Eric Lindsay

Biography

I grew up in the countryside and worked in dairy barns for the greater part of 5 years while I was in high school and part of university. I enjoy many sports including baseball, dodgeball, volleyball and handball. I had the opportunity to help plan Science Orientation during my undergraduate degree at uWaterloo and I am also helping to plan this year’s Orientation for the incoming students at The Michener Institute. I am known to have an obsession with escape rooms. I currently work at one and so far I have tried close to 30 different rooms from Kitchener across to Niagara Falls. I am always looking for more rooms to try and escape! 

What and where did you study before joining MRS?

I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo in Biomedical Sciences with a Psychology minor.

What attracted you to the MRS program?

I really enjoy helping people and I always knew I wanted a career in the healthcare sector. When I came across the MRS program, I found all of the programs really interesting because they get you ready to be in the job field in 3 years. This included clinical placements where you actually get a chance to work in the environment that you may be working for the rest of your career. I liked the idea of that because it gave me the opportunity to test out if my choice was right for me. I was particularly drawn towards Radiation Therapy because we are the front line people who are helping those with cancer to try and get rid of it. It is always rewarding to see patients who come back for follow-up to find out that they no longer have cancer! 

How is MRS different from your previous university experience?

The MRS program is very different from my experience at Waterloo because our class size is so small. You get to know everyone in your class really well because you spend all your classes with them. You also get to know your professors really well because you will have multiple classes with one professor throughout the program. This makes it easy for the professors to learn who you are and it makes the teaching that much more personal. A lot of the courses overlap and are tailored to what we need to know for the profession. This makes learning the material a little easier and more enjoyable knowing that what you learn will be used in the future.

Once you decided to pursue this field, why did you choose to study with us?

I chose to study with U of T and The Michener Institute because it was a joint program. I liked the idea of being both a U of T student and a Michener student because I have the resources of both campuses at my disposal. I also liked the fact that we were guaranteed a placement position and did not have to try and find one ourselves. I also chose to study here because as Radiation Therapy students, we get access to linear accelerators which are what we use on a regular basis in the profession. Having the hands on experience as part of our courses makes it very useful when it comes to becoming a professional.  

What do you like best about the program?

I really enjoy the hands on learning approach that the program offers. We have many classes where we are either working with the machine or interacting with patients so that we can be ready for our clinical placements. There is so much you can learn from the hands on approach that a textbook or a lecture will not be able to provide. 

What are your plans for after graduation? 

Once I graduate I plan on writing my certification exam and hopefully be able to find a job as a Radiation Therapist around the London area since it is closer to my hometown. I also am going to look into completing the MRI post-certification program at the Michener Institute. 

Are you involved in extracurricular activities (clubs or sports) at U of T or Michener?

I served as the president of the Medical Radiation Science Society. We are a club that all MRS students are a part of when you are in the program. We run events and socials throughout the term to provide a social experience to students. Our biggest event is MRS week in which we put on many events during the week and I look forward to putting it on this year. Last year we had Bubble Soccer which was a successful event. I also enjoy playing intramural dodgeball and volleyball at The Michener Institute. I was on the winning team for volleyball during the winter term and we look to win again this term!

What advice do you have for prospective students who are considering the program/profession?

All of the MRS programs involve interacting with patients and most of those patients are sick or in pain. When considering applying to this program make sure you are comfortable interacting with these patients and that you can make them feel comfortable with you. This is an extremely important trait to have especially when working in the healthcare sector. 

Where is your clinical placement?

Credit Valley Cancer Centre

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For more information about the MRS Program visit www.medicalradiationsciences.ca