicine for Harvard. This makes her a great popularizer of her knowledge. Dr. Najma Ahmed has started nearby us. She completed her MD and general surgery residency at McGill university. Moving on to Toronto, she developed her skills with a trauma surgery fellowship. What's impressive is that she didn't stop there and graduated from a second fellowship, this time in critical care from the University of Michigan. In her current professional life, she is not only still a physician, but she openly advocates from stricter gun control regulations in order to reduce the number of preventable traumas in Canada. One of the questions I get asked the most whenever I talk about going in trauma surgery is: "So you basically want to be an emergency department doctor ?" and such. Those who know me well are often surprised because they know I value human relationships and that I don't really have neither the patience nor the interest to spend my life treating sore throats and minor injuries, for I know others will do it way better than me anyways. Most of the times, these interrogations come from a lack of knowledge regarding the differences between an ER doc and a trauma surgeon. Hence, I chose to do a bit of research on the matter to help me popularize my explanations and have the proper informations to share.
Differences between an ER doc and a trauma surgeon:1. Type of injuries treated Whilst an emergency room doctor is considered a generalist, a trauma surgeon is seen as a specialist. Therefore, the ER doctor will treat a broader spectrum of injuries and illnesses, ranging from the minor migraine to various stages of labour and even the basic stabilization of trauma patients. Usually, the trauma surgeon will come in from blunt or penetrating traumas and diverses injuries or disease that require surgery to preserve life, limbs and functions from serious damage. 2. Relationship with patients When a patient has undergone triage at the emergency department, they most likely will be seen, later on, by the ER physician. Of course, ERs are more often than not packed with patients that need attention and the physicians have limited time with each of them. Thus, it is very hard for ER physician to develop a meaningful and personalized relationship with patients. However, even if they do not truly meet their patient before surgery, as most require a quick turnaround in their care, trauma surgeon, on the long end, can take the time to get to know their patients mostly during post-op follow ups and rehabilitation. 3. Skill sets and strengths An ER doctor, because they are the first physician most ER patients will see, must have a wide knowledge regarding conditions and injuries and be proficient with diverse stabilization techniques. They generally are great with differential diagnosis, especially that they have the make the initial decisions concerning the next steps of care. On the other end, trauma surgeons have to think on their feet with often limited informations regarding the injury and the patient and therefore have good deduction skills, in addition to confidence. Furthermore, trauma is a very human discipline as you have to deal intense emotions and situations. Hence, having empathy and being able to soothe patients and families are a most for trauma surgeons. 4. Education Like all doctors and surgeons, ER physicians and trauma surgeons undergo the same basic medical studies. Nevertheless, trauma surgeons are in for a longer period of studies. Effectively, whilst most ER physician will get certified in an emergency medicine residency, trauma surgeons will have to complete a surgery residency, often general surgery and then complete a fellowship in trauma or critical care, ergo they will spend most of the times at least an additional 4 years in school compared to ER physicians. Sources: Vroomen Durning, Marijke. “Trauma Surgeons vs. ER Doctors: What's the Difference? .” Campus and Health News, David Geffen School of Medicine, 28 Feb. 2017, medschool.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=1158&action=detail&ref=937. Summary: Trauma surgeons and emergency specialists work hand in hand on a daily basis. The first one has had a longer education and specializes in treating life-threatening emergencies that require surgery and the second one has comprehensive knowledge of many injuries, diseases and techniques, especially those related to stabilization. Although both work in emergencies, the pathway to each role is quite different. “Becoming a Trauma Surgeon.” The Apprentice Doctor, 12 Sept. 2018, www.theapprenticedoctor.com/becoming-a-trauma-surgeon/. Summary: Becoming a trauma surgeon requires a specific skillset and dedication both to studies and care. Effectively, the trauma surgeon can expect twelve to fifteen years of training and a lot of personal hard work on soft skills to be ready for work in the ER and the OR. Once a trauma surgeon is properly certified, in surgical critical care or similar, many pathways are open to them. Whilst most will decide to work in an hospital, some will join the military or teach. For quite some time now, I've absolutely hated my tendency to constantly overthink and worry about the worst-case scenario. I've despised thinking out of the box and being neurodivergent. Then, eventually, I discovered medicine. It was always a truth deep inside me that I wanted to work in a field that would allow me to help people, I just hadn't found "the one" yet. I explored working in humanitarian law for a while, which is still something I do like, but not necessarily what I want to do with my life. Obviously, I explored medicine a bit and at first, I was convinced I was too much of a worrier to become a doctor, although I knew I had a keen interest for health. Life had a way of showing that in fact, medicine is one of the only discipline in which my usually dreadful overthinking and « worst-case scenario/outside the box » thinking is actually my main asset ! Medicine in real life isn't about trying to get a perfect fit between illness and patient, most are imperfect diseases and abnormal cases. You need a human touch and a capacity to improvise, to see what's the worst thing that could happen and prepare for it. What’s more beautiful than having a career that enables you to turn your worst part of yourself as your main strength ?
