So, what am I doing with all my spare time now that I don’t have classes all day? What do I do now that I only have half days of clinical education and my nights and weekends aren’t spent studying? This amount of free time may seem like the perfect fertilizer for complacency and idleness, however there has never been more dire work to be done. Now is the time that I must plan and lay the foundation for my future beyond National. And that is exactly what I’ve been doing.

I have in mind a very particular type of practice in which I’d like to spend my professional life. I envision a practice in which my abilities and ambition can be utilized to their fullest extent. I yearn for an opportunity to help build something — to reach out to as many patients as I possibly can. I’m on a crusade to make health care as cost effective and fruitful as possible. My deepest desire is to help everyone achieve their vision of their best self. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs dictates that every step of well-being be completed before self-actualization can occur. I want whatever practice I’m a part of to further that goal for each and every patient. Finding the right fit, however, can take some work.

So, I’ve been compiling a list of practices that fit my criteria (FYI, this list isn’t that long). Then I’ve been crafting cover letters for each and every practice, citing my personal philosophy and what I believe I can offer the practice. Finally, for those who display interest (only one so far, but I’m in the early stages of outreach), I write up a couple page proposal detailing my philosophy on health care, aspects of the practice that I admire, and areas of the practice in which I believe growth is possible — and how I can initiate that growth. So, when a potential employer wants to sit down and talk ideas, I have an entire proposal ready to go. Be the doctor you’d want to hire. Go the extra mile.