Choose a cause you care about and then explore what different organizations are doing to help. See if you can volunteer or organize donations from friends and family.

Find a cause you care about and see how you can help.

Check out these free online courses offered through HarvardX that tackle different topics on Global Health. 

Learn about Global Health at HarvardX. 

Contact your local hospital, emergency room, or a medical office and find out about volunteer opportunities. Spending time there will give you an idea about the field of medicine that interests you most and if it's an environment you would like.

Volunteer at a local hospital, emergency room, or medical office.

Find a nonprofit or cause in your area that needs volunteers and apply to help out. Is giving back to your community like this something that's important to you in your career?

Volunteer in your community.

Enter your location at the top of this page to find opportunities at health organizations near you. Being involved at any level will help you figure out if this area is something you're interested in!

Find a volunteer position in health and medicine.

Read up on the courses, requirements, and timelines for getting into medical school. Get prepared early and better your chances of acceptance!

Learn what you can do to prepare for medical school.

Empathy is an integral part of our human nature. It is a skill ingrained in us, but it can also be learned and improved upon. Explore ways to develop your empathy and be more successful in life.

Watch a TED Talk about empathy.

Choose a few of these stories about mystery medical cases and how they were solved. Does assessing symptoms and doing research to figure out diagnoses seem like something you'd like to do?

Explore hard-to-solve medical cases.

Talking to someone in a job you're interested in is a great way to gain new insight. Contact a local clinic to ask if you can quickly interview someone there about their job--be ready with questions!

Interview a doctor!

Learn more about Doctors Without Borders and keep up with their work on social media. Would you like to work with them someday?

Learn about Doctors Without Borders.

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians

Diagnose and treat disorders requiring physiotherapy to provide physical, mental, and occupational rehabilitation.

Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Investigative

Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Social

Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Realistic

Second Interest High-Point

Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Artistic

Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Conventional

First Interest High-Point

Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Enterprising

Third Interest High-Point

Physician

My father was unable to pay for my college experience completely. I got some loans, some scholarships, but it still wasn't cutting it. I wasn't gonna let that prevent me from going to school.

Emergency Physician

Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Physicians and Surgeons

Physicians and Surgeons, All Other

Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners

Document examination results, treatment plans, and patients' outcomes.

Examine patients to assess mobility, strength, communication, or cognition.

Assess characteristics of patients' pain such as intensity, location, or duration using standardized clinical measures.

Provide inpatient or outpatient medical management of neuromuscular disorders, musculoskeletal trauma, acute and chronic pain, deformity or amputation, cardiac or pulmonary disease, or other disabling conditions.

Monitor effectiveness of pain management interventions such as medication or spinal injections.

Develop comprehensive plans for immediate and long-term rehabilitation including therapeutic exercise; speech and occupational therapy; counseling; cognitive retraining; patient, family or caregiver education; or community reintegration.

Coordinate physical medicine and rehabilitation services with other medical activities.

Perform electrodiagnosis including electromyography, nerve conduction studies, or somatosensory evoked potentials of neuromuscular disorders or damage.

Prescribe physical therapy to relax the muscles and improve strength.

Consult or coordinate with other rehabilitative professionals including physical and occupational therapists, rehabilitation nurses, speech pathologists, neuropsychologists, behavioral psychologists, social workers, or medical technicians.

Prescribe therapy services, such as electrotherapy, ultrasonography, heat or cold therapy, hydrotherapy, debridement, short-wave or microwave diathermy, and infrared or ultraviolet radiation, to enhance rehabilitation.

Instruct interns and residents in the diagnosis and treatment of temporary or permanent physically disabling conditions.

Diagnose or treat performance-related conditions such as sports injuries or repetitive motion injuries.

Prescribe orthotic and prosthetic applications and adaptive equipment, such as wheelchairs, bracing, or communication devices, to maximize patient function and self-sufficiency.

Conduct physical tests such as functional capacity evaluations to determine injured workers' capabilities to perform the physical demands of their jobs.

