Decisons

During this week I decided to get more information on the various other possibilities of mentorship positions other than the ones that I have already looked into. This opened more options, but not all of them were very adaptable to my schedule or location. With many of my peers already having mentors, I know that I need to step up and really focus in on selecting my mentor for this year. I have many ideas for a final project that I hope to work on with my mentor but in order to establish all this I first need to select my mentor which is proving more difficult than I originally thought.

Regarding a mentor, I'm currently at a crossroad. While I do have a candidate that I believe I could work with, I also have other phone calls that I could make that would also provide me with other options that could be a mentor as well. The only problem is dealing with accessibility versus choice. On one hand if I go with the candidate I already have, its very easy to go to and from the office from the school due to distance.However, the doctor (Dr.Brenski) specializes in ENT which was definitely not the plan I originally thought. While I am not opposed to ENT surgery, I was looking more into general surgery for Pediatrics because I wanted to get an idea of the entire body as a whole rather than just one aspect. However with the other options, not only am I betting on the interview that hasn't happened yet, I also have a longer distance which means less time with the mentor because I probably will not be able to miss as much school with the drives itself are taking up a lot of time. However with this option provided it goes well I will be able to see more of the career so that I am better informed on areas of the field that I have a better chance of succeeding and rather than just this one aspect. This is very difficult because obviously once I choose a doctor as a mentor they are my mentor for the rest all of my time in ISM but I also do not want to way too long end not have any mentor at all.

Overall, this week proved to be one where I am reflecting on the future of me in the program of ISM. Due to the fact that this program is difficult to get into, I really want to make sure that I make the most of it but at this point I am still unsure of what I want to do regarding a mentor. My current plan is to call the number that I have researched into and to see if they are open to having an interview. I am very aware that Dr.Brenski is more than qualified and if I find a doctor that is like her but in the general field then I will definitely ask that doctor to be my mentor. However if I do find other doctors of of as intense specialization as Dr. Brenski, then I do not see a reason why I would not pursue her as a mentor because I would at least be able to witness pediatric surgeon despite it being in a more specialized field. Even with the plan of attack I am still nervous about the timing and everything because I would like to have my mentor before the year ends. In order to do that I need to be on top of making calls and scheduling the interviews so that I know that I tried every option and really determine the best of them before determining my mentor.