Dar Dowlatshahi:
CLASS OF 1991
Dorval High SchoolClass of 1991
Dorval, QC
McMaster University - MedicineClass of 2003
Hamilton, ON
McMaster University - Faculty of Health SciencesClass of 2003
Hamilton, ON
McMaster University - ScienceClass of 1997
Hamilton, ON
White Oaks High SchoolClass of 1993
Oakville, ON
Dar's Story
Life
I was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1974... From what I remember, it was a lovely place to live. That is, until the revolution, and the war. My family left Iran in 1981, to get away from the rapid changes in our country. We lived briefly in France, before finally settling into our new home - Canada.
I lived in Montreal for the early part of my life, finishing elementary and part of high school. We eventually moved to Oakville, where I completed high school at White Oaks. There, I developped a taste for punk rock, drums, and of course, beer.
My life would change quite a bit when I moved to Hamilton and spent 10 years in McMaster, ultimately ending up as a doctor. I met my wife, Michelyn, at McMaster. Once we finished our education, we moved to Ottawa, where I now work as a resident physician on a 5 year contract. Life is unpredicatable, and we know there are many changes ahead... where will we move to next?
School
It seems I had two different school lives; one in Montreal, one in Oakville.
The one in Montreal was a life of skateboarding, and hanging out with a close group of friends. There was Cris, Jason, Peter, Gal and Sandi. After school there was Jim and Paul and the gang on the street.
In Oakville, life was about punk rock and playing drums. School was mostly where you went to hook up with the gang, classes were somewhat "optional", and the band changed every year or so... There was the nasty old-school punk of the Cheeseboys, the porn-funk of the Fat Bastards, the neighborhood-friendly classic rock Master of Carpets, and eventually, punk again with The Guy. There were many close friends, some of whom are still the closest ones I have. There were also some nice looking ladies...
College
Went to McMaster, not really knowing what I wanted to do (thinking I wanted to be a doctor or something...).
Ended up in a couple of different programs, starting with chemistry (for a whole month), then psychology, and finally settling on a combined biology and psychology degree. I became interested in the human brain halfway through University, and decided to pursue the neurosciences. Arou...Expand for more
nd this time, I also met my wife, and I decided to actually take school seriously (for the first time ever) so we could get some stability in our future.
Despite having hair that reached down to my ass, I entered a graduate program in Neurosciences at McMaster, and began a relatively successfull research career with several publications and awards. Three years into my PhD, I became interested in medicine again and was accepted to the McMaster medical program. I spent the next three years completing both my MD, and my PhD, much to the surprise of many of my old friends (and much of the family). Michelyn and I got married during this period, and moved to Ottawa, where I am now completing my specialization in Neurology.
McMaster was where I met some of my closest friends, found my wife, and in doing so, found myself.
Workplace
Although I spent the last ten years in University, I did manage to hold a couple of jobs. I worked as a teaching assistant for psychology and nursing to help pay the bills. Once I finished University, I moved to Ottawa where I now work as a physician. No, really - I'm not kidding. And, yes, I did eventually have to cut the hair. Patients kept asking when the real doctor was coming to see them.
At the Ottawa Hospital, I am currently a Senior Neurology Resident physician. I work on the wards, mostly taking care of Neurology patients (people with strokes and seizures, etc...). I also rotate through various other hospital services, having done stints in cardiac care, intensive care, emergency and infectious diseases, to name a few. My job is interesting, constantly changing, and always rewarding. Sometimes, though, the 36-hour shifts get a little long... The job is unpredictable; one day I'm doing paperwork and charting for 8 hours, the next day I'm zapping someone's chest in the parking lot, wedged between two cars. At the end of the day, I'm happy with the life choice, and things just get more and more interesting as time goes on...
Military
I think not!
If I ever joined the military, they'd probably stick a pole up my ass and use me as a mop to clean the urinals.
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