Scared? a little

18 months. That is what stands between me and making decisions that will directly affect whether people live or die. 18 months to learn how to best manage an ICU patient. 18 months to learn how to run a code. 18 months to decide, apply, interview, and match into a career for the rest of my life. I apologize in advance to all those not in medicine, I'm about to besmirch you. It is possible to change careers in medicine. You can go from an ER doc to an Anesthesiologist, it just sucks to do so. You have to go back through residency. Most often you choose your career at 26 and stick with it for the next 40 years. In other areas of the working public, people change jobs and careers all the time. A market analyst will start selling stock or become a lawyer. Something completely unrelated...

18 months...
18 months and I will have two letters after my name (well, after the Jr at the end of my name). 18 months to get those two important letters: M.D. After I have those letters, I will suddenly have 70% of hospital employees working for me. I will be able to write orders, write prescriptions, sign charts. The advice that I've heard from people: "Don't kill too many people. You're going to kill some, just limit it." How's that for some advice? Talk about realizing your own mortality in one statement.

18 months...
I'll still be the same person. Still a runner and a cyclist. Still a dog lover. Still a huge Notre Dame fan. Still a Wabash man. Still the same...