Until Next Time...

So sad to leave Portland. No regrets though. It flew by but I know I took advantage of my time here... I went, I saw, I did, I worked hard and I developed some great relationships along the way. I've been deliberately withholding my comments about work. I wanted to wait until I reached the end of my month at OHSU but now that it's over, here we go...

This is what I was meant to do. I am confident of that now. Towards the end of my third year, a great physician and a good friend told me that the big decision you have to make at this junction in life isn't just surgery vs. medicine but are you someone that lives to work or works to live. I couldn't really answer that question. I love to work. I applied to medical school because I liked science but I fell in love with medicine when I discovered the complexity of the human body and the breadth of knowledge and skill that committing your life to practicing medicine demands. I like the complex cases - the strange, the unusual. I love critical care -managing every aspect of a pt's care until they can transition from the ICU to the floor, and from the floor back to their lives. It doesn't matter how many hours you work when you love what you do.

But, at the same time, work isn't all that I have or want. I love my family - spending time with them is important to me. Staying involved on campus is also important to me. It has made my medical school experience so much more rewarding and fulfilling. Wether it be with through volunteer work, teaching, business, research, whatever - I want to continue to give back, to be involved with something bigger than me, to create something.

So really, what I've come to realize is that for me, the answer to that question is simply both. This career that I have chosen means alot to me and when I'm with patients, I live to work. But somehow I know that's not it for me - there are lots of other things I'm meant to do in this life and in that regard, I work to live.