Sometimes we need to just appreciate the moment that we are in, enjoy it, and not always strive for something else thinking that it will make us happy.
Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Christina Nona is studying Medicine in the Class of 2023.
Describe yourself in one sentence.
The best way to describe myself would be to say that I am an inquisitive person.
I like to learn about new things, people and places and I really like to read as well. I guess that’s how I feed off the curiosity that I have.
Tell us about your journey to medical school.
Well, it all started off with being exposed to a lot of amazing teachers in school. Not surprisingly, I was really interested in going into teaching! That changed during undergrad, with my interests being organic chemistry and neuroscience. I decided to pursue research opportunities in those areas, looking for projects that would merge these two passions. My first research project was in the lab of Dr. Patrick Gunning at the University of Toronto, where I was fortunate to receive an NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award to develop small molecule inhibitors that could potentially be used in the treatment of brain cancers. This opportunity confirmed for me that research was the path I should pursue, and also helped me to realize that I was more interested in learning about the brain’s role in behaviour, rather than in targeting it for cancer therapy.
This then led to me to seek out neuroscience research opportunities during undergrad, which ultimately [set me upon the path of] pursuing my PhD in neuropharmacology at U of T under the supervision of Dr. José Nobrega. Using animal models, my thesis explored the role of the neurotransmitter glutamate in long-term brain changes as a consequence of alcohol exposure (i.e., neuroplasticity). Later on in my research career, I became involved in various clinical trials and clinical research projects with a translational aspect; that is, using preclinical research to guide us to further understand the pathophysiology of alcohol use disorder and to test novel pharmacotherapies as potential treatments. Working with physicians and allied health workers was what made me interested in medicine at the time. Being able to see how it was a career that would combine my passion for research, teaching, patient care, and advocating for better treatments was the reason that I decided to pursue medicine.
What has been your most impactful or memorable experience since starting medical school?
I thought this was a good question, although it is a tough question. I think there are many possible experiences, but for me having direct patient interaction and hearing their stories, such as during our clinical method lectures, was impactful for me. There’s so much that we can learn from patients telling their stories.
My most memorable experience was a patient encounter in LFME. After taking the history, we began chatting a bit, and she started to talk about the circumstances surrounding the passing of her husband. Even though she was widowed for several years, the death of her husband and the circumstances surrounding it still weighed heavily on her. As she opened up, she shared that the hardest part was the way the doctors handled the situation. There was a lack of effective communication and she was also left out of the treatment plans for him. She described in detail that he was hospitalized for a while, and as his condition was deteriorating, no one called to tell her about it. He ultimately passed away without her being there or being able to say goodbye. When speaking to the treating physician about this, the physician’s response was very dismissive. She said: “I had a meeting to get to and didn’t have a chance to call you,” but it didn’t seem like an appropriate reason. She then explained to me that she felt like the most important thing for a physician is to be kind, compassionate, and to remember that you are dealing with human life.
It’s been over a year since this experience, but the words still ring true for me and it is not something I will easily forget. So much of her pain and suffering stemmed from losing her husband, but that pain could have been ameliorated to a certain point if only the medical team had been more supportive, treated her [as part her husband’s circle of care] and practiced good communication skills. This story reminds us of the importance of being kind as a physician and the impact it can have on patients. I also thought my LFME preceptor was a wonderful example of what it means to be kind as a physician; she allowed the patient to take her time in sharing this story with me, even though the visit [ended up] last[ing] longer than the standard 15 minutes.
In your opinion, what has been the most impactful discovery in medicine or dentistry?
That’s a good question and a challenging one! There have been so many amazing and impactful discoveries, but I’ll give a cliché answer: I think the discovery of antibiotics was the most impactful. If you think about it, an untreated bacterial infection can kill people and can be so devastating and dangerous. Just think about sepsis for example, from an untreated bacterial infection. Bacterial infections don’t discriminate based on socioeconomic status or age, anyone can get bacterial infections. Having a simple and cost effective way of treating them is very important and impactful.
I came up with this answer because of personal reasons. A friend of mine got hospitalized for sepsis [for an urinary tract infection (UTI)] that went untreated (she’s given me permission to share this!). Initially, she didn’t show much symptoms until it became advanced in the course of the infection. That experience makes you appreciate how harmful those little bugs can be! As for how my friend felt, she was scared and angry with herself for not getting treatment sooner. She said that she did have some lower back pain, but it was not the classical symptoms of a UTI, so she dismissed it until she felt really sick and had to go to the ER. Unfortunately, she now is hypersensitive to any symptoms she may be experiencing and finds herself always questioning if it is possibly something more dangerous.
What is something little known about you?
I absolutely love animals, of all kinds, even raccoons, those annoying little buggers. If you could domesticate raccoons, I would! I LOVE animals! I grew up watching the Crocodile Hunter, and Animal Planet is one of my favourite TV channels. In another life, I would’ve been an ecologist or veterinarian. Just talking about it makes me happy!
Follow -up Question: Do you have any pets?
Yes! I have a family cat. She’s a Chartreux, her name is Sky. I talk about her all the time!
What is one experience that you have had that you feel others can learn from?
I will never forget the time that I had a snack with a homeless person, at the coffee shop right next to the lab I used to work at in grad school. He was there one day asking for food and before I went into the cafe to grab something for myself, I stopped and asked him what he wanted. He asked for a croissant, so I ordered one and I handed it to him on my way out. Thinking that would be all, I was a little surprised when he asked me if I had time to sit down and chat. I agreed, and we sat down and as soon we started chatting, I was amazed about how articulate and intelligent he was. I have to acknowledge my implicit biases at that time, but he was very observant and he was telling me things about people that I never noticed before. He told me about a young lady, a new mother he recently spoke to. She recently had a child, but she was crying and complaining that, “I’ve always wanted a child to make me feel happier and feel like I accomplished something. But I’m still so miserable even now with my child and marriage and don’t know what I will do.” He used her as an example to show that sometimes in life, we think that we are going to get something and then we are gonna be happy, whether that be medicine, school or work. I remember how I used to tell myself, “Once I get to med school, I’ll be happy.” We always wait for that moment, but it is not as beautiful as we thought it would be when the time comes. The grass will still always seem greener on the other side. He helped me realize that sometimes we need to just appreciate the moment that we are in, enjoy it, and not always strive for something else thinking that it will make us happy.
It was important for me to hear at that time, when I was in that phase of my life. During grad school, I was so focused on my research and my plans for the future that I sometimes forgot to “stop and smell the roses.” He also told me that he chose to sleep in the subway tunnels. He had a job before, he had an apartment, but one day, he decided he didn’t want any of that stuff. Now, he doesn’t need to pay his bills and he seemed very content with that. It was a while ago, but it was such an impactful experience for me. He just seemed to know so much about life. When you see people who are marginalized or look different, we tend to to judge them and write them off. However, it’s important to stay humble and stay open-minded about them and what they might be able to teach you.
Do you have any advice you would like to give to future cohorts of medical/dental students?
Be humble and stay open-minded. Don’t go into situations thinking you know everything because that would most likely not be true. You have to accept and be comfortable with that.
What’s the most useless talent you have?
I can move my ears. I don’t get anything out of it, but my friends and family see it and think it's creepy. But yeah it's cool!
Note: The above is a direct transcript from a live interview with Christina Nona conducted by the Resonance Humans team.