RESIDENTS & NEW PHYSICIANS
served for the last six years as a reminder of why I am training in Family Medicine!
Family Medicine Foundations
How do any of us choose our career path? Likely because it was modeled for us. Children of physicians are more likely to practice medicine. So I set out on a track to blend my brain for science with caring relationships. Because I’d apprenticed with my dad in reproductive veterinary medicine, I thought I wanted to be a reproductive endocrinologist. I considered public health after working with my undergraduate mentor and being enthralled by the way data can inform policy and guidelines. An engaging biology professor taught me that education is about creating analogies to simple examples, and I use this daily to explain physiology to patients.
Great Preceptors Can Make All The Difference
By Kate Timberlake, MD PGY 3 Cone Family Medicine Residency
Do you recall the person who steered your medical career toward Family Medicine? For me, this was Dr. Geoff Jones. Neither a miraculous patient care story (although I’m sure he has many) nor a new experience doing a procedure changed my path. Rather, I simply saw Dr. Jones living my career dream: he was engaged with the community, innovating new ways to deliver care, passionate about his work, making a difference, and pursuing his family with the same enthusiasm he brought to his work. My horizons were broadened as he explained setting up temporary clinics in tents in the nearby fields to care for migrant workers, while I rode with him to pick up his kids from soccer. I observed him encouraging residents to ask patients about which life experiences led them to their belief systems or fears about medicine. I was a part of the NCAFP Rural Health Immersion Experience, which inspired me to practice Family Medicine. The coffee cup he gifted me at the end of our week together (pictured) has
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But Dr. Jones showed me how this all fits together. We set limits on our dreams until someone shows us that we can dream bigger. There’s room in Family Medicine for everyone’s career aspirations. Mamas, show a future lady doc that she can be both a great mother and outstanding Family Medicine doctor. Docs of color, tell a younger version of yourself that you are waiting for them at the top of that mountain of social struggles. Someone told you back in the day that you were too smart for Family Medicine? Tell your students that their intelligence is necessary and welcomed. Caring is contagious! Thank you Dr. Jones and the NCAFP Foundation for creating this formational experience for my career. What more do we want than to make a difference while having fun, stretching our intellect, and being part of a community of medicine that exemplifies our values? Would you like to share your passion for Family Medicine with students? Consider speaking in your local schools to guide students into Family Medicine careers— we have a toolkit in the works for you!
The North Carolina Family Physician