I discovered that there's a pretty cool loophole in my anxiety: if someone needs help more than I do, I'll become the most cool-headed girl ever with leadership and trust in my abilities. Back in my early high school years, I was out with friends for a birthday party. We were walking at the pier when I saw a man acting weirdly. My friends simply wanted to keep walking, they were afraid of him. I personally felt in my gut that something was wrong in another way... I called the police and moment later, while the officers were on their way, the man jumped down in the freezing cold water. Just in time, the police and emergency responders arrived to get him our of the water. Officers told me the guy would probably be dead if I hadn't called. All along, I simply thought about how I would have wanted somebody to do the same for me if I had been in that situation and how I would have felt if I had learned the other day that the guy had died and that I could have done something to prevent that... I can somewhat pinpoint that moment as the one when I decided that medicine, especially trauma, was actually for me. Another reason why it's trauma surgery and not another specialization that appeals to me the most, although I'm not closed to other options, is that it's one of the few specializations that can allow me to operate on people, create meaningful relations with the patients and still not be too sensitive in the operation room, as most of the times, in trauma surgery, you operate and then you actually learn to know the patient more personally in your follow-ups. Finally, as I mentioned earlier, I also have a keen interest for humanitarian aid and trauma survey can be super useful in humanitarian relief. My dream job, after my studies, would actually to be a part of Doctors Without Borders and therefore combine the two fields I love the most. Whilst working with DWB as a surgeon, I would not only get travel opportunities, but the possibilities to create a meaningful and long-lasting positive impact around me. In addition to that, a lot of DWB doctors are also advocate for easy access to healthcare, a universal standard of care and help during crisis around the globe. Finally, as DWB pride themselves to say, emergency response is a great way to force medical innovation and standardize medical ethics. I would be proud to be apart of this. And that was the first step in my journey to become a doctor: falling in love with medicine. English down below. 12 août 2016. C’était le jour « j’achète un livre québécois » et ma mère m’avait offert d’aller en librairie me trouver un nouveau roman et c’est là que j’ai découvert les livres d’Isabelle Laflèche. Il est fort probable que je serais jamais tombée sur « J’adore New York » sinon, mais c’est devenu un de mes coups de coeur de littérature québécoise et j’ai ensuite lu tous les romans de l’autrice. En participant au concours Booktube Livre-toi des Salons du Livre du Quebec, j’ai eu la chance d’entrer en contact avec Mme Laflèche, une femme absolument exceptionnelle. J’avais toujours eu de la difficulté à trouver un modèle féminin qui m’inspirait dans la société québécoise, une personne qui cliquait avec moi et j’étais absolument ravie de voir les accomplissements d’Isabelle Laflèche, les uns après les autres et j’avais la chance qu’elle m’encourage aussi avec mes propres projets. Après tout, être une jeune femme, une adolescente en 2021, c’est rempli de défis. Les héroïnes de ses deux séries, « J’adore » et « Bonjour Girl » sont toutes deux des femmes fortes, mais surtout réalistes et attachantes. Elles surmontent les défis avec brillance, sans jamais s’oublier ni s’éloigner de leurs valeurs et cela ne les rend que plus inspirantes encore. Il se trouve qu’Isabelle Laflèche est aussi comme ça et c’est merveilleux et encourageant pour la jeune femme que je suis, de savoir qu’il est possible d’avoir du succès en aimant qui l’on est et en voyant la vie de manière colorée. En plus, Mme Laflèche partage ses fabuleux et authentiques enseignement en mixant mode, éco-responsabilité, psychologie positive et acceptation de soi, des thèmes d’actualité et d’importance pour les jeunes filles. Le plus récent projet de mon idole québécoise ? « Hey Girl: C’est le temps de briller ». Programme offert en ligne, à faible coût et bâti en collaboration avec la conférencière et animatrice Christine Michaud, cette formation virtuelle m’a rapidement fait sourire et amenée à réfléchir. Le contenu est varié et