Medicine is an Apprenticeship Profession: Why I Choose Medicine

The following is a post I wrote in May 2017 during my first gap year from undergrad, I was working for a medical billing company at the time and was taking an 11 month study break before a job transition into clinical optometry management, and a third MCAT attempt. I felt burnt out, exhausted, and disheartened with my perceived failure and rejections from my second AACOMAS application cycle. At best I hope this post demonstrates to pre-med students how to effectively cope with depression during a gap year before medical school:

• Don't stop shadowing physicians! Seek out physician-mentorship, there are plenty of doctors out there who want to pour into the next generation of healthcare providers. 
• Work on yourself. Don't lose sight of why you still choose medicine everyday. Enjoy life, live balanced, build healthy habits, learn to budget, do something unrelated to medicine - take time to reflect and grow spiritually. 
• Community. Surround yourself with positive encouraging people. If you're discouraged and dealing with setbacks like a poor MCAT score, who you surround yourself with will make all the difference. 

Make the most of your gap year before medical school and know that everyone's path looks different, emulate strategies, don't assume that what works for someone else will work for you. 

Photo Credit: Google Images

Medicine is an apprenticeship profession, I learn how to be a doctor by studying doctors. I choose to model my career off the advice and success of physicians who practice medicine the way I hope to.

Since I started my journey to become a physician I am reminded of all the experiences, accomplishments, and failures that have brought me to this point in my healthcare career. After shadowing various physicians and working in healthcare, I know that there is nothing more challenging and rewarding to spend my life’s pursuit. I have decided to be a family practitioner because it is the most practical and meaningful way that I see fit to serve others.

It is my desire to serve and fascination with patient-centered medicine that inspires me to become a physician. Passion does not exist without suffering; it exists as a dichotomy: suffering compels me to pursue and attain what I believe is worthwhile. I cannot bear to see others in pain, I hope to make a lasting difference and alleviate even some of the suffering in the world. My hope is to meet the physical, mental, and spiritual needs of people in a community who would otherwise not be receiving top quality care, serving where the most need is. The daily challenges of my journey life remind me of my purpose to use medicine as a means to benefit others and serve intentionally with everything that I am and have to give.

In an era marked by healthcare reform and population surge, there is an ever increasing need for rural primary care physicians in the U.S. The need for healthcare is consistent, but the need for great physicians is paramount to meet this need. Medicine is an apprenticeship profession, I learn how to be a doctor by studying doctors. I am thankful to have many outstanding role models in medicine who are supportive and encouraging in my pursuit. The following paragraph is a notable story from my past 5 years of direct physician shadowing that greatly influenced my decision to pursue family practice.

In the summer of 2014 I had an amazing opportunity to participate in a 3 month pre-med volunteer internship at the Jackson-Madison General Hospital in Jackson Tennessee. During the program I shadowed first-year resident Dr. Heather Perry (D.O.) at the UT Family Practice residency. After spending several 12 and 24 hour shifts delivering babies, admitting patients from the ER, rounding and determining treatment plans, I knew that this is exactly what I want to spend the rest of my life doing. Being a physician is a great responsibility, observing Dr. Perry conduct herself under the stresses of managing multiple patients while learning a new medical charting software exhibits the importance of multitasking and adapting osteopathic medicine to the changes in conventional medicine. My exposure to a wide variety of specialties and 250+ physician shadowing hours has collectively inspired me to serve with excellence, holding myself to the highest standards of professionalism and responsibility for the greater good.

Since first applying to medical schools in 2015 and again in 2016, I have completed a B.S. in nutrition, increased my MCAT score, and gain experience in healthcare with an ambulatory surgery management company. My exposure to the medical revenue cycle (billing, contracting, coding, and collections) equips me with first-hand knowledge of how to run a successful private practice and recognize who I need on my revenue management team, further driving my desire to become a clinical family practitioner. I have the personal character and professional demeanor of an outstanding physician. I am a sensitive and compassionate humanitarian and believe holistic-patient centered medicine is the best fit for my strengths and personal philosophies regarding health, wellness, and order. 

I can confidently say that I will become a successful family practitioner because I choose to model my career off the advice and success of physicians who practice medicine the way I hope to.