From a research assistant in a biology lab to a summer medical internship in Spain, a Teaching Assistant (TA) for a general chemistry lab to a TA for a physiology class, and from president of Spanish Club to the Vice President of the American Medical Students of America at St. Norbert College, to say that Natalie Norton ‘23 has taken the initiative to prepare herself well for a career in the medical field is an understatement. Norton is a senior double majoring in biology and Spanish from Glendale, Wisconsin and hopes to become a dermatologist one day. Through a program at St. Norbert College, Norton was able to spend the summer of 2022 studying abroad in Spain while gaining valuable medical experience working in a nursing home. Now that she is wrapping up her time at St. Norbert College, she has her sights set on medical school.
In Spain this past summer, Norton took three classes at Fundación José Ortega y Gasset (FOM) in Toledo, Spain. She took a class entitled Global Citizenship, one called Spanish Cinema, and the third was an internship at a local nursing home. Because it can be challenging to get global experience, especially in a field such as healthcare, Natalie was thankful for the opportunity. “I was able to work with the residents of the nursing home with the Physical Therapist (PT) and Occupational Therapist. I actually got in with the doctor a few times and some of the nurses. I work as a CNA, so I was able to help them feed people and move people around. And then I was able to lead group exercises for the PT people. It was fun!”
Norton says that her summer experience gave her, “a lot of confidence that I can do a lot more than I thought I was capable of.” She thought it might be challenging to move around a country where the primary language was not her first language, but she found it, “surprisingly easy and [she] felt very competent.” She adds, “I recommend it; it’s a very safe and easy to travel country. I think even if you didn’t speak Spanish you could get around fine.”
Norton also got to work in a nursing home while in Spain. She explains that it was a bit different to ones that she has worked at here in the United States. For example, some of the patients, “referred to the nursing home as a daycare,” she laughs. “It sounds bad when you say it, but that’s what they would call it. So, let’s say your mom was having trouble. You would drop her off at around 8 in the morning and then you’d pick her up around 4 or 5 after work. And then they’d sleep at your house and eat with you, but during the day, they have people watching over them, planning activities, and they have friends there. I think it’s a good alternative to send them somewhere where they live there full time. And they do a lot of preventative therapy there too. I learned a lot about the healthcare system in Spain too and things seem a lot more affordable. It was interesting to see how cheap things are there, like having a baby is nearly free. So that was a big takeaway.”
The decision to go to Med School can be a big and scary decision, but Norton had her mind set on it from a young age: “I’ve known since about 8th grade. I’ve known forever. I’m one of the lucky ones. There’s a lot that goes into it. I just love learning. I like science. I like maximizing the level that I know things and I feel like being a physician is somewhere where you can really master a specific area. I would really like to go into dermatology. So, I want to be a specialist and know the most I can about the skin. Another big part of it is that, growing up, I had a lot of sports injuries, so I’ve seen a lot of doctors and they were always cool and I wanted to be like them. I’ve also always been supported in pursuing things like that and never had anyone tell me I can’t. So there’s been lots of opportunity and lots of support.”
Norton explains that the medical school application process begins with taking the MCAT. One can take the MCAT at any time, but she recommends taking it no later than April or May of your Junior year. After that, you submit a primary application to your prospective schools which has an activity section in which you list your top activities. Next, you submit a personal statement and pay about $100 to every school you send it to. Norton applied to 24 schools. About a month after you submit your primary, you get secondary applications from almost every school in which you applied to. Those applications are another $80 to $140 per school. You then submit 2 – 12 essays per school. Norton ended up writing between 50 and 80 essays total. She said that luckily you can reuse some of them. Then, you start to get emails for interviews, which you dedicate an entire day to. Following all of this, you wait for an acceptance into the school. At the time of this interview, Norton had received four interviews and two acceptances and was waiting to hear back from two of them.
One must be passionate about their area of study to devote this much time and effort to it. Norton explains that she decided on going into dermatology because, “I’ve had really bad skin since I was in about 7th grade. I also really really like Dr. Pimple Popper – she’s a removalist who removes cysts and pops blackheads and stuff like that. She is very famous and I think she has a show on TLC. I’ve been obsessed with her since I was in about 8th grade. Also, the skin is really cool and we never really cover it in our classes and I always wonder why. It’s your biggest organ; there’s so much to it.”
On how she believes that her Spanish background will help her in the medical field, she says, “I think it makes me more employable and competitive for residency. That’s the main thing I worry about because dermatology is pretty competitive because it has a really good work-life balance. You’re not on call and you make a lot of money. It’s not about the money, I’m just interested in it, but if you don’t match with the residency program that you want, you kind of get stuck into a different one or you have to wait. I also want to do some global health stuff while I’m in medical school and having the Spanish will make that traveling a lot easier. Global health stuff would look like, in your summer in medical school, it’s about a two week long summer,” she laughs, “you can use that time to do some elective courses abroad and there’s a bunch of programs depending on your school where you can go to different countries and then you work in maybe a clinic or as a travel doctor somewhere for a few weeks.”
Reflecting on how engaging in extracurricular activities at St. Norbert College and the Honors Program specifically helped her prepare for the med school application process and for medical school itself, Norton says, “I think that certain [activities and experiences] have helped make me stand out in the application process. I did directed research with Dr. Brandt this past semester on red-shouldered hawks and I want to keep doing that in the upcoming semester. I also think that being a Lab [Teaching Assistant] is just nice experience in general because it’s kind of a teaching position and it’s also a lot more hands-on. The study abroad and the Spanish definitely helps me. I don’t know how rare it is to have international global health experience before grad school, but I have it because of the programs being offered, which is good.”
Norton will make her final decision on which school to attend in late April. She is excited to start this new chapter of her life and is thankful for the experiences and preparation that she received here at St. Norbert College.
