action: enrichment, issue: 0510
MEDICINE AS ENRICHMENT
Enhancing All Aspects To Augment Your Endeavors
The actuality that I can earn a living exercising my values and making a positive impact on the lives of others makes medicine a very appealing profession for me. Practicing medicine provides an opportunity to meet and collaborate with so many wonderful people—colleagues, staff, patients and individuals working in fields connected to mine. Every interaction with a person can enrich our lives in some way. I enjoy the pursuit of finding a connection with different types of patients and the challenge of personalizing therapy for patients with varying disease presentations, reactions to medications and personal health goals. I truly believe that medicine is a fantastic field for me, and women in general, because it encompasses these things; and it allows us to express our empathy, sociable nature and our creativity.
Women apparently took note of this, and by now, admissions to medical school is almost evenly split between the sexes. I can’t say that I ever felt disadvantaged for being a woman pursuing her medical education; but I did notice that, during medical school in Houston, the vast majority of my attendings (faculty and/or teaching staff) and almost all of my role models were men. This changed substantially during residency in San Antonio where I had the opportunity to work with many skilled and compassionate female attendings. I am not sure if this transition was more due to the passage of time or my change in location. Nevertheless, the importance of women working in academic positions should not go unrecognized. The more one can identify with her teachers and leaders, the more likely she will feel capable and comfortable in pursuing that role herself. I also believe that diversity and representation of different types of people in leadership positions benefit most professions in general. Diversity fosters new ideas that ultimately will result in innovative and favorable changes within the field.
With the changes in medicine that approach us, we will need creative ways of thinking to find solutions amenable to all parties sitting at the table. Women in training and just starting their careers should strongly consider becoming involved in advocating for medicine and helping to develop these impending changes. Our leadership style tends to be inclusive and we often excel at finding compromises that satisfy differing viewpoints. With the complexity of problems affecting medicine today, solutions will probably not be black and white; and these attributes can prove valuable. Over the past year, I have enjoyed visiting Washington, DC with medical organizations and discussing my ideas with my representatives in person and through correspondence. Whether the outcome of our endeavors is good or less favorable, it feels satisfying to participate in the process.
I encourage physicians emerging from their medical training to follow the local and national changes that can affect their careers. As a clinician who recently completed her residency and fellowship, I have recommendations for other women regarding what I feel were good decisions about my free time that I made during training. For one, travel and engage in new experiences as much as you can because these experiences bring joy, insight and ultimately can help you connect with new people who come into your life. Learn how to invest your money and start investing early. Begin to evaluate the business aspects of medicine before you finish your training. Understand the value of networking. Search for and participate in organizations that express your goals or ideals, and you will meet fantastic people along the way. The field of medicine complements women in many ways and opens up many avenues for women to contribute to their profession and community.
Robert M. Ramirez, MD is a BCMS member physician who is board certified in Allergy /Immunology and Internal Medicine. He is in practice at the Live Oak Allergy and Asthma Clinic, PA.