Agility ladders

Automated external defibrillators AED

Balance trainers

Chair cycles

Cold therapy equipment

Custom orthotics

Desktop computers

Electromyographs EMG

Ellipticals

Epidural injection syringes

Exercise balls

Exercise bands

Finger ladders

Fluoroscopes

Folding pedal exercisers

Hand dynamometers

Heat therapy equipment

Intrathecal pumps

Iontophoresis equipment

Knee braces

Laptop computers

Mechanical stethoscopes

Multipurpose electrotherapy units

Musculoskeletal ultrasound equipment

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation NMES equipment

Orthopedic splints

Plyometric rebounders

Pulse oximeters

Shoulder pulleys

Sphygmomanometers

Tablet computers

Therapeutic diathermy machines

Therapeutic treadmills

Therapeutic ultrasound equipment

Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation TENS equipment

Whirlpool baths

Allscripts PM

athenahealth athenaCollector

Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR

Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR

Biodex Medical Systems Biodex Concussion Manager

Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR

CareCloud Central

Cerner PowerWorks Practice Management

eClinicalWorks Practice Management

Email software

Epic Practice Management

GalacTek ECLIPSE

GE Healthcare Centricity Practice Solution

Greenway Medical Technologies PrimeSUITE

HealthFusion MediTouch

IOS Health Systems Medios EHR

Kareo Practice Management

McKesson Practice Plus

Microsoft Word

Modernizing Medicine Practice Management

NextGen Healthcare NextGen Practice Management

Nuesoft Technologies NueMD

OmniMD PT./OT EHR

simplifyMD

Vitera Healthcare Solutions Vitera Intergy

WRSHealth EMR

When I was 12 year old in 1972, I campaigned for George McGovern in Iowa and actually went around campaigning in this presidential election for the democratic candidate against Richard Nixon and loved it. But I remember the first time I came back from college at Brown University, and we were driving in the car. And my father was just making conversation, said, so what do you think you want to study? And I said well, Dad, I think I wanna study philosophy. I didn't know my mother was a philosopher. So he pulled the car over, looked back at me [LAUGH] and said, when you finish your medical residency, you can do anything you want. I think all immigrant families understand this to an extent, that your parents want you to do something safe, have a skill that no one can take away from you no matter what. So, he really really pushed me to go to medical school. I was able to get into Harvard Medical School. And they had a program that started the year I arrived here, where you could do your medical degree and a PhD in anthropology. So that was perfect for me, so it worked out for me early on. >> When you're sitting in the back of the car and your dad's like, you're not gonna be a professor, you're gonna be a doctor, did it feel like you dad was deciding your future? >> For me, going to medical school was not the one thing in the world I wanted to do. I just sort of said okay, there's gonna be a part of my life where I'm just gonna have to pay my dues. So that I can get the skill, I can get the sheepskin, I can get whatever it is I need to bless me in doing this work, and then try to maintain the social justice work parallel. In fact, I'm really glad I did it, because right now, I feel like almost every day, I'm doing political justice work. That's what I do every day with my life. My activities are focused on trying to increase access to medical care, to treatment, prevention for HIV for the poorest people in the world. That's what I do every single day. So, I ended up being able to do that which I most wanted to do anyway. But I went through it, through the sciences. Following your dreams is one thing. But you're gonna be much better at following your dreams if you have some sort of skill. And that paying your dues and getting some sort of rigorous training so that you actually know how to do something is very much worthwhile. >> I would ask more questions, but- >> [CROSSTALK] >> Your secretary has signaled us to- >> Oh, I'm signaled? Okay, I could come back here at 4:30 and do at least another hour. >> Well, it was sort of weird because, well it wasn't weird. We were a half an hour late. And so he only had 45 minutes. And it definitely felt like the interview was not over and we still had a ton of questions, and he had to go pick up his son. But then he offered to come back. So that was really cool to have an hour break to think about what we wanted to ask. >> Right now I kind of let go of mainstream journalism and thinking about documentary film making because I think that I can make somewhat of a difference in it, but I mean did you every feel that paralysis? Like not knowing what to start with, where to go? >> Paul Farmer at about the age of 21 knew exactly what he was gonna do with his life. He decided he was gonna become a doctor, and he decided that he was gonna provide healthcare to poor people, and he's still doing the same thing today. Me, I played volleyball, I studied anthropology, I studied the pharmaceutical industry. I did all kinds of different things. And that's what it took for me to find that thing which just was so clear that I was passionate about. One of you guys might sort of sit down, find something that you wanna do and just follow it for the rest of your life. That's great, those are lucky people. Other people, you'll have to try new things. >> We usually ask a question, and I'm curious about what you're gonna say about it, just one piece of advice for our generation. What would you give? >> I think that at some point in your life, you have to spend all of your heart and soul on following that kind of activity about which you are absolutely passionate. And finding that is really a full time job for you when you're young. Carve out some period of time where you just do nothing but follow your passion. If you're gonna follow a much more, maybe risky track, the chances are that the social systems and other things are in place so that you'll be okay. One of the great privileges we have of growing up in North America, is that we have the opportunity to follow our dream for at least a little while. My experience is that most young people in North America have that period of time where they can really go after their passion. Don't miss that opportunity. Just, you'll remember it as the most exciting time of your life. 

