I initially entered college at the University of Maryland, College Park, with a vague plan to become a veterinarian. Taking the temperature of a cow in the agricultural barn wasn’t quite what I had in mind.  I was also ill throughout my years as an animal science major, and eventually discovered that I was allergic to all domestic animals except horses.  I don’t like horses much, so that pretty much finished off my vague plans. I did love science, and continued to pursue a B.S. in Zoology while accruing more credits in English than in my major. Eventually it dawned on me that medicine was the right career for me – I was drawn to the application of the biologic sciences, and thrived when working with people. I applied and was accepted to the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.  Wow, I loved it. Most people whine and complain about their medical school years, but I had fun (ask me about the time we made toboggans from empty body boxes) and loved what I was learning. I entered medical school with a vague plan to become an obstetrician/gynecologist, my feminist political bent expressed in the mantra “women’s health by women”.  Well, in third year, I loved every single clinical experience I had.  Except OB/GYN.  Hated it.  In retrospect, this was primarily because the people I worked with were sour and unhappy. This taught me how important the attitudes of clinical teachers were to the development of their trainees.  I finished third year with my career choice narrowed to Pediatrics, Internal Medicine or Radiology. I scheduled one course in each of these early in my fourth year. My first senior course was an outpatient rotation in Pediatrics at a community health center. Within one week there I had cancelled all of my Medicine and Radiology courses and packed my schedule with Pediatrics.

I went off to residency at the University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California. This move was triggered by my peripatetic husband; he finished medical school the year before me and opted for a residency in Internal Medicine in Sacramento. He had really liked the program at Baylor in Houston when he interviewed there, but I told him there was no way in heck this Jersey girl was moving to the land of big hair and red fingernails, so he ranked California higher. Our agreement was that he would pick where we did residency, and I would then determine our next move when I selected a fellowship – by then I was certain I would enter academic medicine after completing a fellowship in Infectious Diseases. When it came time for me to choose my fellowship, I fell in love with the program at Baylor, in Houston.  No, I have never lived that down. We both ended up joining the faculty at UTMB and I have been here ever since.  I am so acclimated that I tell folks I will never live north of I-10 again.

One of the things I love about being at UTMB is the flexibility I have had to redefine myself frequently. I was initially hired as the typical “triple threat” faculty, with research grants, teaching and clinical duties. I found I loved teaching and wanted to get more involved in that role. One of my research mentors told me I would have to choose between research and teaching, so to his surprise I returned some grant money and became a clinician educator when I took on the role as Clerkship Director for Pediatrics. I’ve changed hats a few times since then, which is OK with everyone so long as what I’m doing fits the mission of the University. Currently, I serve as Assistant Dean for Educational Affairs and direct the Office of Clinical Education. I still get to work directly with students, in fact I have 920 of them to worry about now.  Clinically, I work mostly as a hospitalist, which gives me more exposure to students and residents than does working as an ID specialist. I teach in about a bazillion courses, and am course director for a few. I’m not quite sure where my next career zig or zag may take me, but I’m sure it will be fun!