[The third post in a series on becoming a Christian physician. Earlier posts are Do You Want to Be a Doctor? and Helping People Is Not Enough]. After working 24 hours on call in the pediatric ICU, I was exhausted. I wanted to sleep, but friends had recently been reminding me of the health benefits of breakfast, so I dragged myself to a local diner for breakfast and sat at the counter next to a father and his little daughter. "We graduated from the booth to the counter," he was explaining to the waitress, … [Read more...] about In Its Time
physician
Helping People Is Not Enough
[This is the second post in a series on becoming a Christian physician. The series began with Do You Want to Be a Doctor?] "Why do you want to work in healthcare?" "I want to help people." This dialogue is the most common conversation people will have about a career in medicine. The way we think about healthcare professionals tends towards the poignant and provocative: heroic paramedics and EMTs in ambulances, austere physicians and pharmacists and lab researchers in crisp white coats, dutiful and deeply … [Read more...] about Helping People Is Not Enough
Do You Want to Be a Doctor?
"I want to be a doctor. How do I do it?" As a teenager, I was very shy and very awkward. Talking to strangers was a painful and anxiety-laden task, and I didn't like to talk to strangers any longer than necessary. So when a pediatrician asked me, at a routine office visit, if I had any questions, I surprised myself by blurting out, "I want to be a doctor. How do I do it?" I had never seen the same pediatrician twice, mainly because most of them were residents-in-training. This one was caught off-guard by the … [Read more...] about Do You Want to Be a Doctor?
Do Doctors Make Bank?
Summer had finally emerged and we were sitting out on my front steps, enjoying the afternoon heat and watching some of the other kids play out on the street. Some of the teenagers were casually tossing a football around, throwing it high and watching it bounce among the electrical wires, tree branches, and car windows before skittering along the pavement to be chased endlessly by the smaller children. Others were riding their bicycles for show, popping up the front wheel as they furiously pumped their pedals to … [Read more...] about Do Doctors Make Bank?