PEARL: On Science and Medicine

I am a not-so-secret lover of science. I giggle over it (consider this), talk about it at length, think about it even more, and threaten my friends’ patience at social events when I turn the conversation back to my favorite subject. Despite all this, I have never seriously doubted that I will one day practice medicine. In fact, at the end of my undergrad I felt uncertain about a future in bench science, and chose to apply for M.D. programs instead of M.D./Ph.D. programs. Within a month of entering medical school, I realized I couldn’t live a life without science, and applied into our M.D./Ph.D. program here at Emory.

Why pursue both medicine and science? There are obvious talking points, and they are true – physician-scientists have considerable insight into the needs of the medical community and can thus direct resources (both human intellect and money) toward appropriate problems. They also have intimate experience healing those affected by the very diseases they study. But the joint degree program means much more to me personally. Much as I love science, the day-to-day reality is that progress in research moves extremely slowly (as I am sure many of you are acutely aware), and I am far too dependent on instant gratification to live exclusively in the research world. In a sense, I want to be able to make my cake and eat it too, all at the same time. Medicine doubtlessly rests upon the advancements of science, and I do hope to contribute to this body of knowledge. I don’t personally have the patience to see these contributions make a difference in someone’s life, which is what compels me to get out there with our imperfect knowledge and make as much of a difference as I can in the here and now. We’ll see where it takes me!

Update on school life: we second-years are finishing up with three weeks of psychiatry. We have two more weeks of neuroscience and two weeks of “summation” before we are finished with medical school classes(!). I will take a week off for Thanksgiving, one week off to rest my mind and rejuvenate, and then dive into boards studying. After boards on January 16th, I will be moving back into the science world full-time as most of my classmates begin their rotations on the wards. It is hard to believe that we are so close to ending this chapter of our education when it feels as though it has just begun.

Update on life: Atlanta has cooled off after a long summer. The fall weather really hit its stride about a week ago, with nights in the 40s and days in the 70s – it is glorious! I just recently adopted a dog, Lilly, and she has been great company for me and many of my med school friends as we get outside to play in the fantastic weather. I hope, wherever you are, that you are enjoying the weather as much as we are!