Interview

[MUSIC] This summer, we're traveling cross country in this RV. And. >> Basically just talking to people. >> And ask them, how do you find your own road? >> How did you, like, not listen to pressure from others? >> What did this age mean to you? Like, what were you thinking when you was our age? >> But now I'm yearning for people to, you know, give me advice. I really need that, I need that right now. [MUSIC] >> We have the opportunity to figure out what our passions are and perceive them. And in a way, that's just as much our duty as helping other people? >> Yeah. >> It is your duty to figure out what you love, and to do it because then you can help other people, because you put yourself in the position to help other people. [MUSIC] Yeah, I don't think I ever doubted that I would do something that I was really passionate about, but just, I guess I wanted to know how people deal with it. I'm not scared of graduating and not being sure about what I'm gonna do. But I think it'll definitely be a moment to sort of calm down and settle down a bit, figure out what I wanna do. [MUSIC] >> Should I go in there, or? >> I don't know. >> I'm gonna give it a shot. And now for a test of my patience, parking. >> This way a little bit. This way. Little bit. This way. A little bit. A little bit. A little bit. >> Okay, it's parked. >> All right, it's okay, we're good. >> We locked up? >> Yeah. >> Goody, goody. >> We're already 15 minutes late? >> Well, we're gonna be 25 minutes late. >> Come on. >> This is it. >> Jim Kim is actually. Well, this is sort of funny. I wanted to interview Paul Farmer from Partners in Health. And Paul's secretary told me that Paul was going to Africa the day I was leaving, and he's Justin Jim Kim. He's co-founder of Partners in Health, and he's the Director of Aids at Harvard. Okay, we're late. Let's go. >> So here's the deal. He's supposed to have a meeting at 3 o'clock, which we're gonna try and change until 3:30. >> Okay. >> But we might either have to do this really quickly or- >> Yeah. >> Do this really quickly. >> He's just really a cool guy. He's made his love of social activism and sort of turned it into a career in medicine. I'm really interested to talk to you, cause we haven't talk to that many people in the sciences. And all of us are kind of in the arts background, and I'm interested in hearing, for you if it was difficult to know what you wanted to do right away? >> When I was 12 years old, in 1972, I campaigned for George McGovern in Iowa. And actually went around campaigning in this presidential election for the Democratic candidate against Richard Nixon and loved it. But I remember the first time I came back from college at Brown University, and we were driving in the car and I said, my father was just making conversation, said, so what do you think you wanna study? And I said, well, you know, I think I wanna study philosophy. And my mother was a philosopher. So he pulled the car over, [LAUGH] looked back at me and said, when you finish your medical residency you can do anything you want. I think all immigrant families understand this to an extent that you're parents want you to do something safe. Have a skill that no one can take away from you, no matter what. So he really, really pushed me to go to medical school. I was able to get into Harvard Medical School, and they had a program that started the year I arrived here. Where you could do your medical degree, and a Ph.D in anthropology. So that was perfect for me. So it worked out for me early on. >> When you're sitting in the back of the car, and your dad's like, you're not gonna be a philosopher, you're gonna be a doctor. Did it feel like your dad was deciding your future? >> For me, going to medical school was not the one thing in the world I wanted to do. I just sort of said, okay there's gonna be a part of my life, I'm just gonna have to pay my dues, so that I can get the skill, I can get the sheepskin, I can get whatever it is that I need to bless me in doing this work, and then try to maintain the social justice work on parallel. In fact, I'm really glad I did it, because right now I feel like almost every day I'm doing political social justice work. That's what I do every day with my life. My activities are focused on trying to increase access to medical care, to treatment prevention for HIV for the poorest people in the world. That's what I do every single day. So I ended up being able to do that which I most wanted to do anyway, but I went through it through the sciences. Following your dreams is one thing, but you're going to be much better at following your dreams if you have some sort of skill. And that paying your dues and getting some sort of rigorous training, so that you actually know how to do something, is very much worthwhile. >> I wanna ask him questions, but. >> There's a signal. >> Oh, I'm signaled? [CROSSTALK] Okay, so I can come back here at 4:30 and do at least another hour. >> Well it was sort of weird because, well it wasn't weird. We were late, we were half an hour late, and so he only had 45 minutes. And it definitely felt like the interview was not over. We still had a ton of questions and he had to go pick up his son, but then he offered to come back. So that was really cool to have like an hour break to think about what we want to ask. >> Like right now, I kind of let go of mainstream journalism and thinking about documentary film making because I think that I can make somewhat of a difference in it, but. I mean, did you ever feel that paralysis? Like not knowing what to start with? Where to go? >> Paul Farmer at the age of about 21 knew exactly what he was gonna do in his life. He decided he was gonna become a doctor and he decided that he was gonna provide healthcare to poor people, and he's still doing the same thing today. Me, I played volleyball, I studied anthropology, I studied the pharmaceutical industry, I did all kinds of different things And that's what it took for me to find that thing which just was so clear that I was passionate about. One of you guys might sort of sit down, find something that you wanna do and just follow it for the rest of your life. That's great, those are lucky people. Other people will have to try new things. >> We usually ask a question, I'm curious why you say about just one piece of advice for our generation what would you give? >> I think that at some point in your life, you have to spend all of your heart and soul on following that kind of activity about which you are absolute passionate. And finding that is really a full-time job for you when you're young. Carve out some period of time where you just do nothing but follow your passion. If you're gonna follow a much more, maybe risky track, the chances are that the social systems and other things are in place so that you'll be okay. One of the great privileges we have of growing up in North America is that we have the opportunity to follow our dream, for at least for a little while. My experience is that most young people in North America have that period of time where they can really go after their passion. Don't miss that opportunity. You know? Just [MUSIC] You'll remember it as the most exciting time in your life. [MUSIC] I just really like the idea that he said, that you don't, it's just not about the career choose. There's certain things that you can just carry within you. It doesn't matter your job title. You can still be a social activist. You can still care and do things on a micro level and make a difference. And to me that was really cool. >> And what he said, to plunge into something, it's scary to do that, but I think it's true, there's no other time to do it. To devote everything and make sacrifices. Dr. Kim today made me realize that I really feel like busting my ass, you know? I think that I'm ready to try something undividedly almost. I just feel so ready suddenly to marry myself to whatever it might be that might lead me to figure out what I like to do. [MUSIC] When I got word that American 77 had struck the Pentagon, I said that's it, we're landing everybody, and that's what started that ball rolling. I would recommend to everyone to trust their gut. [MUSIC] >> I paid for it in opportunity cost, in the money that I gave up that I could've made. I bought peace of mind, I bought the right to not have regrets. So, was that worth it? Yeah, absolutely. [MUSIC] 

