Orentation Day 2 and a new theme: Stay Focused

One of today's themes at orientation was Academic Development. Stanford is really cool in that there are so many options and areas for academic development! Lauren Baker aptly described Stanford's resources when he said "it's like there are $20 bills lying all around everywhere all the time!". Exciting and overwhelming. Hmmm, this sounds like a repeat of Harvard undergrad.

The difference is that this time, I'm focused, and my theme is to stay focused. Professionally, I am starting to visualize the path through the forest of how I would like to spend my time here at Stanford. My primary goal is to become the best clinician I can be (duh). My secondary goal is to set myself up with the skills and knowledge to become an effective and innovative leader who can help make health care dramatically more patient-centered, safe, and efficient.

Here's the sketch of my plan:

The next 2 years: Work really hard to do my best during the pre-clinical years. Take many surgery electives, shadow many doctors, and look out for really innovative and inspiring physicians who could potentially be mentors, teachers, and advisers. Try to get involved in some kind of project by next summer that has a clinical focus, and work on a project the summer after that has a healthcare delivery focus. And can't forget the biggie: definitely rock Step 1 of the Boards.

3rd year: Go to the Business School to try to understand organizational behavior, ways to implement systems-based change, learn from other industries how we can make healthcare safer and perform at higher levels. Recruit all the b-school kids into health care reform and innovation.

4th and 5th years: Complete my clinical years, figure out exactly what type of medicine I find most fulfilling and want to practice. Work hard to hone my clinical judgement skills, work hard to make sure the folks I care for receive the best care for them. Actually be able to answer some of my family's medical questions.

This outline is really growing on me, and I see how I can make it work. We also had an Amazing Race all over campus, watched a really thought-provoking documentary called "Hold Your Breath" and then had a great dinner at Bucca de Bepo in downtown PA....I can't wait to see what our 3rd and final day of orientation will bring!