I just watched this TedTalk tonight and funny enough I have been thinking about this topic a lot lately with applications to residency around the corner.
There has always been that question lingering in the air when I talk to others about what residency specialty I have picked; that question? It is the one I always expect to get asked. "how hectic is the lifestyle?". Yet what they really want to ask is "will you have time for a family?" Unfortunately I have noticed that question gets asked a lot more toward the female medical students rather than the male - especially when their answer consists of a surgical specialty. I understand the concern but if you listened to the above talk you will already know what I am trying to get at...
Unless.
Why can't it be a package where you have a great career working alongside what you are passionate of rather than having to chose between lifestyle and career? Im not saying it is easy. But if life was easy and decision making was straightforward, what would be the point in having interests and passions?
Can it be done?
Can you have a great career AND be a great parent AND a great friend AND a great spouse?
No.
Unless you find your passion and try to not be afraid.
Thank you, Larry Smith, for being so blunt.
would love to hear anyone else's thoughts on this....
Very clearing to the psychi. Thank You.
ReplyDeleteI believe what he may be saying indirectly is that we are not limited/bound/contained. Jim Carry ones said, "I can not be contained because I am the container." When one transcends the social constructs that limits an individual and re-evalutes ones "beliefs", its give room for the seed of.. for this conversation...say true passion, to sprout. But I say it needs to be nurtured with truth, complete truth of Self.
ReplyDeleteHere is the link for Jim Carry's commencement speech... I think you will like it :))
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V80-gPkpH6M
It's always a pleasure to read your blog. It has inspired me to start a blog when I attend Saba in Jan 2015.
Thank you so much for your input Z.A. Sorry for the late reply! Great commencement speech indeed. I wish you all the best on your Saba journey.
Deleteonce*
ReplyDeletei have just quit my job on faculty at duke university medical center where i was for 20 years. i am now working with medical students and residents in small under-served areas in southeastern us. it has taken me 20 years to throw off the mantle of "prestige". i admire your openness and lack of defensiveness in your choices in medical education. i wish i had had the same when i was your age--perhaps i would not have wasted 20 years living a life that was uncomfortable to me. as someone who has seen medicine practiced to its highest form--and to its lowest, i feel confident in saying that one's credentials and where one trained/went to school have little correlation with the caliber of medicine you ultimately practice. that is determined by self motivation and emotional discipline. I feel confident you will be a wonderful physician in whatever specialty you choose (don't shy away from psychiatry (i'm not a psychiatrist) as it is increasingly the science of neurobiology--which field is exploding and very exciting). a piece of advice in choosing a specialization: go with your gut--do it, do not overthink it, choose the specialty that you felt the most interested by, the culture in which you are most comfortable. don't overthink it. it will be fine. its all good. but do find the most challenging program you can get into--these years of training will form your medical habits. you want to be surrounded by excellent role models--in professionalism and in life long learning.
ReplyDeletetell your parents that an anomymous 50 yr old physician from cyberspace thinks they should be proud to have raised so sensitive, thoughtful and open minded a daughter as you. working in medicine will harden you, inevitably, but make sure you find your way back to the girl you are now. you will be transformed during your residency, we all are, but find your way back to robert frost and your classic novels. that is where the truths of humanity live on. enjoy your life, i feel certain you will. congratulations on a living a thoughtful life. stc.
I cannot express how grateful I am for your words of inspiration and reinforcing that 'everything WILL be okay'. So thank you! I hope that you have settled into the community in which you are most comfortable in and also the most satisfying to you as a person and as a doctor. I think your road through the prestigious medicine route has definitely shaped your thoughts about it and has also made you realize it is not for you.... it's funny because as I am wrapping up the interview trail I am learning more about myself and what I was looking for in a program in a very similar way.
DeleteI wish you all the best in the new year !!
kindest regards,
IDL
I am currently a 4th semester student at Saba. I have been following your blog before even beginning medical school. Its been a while since you posted so just wondering how are were doing.
ReplyDeleteThe end is close and I am nervous about exit. Do you have any advice? :)
Hi! Hope 4th Semester is going well for you! My advice for exit is just to keep up your studying as you are doing now. Figure out what works best for you to put all the information together, forma a schedule and follow it. It's stressful, I still remember it, however my advice is don't doubt yourself! You've made it thus far on your own efforts and you will make it through exit as well! deep breaths, you know more than you think.
Deletebest of luck!
IDL
Hi IDL, hope you are doing well. Where did you end up interviewing? And was it multiple places? Must have been hectic? Please do write back!
ReplyDelete