UNCATEGORIZED
My name is Nathan Sison and I am a fourth year medical student at Brown. I will graduate in May and begin a residency program in Family Medicine. My month at Foundry Orthopedics afforded me the opportunity to work with many outstanding, compassionate, and dedicated doctors, nurses, and physical therapists. I have been pleasantly surprised by everyone’s willingness to engage in my own education by sharing their time and knowledge without hesitation.
Over the last few weeks many have asked why I chose Family Medicine. This has proven a particularly interesting question to answer while in a specialty office that shares many of the same principles and attitudes that drew me to the primary care in the first place (this is an exceptional orthopedics practice to say the least). So what is it about Family Medicine that appeals to me over the other specialties of medicine? My decision was a personal one, borne out of specific experiences, lessons, and interests stretching back to college.
I studied anthropology at the University of Texas. This path meant instruction in much of the typical fare: courses on culture, primate evolution, and archaeology. But the beauty of anthropology is not just in its specifics, but also in its scope. Pursuing my degree also allowed for courses in philosophy, the ancient Greek language, biology, chemistry, religion, and history. Inherent in the discipline of anthropology is the understanding that the “study of man” involves not just a report on the finished product, but an appreciation of the individual that is holistic, complex, and contextual.
I am drawn to Family Medicine because it shares this basic and comprehensive appreciation of the whole person in a way that is unique in the practice of medicine. Additionally, Family Medicine places a premium on extending understanding into meaningful and active participation in the lives of people. This resulting ethos has created a group of physicians who, as strong members of their communities, feel called to listen, to counsel, to teach, and to advocate for patients at all stages and stations of life. It is this engrained community focus of Family Medicine that best fits with my idea of who a doctor has been called to be, both as a person and a physician.
I first witnessed the importance of extending understanding into active community involvement during my time in the Teach for America program. Here, my effectiveness as a high school teacher depended not only on the quality of my lesson plans and assessments but also on my level of involvement in the school community beyond the official scope of the job. I quickly learned that the more I integrated myself into the lives of students, whether by participating in after-school functions or making myself available for questions on evenings and weekends, the more the students invested in the classroom and their own education. By showing I was committed to more than test scores and pay checks, I became a better teacher and my students better learners.
This theme of transforming understanding into action appeared again in medical school. Here I was introduced to academic research and given the opportunity to work with community-minded investigators on several projects. These researchers used their expertise to collect and publish data that was in turn used to develop interventional programs whose success depended on community engagement and participation. Their work and example guided my own research on barriers to HIV testing in Mississippi, where I formed lasting partnerships with stakeholders in the area. This experience again emphasized the importance of active community investment in making a maximal impact on the lives of people.
So it is with all of this in mind that I chose a career in family medicine as a doctor who draws from broad education and experience not only to treat, but also to teach, to research, and to implement solutions that strengthen the whole community. For me, family medicine provides the best training, flexibility, and culture to do just that.
Guest Blogger: Nathan Sison is a fourth year medical student who did an orthopedic rotation with us. He is doing his residency in Family Medicine
