A Female Physician and a Calling

September 23, 2017

"I am so blessed to have achieved so many goals in life. I am a wife, mom, teacher, physician as well as daughter, sister, friend, aunt, mentor and mentee. I have worked with a number of young people as they find their path and head out on life's journey. Sometimes it has been reading their personal story and tweaking it so their best points are seen first when applying to graduate/medical school. Sometimes it is having them shadow during my workday; that usually means having them join me for housestaff rounds (working with interns and residents and medical students). I invite them to our simulation lab to learn alongside the medical students or have them come to the East Knox Free Medical Clinic to help others at the point in life they find themselves (and possibly see where they want to be in the future).

What is important for the general public to know is the HEART of PHYSICIANS start with the amazing stories of these young people who give up their 20's (literally they study or are in class 60-100 hours a week for their first two years), then they will work/study 60-80+ hours in years 3 & 4. As an intern (first year resident) they experience their hardest test of endurance and largest learning curve, working 80-110 hours a week. For some, their residency is a total of three additional years of well supervised training after earning their medical degree, but for many it goes 4-7 years past graduation to achieve the expertise needed to be deemed ready to stand alone: ie., ready for independent practice!

I am going to use this platform to write about some of the most inspiring young people I have met and the stories that make me want to say, "I want that physician to be my doctor!"