Pub. 3 2019 Issue 2

When did you decide to pursue family medicine as your special- ty? What are the aspects of this specialty that interested you the most? Before starting med school, I had a few specialties in mind that I thought I might like. I initially considered family medi- cine, neurology, and oncology. I knew that having continuity of care was important to me, but I tried to approach each rotation in school with an open mind, ready to learn. Every rotation I was on, I would think, “I think I could do this!” But then I would ask myself if I was OK with it being the ONLY thing I did forever. The truth was, I loved everything, and family medicine lets me practice a broad range of medi- cine and have the patient relationships I find so reward- ing. I realized that I feel passionate about being able to treat the whole patient. Our physical health is affected by many things: our mental health, family life, work and living situations, and individual challenges all play a role in our wellness. I want to be able to look at all parts of the whole in helping my patients live a healthy, balanced life. I have heard from some other students that sometimes doctors from other specialties will look down on family medicine — has that been your experience? What do you think the general public needs to understand about the importance of more doctors go- ing into family medicine? What is it that makes you most proud of going into this specialty? I have heard the same thing but haven’t experienced it. At least not overtly. Family medicine may not sound as sexy as some other specialties, but the benefits are numerous! Not many specialties allow you to know and treat a whole family, treat the whole person, and maybe even have holidays and weekends off. However, I think one early mis- conception about family medicine is that you have to work in a clinic. I wish more people knew the range of options available when considering a career in family medicine! I wish the public knew how important it is to maintain your health, instead of being reactive when things go wrong. Your relationship with your family doctor can greatly im- prove your quality of life if you put in the effort. What are the best aspects of med- ical school? The most challenging? For me, the best part was starting the third year and getting to work in the hospital and clinic with real patients. I learn best in that kind of setting and it’s a lot more fun! The most challenging part was trying to remember how to study and digest huge amounts of material in short periods (The pharmacology, ugh. That never really got fun.) Where do you hope to complete your residency? Where and what kind of practice do you hope to go into? I’m interviewing at a lot of residencies in the Mountain West region, and a couple of random places where I like the programs. I want to be able to train somewhere where I’ll be prepared for anything, so that my training doesn't limit my practice after residency. Because my youngest will be 14 when I finish residency, I don’t feel like I can make any concrete plans for where we’ll end up yet. We’ll have to see where we’re at and make that decision as a family. But ultimately, I’d love to practice somewhere small and have some horses and chickens — somewhere with no traffic. Many states are experiencing a shortage of family physicians that is projected to get worse. What do you think are ways to better promote and encourage more doctors to pursue family medicine? What are some ways to continue to encourage wom- en, in particular, to pursue medi- cal school? I think students need to know the huge range of ways you can practice as a family medicine physician. I also think it’s important for students to be educated on the numbers, because I think some students shy away from primary care thinking they won’t make enough money. I’ve heard students say that they’d like to go into primary care, but they won’t be able to pay their loans back. Any physician makes a decent living, so you should choose to practice the kind of medicine that’s going to mean the most to you. The money won’t matter if you aren’t fulfilled by what you’re doing. I have had women reach out to me who are hesitant to pursue a career in medicine because they want children, and don’t know how other people will receive it if they decide to do both. I think more open conversations and facilitation of support and resources would help. Again, I experienced nothing but support during my third and fourth year when it came to being a mom, but I know that may not always be the case. You don’t have to choose one or the other. 17 |