During the first two years of medical school, I felt open to letting new experiences guide my specialty path. I was equally interested in emergency medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics, and family medicine. My interests shifted often enough that when my family members asked what I would go into, I would tell them a different specialty each time. During my third year, I had an impactful experience working at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital, where one of my preceptors challenged me to talk to each of her patients about smoking cessation. She coached me in my motivational interviewing skills, especially surrounding smoking cessation. I had some of the most rewarding and insightful conversations with her patients. This experience helped me develop a love and appreciation for preventative medicine within primary care. Throughout the rest of my clerkships, I also found that I loved working with pediatric and obstetric populations. Near the end of my third year, I had the opportunity to spend part of my family medicine rotation in a rural area in Utah. I saw what broad-scope rural medicine could look like and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I am looking forward to a career practicing broad-scope family medicine! My interest in healthcare started as a high school student. I took an anatomy and physiology course and loved it. Shout out to my high school anatomy teacher for supporting my interest in medicine! Medical Student Spotlight| Continued on page 22 UtahAFP.org | 20
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