A little bit about myself

My name is Patrick Achkar and this is my first time writing any blog. In this first post, I’m supposed to give you a small idea about who I am, so let’s give it a shot. I am a second year medical student at the University of Montreal and I have a Bachelor of Science in Physiology from McGill University. I have also been the Local Officer for Research Exchange (LORE) with IFMSA-Quebec for two years now.

Since I started medical school, I knew that my vocation was not to limit myself to a single city or country. Having grown up in Syria along with many European expatriates at school, I knew that I would never be able to stick to a single location. Having an interest in medicine on a global level, I quickly realized that IFMSA was the perfect opportunity for me to discover endless possibilities to get involved in medicine, taken to the broader sense of the word, and international initiatives.

Throughout the last two years, getting involved with IFMSA changed me on so many levels that are impossible for me to describe without writing endless essays. I met incredible people whose motivation inspires me to keep working every day, I gained great knowledge in the complex issues that have an impact on health, and I was finally able to get a better picture of the career I want for myself. It might sound cheesy, but I think I found myself in IFMSA.

I have been regularly travelling for a few years now but this time, I will be travelling for a conference gathering around a thousand students from over 90 countries united over one topic, health beyond 2015 in Hammamet, Tunisia!