Small Town Girl

Hello! My name is Kimberly Conner and I am part of the "herd" of freshmen on The Farm this year. I was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania but I actually grew up in a tiny rural town in western Kentucky. I applied to Stanford purely on a desperate hope; you can imagine my surprise when the dream became reality! Despite my obvious excitement, it was a big step for me to leave the safety and relative security of my hometown to begin my college education here at Stanford. Initially, the culture shock was a tad bit overwhelming, but I quickly came to embrace the plethora of cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds represented on campus. Now it's hard for me to imagine life any other way!
Since I was very young, I had a strong interest in the medical field. I was one of those children that would run around the house with their little plastic "doctor" kit and harass anyone they happened to bump into. As I matured, I began to realize that medicine appealed to me both because of the inherent personal challenge of the field and also the opportunity to help other people. This passion continues to be a driving force in my life as I make academic decisions and plan my future. I joined the Stanford Premedical Association because I desired to both give and receive guidance regarding my own journey toward medicine. I have very high hopes for the future of SPA and for my own future!

Fabulous Surgery Panel

When I first arrived at the Surgery Panel, I admit I wasn't really expecting anything remarkable - I thought the doctors and residents would be tired and impatient after a long day (and they all had long days) and that what questions would be answered wouldn't be any different from what I could Google or Wiki.

So this would be one of those times I just have to use a cliche and say I was proven wrong by a long shot. The surgeons quite possibly changed my life in the way they expressed how they change other's lives through their work. I was reaffirmed in my belief that being a doctor would mean haing a chance to make a serious impact in an extremely rewarding way. I suppose I'm one step close to being wholeheartedly embedded in the path of premedicine :)

What interested me the most about the panel discussion were the questions and answers concerning how the personal life of a surgeon is affected by stress and long hours. I myself am most concerned about this - how does one balance manageably the intensity of a surgeon's workplace with the complete dedication of a family life? I have to say that Dr. Jackler's response to this question sort of hit me with a sense of reality and hilarity: "I do make it home for dinner up to four times a week." This really made me understand the sacrifice of a surgeon in terms of a family life. In a situation like this, where you might be working 12 hours a day, your life could very possibly be overrun by your job. Despite the initial shock, I was relieved to hear that the amount a surgeon dedicates to work and to family is unique to each person. Even better - the best surgeons are those who don't in fact overwork.

Other questions covered during this hour and a half were those concerning life as a medical school student (Pass/Fail!!!), resident, fellow, and finally a full-fledged physician. This look into the true reality of a surgeon's life experiences was far superior to any hospital TV show. Now I know that, like how high school was a long yet worthwhile journey to arrive at the wonderland (mecca, heaven, nirvana...for some an endless abyss perhaps...) which is college, college and medical school and residency (well...this journey is a bit longer) is an adventure course towards the goal of a way of life and rewarding career. But I feel like I'm glowing too much writing about the panel so I'll leave it at that :)


Hillary

New Kid on the Farm

Hi guys, this is Minh Phan, another freshman here at Stanford. I was born in Vietnam and immigrated to Houston about 8 years ago. Since I was little, I have always had an interest in becoming a doctor. I guess what draws me most to medicine are both the physical and mental demands that come along with the physician-patient relationships. Lately, however, I've also become interested in teaching and I'm currently thinking about taking sometime off to work for Teach for America after college.

Currently, I am taking the normal track for a freshman Math 51 and Chem 31x, which consumes much of my free time. I also write once every week for The Stanford Daily...check out my articles on the newspaper website :-D. The surgery panel today was great. What surprised me the most about it was how receptive the speakers were...not only did they clearly answer the questions posed to them; they also gave the students helpful incites by expanding on the questions themselves. It is pretty late now and I guess I'll expand on the surgery panel later.

I loved the Surgery Panel!

Hello, this is Tony, a Sophomore at Stanford. I want to thank you very much to the SPA team for setting up the Surgery panel. I learnt a great deal tonight. I am a pre-medical student, but I am not sure what speciality to go into. The panel really helped clear lots of misconceptions and questions I always had about the surgical profession. I especially liked that the panelists addressed how rapidly the field is changing, and how machines will play that role. I also got lots of insights into how speciality match work, and what type of people usually go into surgery (instead of internal medicine) Thank you again, I loved the hot chocolate and cookies, very nice of you. Thank you, you are really helping confused pre-meds like me get really useful advise. (woohoo, the second episode of Season 7 Scrubs comes on tonight!)

Sincerely,
Tony