Tough Decisions

Life was a lot simpler a few weeks ago. I had spent the past 5 years studying for tests, volunteering in and around the health care system, and traveling the world trying to get myself into a good medical school which would allow me to defer my matriculation for 2 years while I went to the Peace Corps. Although my initial desire to go to South America hadn't materialized, I welcomed the opportunity and challenge of going to NW Africa to serve my 2 year commitment through the Peace Corps. Just two weeks ago everything had come together and I had a plan: I was leaving for the Mauritania on June 17th and getting back to start medical school at USF in August 2011.

However, a few weeks ago UF College of Medicine contacted me to let me know that I had been offered a spot in the class of 2009. Considering that I had already been told by some UF COM staff that they weren't going to let me defer for the Peace Corps and considering I had already committed to USF, the emailed notification of acceptance did little more than cause me to raise my eyebrows as I glanced it over. When I went in to let the UF admissions staff know that I would be unable to accept the position in their class the following day, the director of the admissions office informed me that they would now seriously consider a deferral request from me for the Peace Corps and that my commitment to USF wasn't as binding or significant as I had made it out to be in my mind.

I spent the next several days mulling the decision over in my head. I already had my mind set on attending USF and it took me a few days of thought and prayer to even seriously start looking at UF again as a viable option for me. I had spent the past 4 months since committing to USF trashing UF and convincing myself it wasn't the place for me: I needed a change of scenery, it would be good to broaden my academic horizons, my success as a doctor isn't about medical school rankings, my medical experiences being limited to Shands would give me a narrow perspective on practicing health care, etc. It took a lot of phone calls, meetings, and casual conversations for me to realize what even really matter most to me in the decision. It wasn't until I spoke with my family, friends, and the people affiliated with UF/Shands that I understood how much I wanted to remain close to my family and that the change I desired will still there for me at UF because of how different things will likely be after coming back from 2 years with the Peace Corps.

On Friday May 29th, I went to UF and gave them the paperwork and deposit that was required for them to consider my request for deferral. I anxiously awaited the news and finally, on Friday June 5th just 10 days before my scheduled departure for Mauritania, I got a letter in the mail confirming that they had granted me a 2 year deferral for the Peace Corps... Awesome feeling, amazing day...

Leaving the medical school decision behind me, I continued to get ready for my trip to Mauritania. Every day I spent time buying little things here and there, trying to gain as much weight as possible, practicing my French, and progressively saying goodbye to friends as they left town. Last night, June 8th i.e. less than 1 week before I was leaving for Staging, I got a call a Peace Corps representative letting me know that the trip to Mauritania had been delayed for the entire group of 60+ volunteers because the Mauritanian government hadn't approved any Peace Corps visas. The representative informed me that due to political turmoil surrounding the upcoming mid-July elections they haven't been approving any visas for some time now, but that the Peace Corps had hoped to get their visas through due to their good relationship with the government. A week before the trip was set to start and no visas yet processed, they finally felt it was time to postpone the trip. Although the Peace Corps person I talked to on the phone didn't give me any exact date, I heard from other future volunteers that they were hoping for an August 11th departure. We'll see! In the meantime, I'm going to try to meet up with Amy, the UF Peace Corps recruiter, and see if I can get nominated for a second program just in case this August departure date gets delayed even further... I'll keep you all posted as I hear things. I hope all is well!