Skip to main content
Logo

Mobile Main Nav

  • About AUC
    • About AUC
    • Residency Placements
    • Accreditations & Approvals
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Meet Provost Heidi Chumley, MD, MBA
    • Board of Trustees
    • St. Maarten Campus
    • UK Track
    • Caribbean Center for Disaster Medicine
    • Facts & Figures
    • News & Publications
    • Blog
    • Events
    • Community Affairs
  • Admissions
    • Admissions
    • Admissions Requirements
    • Request More Information
    • Admissions Assessment
    • Request An AUC Campus Tour
    • Non-US Applicants
    • MCAT Information
    • Tuition & Financial Aid
    • Scholarships
    • Webinars
    • Events
  • MD Program
    • MD Program
    • Medical Sciences
    • Clinical Sciences
    • UK Track
    • Medical Education Readiness Program
    • Hospital Teaching Sites
    • Medical School Guides and Resources
    • USMLE Preparation
    • Meet Our Faculty & Staff
    • Student Handbook and Course Catalog
    • Student Forms
  • Student Life
    • Student Life
    • About St. Maarten
    • Virtual Tour
    • Safety & Security
    • Clubs and Organizations
    • Spouses Organization and Families
    • Housing
    • OSPD
    • Class Profiles
    • Alumni Class Notes Form
  • Galleries
  • Alumni
  • Faculty
  • Students
  • Parents
  • Careers

Secondary Mobile Menu

  • Request Info
  • Apply Now

Social Media Navigation

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Call
  • Request Info
  • Apply Now
  • Alumni
  • Faculty
  • Students
  • Parents
  • Careers

Social Media Navigation

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
Request info
AUC Med Logo
  • About AUC
    • About AUC

      Our medical school offers a collaborative learning environment that features a multitude of student organizations, small class sizes, international training opportunities, and a team-based learning culture.

      Learn More

      • About AUC
      • Residency Placements
      • Accreditations & Approvals
      • Diversity & Inclusion
      • Meet Provost Heidi Chumley, MD, MBA
      • Board of Trustees
      • St. Maarten Campus
      • UK Track
      • Caribbean Center for Disaster Medicine
      • Facts & Figures
      • News & Publications
      • Blog
      • Events
      • Community Affairs
  • Admissions
    • Admissions

      Our medical school admissions team is eager to assist you as you embark on your journey to become a physician. Our goal is to provide you with all of the information and guidance you need to explore AUC as a medical school option.

      Learn More

      • Admissions
      • Admissions Requirements
      • Request More Information
      • Admissions Assessment
      • Request An AUC Campus Tour
      • Non-US Applicants
      • MCAT Information
      • Tuition & Financial Aid
      • Scholarships
      • Webinars
      • Events
  • MD Program
    • MD Program

      A US-modeled curriculum designed to prepare you for practice in the US, Canada, and beyond.

      Learn More

      • MD Program
      • Medical Sciences
      • Clinical Sciences
      • UK Track
      • Medical Education Readiness Program
      • Hospital Teaching Sites
      • Medical School Guides and Resources
      • USMLE Preparation
      • Meet Our Faculty & Staff
      • Student Handbook and Course Catalog
      • Student Forms
  • Student Life
    • Student Life

      Learn what it's like to be a student at AUC, including living in St. Maarten, opportunities for community involvement, and clubs and organizations.

      Learn More

      • Student Life
      • About St. Maarten
      • Virtual Tour
      • Safety & Security
      • Clubs and Organizations
      • Spouses Organization and Families
      • Housing
      • OSPD
      • Class Profiles
      • Alumni Class Notes Form
  • Galleries
  • Apply Now
      • Start Your Application
      • Submit Your AMCAS Application
      • Submit Your AACOMAS Application
      • Continue Your Application
Pattern Two
Friday, March 16, 2018 - 12:00
auc:news/student-stories
News

Share

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • pinterest
  • email

Breadcrumb

  1. About Us
  2. News & Publications
  3. Sisters Pre Match at Bronx Lebanon Hospital

Sisters Pre-Match at Bronx Lebanon Hospital

Two sisters graduating from AUC this spring didn’t have to wait for Match Day to know where they’d spend the next three years.

Ayesha Siddiqa and Iqra Nawaz pre-matched into internal medicine at Bronx Lebanon Hospital in New York, where they have been completing clinical rotations for the past year. The offers came within a month of each other. 

“It’s a dream come true,” Ayesha says. “Even if I had gone through the Match, this program would have been my first choice.”

