But You’re Such a Smart Girl
I’ve been thinking about this issue a lot lately. When I told everyone that I had decided to go to a Caribbean med school, some people thought I was crazy and said to me the “but you’re such a smart girl, why would you do that?” This post I wrote pretty much sums up my reply. But the gist is that prestige is not my goal.
Now I’m seriously considering a career in family medicine. When I told a doctor friend of mine he said, “but you’re such a smart girl, why would you do that?” I plan on writing a post to explain my thoughts on this, but I have a million reasons for wanting to pursue family medicine, and not a single one of them involves a desire for prestige.
I’ve been interviewing at different hospitals’ family medicine programs. Some of them are at more prestigious, university affiliated hospitals, and some of them are at financially challenged community hospitals. I’m finding myself drawn more to the community hospitals for many reasons that yet again I will write soon in a blog post. I told a friend of mine about this and she said, “but you’re such a smart girl, why would you do that?”
UGGHH! I just don’t get it. What difference does it make if I am the most brilliant girl on the planet?! I want to be an exceptional doctor. I want to provide excellent, compassionate care to anyone who needs it, and I’m particularly drawn to underserved populations. I just don’t understand why prestige is so important to people. I don’t care about winning a nobel prize or publishing a million articles in prestigious medical journals. I just want to be a great doctor and make the world a better place. The only opinions I really care about are my patients’. I want to give them the best and most compassionate care possible. And I doubt I’ll ever have a patient say, “but you’re such a smart girl, why would you do that?”
My name is Kendra and I am a fourth-year medical student attending 
Kendra I totally get why you would do that. You know that what is popular is not always right. And yes you are such a smart girl ( I know it bothers you when people make a huge deal about your iq). I am proud of you
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAmen!
you sound like you would be an exceptional, and happy, family doctor. I chose family medicine “despite” being above the 90th percentile in all three USMLE steps. it’s certainly not that primary care doesn’t take brains… mine ache at the end of the day from the breadth of diseases managed and diagnosed… it’s that you’re not cashing in on your smarts with a sweet career in cosmetic dermatology that rankles some people about their own choices. all the money in the world is an abstraction. make sound financial choices, but make your life’s work resonate with who you are. I’ll look forward to your other posts
You are a smart girl and that is why you are going into family medicine!!
this is one of the richest fields in terms of personal satisfaction and truly making a difference in a community .. I am off to read more ..
You can always come back with, “Yes, but I’m not in it for the money or prestige.”
I look forward to reading why you’ve chosen to go into family medicine. I’m a first year and have already decided that FM is where I want to be, yet people have told me to “aim higher” or wait until clinicals (I guess a nicer way to say a demeaning thing). I’ve followed your blog for sometime and definitely see you more as a family practitioner — you’re kind, enthusiastic, hopeful and conscious of people in general. The field needs physicians like you
You are amazing so you do what your heart tells you.
Kendra, You are making a wise choice. You will love your coworkers and your patients and feel like you are at home : )
Do you walk with your IQ on your forehead? This is in response to the person who said that people make a big deal about your IQ. I thought you were some Harvard alum or something and then I noticed that you went to Caribbean. Now maybe if you stop telling people that you are actually very smart academically and went to Dominica only because of the weather, people may not question your decision to go to a community hospital because that s where all Dominica residents end up anyway. Right?
Tim,
Nope, I don’t walk around with my IQ on my forehead. The commenter happens to be a friend of mine who likes to tease me because she knows my IQ. I am actually pretty smart academically. But I don’t feel the need to prove that to you. The weather was one of the reasons I chose Ross!
But definitely not the only reason. I’m not sure what attacking Dominicans has to do with this post, but I guess I don’t get your comment at all. I would have replied to you via email but you left a non-working email address. Anyway, have a nice day!
Kendra-dearest… you are absolutely correct. My father-in-law was a pediatrician in a small rural town in Turkey after graduating from the best medical college in Istanbul, Turkey and doing his residency one of the best university hospitals in Berlin, Germany. He cared SO much about the same communities you are talking about that he would even accept food as “payment” for his services. He passed away in an earthquake, in his clinic in Turkey 10 years ago. Just this past October, my husband and I traveled to Turkey, to this small town they called home to visit his family during a celebration after the month of Ramadan. So many people came to the house crying, falling on their knees in front of my husband, crying and saying how much they missed their favorite doctor, how thankful they were for him and what he did for his children. The parents would bring their children (who are now our age) to the house and the kids would have tears rolling down their cheeks saying thanks to my husband who looked to them like their favorite doctor. I never had the priviledge of meeting this man, but I cry when I remember those people. When someone is a kind and caring physician and is dedicated to his patients, I don’t think it matters even what field you are in: family, internal medicine or pediatrics. Compassion seeps through everything and I think you definitely have it within you. Only after I met those people I was truly touched and understood that it is still possible to help people from the heart and they will believe in you. I believe you will touch many people’s hearts, Kendra. God bless you.
Kendra,
I just wanted to tell you how inspiring you are! I am starting at Ross in January and stumbled across your blog through my incessant google searches for everything moving to the Caribbean, medical textbook, and what-to-bring related. This post struck a chord for me in the most positive way because I have been hearing this vibe from a lot of people lately. I couldn’t agree with you more on your point of wanting to be a great, compassionate physician, not a doctor so-and-so who has accomplished these things and gotten those prizes. I’m with you girl, kudos. It is very refreshing to me to see your posts and read about things that I’m looking forward to in my coming years. Again, thank you for your notes! You’re great! Merry Christmas.