présenté sous forme de capsules vidéos, donnant l’impression qu’on est simplement en train de discuter avec les conférencières. Abordant anxiété, intimidation, réseaux sociaux et acceptation de soi, c’est une formation que toutes et chacune devrait prendre le temps d’écouter; il s’agit un peu d’un baume de rayon de soleil mis sur nos coeurs. Les exercices suggérées sont particulièrement utiles: ils amènent à réflexion, sans jugement, et chacune y trouve ce qu’elle a besoin d’y trouver. Non seulement le programme est très inclusif, mais aussi facile d’accès. Mon coup de coeur personnel, c’est la conviction qu’il grandira avec moi: du haut de mes 17 ans, je vois les choses probablement différemment de comment je les verrai à 22 ans, mais je suis certaine que le programme pourra encore m’aider à ce moment et qu’il continuera à m’encourager à être moi sans aucune réserve, tout comme à voir la vie de manière plus positive. Ainsi, à toutes les filles du Québec qui se cherchent un peu, comme moi parfois, je dis « Hey girl, c’est le temps de briller ! » August 12, 2016. It was the day “Buy a Quebec book” and my mother offered to go to a bookstore to find me a new novel and that's where I discovered Isabelle Laflèche's books . It is very likely that I would never have stumbled upon "I love New York" otherwise, but it became one of my favorites in Quebec literature and I then read all of the author's novels. By participating in the Booktube Livre-toi contest at the Salons du Livre du Quebec, I had the chance to come into contact with Ms. Laflèche, an absolutely exceptional woman.
I had always had difficulty finding a female model who inspired me in Quebec's society, a person that I clicked with and I was absolutely delighted to see Isabelle Laflèche's accomplishments, one after the other and I was lucky enough that she also encouraged me with my own projects. After all, being a young woman, a teenager in 2021, is full of challenges. The heroines of her two series, "J'adore" and "Bonjour Girl" are both strong women, but above all realistic and endearing. They overcome challenges with brilliance, never forgetting themselves or straying from their values and this only makes them even more inspiring. It turns out that Isabelle Laflèche is also like that and it is wonderful and encouraging for the young woman that I am, to know that it is possible to be successful by loving who you are and by seeing life. in a colorful way. In addition, Ms. Laflèche shares her fabulous and authentic teaching by mixing fashion, eco-responsibility, positive psychology and self-acceptance, themes of actuality and importance for young girls. The most recent project of my Quebec idol? "Hey Girl: Time to shine." It's a program offered online, at low cost and built in collaboration with speaker and facilitator Christine Michaud. This virtual training quickly made me smile and think. The content is varied and presented in the form of video clips, giving the impression that you are just chatting with the speakers. Addressing anxiety, bullying, social networks and self-acceptance, this is training that everyone should take the time to listen to; it's a bit of a sunshine balm put on our hearts. The suggested exercises are particularly useful: they lead to reflection, without judgment, and everyone will find what they need to find there. Not only is the program very inclusive, but also easy to access. My favorite thing with the program is the conviction that it will grow with me: at 17 years old, I see things probably differently from how I will see them at 22 years old, but I am sure that the program will still be able to help me at that time and that it will continue to encourage me to be me unapologetically as well as to see life in a more positive way. So, to all the girls in Quebec who are looking for themselves, like me sometimes, I say "Hey girl, it's time to shine! " Learn more about the wonderful people of this organization I'm lucky to be a part of: Children First Canada has a bold and ambitious vision that together we can make Canada the best place in the world for kids to grow up.© We are an alliance of Canada’s leading children’s charities and hospitals, research institutes, corporations that invest in kids, teachers, parents and kids themselves. We are improving children's well-being by building greater awareness among Canadians about the urgent needs of kids in our country, and mobilizing government and other key influencers to change the status quo.
