My husband asked me the other day how I knew anything about the process of becoming a doctor (no docs in the family).

In high school I had a healthcare teacher named Mrs. Brooks. She was a nurse—type A in all the best ways.

There was a small group of us who took her classes (which were counted like vo tech classes)—medical terminology, intro to HC, etc. I did clinicals in the hospital and nursing home and ultimately finished high school able to be a CNA.

Anyways, one of our assignments was to research different healthcare jobs (I want to say we had to do ten).

We had to have one page on each job detailing requirements, education, duties, salaries, etc.

I didn’t really understand what residency was, but that’s when I learned the word and that it was required.

I also learned all my medical terminology from her, learned how to make a hospital corner on a bed, gave a talk on the blue people of Kentucky, and checked out Atul Gawande books (and others) from her health care library.

I don’t know that I have always understood how much of a role she played in my career, but I can see now how just how significant her classes and her encouragement were.

(pic of our clinical skills class around graduation time in 2008)

ALSO

Vo tech classes are awesome, and they’re not just for people who plan to go right into a career after high school.

All of these classes were much more valuable for me than any additional advanced/college classes would’ve been.