Our current Featured Resident is Dr. Katherine (Kate) Pearson, third year family medicine resident at San Jacinto Methodist Hospital in Baytown. Kate also serves as a Resident Advisor for the Texas OPTI Advising Program, advising TCOM students who are interested in a medical career in family medicine. She's hoping her iPhone will help organize her life...the salesperson told her it would! Read on...
Kate, you are in your third and final year of residency at San Jacinto Methodist Hospital in Baytown....so close to being a full fledged family practice physician! How have things evolved for you over the course of your program?
I'm amazed at how much has changed since I first started residency. In the beginning, I had so much energy and enthusiasm, fueled by a good dose of natural anxiety. But I soon learned that TCOM had prepared me well to face the challenges of the first year in family medicine residency. I would cling tightly to all that I had learned and I could often recall the important pearls from our professors. These precious little nuggets of important info would just spring out at the right moment, and I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, where did that come from? I'm so glad I remembered that." In my second year, my focus changed a little. I had learned the routine and I had a little more time to delve deeper into researching the science and polishing up the art of medicine. Now in my third year, I feel like I want to soak up all the opportunities I can. My feeling is that I never really know what will be expected of me in the future, so any chance to learn a new procedure or study an interesting case is appreciated.
What is a typical day like for you? I'm sure there is no textbook 'typical day', but give us a general idea.
A 'typical day' in family medicine is so much fun! I recently had a 'typical day' that I thought was great because it was perfectly unique to family medicine. I was helping out in the ER in the morning, where I helped place a chest tube and then counseled and examined a patient that had been sexually assaulted...both challenging encounters, but in completely different ways. Then I was on to my continuity clinic; checking on well babies, working with patients with diabetes, and treating back pain with OMM. I was on call that evening, where I monitored a patient in labor who had mild preeclampsia; she delivered a beautiful, healthy baby boy at about 2 a.m. And then there was a sweet, chronically-ill, elderly gentleman who had become acutely ill that required admission. His distraught family was doing a wonderful job caring for him, but they needed some help.
The next morning I saw patients in clinic again. This time, I saw one of my regular prenatal patients, thinking she was seeing me for a routine visit only to learn she had miscarried over the weekend and was now depressed and even suicidal. What I love about family medicine and what drew me to it initially, is that rarely is there a routine. When you pick up the chart of your next patient, it's a total surprise inside.
What are your greatest joys as a resident? What challenges you the most?
My greatest joys as a resident come from the amazing people I get to work with every day. I have never known a group of professionals with more kindness and intelligence. Residents, faculty, private attendings, medical students, nurses and staff...all of our people here at San Jacinto are wonderful. It is a supportive environment to learn and to care for patients in. And above all else, I particularly enjoy the time I get to spend teaching medical students. It's so energizing to witness how excited they are about all the new things they are learning and to watch how their thought processes develop.
My greatest challenge is in trying to soak up all the experiences I can. Our program director, Dr. Hawkins, says that learning medicine is like trying to take a sip from a fire hose. I can't think of a more apt analogy to explain how much there is to learn and how it seems we have so little time in each day to take it all in.
What advice would you give to osteopathic medical students looking to pursue a career in family medicine? Anything they should do specifically...or concentrate on?
Learn as much as you can about everything. Believe it or not, everything is relevant to your future practice in some way. Get to know as many family physicians as you can and ask them what their practice is like. You'd be surprised how different one family physician's practice can be from another. A good place to start is through your local chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians (here in Baytown it is the Harris County Academy of Family Physicians.)
What are you most looking forward to when you graduate? Do you have a plan in place?
Well, to be honest, I'd be lying if I said anything other than making more money...that is what I'm looking forward to. I'm still trying to refine what kind of practice I want to be a part of and it seems to change every week. So for right now, I'm going to keep an open mind and take a look at the possibilities.
What would your friends, family and co-workers be surprised to learn about you?
Hmmm, I think I'll retain a little of my mystery!
So, how do you keep it all together? Some people use their phone...others use a day planner or electronic calendar. What do you do to keep yourself organized?
This is a constant struggle for me. If I spent less time trying to optimize my organizational system and actually got things done, I would probably be better off. Up until now, it's been the old day planner calendar in my coat pocket, but I've recently purchased an iPhone with the expectation that it will magically organize my entire life...at least that's what the salesperson said it would do!
Doctors on television...Scrubs, ER, Grey's Anatomy, Nip/Tuck, House...or do you have a different favorite?
No, no. I'm old school. My idol has always been Dr. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce from M*A*S*H. I like the way he uses humor to keep the mood light and yet has a fierce passion for doing the right thing, no matter who his patient is. Plus, I also enjoy a good martini!
If you weren't a doctor, what would you be doing?
I'd be chef...maybe own a restaurant...possibly a bakery. I'm addicted to the Food network. I've had lots of folks tell me I should have been a chef and I had to make that choice years ago...medicine or culinary arts. I figure I can do one as a profession and the other as a hobby. And people tend to frown upon practicing medicine as a hobby.
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Kate, I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with me. You are a great role model for those students interested in pursuing a career in family medicine. Thanks again for your candor and sound advice.
