Focus on the Good

Throughout this past week in ISM, I had two interviews! When I scheduled these two interviews, I was ecstatic because even last year, I did not have the good fortune of receiving two interviews in the same week.

My first interview with Dr. Kelley Smith was extremely informative. She gave me an abundance of advice on how to deal with chaotic children, uncooperative parents, and the vaccination controversy. Additionally, I asked her some contrasting questions from what I asked most pediatricians last year, such as what makes her clinic unique from other clinics and how I should prepare for a medical profession in college, besides taking the required courses. One of the main items that I took from this interview was every child should be treated holistically. Even though most professional pediatricians do not prescribe home remedies or treat children unconventionally, each child needs to be dealt with according to his/her needs. Another item that I had not given much thought was what doctors commonly go by, which is initially, do no harm. Dr. Smith told me that she attempts to remedy the situation without any invasive procedures, and then, if necessary, she will call for a hands-on procedure.

My second interview was with Dr. Li Li. Now, this interview started off a bit strangely because when I arrived at her office, the door was locked, which is something I have never experienced outside a clinic. After that, the interview seemed to be going normally; however, she was giving some choppy answers to my questions. Then, halfway through the interview, she asked to see some form of ID because she wasn’t comfortable with me asking her “personal” questions. Although I was asking her the same set of questions (with a few added) that I ask every pediatrician, I complied politely and she made of a copy of it. I resumed the interview and she did tell me that the reason her clinic was so small was because she wanted to give the most attention to each of her patients and didn’t want to expand for that very reason.

In conclusion, both of these interviews provided me with information to continue my pursuit in becoming a pediatrician. One provided me with more substantial information than the other, but I definitely learned my lesson of looking more into who I am interviewing and their credentials.