From comment/message to post June 2015

Just found your blog (I'm sitting for the summer exams and was having a crisis of faith so was google searching for non-trads) and wanted to say that I felt really inspired by your posts!   I'm kinda in the same boat (but a bit farther behind on the river, LOL). Best of luck on your path!!!

It absolutely never EVER ceases to amaze me that when I'm in my darkest hour for whatever reason (and I've got a multitude of them going on now), one of my readers drops a few lines at just the right time to remind me to stay on course. And this was the case with the message quoted above from one of my readers.

So in the interest of "keeping it real" I have to admit that I've more than a few moments in the past few months where I considered nursing school, yep I said it, nursing school. Or maybe I should specify the DNP program. But between the fact that I'm not interested in the slightest in the nursing model of medicine and I work better in environments dominated by men (a lesson I'm reminded of now as I type this), I'm certain that a clinical career as a Physician is in my future.

And I don't have words for how laser focused I am on this goal, I understand with great clarity more than ever that there's a reason why my current clinical research work with Physicians is so enjoyable and fulfilling! I want to someday answer the questions they're asking, helping patients in the same capacity they are. And I obviously want to ask/address the same types of research questions too. Plus there's a TON of work to do in my new favorite area of medicine, GI or gastrointestinal. No, I never quite imagined performing a colonoscopy on someone one day, but there are many questions to be answered in this field. Not to mention that work in this area could include Peds, I think this may be a good premedical student/health disparities match! :)

Lastly, I want to publicly thank the reader who sent me the message, I hope you don't mind me publishing it!