In the past few weeks, I've associated with ReThink Stigmas Inc. an organisation that promotes mental health advocacy and education in an effort to eliminate the stigmatization of people suffering with mental illness, especially children and young adults. I am now apart of their wonderful team of mental health advocates.
I myself am affected by stigmas related to a «diagnosis» I've received two years ago, which is giftedness (also known as high potential). As it's not something very common, not even amongst professionals, I've had to face judgement based on stereotypes and even mis-diagnosis. Not knowing about my difference also led me to develop severe anxiety and clinical depression, eventually causing a suicide attempt. I've lived through it and I know it's not easy but that reducing stigmas could help lots of people who are struggling, which is why I wanted to get involved with ReThink Stigmas. Over the next few weeks, I will be presenting their program H.E.A.R.T, that I believe should be taught in every child and teen's class. This article will be updated with new sections as they are posted on my Instagram. In my last article, I talked about ways to be kind to others during quarantine, also reminding each of us that self care is a priority, a necessity, not a luxury. Today, I will focus on the latter: being kind to ourselves.
I often feel like I have to be perfect and helpful all the time, for everyone and in every circumstances and I love having tons of projects, so I sometimes struggle taking time off for myself .My mom always tells me that self care is even more important because of that, and that taking care of myself is not «me first» but «me too». I think that's something everyone should keep in mind ! I wanna share a little reminder that I taped to my bedroom wall, so when I walk by, I try to apply it. It goes: « Friendly reminder to check that you are not holding tension in your body. Let your shoulders drop, unclench your hands and jaw. Take a deep breath. Much better.» It's short and sweet but efficient. Let's dig deeper with tips and activities you can do to unwind ! Remember that these are simply suggestions, self care is very personal and there isn't a right way to do it.
So this is it for some self-care tips, you can try to incorporate some of those activities to your daily routines for even more positive impact ! Feel free to comment your favorite self care activities down below and your opinion on this new article. I've created a little bingo for you to share with your friends and challenge them to also take care of themselves ! Make sure to tag @meggiej.14 #MeggieSelfCareChallenge so I can check out your version ! On March 13th, a radical change happened. Something a lot of us didn't believe could happen. The Quebec government closed schools. We are now on April 16th and it still isn't sure if the school year will continue. There is one things that is certain though: there is a before Covid-19 and an after coronavirus.
In these uncertain times, we need to work together for our community's health and safety. Although proper hygiene and social distanciation are the principal mesures to take, solidarity and kindness to ourselves and others are primordial. But how can you help others while in isolation ? Let's tackle this subject.
Honestly, just sprinkle kindness like confetti. Throw it everywhere you can and collect smiles and laughters. I swear, it feels good to know you've made someone else happy ! Have you performed an act of kindness recently ? What was it and how did it make you feel ? Do you have any ideas that weren't included in this article ? Make sure to share your thoughts down below in the comments and to share with friends that might like this ! Your actions and your words matter; you matter. |