Wisdom from Discovery Day: ‘Get out of your bubble’

November 10, 2017 at 9:00 am

DiscoveryDay-2017

A few years ago, if you had asked Julia Wiens where her career path was headed, she would have answered with certainty: marine biology research.

While earning a science degree at the University of Manitoba, Wiens was inspired by a professor to take a summer job as a researcher. That led to her spending three and a half years focused on a stress steroid in fish. She even went to Scotland to speak about her shark research.

Today, Wiens is a second-year medical student. And she has no regrets about her immersion in marine science.

In her keynote address at Discovery Day 2017 on Bannatyne Campus, hosted by the U of M, the 24-year-old future physician urged the audience of high school students to seize opportunities and not worry about following a predictable path.

“If you ever find yourself with that gut feeling that says, ‘Hey, you may like this,’ I encourage you to listen to that feeling,” she said. “Often, it’s the moments that you never predict where you learn the most about yourself.”

Wise words. The idea that our entire careers can be journeys of exploration was voiced throughout Discovery Day.

Discovery Days are organized across Canada by the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. On Nov. 3, over 300 Grade 11 and 12 students from 81 schools across Manitoba participated in a full day of hands-on learning about the career pathways offered by the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

Speakers Jennifer Fosty, a nurse and U of M alumna, and Jean-Paul Berard, a paramedic, said they could never have foreseen that their training and experience would eventually lead them to jobs on the Manitoba STARS Air Ambulance.

“Your career path will keep changing and evolving,” Berard said. “Be flexible. Keep your eyes open to new opportunities and follow them.”

At the “Health Pros Tell All” panel discussion, Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, U of M Canada Research Chair in molecular pathogenesis of emerging and re-emerging viruses, recalled how overwhelming it was to move from Vancouver to Washington, D.C. to research viruses at the National Institutes of Health.

But he ended up staying seven years and now feels the experience was invaluable.

“The biggest thing I tell students is: ‘Move. Get out of your bubble. Go and get other experiences. It will always help you in the end,’” Kindrachuk said.

Panelist Dr. Guillaume Poliquin described how curiosity and passion led him down a winding career path.

He recounted that he originally planned to be an archeologist, then went into medicine, did a residency in pediatrics, considered becoming a plastic surgeon, veered into infectious diseases, then earned a PhD focused on the Ebola virus.

He now practises pediatric medicine in northern communities, treats pediatric infectious diseases in Winnipeg and is medical advisor at the National Microbiology Laboratory.

“Keeping an open mind is key,” Poliquin said – a great takeaway for all of us from Discovery Day.

What’s your career advice to young adults?