In the movie Match Point, Woody Allen uses the metaphor of a tennis ball hitting the net, and the difference between winning and losing depending on which court it lands on, to talk about the presence of chance in crucial moments in life. This is how it felt for the 15 students from the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) who, thanks to the decision to expand places in the medical degree this year from 135 to 150, were able at the last minute to enter the race for which they had fought. severely, from which they were excluded until a few weeks ago due to not finishing in the top 10 in the division obtained after EBAU.
This is the case of Victor Benton del Toro, who has been trying to obtain a medical degree since last year. “It was lucky that they expanded those 15 places, because I didn’t get the degree last year and I signed up for physiotherapy where many of the subjects I was going to study were validated, which I passed and I did the EBAU again this year, the subjects I took electives in biology and chemistry to get a higher grade, but I couldn’t pass the final grade which was 12.9 and I had 12.85.
He stresses that it was disappointing to be excluded again, but he enrolled in the second year of physical therapy to continue studying subjects that could later validate him in medicine, because he never thought of giving up his quest to become a doctor. . “On the third day of physical therapy classes, I suddenly received a message saying that I had entered medicine,” says the young man from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. “I couldn’t believe it, I was shocked, I had achieved it.” His calling has always been clear, perhaps influenced by the example of his doctor father. After the first year of physical therapy, five subjects are validated, and he is considered to have made his effort well on his way to medicine. “The goal now is to move on and enjoy the career I always wanted to do.”
For Fatma Sosa, a native of Galdar, she received the news that she was entering medicine at home, after a day of nursing classes, a degree she started two weeks ago, when she was one-tenth of a semester away from accessing her medicine. “I heard that they are calling some colleagues because of the increase in places, but I have already given up hope. I started nursing with the idea of taking the first course and reapplying to EBAU to raise my grade next year. But when I got home and saw the email telling me I was going to study medicine, it was so exciting, I hugged my mother and started crying, because it was something I had always wanted to do. The daughter of a nurse, since she was young, she has been involved in the health field, “and I also followed all the series that were about doctors and nurses, so my job is pure and simple.” In fact, she thought about going to another university, “but I didn’t feel ready to move away from my family yet and in the end I chose to go to nursing.”
Unlike Victor, who prefers to go step by step before choosing a specialty, Fatima is clear in her desire to devote herself to neurosurgery, even though she realizes that she has a long way to go. “The important thing is that I actually got in, and my mother saw me fulfilling a dream that, since I was little, drove my family crazy when I told them I wanted to be a doctor.”
“Great achievement”
Dara Castellano, from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, had 0.08 below her final grade in medicine, which was a downgrade for her, having worked hard during her two years of obtaining her baccalaureate to access these studies. “The fact that I can finally enter, thanks to the increase in those 15 places, means a huge achievement, since I started high school I have been working a lot and making an effort to achieve this. At first, I was very frustrated, and when they told me I was coming, it was very exciting, and in the end it was worth the effort.
Initially, Dara enrolled in a degree in nursing, because she considered it the profession most similar to medicine. “I started going to class with an open mind: if I liked nursing I would stay there, and if not, I would repeat EBAU, to try to raise my grade. But one day I was at university waiting to enter the semester and they called me to say that I would study medicine. I was shocked. The first thing I did was call my mother.
It was also a surprise for Sarah Fernandes, who was less than a tenth of a year away from entering medicine, and although she initially thought about going to another university, she finally decided to enroll in physiotherapy at ULPGC so as not to waste the year. Next year he tried again. “Thanks to the expansion of places, I was able to start this year, because if there is one thing I have always been clear about, it is that medicine is my profession. The young woman from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria said: “My entry was a big surprise, in fact I had already assumed that it would be a difficult year, so it is very nice.”
The four, along with Victoria Diniz and Adriana Origi, were received last week by the University’s Rector, Luis Serra Magim, and the University’s Vice-Rector for Student, Alumni and Employment Affairs, David Sánchez, at the institutional headquarters of the University of Las Palmas de Gran. Canary. Serra told them about the decision to increase the 15 places, from 135 to 150, thanks to the support and funding of the Ministry of Health, so that this ULPGC course will receive 137 students from the province of Las Palmas in medical classes, six from the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and seven from the rest of Spain. Of the last 15 students to have the opportunity to arrive, there are 11 students from Las Palmas and four from Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
In the case of the ULPGC, the Ministry announced that it will transfer about 714,000 euros next November, which will be allocated to the funds of the Faculty of Health Sciences to cover all priority actions that the Center itself sends to the Center’s management. University institution.
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