From crayons to clinic: Paula and Isa grew up together to become doctors

Former medical students Paula van Weijen and Isa de Bliek have been friends since kindergarten. Twenty-three years later, they were standing side by side as newly graduated doctors, during their graduation ceremony at Erasmus MC.

Years before, Isa had been at school for a month already when Paula joined the kindergarten class at the Van Oldenbarneveltschool in Rotterdam-West. “Because I started so soon after Isa, our coat pegs were next to each other”, Paula recalls. “So every morning, Isa was the first child I saw at school.” Isa nods. “My first memory of Paula is that she cried for the entire first month.” Paula laughs. “Yes, I hated school.” Isa continues: “I cried at first too, you know. But when Paula arrived, my crying phase was over.”

Tough girls

From the start, they did everything together: they sang in the school choir, took dance classes and went to children’s parties together. “I still remember that Paula had a princess-themed party for her fifth birthday, and I turned up dressed as a knight”, Isa laughs.

They say their friendship worked because their personalities were so similar. “We were energetic kids”, Paula explains. “Always busy, very active, assertive and a bit tough. We were daring and said what we thought. That’s why we matched so well.”

Although they were close, they also made other friends and had separate activities over the years. And they didn’t always agree. “We could argue really well too. Especially in secondary school, we bickered a lot, but it never lasted long”, says Paula. Isa agrees. “Yes, we could really yell at each other – nine times out of ten it was about nothing – but fifteen minutes later we’d have forgotten all about it and gone out for ice cream.”

What keeps their friendship so strong is their honesty. “If Paula wears something I don’t like, I just tell her”, says Isa. “And it goes both ways: Paula can be very honest with her opinions too, especially about boys I was dating”, she laughs. “We can take it from each other, that’s what makes it so good.”

The same dream

Their fascination with medicine started early. “Isa’s mother worked in a hospital, so we were both exposed to it from a young age”, Paula explains. At secondary school, they both took part in the Erasmus MC Medical Summer School, and after graduation they applied for the medical degree selection process together.

While their classmates went on exam trips, Paula and Isa spent three days taking admission tests. “When the results came in, I didn’t dare to open the email”, Isa recalls. She phoned Paula, who was in the car on her way home from a family weekend. “When we saw we’d both been accepted, we cried on the phone.”

Throughout their studies, they continued to be each other’s biggest support. “We spent endless hours on the phone, shared summaries and got each other through it all”, says Paula. “If one of us had to retake an exam, the other helped with studying. It really was a matter of falling and getting back up together.”

Full circle

Their graduation ceremony at Erasmus MC was, without a doubt, their most special shared memory. “It felt like a full circle moment”, says Isa. “Our families were there, just like they had been for our primary school play and our secondary school graduation. Even our grandmothers were there.” Paula adds: “It really felt like the crowning moment of 23 years of friendship.”

Both now work as doctors: Isa in the Surgery department at Ikazia Hospital, and Paula in the Emergency Department at Erasmus MC. “I want to become a urologist”, Isa says. “It’s a surgical speciality, but a bit more reflective than general surgery. You deal with patients who have sexual or urological problems, and you can also move towards sexology.”

Paula, on the other hand, thrives on the adrenaline of the Emergency Department. “I love the unpredictability: at the start of the day you never know what’s going to happen, and you constantly have to act on the spot.”

Friends forever

Both Paula and Isa still live in Rotterdam, now each with a partner. But despite their long friendship, a double wedding isn’t on the cards, they agree. “We’ll definitely be at each other’s weddings”, says Isa. “But our tastes are completely different. Paula would want a romantic day with flowers and pastel colours, while I’d probably go for a Shrek theme”, she jokes.

They have no doubt they’ll remain friends for life. “We’ve been through so much together, from our first school trip and first heartbreak to the start of our adult lives”, says Paula. “I don’t really have any memories without Paula”, Isa adds. “I wouldn’t even know what it would feel like if we didn’t have each other.”