Iqra agrees. “Bronx Lebanon is like home to me,” she says. “Pre-matching here is one of the best things that could have happened.”

AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNEY TO PURSUE MEDICINE

Ayesha and Iqra, who are a year apart in age, have both dreamed of becoming doctors since childhood. They grew up with four siblings in Pakistan before their family moved to Brampton, Ontario during their high school years. 

“Growing up in Pakistan, health facilities were not as good as they are here,’” Ayesha says. “Seeing that, I thought maybe one day I could do something to help.”

The two sisters attended Brock University in Ontario, with the goal of continuing onto medical school afterwards. Although they did well—while adjusting to a new country and a new language, no less—their limited time in the country left them at a disadvantage when it came to Canada’s competitive medical school landscape. 

“As an immigrant, it takes time to understand the education system,” Ayesha says. “By the time I settled in and knew what I needed to do, it was my third year. I tried my best to apply to Canadian medical schools, but it’s very hard to get in, even for people who have lived here their entire lives.”

That’s when Ayesha and Iqra began looking into international medical schools. Both sisters were accepted to AUC with scholarships and planned to enroll. But the realities of their financial situation soon came into sharp relief. Their family now had to fund two medical students’ tuition while supporting their four siblings, and no bank would offer them a loan. 

“Our parents told us, ‘You can attend the first semester. We can’t promise you the whole medical curriculum, but we’ll do as much as we can because you’ve waited your entire lives for this,’” Ayesha says. 

Their parents’ sacrifices—and the uncertainty of whether it would be enough—would only increase as Ayesha and Iqra progressed through their medical education. Each semester, they poured their hearts into studying, not knowing if they would have the resources to return for the next.  

“My parents sacrificed so much for us,” says Iqra. “It became not only our dream but their dream as well. That kept us focused.”

FROM ROTATIONS TO RESIDENCY AT BRONX LEBANON

Both Ayesha and Iqra fell in love with internal medicine when they moved to New York and began rotating at Bronx Lebanon.

“To me, internal medicine allows me to put together everything that I learned in basic sciences,” Iqra says. “I knew that’s what I wanted to do in the future, so I did weekend and night calls, worked with different residents, and kept doing IM calls even after my rotation finished and I moved onto pediatrics.”

Being able to stay at Bronx Lebanon for the rest of her rotations and show her dedication, she says, played a big role in her attendings considering her for the pre-match. 

“It’s a blessing for us,” Ayesha says. “We really wanted to stay in this hospital because it’s a great environment and we’ve learned so much already working with the residents and attendings.”

The most rewarding part of the experience? Sharing their accomplishments with their family. 

When Iqra pre-matched a few weeks after Ayesha, she surprised her parents by going home and telling them the good news in person. 

“My mom and dad started crying, they were so happy,” Iqra says. “It’s their achievement too. We wouldn’t be here without everything they did for us.”

GET STARTED TODAY

TAKE THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS YOUR

MOST PROMISING FUTURE

Request Information
  • Call
  • Chat
  • Request Info
  • Apply Now
  • Alumni
  • Faculty
  • Students
  • Parents
  • Careers
  • "Chat Now"
    Top
    AUC Med Logo

    Footer Social Media Navigation

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Careers
    • Student Email
    • Colleague Email
    • Contact
    • Sitemap

    ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE

    880 SW 145TH AVENUE • SUITE 202
    PEMBROKE PINES, FL 33027
    PHONE: 305-446-0600

    TOLL-FREE: 866-DR2B-AUC
    (866-372-2282)
    FAX: 305-444-6791

    ST. MAARTEN CAMPUS

    1 UNIVERSITY DRIVE AT JORDAN ROAD, CUPECOY, ST. MAARTEN

    PHONE: +1 721-545-2298

    FAX: +1 721-545-2440

    PRESTON, UK PROGRAM SITE

    VERNON BUILDING ROOM 64, SIZER STREET PRESTON, LANCHASHIRE PR1 1JQ

    PHONE: +1 721-545-2298

    FAX: +305-444-2440

    AUC is accredited through 2021 by the Accreditation Commission on Colleges of Medicine (ACCM, www.accredmed.org), which is the accreditor used by the country of St. Maarten. The United States Department of Education, via the National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation (NCFMEA), reviews the standards that countries use to accredit medical schools. The NCFMEA has determined that the ACCM's accreditation standards are comparable to those set by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), which accredits medical educational programs in the United States. 

     

    © 2021 American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. All rights reserved.   Privacy Policy | Student Consumer Information | Online Cookie Policy | Accessibility