After completing his degree in dentistry in Australia, a Wetaskiwin local came back to the city to practice.
“It was a really random opportunity,” said Cheng. While applying to dentistry schools Cheng received admittance to both Canadian schools as well as a program in Australia.
He believed by going to school in Australia he would be able to kill two birds with one stone; learning a profession he loves and travelling.
“Plus I knew the program would be recognized,” said Cheng.
Cheng lived in Australia for approximately five years but never planned on staying there. “I went there with the intent of coming back to Canada.”
He had not pinpointed his hometown of Wetaskiwin but another open opportunity encouraged him to return.
Cheng says he has always been interested in the health care profession. However, he feels medicine was a little too textbook and wanted something more hands on. “I really wanted something a lot more personal.”
Cheng feels had he not taken the time to school in Australia his experiences would have been much more constricted. “I feel it’s limiting, the people I would normally interact with if I’d gone to school here.”
In Wetaskiwin he has been practicing for a few months, as he still had to get licensed once he came back to Canada.
“Essentially I had to write the same exit exams as any grad from Canada … on top of already being licensed in Australia,” said Cheng.