Wednesday, July 30, 2008

So long and thanks for all the fish.....


Well my time at Scott and White has come to a close. On July 31st I will leave my employment at this fine institution where I have worked for 8 years. I realize that some folks look at 8 years in a place and think ‘Hey that’s a pretty good start’. I have never been one of those people. I do not know if it the youth that I spent moving every 4 years as we crossed the state form job to job, or if I just have an inherently restless streak . Either way, I cannot seem to stay in one place for an extended period of time.

Eight years seems like a long time in my mind, until I look back on what I have gotten done that I set out to accomplish during my time at Scott and White. First and foremost, I completed my Family Medicine training which was my paramount goal. Along the way toward completing that training I got to do some pretty cool things. I got a chance to learn a great deal about teaching through the Faculty Development Fellowship that I took through Waco Faculty Development Center it laid the foundation for what was to follow and without their guidance I could not have achieved all that I have as a teacher. It was through them that I challenged myself to try and become the ideal teacher that I wanted to have when I was being trained, and to their credit I got closer than I ever thought possible. During that process I made some very dear friends whom I will very much miss.

So what was it I wanted to try and change that prompted me to stay for eight years? Well, I wanted to do what I could to help make the Family Medicine residency become the best program possible. Toward that end I was able to make some incremental changes in the way we conducted morning report so that it would better serve the needs of all the participants. I also managed to change the way in which we conducted the Morbidity and Mortality report so that it provided a better teaching moment for all concerned. I was lucky enough to work with Dr Marc Via and through his example became a much better clinician through my understanding and ultimately teaching of Evidence Based Medicine, and it was this step that allowed me to really teach the things I had wanted to understand when I had been in practice in Utah all those years ago in the Army.
Along the way I had the chance to work with many wonderful and inquisitive students that challenged me to become a better teacher. I worked with residents who prompted me to continually stay on top of medical advances through their probing questions about why I chose to do any particular thing. Finally my colleagues who through their gentle rivalry spurred me to improve my medical practice. All of these things were wonderful and without them I would not be the physician that I am today. But their time has passed and the next adventure waits as I move forward to meet those new goals.

So today as I look back and give thanks for all that has been I am excited as I look forward to all that has yet to become.

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