Today was my last day of work, wrapping up a summer spent researching in a city that I love. I was fortunate enough to spend the last 8 weeks surrounded by big brains in long white coats who happen to also have very big hearts. Half my time was spent in front of a computer screen: analyzing data, researching prior literature, writing, and rewriting. The other half of my time? That was a mixture of shadowing in clinic, getting into theoretical and hysterical conversations with my coworkers, and collecting mentors as if they were baseball cards.
After all, medicine still is an old boys network, with an emphasis on the network part. Being here, in the city that I love, surrounded by forward thinking and well established medical providers gave me an opportunity to begin forming my network. While my PI may be the only one that I keep in touch with, sitting across a table with so many fabulous physicians has given me the opportunity to begin envisioning MY future as a physician. Scary and exciting at the same time.
While only I time will tell if I get a publication of this summer, I am already aware that I gained so much from this experience. As I prepare to go back down south I am making sure to pack these moments of inspiration as I am sure going to need them getting through the forthcoming uphill journey. One such pearl of wisdom is the following quote "It is your job as a physician to take care of your patients and then pursue the things that interest you. It doesn't matter how many papers you write or how many awards you win." As school starts up again, and times get stressful, I need to remember why I am doing this: my future patients and my interests.
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