The Impact of Giving

By Alex Parsons

I am a “non-traditional” medical student having spent time working for Progressive Health Aviation services contracted by Delta Air Lines at their airport-based health clinic. I led the injury prevention program and consulted on areas to improve employee health and wellbeing as an exercise physiologist for five years. That led me to return to school where I completed my master’s degree at Case Western. I then decided to peruse my medical degree.

I am married and have two very busy daughters, ages 20 months and three years. My wife works for corporate Delta. I wanted to return to school to become a physician to advance my medical knowledge in general, and I’d like to have more answers for my wife when our kids get sick!

I have genuinely enjoyed medical school, but it is a grind! From the onset of classes to the eventual day we complete this phase of our medical education, we are constantly learning, practicing, researching, leading, volunteering, and doing anything else we can fit into each second of each day. It is no wonder why it is so easy to get caught up in crossing off items on our daily to-do list, completing module exams, advancing to rounding and presenting through clinical years, and preparing that allimportant residency application.

However easy it may seem to get lost in completing all the steps for what ’s next, something that never gets old is the recognition of "a job well done" from a completely unexpected place. Being awarded the Kirby Memorial Scholarship has been that for me. I love the grind, but when an unexpected email came through sharing this exciting news, it was one of those unique situations where you feel good about what you’ve accomplished— like those times when a patient thanks you for caring for their wellbeing when in reality, we were doing what is expected of future physicians.

We can’t possibly predict who we will help along the way, but still, we learn, help, and care for those around us. To the Kirby family, I want to say thank you for supporting continued learning and for role modeling what’s next.