Digger - The Doctor Will See You Now by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 4

A few months after the funeral, Ryan entered the twelfth grade. It was now time to begin looking for a college. Having never attended college, his mother was unable to provide him with the guidance he needed for the application process. She knew he wanted to pursue a career in medicine and suggested he go to his guidance counselor. By the time he graduated from high school, Ryan had been accepted to Bowdoin College. The only decision he had to make was which life science to major in. Naturally, he chose pre-med. Being a student came easily to him -- not that the work was easy, but the student lifestyle was something he readily fell into. Ryan was not a party person. In fact, he wasn’t really that social at all. Instead, he chose a somewhat monastic life, knowing that success comes only from hard work and commitment. It wasn’t just about graduating, but leaving college with top grades and passing the medical aptitude exam with scores high enough to attract the attention of one of the better medical schools.

He walked the campus of Bowdoin as a loner. There were one or two girlfriends, and it was in his dorm room where he lost his virginity. He would always remember it as one of the most incredible experiences of his life. But relationships always seemed to be short-lived, as Ryan maintained his priority of achieving the goal of acceptance to medical school. Certainly, he couldn’t let something like a girlfriend stand in his way. But someday, he would meet the right woman as he settled into his career as a doctor. That, however, was years away. For now, there was nothing but work.

The only area of his major that he found confusing was anatomy. The human body is composed of many systems, and there was a lot of information to remember. Ryan spent many late nights poring over textbooks, writing papers and trying to cram as much knowledge into his head as possible. Occasionally, he would consult a tutor with the idea that a bit of ‘Q and A’ would get him thinking in a different direction and therefore prompt better retention. It worked so well that he made it a point to work with a tutor every semester. Then there was math -- more specifically, calculus. Even advanced algebra seemed to come easily to him. But calculus, with its abstractions and imaginary numbers, seemed to be a constant source of difficulty and headaches. By the end of that particular semester, Ryan also learned that persistence is a quality worth possessing.

By the end of his third year, Ryan was researching every medical school in New England and planned on applying to all of them. Unfortunately, he was not able to apply online. Every school wanted paper applications, transcripts, and test scores. He wanted badly to be accepted to the University of New England and was willing to make the compromise of obtaining a DO instead of an MD. This would allow him to stay in Portland, close to home. By the end of his fall semester, he had been offered acceptance by Tufts Medical College, the Vermont College of Medicine, and the University of New England. They were all good schools, but Ryan’s decision seemed to have been made for him. He would be attending UNE on the condition that he graduated with nothing less than a 4.0.