Mile 3288: Shortie - Nature & Nurture

Above: Jason Alexander as 2nd most popular motivational speaker in the USA, from the short-lived ABC series Bob Patterson in 2001.

"MOST OF US ARE
FAR FROM OUR POTENTIAL."
Dr. Angela Duckworth at the University of Pennsylvania

Folks, its been a busy week at the new clinic I'm at. So here's a quick shortie, and you'll get a full update on what's going on very soon.

The sacrifices that we make to go to medical school are large (both for U.S. and Caribbean students). For many of us, the sacrifices include a long time in school and being piled in debt that is miles high. For others, the sacrifices are greater, either from the demands of moving from place to place, and even trying to support a family during the demanding time schedule of school. Some of us have been more successful at balancing the plates than others.

One thing I've always wondered in such a demanding & competitive environment is whether or not there really is an advantage of background when going through medical school? Is the person who comes from a lineage of doctors going to be more successful from the student who comes from a farm-based community in Iowa who wanted to become a doctor to exit the world of agriculture? I know of many successful doctors who have come from families where mom, dad, or more relatives came from the medical field.

What truly determines our success, the drive or where we come from? One of my Facebook friends, Frank, posted a link to a New York Times article saying that motivation actually outweighs nature and nurture (background) in the long run. It's been a debate that has been going on for centuries. Some scientists are saying that genetics are not related to how well someone does in their own field. Others say that challenging environments make people better at their field by generating motivation. And finally, we still have people out there saying that families of people good in a field will foster future generations also good in that field.

After going through my Leadership Certificate training at the Illinois Leadership Center at the University of Illinois, I still believe it is truly up to the person to make themselves the "cream of the crop." And it is for this I want to somehow become involved in teaching, because I have always wanted to empower others to reach their potential; many people at the U of I have motivated me to make it this far, even as I'm not from a family of doctors. From my experiences, I think its a good combination of the right environment and self-motivation that can make someone the best that they can be. Talent isn't necessarily inherited.

I encourage you to read the cited article below to learn more.

Source: The New York Times

First Lecture of 2010

Above: The best of all pictures from Randy Pausch's Update Page featuring his daughter, Chloe.

DID YOU CATCH THE
HEAD FAKE?

I'm really looking forward to the year 2010. As I enter the new decade, it was welcomed by my mom and dad, my best friend Neal and his wife (who were in town visiting), and of course, James Taylor. Okay, I'll explain the latter.

It usually spend New Year's with my family (which has come to mean a lot to me), as I was never into all that celebrating/partying/yackety-smackety. I honestly think that the moment that the clock strikes 12 simply means that the calendar turns to another day. What's more important to me is seeing how the new year can mean something that +1 on the calendar but more what can I do with that year. So, I avoided anything on TV regarding countdowns (even the NYC ball drop) until the last 2 minutes of the Chicago countdown. After flipping through channels, I thought that James Taylor singing his hit songs on acoustic guitar on PBS would be perfect for a toned down night.

Taylor's One Man Band DVD is highly recommended, btw.

However, the next day on YouTube, I found a video that unexpectedly set my new year on the right note. It was a lecture given by Randy Pausch, formerly a professor at Carnegie Mellon University.

The video I found was described as his "Last Lecture," which was an academic tradition at Carnegie Mellon University that was to be given as if it was the person's final one... ever. For Pausch, it truly was. Although Pausch was championing his pancreatic cancer (he was outliving his original expectation to live 3-6 months), Pausch knew that at a point he was going to lose the battle (it had already spread to other organs). Yet, in front of a standing room crowd, Pausch proved that he was still much stronger than much of crowd by demonstrating his pushup skills (alternating between 1- and 2-handed versions). His "accidental celebrity" status (as he termed it) all started with a lecture that has attracted 10 million plus views on YouTube. In it, Pausch spoke about his dreams.

... and not just achieving them. How we make them come true. Who helped us along the way. How the dream came true even though it wasn't they way one imagined. The effort needed to achieve them. How grateful we need to be for what we can get...

