I finally know what I want to do with my life...

Friday, March 21, 2014


And it was the hardest decision that I've ever made.

I started medical school with the clear idea that I wanted to be an ER doctor. Having worked almost two years as an ER nurse and spent extensive time volunteering in Haiti with ER docs, I felt confident in my decision. But the farther along that I got in medical school, the less certain I was...I liked continuity with my patients, with is not really present in emergency medicine, and I found myself with a different personality than many of my classmates planning to pursue emergency medicine. Then enter OB/GYN...

Delivering a baby is unlike anything else in medicine or life. There's something about the raw joy of that moment and the privilege of being a part of it...nothing really compares. I also liked the prenatal care, the postpartum care, and supporting women with fertility issues. There were a couple of problems though. I knew that I would be a natural family planning OB, which mean that I wouldn't do tubal ligations or prescribe contraceptives, placing me in a very small minority of OBs. This would have implications on where our family would live, based on me finding a hospital and group that would support me practicing this way. I also knew of the implications on family life in traditionally one of the worst residencies in terms of hour requirements, and even after residency as an attending since babies are never born at predictable hours.

In August I spent a month in St. Louis, at an OB/GYN residency that was strong, high-volume, and NFP-friendly (about one-third of the residents are NFP-only). It was one of the best months of my medical school career. I participated in many, many deliveries and did some of my own. I got to know the residents, a smart, kind, and supportive group. I reaffirmed my love for OB and discovered that it was possible and needed to be an NFP-only OB/GYN (possible, but not always easy). I prayed that God would show me what I was supposed to do.

I guess I should add that when I prayed, I told God (always risky in a way) that it would help me make my decision if Stephen and I became pregnant. We had tried for a couple months, knowing that there was only a brief window between residency interviews and the start of intern year, and hadn't been successful yet. I knew that it would impact my decision if I were expecting, because of doing one of the hardest residencies with a newborn. We found out that we were pregnant the month after St. Louis (yes, God listens).

I still interviewed for OB, but I also interviewed in emergency medicine. EM was my 'first love' in a way, and residency and life after were light years different (probably one of the best residencies with a family, and certainly a great lifestyle afterward for having children). However, there was a nagging feeling inside that I didn't want to give up OB. It took me months to make my decision (which I solidified pretty much right before our rank lists were do). I reflected on life, my priorities, why I went into medicine in the first place. As I got closer to decision day, I realized a few things. One was that I didn't like the operating room: as much as I wanted to like surgery and did like the idea of it, it wasn't for me and probably never would be. Surgery is a huge part of OB, and this helped make the decision easier. I also realized that I would miss a lot of the medicine that I'd learned by pursuing OB. It's a very specialized field, and the broad spectrum of knowledge that I'd always hoped to have as an emergency physician wouldn't be a part of it. Knowing both of this things helped me to be at peace in the end, because I didn't want to make the decision based only on family life or the fact that being an NFP-only OB would be difficult.

And so I made my decision of emergency medicine. There's a part of me that still has a hard time letting go of the idea of delivering babies (not that I won't ever in the ER, ha) but I know in my heart that it was the right decision for both our family and for me. It was reaffirmed last month when I was working in the ICU: ER doctors can pursue a fellowship in critical care and become an intensivist, and I realized that the ICU encompasses so many of the reasons that I went into medicine: caring for patients at their most vulnerable, and practicing in a field that requires me to use all of the pathophysiology that I've learned on a daily basis.

That brings me to today, Match Day. If deciding between emergency medicine and OB was the hardest decision that I've ever made, then ranking programs was a close second. I was so torn between the programs closer to family and a few programs at some of the top hospitals in the nation. Ultimately, I ended up ranking the two programs that I felt were the combination of most family friendly with the best education at the top...one is close to family, where we'll have a lot of support, the other is at a world-renowned facility. The Match leaves a certain element to fate (and God) since we rank our top programs and the programs do the same, but then it all goes into one big computer system to give us our assignment. It's 5:30 a.m. now, and in only a few hours we'll know...the countdown continues...

17 comments:

  1. Good luck, Erika!!! Your decision seems perfectly right for you. I think God has a plan for you. :) Best of luck and keep us posted!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm excited for you! What a huge day this is!

    ReplyDelete
  3. How exciting (and nerve wracking)!! Sending prayers your way for God's will for your family!

    ReplyDelete
  4. How exciting (and nerve wracking)!! Sending prayers your way for God's will for your family!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AHHHHHH! HAPPY MATCH DAY! update us on where you end up?!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats on this huge decision! You seem very much at peace with it - which is all we can ask for. I have my own huge career decisions to be making soon... Anyway, GOOD LUCK with the big match. Only a few more hours :) (One of my best friends is married to a med student about to match today, so we are counting down together ;) )

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sooo exciting! That seems like such a hard decision and it is clear that you really mulled it over and took everything into consideration. Sounds like a great choice to me! Good luck, and it seems like wherever you end up, it will be great!
    My husband is also a 4th year and we're waiting to hear as well, but he's pursing internal medicine. Unfortunately, we won't find out where we'll be until tomorrow night because we are located in Israel and by the time the match results come out, it will already be the sabbath here...no e-mail for us! I just wanted to share that my husband was also torn between ranking top programs that were not accommodating to our sabbath regulations and those that have a "shomer shabbat" program (meaning they don't schedule him on the Jewish sabbath). He ultimately decided that the sabbath and the time spent with family meant the most to him, so those programs were ranked first. We can't wait to find out where we end up. Congratulations on matching and good luck today!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good Luck.... I have been following you for awhile (my son is entering medical school in the Fall). Dying to hear where you match....

    ReplyDelete
  9. My stomach had butterflies the whole time I was reading this! I was so anxious to see what you had decided upon. Congratulations, firstly, on making a decision. I will be praying for you today. And yes, please keep us posted!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh my gosh! SO excited for you! A big day indeed! I know you will be matched with the hospital that God wants you at. It will all work out as it should. I just know it!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good luck! What an exciting time!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good luck! Can't wait to hear how it went.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Even though in the end it wasn't what the Lord wanted from you thank you for even considering OB NFP-only. Excited to hear where you were matched!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Congrats on making a decision. It can be so hard.I hope you get what you want in the end. Life does work in mysterious ways. I love working in OB and I can't imagine working anywhere else but you are right, it is a special skill set, especially being an OB.

    Agi:)

    vodkainfusedlemonade.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sounds like you thought long and hard about this and made the best decision for you. Good luck with Match Day. I hope that it turns out the way you want it to.

    makingrestorations.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Yay! Congrats! EM is definitely a good lifestyle. (I wish it was for me!) Shift work is good for family life. (except for those random night shifts that Stephen will have to be alone with the children... but that goes for any MD. like call nights)
    Good luck and keep us posted. So proud of you, Dr. H-M!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I hope you got happy news on Friday! Please let us all know how it went!! Prayers, Helen

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for reading and for taking the time to leave a comment! Your lovely comments really make my day :) I appreciate and enjoy every comment even though I don't always have time to reply.

(I also often reply via email, unless you are a no-reply blogger).