Viewpoint

Family Matters

From the Chief Medical Editor
Larry E. Patterson, MD

Four years ago, I wrote a story about my son Michael's struggle to get accepted into medical school. He worked very hard to earn a 4.0 GPA, getting his BS degree in only three years at a well-respected private southern university. Like his brother and sister, he was blessed with an outgoing personality, and his resume was filled with a wide array of extracurricular activities ranging from sports to foreign medical mission trips.

Problem was, his MCAT scores were only average. I believe this was in part because he followed the medical schools' recommendations to major in something besides the basic sciences, to stretch your horizons and become a well-rounded individual. Well, that advice is actually good, except when you find out that great MCAT scores — which can most easily be achieved by spending four undergraduate college years immersed in the sciences — are a bit of a gatekeeper at many, if not most, medical schools. In other words, most medical schools wouldn't even interview him. Most allopathic medical schools, that is.

The osteopathic medical schools, on the other hand, were a different story altogether. The first two schools that interviewed Michael offered him a position there within 48 hours. Not because they were desperate for students, but because they were impressed with his achievements, both on paper and his demeanor in person. After meeting him, they knew he would be the kind of doctor we'd all want for ourselves. He ended up going to the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine adjacent to the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg.

I got a chance to get to know this school pretty well, as they recruited me to teach the ophthalmology lectures to the first-year medical students. The facilities and staff were outstanding. With few exceptions, I met a very normal group of students who clearly were chosen with intellect as a key prerequisite, but with interpersonal skills being just as high a priority.

I'm happy to report that, at least at the residency level, things are much improved. Michael got a chance to interview at a number of very fine MD and DO programs around the country. I'm also happy to say that he just received his match results and was accepted at the University of South Carolina. I'm not sure what he's most excited about — the ready access to SEC football games, or the inclusion of three free meals a day.

My thoughts now turn to the future. If all goes as planned, he'll join my Tennessee practice in just over four years. I'm looking forward to having my son as a partner someday, as well as the obvious benefit of a built-in succession plan. I am aware that many of you have family members in your practice — sons and daughters as colleagues, and even your spouses. And my question is this: how's that working out for you? What are the benefits, and what are the downsides? Unlike many doctors in other medical specialties these days, I'm excited about my son going into medicine, and especially about having him join my practice. But I'd love a little preview of what I'm “in for.” Let me know your thoughts and anecdotes (larryp@ecotn.com), and we'll share them in an upcoming issue.