6 Learnings on My Journey from Medical Student to Epilepsy Attending

1. Be Open to Unfamiliar Locations

I grew up under the rainy skies of Washington and went to medical school surrounded by the plains of Nebraska. I didn’t see myself ending up in the Southwest because I simply didn't have any exposure to that part of the country. But when I started to get curious about New Mexico, I realized how well the locale complemented my interests.

I'm an avid skier and cyclist—I bike about 10 to 12 hours a week—so the Southwest clicked with my outdoor lifestyle. During winter weekends, it’s often sunny and 60 in Albuquerque but snowy up in the mountains, so recreational options are virtually limitless. Check out our Instagram to see how UNM HSC Neurology residents kick back and relax.

If you don’t factor in your life outside of the hospital, you run the risk of feeling lopsided and stressed out. It’s important to find a place where you can prioritize your wellness and establish a work-life balance. Though my neurology residency and fellowship were rigorous, UNM HSC offered a level of freedom in scheduling that allowed time for activities that benefited my health.

2. Find Your People

When you decide on an institution, you are choosing the department culture and the family you will be working with—because it really is a family of folks coming together to form that department. Find out if the other doctors have a similar practice style as you and if the members of the faculty desire to be mentors.

Let the people sway your decision, because it’s important that you feel you're an appreciated member of the team.

3. Connect with a Mission that Resonates

The medical school I attended is Jesuit-based, and a lot of their work involves give people with limited access the best health care and resources. The belief that every person deserves a high level of care resonates with me, and I found that UNM HSC has a very similar mission.

We serve people across the spectrum of access—from those with private insurance to those unable to work because of their disease. As a large health center, we have the privilege of serving patients all over the state—it’s fantastic the amount of outreach we get to provide.

4. Narrow It Down

When choosing your specialty, consider how narrow and deep you want to go with your education and experience. Start with what you’re good at and how you like to work. Some people are skilled at starting from scratch with a patient, building a differential diagnosis and managing a wide variety of cases. For them, becoming a specialist such as a neurologist is a great option.

For doctors like me who especially love the diagnostic aspect of neurology, a subspecialty like epilepsy is a perfect fit. You may start with a few vague neurological symptoms, but through your examination and detective-like problem-solving skills, you put together all the pieces of a complicated puzzle to discover what your patient needs.

The subspecialty of epilepsy offers a nice balance between reading EEGs and seeing patients in the clinic. That’s why I chose a two-year fellowship: a neurophysiology fellowship, which provided general exposure, followed by an epilepsy fellowship to learn a more refined approach to epilepsy.

Consider your academic curiosity. In neurology, there are a lot of gray areas, so you’ll really need to get to know your patients and stay on top of the most recent research.

5. Envision Your Future

Your choice of residency or fellowship program should be made with your long-term personal and professional goals in mind. I didn’t know when I started my residency here that I would be staying indefinitely, but I met my wife Lauren here, and she will soon be starting her epilepsy fellowship at UNM HSC. We can see ourselves raising a family here and making Albuquerque the hub of our extended family.

When I look forward to my career goals, I’m excited to take on more of an educational role as a junior faculty member. I hope to introduce neurology to new doctors that hadn't considered this incredible field, and I look forward to getting folks excited about the many areas in which they can specialize.

6. Choose Balance

It’s exciting to look back on how I've progressed through the stages of my medical education, some of which seemed pretty scary at the time:

• I was a medical student who was unsure of himself.
• A resident who fact-checked everything with his attending. A neurophysiology fellow who found his confidence and his niche.
• An epilepsy fellow who took the lead on patient rounds.
• And now, an attending in a leadership role that will help build the reputation of my department and UNM Health.

Deciding on a location for your residency or fellowship becomes easier when you zoom out and view the whole package. Find a place that lets you practice a high level of patient care alongside an outstanding group of people. And most importantly, decide where you’re personally going to be the happiest.