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Taking time to say thanks and reflect before moving on
Mentors made for a great fellowship.
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It has been two years since I joined the Cardiology Today team and started writing the Fellows’ Perspective column. It is time to move on.
Approximately seven years ago I sat in the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine’s computer lab wondering what it would be like to train in the United States. How competitive would it be? Would I be able to overcome the language barrier? Was it worth leaving my family and the country that I am in love with behind? That day, based on a U.S. News & World Report ranking list of the best internal medicine programs, I created a roster of what seemed like a bunch of improbable possibilities.
In what seems like the blink of an eye, I have finished my training in internal medicine and I am close to finishing my cardiology training as well; both at superb academic institutions. Every single instance of those seven years I have felt lucky and blessed for the opportunities that I have been given along the way. It would have never been possible if not for those people, whom we call mentors, that took the time to invest in my future and open doors that led to new and exciting possibilities.
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As our professional careers evolve, we should never forget to thank these individuals for being true to the academic spirit. I take this opportunity to publicly thank Arturo Medina, MD, Carlos Girod, MD, David Hillis, MD, Rick Lange, MD, Benjamin Levine, MD, and Roger Blumenthal, MD. All of them have been instrumental to my career development.
Two years ago when Judy Rusk, Cardiology Today editor, asked me to take over the Fellow’s Perspective, I saw it as an opportunity to write about the whole academic experience: the good, the bad and the ugly. The learning process, good mentorship, financial frustrations and our underpaid status – as well as the sometimes cut-throat environment encountered in the academic world – were some of the topics that I tried to address in the most honest and unbiased way possible. As time passed, I felt more and more that the column was a reflection of our daily lives, worries, expectations and happy moments. Your emails, letters, and comments of encouragement were a testament of that.
It has been a privilege to be a part of the Cardiology Today mission. I thank the editorial team, especially Judy, for their support and open-minded spirit. It has been a great experience. I wish all of my partners-in-crime the best of luck and I hope to be able to continue our conversation on a different forum. As Sir William Osler said, “Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day absorb all your interest, energy and enthusiasm. The best preparation for tomorrow is to live today superbly well.”
For more information:
- Juan Rivera, MD, is a Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for Prevention of Heart Disease and a Member of the Cardiology Today Fellows Advisory Board. He also writes a cardiovascular prevention blog for Hispanics called Corazon Hispano. The blog can be viewed at: corazonhispano.blogspot.com. Next month, Fellows Advisory Board member Jonathan Potfay, MD, fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University Pauley Heart Center, will start writing the monthly Fellows’ Perspective column.