All in the Family: A Love for Medicine Bridges the Generation Gap By David Henkes, MD and

ALL IN THE FAMILY

A Love for Medicine Bridges the Generation Gap

By David Henkes, MD and Nichole Henkes, MS-II

THE BOOMER:

David Henkes, MD

When my children were in grade school, I wondered how they felt about me being a physician, especially my activities in TMA, AMA and specialty organizations. It meant yearly summer vacations in Chicago or other cities while Dad spent his days in meetings. Would this discourage their interest in pursuing a career in medicine? My Secret Wish

Many years ago, I remember talking with colleagues about their children. Some encouraged and were very proud their children followed them into medicine; others were adamant that their children should not. The differences were striking. Secretly, I hoped my children would go into medicine, but what was more important was them being happy with the vocation they chose.

Never Make Predictions

I predicted my son would be most likely to go into medicine. My daughter, Nichole, was smart, but I worried some of the unpleasant experiences in medicine would turn her off: gangrenous limbs, colonoscopies, etc. My son, Daniel, chose another dream—aerospace engineering at NASA. Instead, it was Nichole who stepped forward to follow in my footsteps.

Trial by Fire

When Nichole said she wanted to go premed in college, I said to myself, “Let’s show her some of the no-glitz and glitter that doctors do and see if she can really cut the mustard.” I set her up to shadow physician friends doing colonoscopies, amputations removing foulsmelling gangrenous limbs and organ transplantation. I thought she might last a day, but instead, she was intrigued. The more she saw the profession, the more her passion grew.

Competition

College pre-med was difficult. Professors discouraged students from pursuing medical school. At that time, it seemed inappropriate, but now I can understand why: At Baylor, nearly 30% of freshmen plan to attend medical school after graduation, but of those, less than 25% complete the medical school application process, with about 18% admitted.

Collaboration

Time passes quickly: Nichole is nearly an MS-III. She has done well, achieving high honors in every course. I feel proud when she calls to ask me a medical question, especially

one dealing with pathology. And just recently, I called her to give me a refresher on some general medical diseases that I had forgotten about.

Advice for Parents of Pre-Med Students: • Your student must have a plan to enter medical school. Not just in words, but in actions: forgoing many fun events in college to study and work hard. • They must have drive to achieve that goal. It cannot be your passion: it must be theirs. The road is so long and arduous, your passion cannot be the only fuel for the drive. • The essays required by medical schools are critical. Passion to practice medicine and future contributions to the profession must both be demonstrated. Nichole worked hard on her essays for several months, writing and rewriting them to reflect this. When finished, each essay was unique, personal and inspiring.

David Henkes, MD is a Practicing Pathologist, the recipient of our Distinguished Service Award and served as the 2005 President of the Bexar County Medical Society.

THE ZOOMER:

Nichole Henkes, MS-II

When I tell people that my dad is a physician, I’m always asked, “Did your dad want you to be a doctor?” This question haunts me no matter what stage of education I am in. It’s a pressure hanging over me: the need to prove that I am going into medicine for the right reasons, and not just to please my parents. Of course, my dad is happy to see me in medical school. I believe he sees the same excited passion about becoming a physician that he experienced in medical school.

Advantages

But there were many advantages of having a parent in the medical field that I would not have experienced otherwise. I had a sneak peak of the “behind the scenes” personal life of a physician. With many weekends on-call and holidays postponed, I learned firsthand that medicine is a profession that demands a life-long dedication to the service of others.

Hesitation

Most people are surprised to hear that I was initially met with hesitancy from my father when I chose pre-med at Baylor. He knew about the long hours studying and working, and the delayed gratification physicians face. In fact, I have spoken to quite a few physicians who heavily discouraged their children from going into medicine. Now that I’m in medical school, I see why.

Passion

You truly have to love medicine in order to endure it. Many days I have struggled and lost motivation, but my passion kept me afloat. Preparing for my first board exam, I could see how burnout is a very real threat. Many students, including myself, are accustomed to high scores and impossibly high standards. We hoard ourselves in the library from sunup to past sundown every day, with the hopeful delusion that workloads will lessen in the near future. Nevertheless, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Time Passes

Surprisingly, I am already finishing my second year of medical school. Despite some COVID distortion, my class was still able to complete pre-clinical education and practice clinical skills. I look forward to the next two years of medical school and beyond, as I finally get to interact with patients and apply all the knowledge I have learned. My next big decision will be residency, and although I have had plenty of exposure to my father’s specialty, pathology, I have never felt pressured to go into it. I am so grateful to my dad for introducing me to medicine. If he had discouraged it early on, I probably would not have found my passion.

Advice for Those Interested in Medicine: • Pay attention to both positive and negative aspects of your parent’s vocation. • Start early, in high school, with a deliberate plan toward medicine. • Be honest with yourself and your parents about what your passion is. • Don’t assume you have an advantage getting admitted to med school — it often works against you.

