And So It Begins!

This picture shows the sunrise over the Serengeti. It's symbolic because I see August 10th (Orientation!) as the beginning of a new era, the dawning of a new day. As I've said before, I've worked my entire life to get to this point, and now I'm excited for it all to begin. Most of my past has been spent living in the future, and finally this summer I've spent it all in the present. The weight on my shoulders is off. When I was working in Pediatric Acute Care at UNC Hospitals, a physician told me, "Only become a doctor if you can't see yourself doing anything else. And I mean anything else." Well I can't, and I couldn't. So now it has finally set in that yes, I will be a doctor. Only 4-5 more years and a lot of work to go.

Before I left on this 2 month excursion around the world, I thought Duke was the perfect fit for medical school. Now I think being waitlisted was a blessing in disguise. For one, having been bit by the travel bug, I can now use all next summer for whatever I want. Research, clinical experience, travel, or hopefully a combination of all three. Duke's rigid curriculum can't offer me that same opportunity. I save over 100,000 dollars, some of which I can use to pursue another degree, travel, and pay off the inevitable debt. And don't forget I get four more years of UNC basketball tickets. That could be the greatest blessing of all. Years from now I think I'll look back and be even more happy than now about this turn of events.

Reputation may be worth something, but I can be whatever kind of doctor I want to be at UNC. And I can do it without becoming a turn coat.

After this trip, UNC's focus on global health is something I look forward to. Looking outside of our borders can teach us many things. After talking with foreigners about how they view their system of care, we should realize how lucky we are in some respects, and how we can improve in others. Phil and I drove by a hospital in Western Samoa in which the doctor was only available on Tuesdays. In Tanzania there was an American doctor who's sole mission was to make sure newborns in Arusha had enough water, because there was an epidemic of liver failure in babies. She was putting these infants on dialysis because they weren't being given enough to drink. And in New Zealand, people were on waitlists for operations and transplants, literally until they became critical enough to jump to the front of the line. This makes me thankful that I live in America.

And yet the WHO ranking for our health care system is abysmal, and 47 million Americans are still uninsured. Reform is Issue #1 in the US these days. How can we learn from other countries if their state of affairs sounds worse off? Only 15% of New Zealanders have health insurance. I asked people, "Aren't you worried you won't be able to pay for care if you get seriously ill?" No, if they get injured, it's covered. On the job? They get compensation. Sick? It's covered. They don't go running to the Emergency Room because they have a cold. They don't spend their lives worried about health bills. And their society isn't addicted to prescription medications. Life's simpler when you're not worried about getting sued because your patient doesn't like the look of his new pectoral implants that he paid 20,000 dollars for.

So what does this all mean for me personally? It's hard to see the incredible amount of poverty in Tanzania as I ride a posh busliner from Arusha to Dar es Salaam and not want to do anything about it. And what are you supposed to do if you live on the west coast of Savai'i, Samoa? Don't break a leg until Tuesday morning? No. I've realized my life is meaningless unless it's dedicated to those less fortunate than myself. Really, I've been given so much. It's time to start giving it all back.

This blog started as a means of chronicling my journey from acceptance to diploma. It was to be a historical record for me, a journal, and perhaps a one-way correspondence with you, keeping you up to date on my activities. And yes, that's probably how it will start, but it will also be a journey for me: a constant reminder of why I still want to be a doctor and how I should live my life. My goal is to write every Friday about my weekly experiences and what I've learned (hopefully with plenty of humor along the way). But my focus is becoming a "Man for Others" - thank you Georgetown Prep. So if you see me becoming cynical or dispassionate, feel free to send me a little note reminding me about what this is all about. What life is all about.

So I'll see you August 7th, three days before my first day of school! (Again?)