Final Year Medical School

Hi, my name is Devon Long and I am a medical student at the University of Limerick... that is the simple introduction I am trained to say to introduce myself before helping someone. It is much harder for me to say, now, when I am asking for help.

I started out this career wanting to be a firefighter but a few calls with difficult medical problems way beyond my training or experience prompted me to get further medical qualifications. First responder and EMR really sparked my interest in becoming a doctor to best use my abilities to help people. I went to Fanshawe first to prepare myself for a long educational career. Next was Brock for a first class Honors degree in Medical Science. I had hoped to get into a medical school in Canada but found my opportunity in Ireland.

The tuition was way beyond anything I could think of affording but my parents fully supported me and risked all of their assets so I could get a loan for the first 2 years. When that ran out they personally funded my 3rd year with every possible dollar they could find. Now I am entering my 4th and final year and we have run out of options with our banks so I need help to make it through this last stretch.

No one has ever questioned or doubted that I could accomplish my goals but I feel I should give some reassurance to those who may like to help. I graduated Fanshawe with a perfect GPA and made presidents and deans honor rolls. I received first class honors from Brock and managed a first author publication and 3 named author publications in pediatric physiology while I was there. I have also been at the top of my class thus far in medical school in Limerick. I am the current Limerick chair of the emergency medical student society Ireland and placed 1st in the country in last years surgical skills competition. I have completed the first part of my Canadian board exams and scored in the 95th centile. That is much more bragging than I am comfortable doing so I will leave it at that.

My goal for this year is to apply to family and rural family medicine programs in the 2019 Canadian residency match program. I would like to train to become a family doctor in an underserviced area in Canada and also work in some local and remote hospital emergency and inpatient departments. My wife Alycia is also in school in Ireland training to become a math teacher. We share our vision of servicing a community in need. I have been home for the summer doing elective rotations in Hamilton, Toronto, and Windsor in family and emergency medicine and am more passionate than ever to accomplish my goals.

So, I humbly ask for your support in helping me to finish my final year in medical school so I can begin the next step in helping others that I believe need it most.