Nichole Henkes is an MS-II at UT Health SA Long School of Medicine and co-chair of the BCMS Student Collaboration Committee.

Generational Medicine:

When Several Generations of a Family Pursue Medicine as a Career

By Rodolfo “Rudy” Molina, MD, MACR, FACP

When I was asked to write about why I thought all three of my children pursued a medical career, I drew a quick blank and thought it best to ask them for their input. The answers I received sent a clear message, at least for me. I must mention, none were pre-med majors when they entered college and both my wife, also an MD, and I were very supportive and excited for them as they pursued their education. I asked them for the why. The following are their answers.

Our oldest, Eric, graduated from Stanford with a degree in Cell Biology and then worked in the private sector at Genentech before applying to medical school. I’m proud to say he is graduating as Valedictorian from the MD and PhD program at Baylor College of Medicine (my wife and my alma mater) and is pursuing an Interventional Radiology residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. He provided this response:

“I believe that values will ultimately lead an individual to a profession or vocation if that individual is presented with the right opportunities. My parents gave me any and all opportunities to grow my sense of self and my mind. Respect for my fellow humans, compassion for the suffering, logical rigor and the notion that scientific knowledge and advancement not only can be achieved, but that achievement is a moral imperative in order to prevent the needless loss of human time, life and dignity. These are the principles that I observed at the base of my parents’ motivation. Their values became my own, but I chose to pursue them in a slightly different way by adding a PhD in Bioengi-

neering to my medical degree. I did this because I wanted to help pa- This was her response: tients navigate their illness but also believed that science generates the “Throughout college, I seriously considered a few different career map which makes that navigation possible.” choices – marine biologist, teacher, art historian, social worker, the

Our second child, Emily, graduated from Massachusetts Institute list goes on. I saw the tireless hours that you and mom spent working of Technology (MIT) with a degree in Neurocognitive Studies and and was firm about not pursuing medicine because of it. Similar to then spent the next three years doing medical research at UTHSC, Emily, it wasn’t until I stopped thinking of practicing medicine as a San Antonio. She is presently at Johns Hopkins completing her second job and began thinking about it more as a lifestyle that I seriously year as a medical resident and is pursing a Rheumatology Fellowship considered it. As I grew up, I remember countless conversations about program. The following is her response: different projects and patient cases that you both were working on

“It’s honestly hard to remember exactly what happened, or when and I’d be lying if I said that your passion and excitement were not the lightbulb that told me, ‘this is what contagious. Ultimately, as I reflected I want to do,’ went off in my head, since upon my own experiences, I realized I had spent so much time fighting the that becoming a physician would proidea. I didn’t like the hours I saw, and I vide me the opportunity to marry didn’t want to feel torn between work many of my passions: science, teachand home. But, honestly, as soon as I ing, advocating, serving my commustopped thinking of being a physician as nity (specifically our tiniest members) ‘having a job,’ and started thinking and learning. about it as part of a lifestyle, I eventually Side note: I also remember multiple just realized that I couldn’t see myself warnings from you both to not go into doing anything else. My initial plans of medicine unless I was 100% sure – I being a teacher are fulfilled (with stu- still appreciate not being pushed into dents, interns and patients), my curios- this field because it is demanding (but ity on the human body, mind and condition is never satiated, and the relationships and compassion I choose to “As soon as I stopped thinking of being also extremely rewarding and fun). I joked multiple times with my interviewers who asked about whether or have for my fellow beings is essential, a physician as not you and mom played a role in my not only for the sake of my patients and their families, but also for myself and ‘having a job,’ and decision to become a doctor that the best way to get your kids to go into my team. From an ideological perspec- started thinking about it medicine is to tell them NOT to go tive, the traits of what I would consider a great physician – compassionate, lis- as part of a lifestyle, into medicine. I told them it worked 3 out of 3 times.” tener, humble, analytical, good commu- I eventually just realized From my perspective, the message is nicator and teacher – are all traits that I aspire to, although I know I can fall short. Plus, seeing how fulfilling you “ that I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. clear: if the parents love what they do as physicians, their children will likely consider pursuing the same, if not a both found your work, and [after more similar career. exposure to the field outside of home] I’d like to thank the Publications understanding how meaningful the work truly is, ultimately helped Committee for asking me to write this article and mostly would like guide that decision. Regardless, I’m sure it was many things that led thank our children for writing the bulk of it. each of us down this path, though I also would favor believing that if you (parents) didn’t like your job, we probably wouldn’t either.” Rodolfo “Rudy” Molina MD, MACR, FACP is a Practicing

Sarah, our youngest and a proud Aggie, is graduating this year Rheumatologist and the 2021 President of the Bexar County from UT Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine and will Medical Society. be entering a Pediatric residency at Baylor College of Medicine.