As I turned in the exam I tried to let the finality of it all sink in. Though I was one quarter of the way through my early medical training, I really was not sure how much closer I had come to my own life's mission. I realize now that the secrets to medicine are not all hidden in my plastic Fischer Price medical bag.
Health is a way of life, and medicine is a tool through which health can be improved.
As long as I can help people to use that tool, discover new ones, and provide others with access to these tools, I know that I belong in the medical profession. The year I had just completed provided me with a foundation in biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, immunology, epidemiology, etc. The material was both rewarding and challenging, but the endeavor was purely academic. We were all participants of the 2 nd Annual Medical Mission trip to Jamaica, Jamaica 2000. When we arrived in Miami, we spotted Nadine Jackson and Michelle Ferdinand, the co-coordinators of the trip, at the Air Jamaica counter.