Assignment #6 - Irene Kim - My Journey through the Medical Field

To demand that a high-schooler decide what college they want to attend; what major they would like to pursue; what career path they will choose--especially all at once--is absurd. To put it in perspective, asking a graduate student where they will get a job, where they are to live, and what their life will look like in 5 years is much the same thing.

But that's exactly what I decided in 5 seconds.

It was in a McDonald's at 1:00 P.M. that my mom decided to pose this question to me: What do you want to do with your life? Without hesitation, I spluttered out a random answer--simply for the sake of my selfish 13-year-old pride and nothing else--that I would like to be a doctor. That I would pursue a career in the medical field, and that I would graduate college with a major in biology.

Although it was a spur-of-the-moment answer, I was fortunate enough to have chosen an area that I would come to be interested in--the medical field. Upon joining Medical Club, taking psychology, and looking into medical majors, I learned how significant and valuable the area is. 

The most rewarding experience came this summer when I decided to volunteer at the UK Hospital upon a friend's recommendation to try it out. It was once a week, eight hours per day, four hours per shift. I had two shifts--one at ChildLife, a program at the Kentucky Children's Hospital that provides entertainment for child patients, and one in the surgery waiting room. I had an extra 90-minute shift after lunch to play piano in the hospital lobbies. 

All of the experiences I was lucky enough to have and the people I was able to meet were invaluable, but the most significant encounters to me personally were during ChildLife. Although I spent about half an hour each day getting lost in a hallway or storage closet, the people I met made everything worthwhile. Our job was essentially to visit each of the patients' rooms and bring them any toys, games, movies, or snacks they needed. It was a simple task, but a million times rewarding--being able to glimpse into so many patients' and their families' lives, see the hardships they were going through, and provide entertainment or some sort of fun activity to ease their pain, even if just a little. What was most astonishing to me was how nearly every person I encountered was able to express their appreciation towards ChildLife and give thanks to the simplest things--in the midst of all of their own troubles. It really helped put my own life into perspective, and the things I should be grateful for.

Surgery waiting and piano shifts made for incredibly illuminating experiences as well. In surgery waiting, another teen volunteer and I would sit behind the little front desk in the lobby, waiting for someone to show up with a beeping pager-doohickey. Upon receiving this little device, we would be written a slip for pre-op or post-op--which I still don't know what they stand for--we would bring the patients' family or friends out of the room, wait for the elevators which took an eternity to arrive, and lead them into the surgery rooms where their beloved relative waited. Upon talking to the other volunteers there, the workers, and most of all the families of the patients, I learned that through any struggles, it is especially important to be mentally strong and stay positive; and to have a helping hand or someone to cheer you up is helpful. 

Piano shifts were my favorite part of the day--I would play in the hospital lobby for 30 minutes, then dash over to Markey Cancer Center and play for another 30 minutes. I loved picking out a list of songs to play each week, but I most enjoyed watching the people listening. Although most of the half-hours were filled with passersby and empty lobby chairs, every so often an elderly couple or a mother and her child would sit down to listen. One woman sat for the entire duration with her eyes closed, humming along, and informed me at the end that she was reminded of her late mother's playing. Another man, middle-aged and balding, told me that his wife, in surgery at the time, had played the same Clementi sonata once. Again, to be able to glimpse into so many people's lives and empathize with them, provide them with some sort of escape, was incredibly meaningful.

All of these experiences led me to the career path that I'm envisioning currently. Ideally, I would love to pursue a career in the medical field--to my 13-year-old self's surprise--likely as a pediatrician or psychologist. Thus in college, I would probably pursue a pre-med or biology major, and minor in music. However, it is also worth mentioning that nothing is set in stone--there are still an infinite amount of majors and areas to look into before I decide on one for certain. As a high-schooler, it is reasonable to want some stability in your future and pick a certain area to pursue. If you're the type of person who knows exactly what you want to do in your future, that's amazing! But if not, it's okay to be uncertain--it takes time to find what's right for you.