Moving Forward

It's a new experience, really, to change careers, change cities... it's a brand new life!

After 22 years in the same city, 18 years at the same job, 16 years in the same house, life begins to feel a certain degree of... sameness. Sharon says I have a "fierce" intellect- my mind is always active and always driving me to learn new things. So, with her love and her support, I set out to conquer a new domain of knowledge and experience.

I think that moving forward is healthy. It's a part of life in 21st century America. How many of you reading this have relocated in the past 5-10 years? How many of your friends have departed? How many of your current friends have arrived in that time period?

As my good friend Scott Richardson once stated, "Every move involves a push, and a pull." Of course, Scott came to Ohio from Texas, and has since moved on to Georgia, along with two other friends from my former employer. But he is absolutely right. In my case, the pull was obvious- I have been a passionate advocate for deploying information technology to improve the day-to-day practice of medicine since the beginning of my career.

The push, in many ways, was more subtle. It's easy to look back at the frustrations of my former existence as family physician-educator: patients never happy when you're away teaching, student interest in family medicine declining, and the ongoing battle to generate enough revenue. Unhappy patients, unhappy bosses, unhappy students. But the number one factor by far, in the push, came down to professional stagnation. The grind of teaching the same curriculum, juggling patient care and teaching commitments, was STIFLING to creativity and intellectual drive. I faced two choices- sit back, put my brain on cruise control, and simply grind through the day-to-day demands, or move forward. So, onward and upward!

The most touching moment of the transition happened on Thanksgiving Day 2009. As we were preparing to leave town for our holiday dinner, Mom fell and broke her leg. We had to cancel the trip and take Mom to the hospital. Dad and I sat in the cafeteria, over a lunch of bland processed turkey. In spite of Mom's health, and Dad's own advancing age and diminishing memory, he told me,

"David, when a man is 45 years old, he should be able to go where he wants and do what he wants to do. If there is an opportunity for you to find a good job and you need to move, you do it."

Those are words I will never forget. My curious mind, my passionate intellect, is a gift from God- but it was passed down to me through Dad. Even in the midst of his own family crisis, he urged me to move forward.

I am enjoying my new career in every way- it is everything I imagined! And I have many people to thank- my caring and intellectual father, my loving and supportive wife, and the God of the universe who has equipped me and given me this opportunity.