There are many essays and blogs in cyberspace about folks stating knowing about their early calling in life such as: “I have always known that I would be a doctor” or "I was destined to be a physician". Well sorry to say or disappoint, but this piece is not one of those stories.
Nor will I use the clichéd stories of how an ill relative or a friend or a close family physician served to be the inspiring force for me to consider a healthcare career as a physician provider. But rather the opposite instead—namely a Physician Assistant. In fact, unlike so many other college students’ paths to medicine, mine was truly a circuitous one when compared to so many others that I have known or read about through the years. I suppose my path was different or as some would say atypical for that matter.
Unlike those stories and truthfully, I was never ‘pushed’ nor ‘talked’ to going into medicine by my parents. However, medicine didn’t even cross my mind until I began enjoying my natural science courses, which I felt, I would end up pursuing a graduate degree in molecular biology. Early in my college preparation, I saw myself leaning towards becoming a bench researcher in the lab after graduating from college. I even entertained the thought of becoming a medical technologist. Moreover, during that time I was setting my sights on landing a co-op job experience as a research student at Argonne National Laboratory or some other prestigious national known research facility.
Yet, halfway into my 3rd year, I began to feel an affinity for medicine, so to be sure that I truly was interested in a medical career and not with the romantic idea of becoming a doctor, I decided to explore employment opportunities in a medical or a hospital setting. In a stroke of luck, I was able to land a job as a Pharmacist’s Assistant at a local Catholic Geriatric hospital while completing my 1st undergraduate studies. Luckily this particular experience gave me a different perspective if not a very insightful one into my final desired career path.
As I neared graduation, my options became clearer, and my desire to remain in medicine albeit in a different role was cemented; it was clear that my future would require a more definitive game plan from my behalf. So for a year or so, I methodically researched all about the different allied health careers, from “A” to “Z” and while the infinite options were considered and entertained, no would-be profession back then matched or resonated closely with my envisioned future as much as the unheard Physician Assistant Profession did for me. And as you can imagine, the rest is history as they say…
No comments:
Post a Comment