It's crazy how quickly the years go by, but I am reviving this blog in anticipation of travels abroad and being motivated to document my thoughts.
Big life stuff has been happening, which can be best summarized as below.
1. I got this PhD in neuroscience.
You know, I thought maybe my PhD was going to my last hurrah in science. When I was going in, I was mentally prepared to say "that was fun but no more" at the end of the experience. However, I ended up having an amazing time learning and discovering (and making mistakes) in the lab. It's strange to be on the other end of a 8-year journey and realize that I still want to make research a significant part of my future. All that advising where I told people it's okay to decide that two-hats is not for you (still true!) and now I feel so lucky to be in a position where I am still looking forward to a way to do both research and clinical work.
2. I am applying into (and interviewing for) psychiatry residency.
Boy did I not think this was going to be the one going into medical school although in hindsight there were so many hints along the way to today. Third year clerkships definitely was the deciding factor. I actually enjoyed many of my rotations, especially general surgery, psychiatry, and family medicine. I did preceptorships in both Neurology and General Surgery to get a better sense if I would like those paths. At the end of the day, what I liked most was the ability to talk to a patient and learn about their experiences of life and reality and use that holistic understanding to do my best to improve their life.
3. I am going abroad in the spring for a global health rotation in China.
I am extremely excited to be getting the opportunity to see Eastern and Western medicine as practiced in China and for the opportunity to see that in both urban and rural settings.
Big life stuff has been happening, which can be best summarized as below.
1. I got this PhD in neuroscience.
You know, I thought maybe my PhD was going to my last hurrah in science. When I was going in, I was mentally prepared to say "that was fun but no more" at the end of the experience. However, I ended up having an amazing time learning and discovering (and making mistakes) in the lab. It's strange to be on the other end of a 8-year journey and realize that I still want to make research a significant part of my future. All that advising where I told people it's okay to decide that two-hats is not for you (still true!) and now I feel so lucky to be in a position where I am still looking forward to a way to do both research and clinical work.
2. I am applying into (and interviewing for) psychiatry residency.
Boy did I not think this was going to be the one going into medical school although in hindsight there were so many hints along the way to today. Third year clerkships definitely was the deciding factor. I actually enjoyed many of my rotations, especially general surgery, psychiatry, and family medicine. I did preceptorships in both Neurology and General Surgery to get a better sense if I would like those paths. At the end of the day, what I liked most was the ability to talk to a patient and learn about their experiences of life and reality and use that holistic understanding to do my best to improve their life.
3. I am going abroad in the spring for a global health rotation in China.
I am extremely excited to be getting the opportunity to see Eastern and Western medicine as practiced in China and for the opportunity to see that in both urban and rural settings.
