Why Family Medicine
During the medical residency interview process, the question I was asked repeatedly was, "Why pursue family medicine?" Here's why I think family medicine, and more generally primary care, is the most important specialty of our time:
America needs primary care - if you're a patient, you know this by the incredible wait times to establish care with a new doctor or even see your existing doctor. If you're a health care provider, this shortage is basic knowledge. Multiple public health and physician groups have broadcast warnings about it. Primary care prevents the dreaded complications of chronic disease, which saves everybody time and money downstream. In a era when we are looking to reduce health care's GDP contribution, primary care is the obvious long term investment.
Digital Medicine is primary care's domain - every specialty, outside of primary care, has long enjoyed the technological prowess of medical device company's R&D. While those innovations are valuable, few focused on primary prevention. With the advent and growing popularity of sensors - like FitBits, or Apple Watches - combined with intuitive UX/UI overlays for raw data, consumers are finding increased engagement with their day-to-day biological signals. As these sensors evolve to increase the depth and dimension of their measures, their clinical validity becomes not inconsequential. Understanding how to algorithmically process these digital signals to predict serious events falls squarely within the realm of primary and preventative care. As family medicine doctors, that is our domain and we should assume responsibility for digital medicine before others do so.
Jack of all trades - Family medicine has the privilege of providing comprehensive care. No matter the age, condition, or sex, family medicine physicians can help with some, if not all, of it. Before medical school, I held the idea of being the most help to the most people in high regard. Family medicine allows me to fulfill that by teaching me how to help anybody, even if my help is just a small part of their overall care.
Connections and stories - the strongest reason why I chose family medicine, as opposed to any other specialty, was the opportunity to be a true historian. I grew up a bibliophile and, in adulthood, that love has transitioned into my professional life. Being able to familiarize myself with a person's journey - personal details and all - over time is a unique privilege afforded to few people in one's life. Family medicine doctors, more often than not, tend to be the lucky recipients of, and guardians to, those stories.