ACOFP Blog
For Family, By Family—ACOFP Blog
I analogize family medicine to a “Swiss army knife” as it is the only medical field that requires a knowledge, skill and humanism to effectively care for a vast array of issues affecting patients of all ages and genders in both hospital and ambulatory settings.
The Student Association of the ACOFP is partnering with Resident Council on a number of exciting initiatives, including the Resident Council Spotlight series of interviews and articles. We’re excited about the insight and perspective residents are able to provide to help students plan for residency and become active with ACOFP.
For our next article in the series, students sat down with Ian Singer, DO, JD, to learn more about his residency program, what being a part of ACOFP means to him and what advice he has for students.
I chose Broward Health Family Medicine because no other residency program offered the unique combination of intense inpatient training at one of the nation’s large public hospital systems with rigorous academic-based outpatient training on a medical school campus.
I was most drawn to family medicine during my clinical rotations as a third-year medical student after finding several aspects of the field to be uniquely appealing. I analogize family medicine to a “Swiss army knife” as it is the only medical field that requires a knowledge, skill and humanism to effectively care for a vast array of issues affecting patients of all ages and genders in both hospital and ambulatory settings.
I volunteered to join the Resident Council for the opportunity to work alongside a select group of osteopathic family medicine residents from around the country with a common goal of advancing medical education and issues affecting our cohorts.
As you go through medical school and particularly into clinical rotations, keep an open mind regarding each specialty you rotate through. Don’t just zero in on a specialty because it pays well or you feel like you will get more recognition. Rather, pursue a path that makes you happy. When I started medical school, I thought I would follow in my father’s footsteps and go into neurology. But, when I got to my two months of inpatient and outpatient family medicine, I found my calling. And since becoming a family medicine resident physician, I could not imagine myself in any other field.
ACOFP is a community of current and future family physicians that champions osteopathic principles and supports its members by providing resources such as education, networking and advocacy, while putting patients first.