Its Possible

Major changes happen this week in ISM. This week signified a shift from establishing the foundations of ISM to building on them and applying this knowledge and conception to our daily lives. For me specifically, it forced me to open my growth mindset and to take on failure as well as open up my boundaries and explore other options previously not thought of. It was slightly difficult but attainable with hard work and persistence.

On Tuesday, I finally received a call to schedule my first interview with a pediatric surgeon. This came as a huge surprise and really gave me the fuel to go on calling other surgeons around my area. The following day I called back to schedule an interview for Monday 12:30 p.m. Since the office manager was not available I left a message. This made me a little anxious because based on previous calls I've realized that the best way to get a hold of the doctor is to speak in person to the secretary, but I left a message anyway. After that I waited two days before calling again. Yet again I was not able to get a hold of them. By the time Monday came by I still had not received confirmation from them so I was not able to conduct my interview. This was definitely frustrating for me because on one hand I had been able to gain interest from pediatric surgeon but on the other hand I was technically still at zero interviews.

After finishing my call and correspondence I began venturing out to go into even more varieties of doctors and specialists that could benefit me in any way possible. The biggest lesson that I'm learning from my peers during this time is that one of the best ways to get a mentor is to network with people who would they work with. That way not only am I able to get information from a medical professional but that person will have experience with me you can promote me in front of their colleague. Due to this I have decided to add neonatologists, general doctors, and pediatric nurses to my calls.

During this week there were many highs and lows. On one hand I was finally able to accomplish a goal that I was setting for myself for the past three weeks. However on the other, I was not able to attain actual results from this accomplishment. Despite my adamance in calling, my success rate is still very low and not equivalent to those of my peers. This has led me into opening my eyes yet further as it allows me to take a look at the different professions that are similar to what I'm doing. However I know that I still need to improve. My goal for next week is to be able to market myself in a professional way, at the business symposium, that will allow me to gain a mentorship or at least a network of people who can aid me in my journey to study medical professionals this year in ISM. In addition I hope to solidify my interview with Dr. Amy C. Brenski as well as gain interest of other doctors in my area.