Studies At CMU First Step Towards Career in Medicine for Graduate

CMU gave Claire Bergen “a good foundation to launch into a career in medicine”

Claire Bergen never intended to graduate from Canadian Mennonite University (CMU). When the Crystal City, Man., resident started at the university three years ago, she was only going to come for one year—no ifs or buts about it.

CMU grad Claire Bergen

“I was adamant about this decision,” she says, noting that she planned to go on to study sciences in order to enter the medical profession. “My life plan was set.”

But things worked out differently and, on April 20, Bergen received her Bachelor of Arts degree from CMU.

“I’m okay with being wrong,” she says of the way her plans changed. “CMU provided me with lasting relationships, opportunities and perspective.”

Especially important was the support she felt at the university. “The people at CMU have been amazing,” she says. “Staff and faculty genuinely cared about me as an individual and helped me to succeed. It was also great to have friends who shared a similar worldview and gave me opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations. I felt supported in all aspects of life. My friendships at CMU are by far the deepest, most meaningful relationships that I’ve experienced in my life.”

Studies at CMU have also impacted her faith journey. “Through classes, papers, and conversations with friends, I have felt comfortable exploring questions that I used to avoid asking,” says Bergen, a member of the Crystal City Mennonite Church. “I’ve been challenged to step back and evaluate what I believe and further the process of making my Mennonite faith my own in an environment that is continually edifying my faith.”

But studying at CMU doesn’t mean she is giving up her dream of entering medicine.

“My studies gave me a good foundation to launch into a career in medicine,” she says, noting that she was able to take science courses at CMU, and also at the universities of Manitoba and Winnipeg.

At the same time, she says, “I realized that my Christian faith and passion for science are closely connected.” Classes in biblical and theological studies provided her “with a solid grounding from which I can launch into further education,” she adds.

But more importantly, she was able to move from asking “Does God really want me to be a doctor?” to asking “Am I allowing God to be the centre of my life as a doctor? I have realized that regardless of the career path I choose, what matters most is a willingness to work in partnership with God. Being a Christian and being a doctor can be integrated in ways that I am only now starting to understand.”

Bergen says she used to worry that her decision not to get a science degree would put her “at a disadvantage in my abilities as a physician. I now see that what I have learned at CMU goes far beyond what can be taught in a regular academic setting, and the breadth of my experience here has equipped me above and beyond my expectations.”

In fall Bergen will take a second step towards a career in medicine when she does her practicum assignment—a requirement for graduation from CMU—at a medical clinic near a garbage dump in Mthatha, South Africa.

Posted April 22, 2008.

For more information contact the CMU Communications Director, 500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3P 2N2, telephone: 204-487-3300 ext. 630, fax: 204-889-1694,(www.cmu.ca)