A new beginning
Although I have been blogging for the past 4 and a half years at MedHopeful, the timing seemed right for a new beginning.
At some point in all of our lives, we will face a major transition. Some of us will face more than one.
For the first time in my life, I believe I have enough clarity on my past and future to realize I am at one of those major transition points.
This might sound strange coming from someone who is completing his final year of medical school – you would think starting medical school would constitute a major transition. In some ways it did, but in other ways it didn’t.
It did in the sense that I was finally doing something that could significantly impact my career. Being a doctor is a job, and many would argue a career, after all.
But it didn’t in the sense that while I knew I would become a “doctor”, that term is vague enough that I still had no idea where my life was headed. Although we all have an image that comes to mind when we hear the word “doctor”, the truth is that there are all types of people with MDs in this world, and I certainly did not know at the time how I would fit into that mix.
My medical school journey
I saw two aspects to medical school.
The first was the part where you just showed up and did what you were told. That’s the part where you do enough to graduate with your MD at the end of 4 years. It’s certainly not easy, but it’s the aspect of medical school that is the same for everyone.
The second was about self-discovery. It was making choices and acquiring experiences that would ultimately distinguish who you were on track to become as a MD. For example, figuring out whether you wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon or a psychiatrist or something else.
What complicated my journey was that it wasn’t as simple of a decision for me. As someone who grew up building websites, developing online networks and blogging, I had another side to me highly interested in innovation, technology and strategy. I wanted to make health care better, but I wanted to do it differently than the ways in which I was typically being taught in the classroom.
I sought out opportunities to build my understanding and capacity in health care system issues. I was very lucky to have great mentors who opened many doors for me. Thanks to their support, I have learned first hand about the health care system from front line clinicians to CEOs of regional health services. By the end of it, I was even advising hospital management on strategy and project development.
Where I’m headed
This June I graduate with my MD. I am currently in the process of interviewing for medical residency programs.
The difference between today and four years ago is that I finally have some clarity about the type of MD I want to be.
I am interested in health system innovation, health policy and complex care. I believe that leveraging technology is not only better for our health care system, but is inevitable. The faster we get there the better for our patients and providers.
It sounds simple but it is much more complicated than that. There’s a reason many hospitals still use pagers, and it clearly has nothing to do with not realizing that pagers suck and are 50 years old.
Why this blog
I am at a transition point, a new journey if you will. Everyday, I am immersing myself further in challenges health systems face and finding innovative ways to solve them.
Going forward, I am using this blog as my way to flush out ideas, generate discussion and share lessons I learn along the way.
Thanks for joining me on this journey – it will certainly be exciting to look back on this blog another 4 and a half years from now.