A Whirlwind of Service, Scholarship, and Gratitude
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, reached out about a new patient who needed to be seen immediately. Though Thursdays aren’t usually clinic days for me, I made space. What touched me most was that my colleague personally drove the patient across the medical campus in his own car to get him to our cancer center to see me. That act of compassion said everything about the kind of community we have at the University of New Mexico. I was able to see the patient, explain his next steps, and connect him with social work support before just barely making it to my admissions committee interview.
That interview, with a prospective medical student, was one of the highlights of my day. I vividly remembered my own first interview back in August 2008 at UTMB Galveston and felt honored to now be on the other side—helping select and guide the next generation of physicians.
The day didn’t slow down from there. I joined a policy meeting with the ASCO delegation to the AMA, squeezed in another urgent patient call, and raced to pick up my daughter from daycare. I canceled one evening commitment to decompress and watch our daughter, but I still ended up on the phone with a former co-fellow discussing her exciting career options in melanoma oncology.
Finally, the most sacred moment of all: bedtime with my daughter. After dinner at her grandmother’s, I gave her a bath, read her books that she selected, and held her as she drifted off to sleep on my chest. It was a quiet reminder that while I’m proud of my professional roles, the most meaningful title I carry is simply “Dad.”
Today was exhausting, but it was also full. Full of service to my patients, my university, and my profession. Full of reminders of the privilege of my work. And full of gratitude for the small, fleeting moments that matter most.
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, reached out about a new patient who needed to be seen immediately. Though Thursdays aren’t usually clinic days for me, I made space. What touched me most was that my colleague personally drove the patient across the medical campus in his own car to get him to our cancer center to see me. That act of compassion said everything about the kind of community we have at the University of New Mexico. I was able to see the patient, explain his next steps, and connect him with social work support before just barely making it to my admissions committee interview.
That interview, with a prospective medical student, was one of the highlights of my day. I vividly remembered my own first interview back in August 2008 at UTMB Galveston and felt honored to now be on the other side—helping select and guide the next generation of physicians.
The day didn’t slow down from there. I joined a policy meeting with the ASCO delegation to the AMA, squeezed in another urgent patient call, and raced to pick up my daughter from daycare. I canceled one evening commitment to decompress and watch our daughter, but I still ended up on the phone with a former co-fellow discussing her exciting career options in melanoma oncology.
Finally, the most sacred moment of all: bedtime with my daughter. After dinner at her grandmother’s, I gave her a bath, read her books that she selected, and held her as she drifted off to sleep on my chest. It was a quiet reminder that while I’m proud of my professional roles, the most meaningful title I carry is simply “Dad.”
Today was exhausting, but it was also full. Full of service to my patients, my university, and my profession. Full of reminders of the privilege of my work. And full of gratitude for the small, fleeting moments that matter most.
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| P and me at bedtime 9/4/25 |
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