MedEx Day One

5/28/24

Today was genuinely special and fullfilling day as I was able to see and talk to friends from tier one of my MedEx experience after two years. It was incredible to see how conversation flowed so easily even after a long seperation, like no time has passed at all. I was also able to meet new people joining the tier who are already so sweet, and I know by the end of the tier I will have formed amazing new friendships, as well as learned something new from them.

After hearing an introduction into the Prisma Health system and how it aids in the development of research and academic oppurtunities across the state, which in turn improves the healthcare system itself, we were able to take part in fun icebreaker activities. The main one we were able to enjoy was the name game, which immediatey brought me back to when I was learning the names of so many people in the room for the first time through this game! I found it to be extremely helpful in jogging my memory to recognize the names of people from tier one, as well as learn the names of the new people in the tier! We also played a fun "this-or-that" type game where we would pick a side of the room, and argue for the correspondng topic. This game was a fun way to learn more about each other's likes and dislikes!

Next, we also learned how to set achieveable, or SMART goals, an also created our own vision board based on these goals, which is attached below.

On each of the four corners of my vision board, I have photographs of me, and in the middle of the left and right sides is a picture of two relationships I want to continue to have with me, which include one of my best friends Kinsley and my sister Kimberly. At the top left, I have a picture of me with my mom and dad as a relationship I would like to continue to have as an amazing support system on my journey to my goal. After all, my dad's diagnosis and journey with cancer is what inspired me to reach for the goal I have now to become a pathologist. To the right of this pictur a picture of a family, as well as a picture of a nice house in the suburbs. This is part of my lifestyle goals as I hope to live in a comfortable home, as well as have a family. To the bottom left of my "peace" motto is a picture of my friend group from college that I hope to continue to have a relationship with in the future, and to the right of this is a picture of my dream career goal, which is a pathologist. To the right of this is my dream medical school that I would hope to fulfill this goal at, which is MUSC. Then, to the right of this picture is a picture from biology lab during my freshman year of college as a microscope can be seen slightly. The way I am working to fulfill my goal of becoming a pathologist is by taking classes with labs, such as biology, related to my field and working hard to succeed in them, while also gaining research skills that I know will be useful in the future. Finally, the bottom row starting from the left contain a picture of a violist playing as it is my goal to continue with my hobby of music in the future in order to keep of my skills, but also as an outlet for the stresses of everyday life. To the right of this picture is a symphony as it is also my goal to continue playing my instrument within a small symphonic group in the future depending on which town or community I am in. To the right of this picture is a picture of me and my college roomate, which is also another relationship that I hope to have in the future as we have built a close friendship.

The motto/word I chose to represent my future goals is "peace". As someone who has always struggled with anxiety about not just the future, but the present and who I am as a person, I understand that overcoming this anxiety is the key to achieving my goals. If I have peace with who I am and what I am doing, rather than doubt and worry about everything that could go wrong, I know I can achieve anything! As I go on this journey towards my career goals, I hope I can keep in mind the goal of finally experiencing peace consistently, even if it's not all the time.

Today, we also were given a tour of the Clemson Nursing Building by Rob Atkinson where we will be spending a lot of our time during the tier. Even though I am not personally interested in a career in nursing, I was astounded at all of the resources the nursing building had for their students, especially their lifelike mannequins as seen above! Mr. Rob also mentioned a Phd program oppurtunity for healthcare in genomics. As a genetics major, this oppurtunity excited me as a possible career in the future if becoming a pathologist doesn't work out as I can make great strides in healthcare by creating things like medicine that help people using my genetics degree. Regardless, it gave me hope that I have lots of options and it never comes down to medical school or bust!

After our tour of the nursing school, Al came to give us a very inspiring talk as an introduction to MedEx. I genuinely was inspired by the fact that I have a program and family who has my back no matter what happens in the future and whatever my dreams/goals are. I also realized there is never one path to reach your goal, and as long as your passionate about it, it will work out in the end. I also came to the conclusion that I need to be more confident in myself and my abilities as I tend to compare myself to others and have a lot of doubt. Al's introduction speech gave me hope that I CAN overcome these doubts and grow my confidence in order to reach my end goals!