Two Months in to PGY4

I've now officially been a hematology/oncology fellow for two months and it has been a great experience. Each day reaffirms that I made the right choice with this speciality. Internal medicine is expansive, and I've enjoyed the opportunity to focus deeply on one just set of problems - namely blood disorders and cancer - for the past two months. The relationships that I've begun to establish with faculty, peers, and patients are really rewarding.

The past two months have also been busy with studying for the ABIM board exam, which I will take two weeks from tomorrow. Passing it will allow me to become a board-certified internist for the next ten years. I've done well over 2000 practice questions and have studied every day since late June. It will be nice to have this milestone behind me so that I can whole-heartedly focus on learning the field of hematology/oncology moving forward.

On a personal note, it's now been nearly three months since my father abruptly died of sudden cardiac arrest on May 21, 2021. I still feel sad at times when I think about him or look at our old photos together. He was a wonderful man and I'll miss him forever. I most admired how he seemed to always have a fix for anything - whether it was a broken device or a life circumstance - and he was always the person I would call for advice. It's been hard realizing that I'll never again have that precious lifeline. I'm grateful though that I made a trip home to Texas less than a month before he died. I could have never imagined how little time we had left.

My Dad
My late father James

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Whirlwind of Service, Scholarship, and Gratitude

Image
Today was supposed to be an academic day—a chance to recharge, catch up on work, and make progress on scholarly projects. Instead, it turned into a whirlwind of commitments, unexpected challenges, and a few bright spots that reminded me why I do what I do. The morning started with a short meeting for the health, safety, and nutrition subcommittee of our daughter’s daycare board. From there, I jumped into a 45-minute interview with a journalist writing a story for the American Medical Association. By 10 a.m., I was catching up on patient messages before heading to the university campus to serve as a judge for an undergraduate poster session. While I was engaged with the students, messages piled up about a patient at our treatment center whose orders needed urgent attention. As soon as I left the session, I put out fires and made it back to my office just after noon. I thought I’d have time to regroup before my 2 p.m. meeting—but life had other plans. A colleague, a head and neck surgeon...
Read more

Final Day of Fellowship

Image
This morning I saw the last patients of my fellowship. It's been a fun three years! The Scripps hem/onc fellowship program was the perfect place to train to be an oncologist, and it helped set me up for a really exciting university position. I will start as a melanoma and sarcoma specialist at the University of New Mexico in August. The people in the picture below (and the two classes that preceded them) were great colleagues and friends during my journey, and I will remember all of them fondly.  This is also the end of my journey as a Chief Fellow. I really enjoyed giving back to the program this year and helping to make it a better place for all of us. Our program director announced a few months ago that she is also leaving to take a new opportunity at the University of Minnesota. We are all very happy for her, but she will be missed. She did an exceptional job leading this program and advocating for the needs of trainees.  It seems like just weeks ago that I was writing my ...
Read more

Full Circle: Reflections on 20 Years in Research

Image
This week, I’ve had the privilege of attending a research conference in beautiful Flagstaff, Arizona—an event co-sponsored by Northern Arizona University, the University of Arizona, and the University of New Mexico. The goal of this gathering is clear and inspiring: to increase exposure, interest, and opportunity in the fields of science and medicine, particularly for students from underrepresented backgrounds. It has been a joy to speak with several of these students—each bringing fresh energy and curiosity as they consider careers in research, medicine, or both. Yesterday, I participated in a small group discussion, and someone asked me how I first got started in science. That question sparked a memory I hadn’t reflected on in quite some time: my very first research experience, exactly 20 years ago. That summer, I was a rising junior at Austin College, a small liberal arts school in Sherman, Texas. I spent 10 weeks in a biochemistry lab, working closely with one other student and a...
Read more