From Mount Allison to Medical School
2011-02-16 13:23:27
By Melissa Lombard
Bill McIntyre (’06) says in many ways Mount Allison University chose him. His parents met at Mount Allison and he grew up knowing he would attend the University after high school. It just made sense. He was looking for a challenging biology program, while at the same time having the opportunity to explore other subjects in a liberal arts environment. He also wanted to play football. And when it came time to apply, he was awarded a Bell Scholarship — one of the University’s most prestigious awards.
“Everything just seemed to fall into place,” says McIntyre.
During his four years at Mount Allison he was involved with the Students’ Administrative Council, the Bioscience Student Society, and the varsity football team. He was also awarded a summer undergraduate research grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). And was recognized with the University’s Don Norton Award in his final year as the male graduate who made the greatest overall contribution to university life.
“That award made me feel like I had really used my time at Mount Allison as best as I could,” he says.
And to complete the Mount Allison story for the McIntyres, his graduation fell on the same weekend as his parent’s 30-year reunion at the University.
Following Mount Allison, McIntyre was accepted into the School of Medicine at Queen’s University. And now, five years later, he is officially Dr. McIntyre and is working towards a career in cardiology, which requires six years of study.
“There is not a person out there who hasn’t been touched by heart disease. There is already a lot of research in that area, which means there are a lot of opportunities and government support for projects. The research also means we know a lot about what we can treat and what we can do for people,” he says.
Mount Allison is well regarded for providing students with a foundation to move on to further education, including law, medicine, and Master’s and PhD programs. The University counts many of Canada’s top business, cultural, and community leaders among its graduates.
McIntyre credits Mount Allison with providing him with a well-rounded education that set the stage for him to move on to medical school. He says it was the courses he took outside of biology, such as economics, sociology, and accounting, that really gave him a broad perspective and helped him deal with the human factors that are present in medicine.
“Everything I was involved in, including extracurriculars, at Mount Allison prepared me well for being absolutely overwhelmed and up to my neck, working 80-hour weeks like I am now,” he says.
After his first three years of residency, McIntyre plans to apply to a cardiology residency and then there are three sub-specialties to choose from. His interest is in the area of electrophysiology, which includes pacemakers, and could see him training anywhere in the world.
“Cardio is the goal and pacemakers is the dream, but we’ll have to wait and see what the future holds,” he says.
For more on the Mount Allison experience, read From NB to D.C.: A unique study abroad experience and Residence can be double the fun: A student perspective.