This is the last week of our study in Ottawa, and we have
experienced a lot of activities. We are glad to get closer to the
medical systems in Canada.
The tour to the anatomy lab
After the first week's introduction unit, we have been more
familiar with this brand-new system of learning, and in Monday
afternoon, the climax finally came-- the visit to anatomy lab.
In anatomy courses, we were separated in to small groups just as
CBLs and e- Portfolios to maintain the order inside the lab and the
quality of teaching. Dr. Jalali welcomed us at the front warmly,
and he introduced us to how the lab worked and do's and the don'ts.
He also put special emphasis on student's professionalism while
using the lab.
Then we were led to a cadaver. The teacher introduced us to the
main parts of cardiovascular system, and encouraged us to feel the
cadaver freely in order to remember them in an easier way. As it
was the first time for us to see and touch the cadaver, we were all
so excited that we couldn't help but to keep asking questions. The
visit was unforgettable for all of us, and it made a successful
kick-start for the anatomy lessons forward.
Indigenous Celebration
After a busy morning, we went to the Victoria Island which is near
the Parliament Hill by school bus to have the indigenous
celebration together with all the MD2020 students from the Faculty
of Medicine, University of Ottawa. The Dean, Vice dean of the
Faculty of Medicine and elders of the Algonquin, Inuit and
Metiswere were all present and gave wonderful speeches. We were
also fascinated by the indigenous food provided on the island at
noon: delicious breads, indigenous soup and special biscuits, which
we enjoyed so much.
The talented indigenous people gave us a wonderful performance
after the lunch, including drumming, singing, indigenous dancing
and a brief introduction to traditional healing. Loop dance was
what amazed me most: the dancer danced around while using many
loops to mimic different animals. The performance really gave us a
hint of the attractiveness of the indigenous culture of Canada and
the wisdom of the indigenous people who have lived for thousands of
years in this continent.
At the end of the celebration, we students, hand in hand, forming a
loop to dance together and experienced the life that the indigenous
people have lived and the special joy which could not be compared
elsewhere.
PSD: T he first history interview
The full name of PSD is Physician Skill Development, which aims at
fostering the practical skills of the medical students besides the
professional knowledge. Obviously, medicine, as a discipline of
both science and artistry, requires not only knowledge from texts
but also exploration of how to intertwine science and humanity- the
skill which absolutely relies on our step-by-step effort. On the
afternoon of this Thursday, we stepped into the practice of
interview skills after the tutorial of in the first PSD class.
After the preparation, sharing opinions on the reading materials,
for the interview, we went to the hospital for one-on-one interview
of patients with the topic of social history with the guide of the
tutors. Our group went to the cancer ward in the General Hospital.
Since it was hard to start the very first interview of the
patients, along with a language barrier to some extent, I was
worried I may offend the patients. However, when the interview
really started, I began to forget my worries because I was immersed
in the stories of the patient and her reflections and sadness about
the disease as well as her good memories about the past. This
moment, it occurred to me that the so called patient-centered
pattern is not a form but a feeling of empathy. Although this
section of interview only lasts a couple of minutes, it provided us
with a taste of how our future life will be.
Departure ceremony
September 16th was the third last day of our stay in Ottawa, and
also the Harvest Moon Day in North America as well as the
Mid-Autumn Festival in China. It was the day where the moon is the
largest, brightest and fullest no matter from where on the globe it
is seen. Faculty members and students of uOttawa held us a
departure ceremony along with a celebration for both Harvest Moon
Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival. At the beginning of the activity,
the host told us the story about the Harvest Moon Day: on this day,
bright moonlight from the full moon shines on the fields, which
provides the farmers with an extra whole night to finish harvesting
their crops before everything gets frozen in one night. Peers of us
OSJSM students said that they had not heard of the Harvest Moon Day
either- it seemed that they were more familiar with the Chinese
traditional Mid-Autumn Festival! Then, Deans of both side made a
conclusion of the days we spent in Ottawa in a humorous way of
combining Dean Bradwejn’s English-accented Chinese and Dean Chen’s
Chinglish. Mrs. Forgie and our host addressed their wish for us
having a safe flight home. And finally it came to the long-expected
moment: we got to taste some mooncakes either from local Chinese
supermarket or SJTU! My peer and I had two mooncakes marked ‘Golden
Jade’ on our table, and it took me quite long to figure out that
‘Golden Jade’ actually meant egg yolks and lotus seeds. A few pairs
of peers gathered together to take a selfie holding mooncakes, and
my peer and I felt sad after hearing that there were mooncakes of
green tea flavor but we missed them. We all stood around tables,
eating, chatting, laughing and enjoying ourselves after more food
was sent to us. From time to time someone would hold up a selfie
stick and we would all went close trying to get ourselves into the
picture, showing our shining white teeth, making victory gestures
and saying Cheers. On the screen behind us were beautiful photos we
took during the one and half months in Canada which hold our
precious memory here.
White Coat Ceremony
Our seven weeks’ summer school almost came to its end on the
afternoon of September 16. Our last event in the University of
Ottawa, faculty of medicine, was the White Coat Ceremony for the
MD2020 students. Hosted by Dr. Forgie, Vice Dean of the Faculty of
Medicine, the ceremony began with the National Anthem by the
student chorus. The opening address was given by Dr. Bradwejn and
Dr. Guoqiang Chen and we were impressed by their words of wisdom
and great sense of humor as well. Then, led by Dr. Lam and the
student representative Emilie, the MD2020 students gave their
declaration of professionalism and professionalism oath. We
witnessed them, the friends with whom we spent two amazing weeks,
putting on their sacred white coat, with the expression of
excitement, movement and glory on their face, just like that of
ourselves’ a year ago. Whatever the nationalities and the races
are, once they put on their white coats, they will start a tough
journey of healing people. Tomorrow they will receive a heavy
burden on their shoulders, but today, they cheer for the honor.
Summary
In the last week of introduction week, we drilled deeper into CBL,
PSD, ePortfolio, and so on — courses of Medical School in Canada.
At the same time, we learnt more about what kind of person we
should be as a medical student and as a future doctor, which
includes sympathy, respect, mindfulness, calmness, professionalism,
responsibility and so on. We learnt a lot from those lectures.
In the CBL class of the last week, my partner and I introduced
Traditional Chinese Medicine to our Canadian classmates, explaining
how western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine are combined
with each other, pursuing mutual development in China. All my
classmates were amazed at the Traditional Medicine in China and
medical system as well.
This summer school is a treasured experience for all the students
who came here. Personally, from this trip, I appreciate the fact
that no matter where people are from around the world, there are
always some people willing to give their great efforts and precious
youth to the cause of medicine for their unknown patients in the
future, and for the bright future of medicine as well. In the
journey of medicine learning, despite the toughness, we are not
alone.
Translator: MA Jingyu, XU Luwen, ZHENG Yihang, HU Wenyi,
WANG Xuetong, GONG Tingyue, GUI Yiding
