As many of you who keep-up with the iMedExchange blog know, I’m a road warrior. The opportunity to continually meet individuals from around the globe with varied career backgrounds makes my job so very much fun. Today, I was inspired by two sets of fathers and sons, each who are following in their elder’s professional footsteps. One was Captain Jim Ritchie and his son First Officer Mike Ritchie whom Tobin and I met on our flight to Anchorage. Much to our surprise, the flight attendant announced that Jim, approaching the mandatory commercial pilot retirement age of 60 would be flying aside his son, Mike, also a pilot with Alaska Airlines.
Interestingly enough, one of our new advisors in Alaska, Mike Alter, M.D., a second generation physician, shared with me that his son is now attending medical school at Washington University in St. Louis. The meeting of these four individuals in one day made me think about how one chooses their professional path.
These father and son teams made me smile and reflect on someone who has inspired me: my father Lee Christian. He’s the guy who taught me to waterski at the age of three and drive a stick-shift on a 1975 MGB at the age of 13. Funny enough, I was enamored by his career in television when I was growing-up (he’s a retired television director). Though I did work in media my first year out of college, I quickly diverted to a career path in healthcare and my father remains to this day one of the best career coaches I have. So today, I’d like to pay homage to the parents who inspire their kids, especially the one who inspired me. Happy Birthday Dad.
Are any of you in medicine because of your parents? Or are your kids heading into this field too? I'd love to hear about it.
