A Push of Perseverence

One of the most indispensable qualities any human being can possess is perseverance. To match failure toe-to-toe and challenge fate that you will succeed. To exceed past barriers that you have set upon yourself to seize your ambitions. To try, try, and try again until you have grasped success because otherwise, success will not chase you down. Every physician has utilized this innate quality to succeed through the strenuous years of medical school and elevate themselves to the position they enjoy now. It is surely not simple or swift but it is worth the struggle. 

I am amazed at the progress my peers and I have made in the mere weeks we have been in the ISM course. We've successfully researched incredible, in-depth topics that peak our interests, we've designed resumes that skillfully showcase our talents, and most importantly, we've connected with professionals and scheduled valuable interviews that enable us to exhibit the utmost professionalism and seek real-world experiences. However, this process is not as simple as it may seem. In fact, for me, it was incredibly difficult and time-consuming to schedule my first interview. One by one, all my peers had scheduled, completed, and followed-up on their interviews while I had not received any means of contact from my potential interviewees in three weeks. I had connected with at least thirty obstetrician-gynecologists on LinkedIn, called almost every private OB/GYN clinic in a five-mile radius, and consulted with my classmates and parents on finding an interviewee, and yet still not a single interview. I thought to myself, "It should be easy. Every woman needs a gynecologist, and there are at least a hundred thousand women in Frisco, equating to thousands of obstetrician-gynecologists that I can interview, right?" I was completely wrong. An extremely important lesson I've acquired this week in my pursuit of a viable interviewee is to not rush the process. I was too concerned about worrying about my peers' successes, that all I desired was to find the quickest, most straightforward route to an interview. From this experience, I've learned not to focus on acquiring a speedy acceptance of an interview, but rather make my process more methodical and elaborate, ensuring the quality of each interviewee. I continued to diligently research and specifically plan my cold calls, while not completely demoralize myself due to rejection, and finally, through my weekend of perseverance and dedication, I had secured three interviews. I am incredibly grateful for the struggle I faced in securing an interview as it has taught me to be patient and fully comprehend the fact that each individual's ISM journey is completely unique. You must exceed personal boundaries and continuously strive to grasp success, despite the obstacles that may stand in your way, as those obstacles will only remain obstacles unless you overtake them.  

 Another crucial lesson I've learned in my experience this week is that not everything falls into the place the way you've planned. After my first research assessment, I was elated to research the complexities of gestational diabetes and understand the mechanisms paternal influence can increase the risk of acquiring gestational diabetes. However, as I analyzed my article detailing the general overview of the condition, I realized that although gestational diabetes is vital to understand in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, it was not a topic I held a genuine passion for. As I annotated my article and reasoned through the complex scientific processes as listed in the paper, my interest waned and I understood that exploring further into the implications of gestational diabetes was unfortunately not the right path for me. At first, this had demoralized me as I had been so set on researching gestational diabetes and did not anticipate my loss of interest, but I soon realized that making mistakes was an essential part of the process. Again providing an excellent lesson in perseverance, I plan to ardently pursue a different direction, most likely stemming from my first research assessment, and understand if I would enjoy that better. I do not see this as a block in the road, but rather a channeling of a different path towards success.

 In the following weeks, I aspire to pursue a topic that is completely enthralling and hope to discover a sub-field in the realm of obstetrics and gynecology that I am tirelessly passionate about. Additionally, I want to contact more professionals on LinkedIn by purchasing LinkedIn Premium, making additional cold-calls, sending more emails, and communicating with my peers and Coach Goff to gain an increasing number of viable contacts to interview. My ISM journey is well underway and I am enthusiastic to see where it will take me next.