In the talk he gives, called "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," he tells the audience about how he wanted to play in the NFL, meet Captain Kirk, and even become a Disney imagineer (something I also have wondered about doing), and how the dreams had came true, but not in the way he had originally expected. Yet to Pausch, the outcomes were quite satisfying. I never expected to stay on board for his 1.25 hour long lecture, but his humor and personality caught my attention and grabbed my curiousity.

Just by watching the video, I knew that Pausch was a man that really wanted to live life to the fullest, and for knowing that he wouldn't be in the world much longer, I salute the man for having the strength to make the best of what remaining life he had. He used his efforts to improve awarness of Pancreatic Cancer and even coming back to Carnegie Mellon again to share more of his lessons with the graduating class of 2008. Pausch passed away that year, 22 months after his original diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, leaving behind his wife and family. Although his life had ended, he went on to motivate his family and millions of others. He was featured on news outlets such as Good Morning America, Time magazine, and CBS Sunday Morning. He also wrote a book called The Last Lecture which eventually went to become a New York Times Bestseller.

After watching and learning about the Carnegie Mellon professor, I ended up making one of my objectives this year to work even harder towards my dreams... the dream of not just becoming a doctor, but to hopefully to turn out to be a great one.

Randy, thanks for making me learn a lot from my first lecture of 2010. Here's to you.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK: Watch the lecture. It might be just what you need to start the New Year. When you get a chance to watch his video, watch out for the "head fakes" (aka deeper messages) in his lecture and see if you can figure out what they are before he tells you what they are at the end of the video (I'll give you a hint, there's two). I know you'll get a few of those "Aha" moments when you learn what they are. Just trust me.

Valuable Talents

Above: A former Cuban doctor continues his medical career as a nurse in the United States. From The New York Times, Maggie Steber, 8/4/09.

MORE PROOF THAT ANYONE WOULD DO ANYTHING
FOR A DREAM.

January 2009. I remember that one thing that struck me about the medical staff of Princess Margaret Hospital in Dominica was that the doctors were not just of Dominican descent. In addition to working with the natives, I also worked with a few Cubans, and not to mention an American, and a Filipino (that's luck!). I remember asking one of the Dominicans where he got his medical degree, and he told me that many of the Dominicans really don't go to Ross, but they head to Cuba to get their education. I'm guessing this partnership in medical education explains why many Cubans also found a place in medicine in Dominica.

August 2009. The New York Times featured in their Tuesday Science & Health section, an article about doctors who are fleeing from the political oppression in Cuba and heading for a life in medicine in the states. However, many of these doctors face the challenges that many IMGs face: a language barrier (see my previous IMG entry below) and board examinations that might feature knowledge that outdated textbooks in the Cuban system lack. I really enjoyed former doctor Carlos Domínguez's story about how he traveled to the United States in a boat that didn't have a reverse gear, because he knew he was never going to return to Cuba.

Working with the Cuban doctors during my fifth semester was quite a treat. When working with them, their enthusiasm for the field of medicine definitely showed through their willingness to teach (along with their patience for a set of medical students just bound to mess up). When observing one surgeon perform a hysterectomy, I can clearly remember how excited he was when he saw the patient's fibroid (an abonormal mass originating from the smooth muscle of a woman's reproductive system), and his eyes lit up exactly like a little kid in front of a candy store. After student presentations, the Cuban doctors were more than willing to announce their praise for the students and for the work that went into it.

I absolutely enjoyed working with the Cubans.

The thing I respected a lot about the doctors I worked with was their excellent bedside manner and the ability to speak with them on a first name (okay, semi-first name, because they had us put the doctor title in front of their first name) basis. They also were more than willing to crack jokes left and right to keep the mood light - for patients and for students. For me, it doesn't jive well that doctors from Cuba making it to the U.S. (many of them with great experience, work ethic, and strong motivations) are ending up not working at the level their title, and instead working in other positions in health care (e.g. nurses). Some even go on to work in other unrelated fields.

I understand that coming to the states for freedom is a dream... but there has to be a way for these doctors to be utilized. There's definite potential.

I don't know, perhaps this is a "Hail Mary" idea, perhaps they could be a part of a solution to cure our shortage of primary care physicians? From my experience, they do have the knowledge, the passion, and the ability to be a part of our American Dream of good health care. I don't think that their talents should be wasted; instead, I believe their talents should be refined.

Source: The New York Times