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New experiences shed light on selecting specialty
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Editor’s Note:
Chelsey Baldwin of Little River is a first-year medical student. This
column follows the journey of her class in becoming doctors.
New
experiences
shed light on selecting specialty As yet another test draws near, I
find myself wondering, what has happened to September and October? The
beauty of these months has faded into the background of the constant
stream of demands placed upon me. At times I’m furious that this is
what my life has become, never-ending e-mails, to-do lists I never seem
to finish and formaldehyde-ridden laboratories. And yet, I know this is
what I want.
 This is
evident to me through the genuine fondness I feel toward my
future colleagues and the pure excitement I experience when I begin to
contemplate my own future in medicine. Envisioning myself as the
physician I will become and the nature of the relationships I will have
with my patients has been one of my favorite aspects of my medical
education thus far. While initially it is a pain to break myself away
from my book work in order to learn about a physical exam or interview
skills, I truly enjoy conducting them. It is during these interviews
and exams when I can most clearly envision my years beyond the
classroom. While this vision changes pretty regularly as I change the
specialty I think I might pursue with what seems like every three
weeks, it has been a quite enjoyable journey even this early on. I’ve
gone from thinking about emergency medicine, to surgery, with interests
in rheumatology and most recently thoughts of pediatrics. While it may
seem fickle, I think my consistent changing-of-mind is a product of the
expansion of knowledge about not only myself but also of the plethora
of amazing careers in medicine.
I recently attended a lecture by Dr. John McFadden in which he
described the design of various hand repair surgeries stunningly unique
to the necessity of the patient. It was so truly amazing that “ooh’s”
and “ahh’s” ran rampant throughout Baruch auditorium as toes and index
fingers became thumbs, and cutaneous nerves of the anterior forearm
were moved to the back of hand and so on and so forth. Such a lecture
was enough to incite increasingly fond feelings toward orthopaedic
surgery in many of us.
Similarly, I was fortunate enough to stumble across Dr. Stephen
Schabel's Student Radiology Seminars early on in the semester. He
presented us with the “rules of radiology” through which he predicted
the sex, age and injury of various cases by just observing the patients
X-rays. The amount of information derived from a simple radiograph is
extremely impressive and rather fun to sort out. This was yet another
experience that added depth to my appreciation of the possibilities for
my future.
It’s very encouraging to see that so many physicians take such joy in
what they do. It encourages me to push through the tough times as a
lowly medical student and to put as much thought as I can scrounge up
the time for, to think about what career in medicine will incite the
same passion for me as I have observed my mentors have for their
careers. While I am sure that I am far from a final decision on a
specialty, I have become conscious of observing what aspects of a
career are important to me, including the type of relationship I wish
to have with my patients, the careers that fit my strengths, and the
personal life I hope to one day find time for.
Until that glorious day when the answer falls into my lap and I know
exactly what is the right path leading to a fulfilling professional and
personal life, I settle for squeezing life into the in-between moments.
Beyond keeping myself motivated with thoughts of the future, learning
to “fit life in” has been key to my improved satisfaction. I’ve been to
birthday parties thrown during lunch breaks. I socialize and tell jokes
while picking fat off our cadaver. I’ve begun to learn how to adapt to
my new life and can’t help but be pleased with my progress.
Friday, Oct. 29, 2010
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