At Harvard University's Medical School, the Roadtrippers meet with Dr. Jim Kim, co-founder of Partners In Health and passionate social activist. Jim tells the team about his diverse path of learning many different areas to finally get to where he is today, doing what he loves. He gives Alex, Leila, and Michael a lasting piece of advice before he leaves: "Put your heart and soul into finding your passion.

Boston

I remember the first time I came back from, ah, from college at Brown University. And we were driving in the car. And ah, my father was just making conversation and said, "So, so what do you want "to study?" I said, um, "Well, you know, "I think I want to study philosophy." And my mother was a philosopher. So he pulled the car over, looked back at me, and said, "When you finish your medical residency, "you can do anything you want." You know, I think all immigrant families understand this to an extent, that your parents want you to do something safe. Have a skill that no one can take away from you, no matter what. So I ended up being able to do that which I most wanted to do anyway, but I went through it, through the sciences. Following your dreams is one thing, but you're going to be much better at following your dreams if you have some sort of skill. And that paying your dues and getting some sort of, uh, rigorous training so that you actually know how to do something, uh, is very much worthwhile. 

Jim Yong Kim Highlight

I think that at some point in your life, you have to spend all of your heart and soul in following that kind of activity about which you are absolutely passionate. And finding that is really a full-time job for you when you're young. Carve out some period of time where you just do nothing but follow your passion. If you're gonna follow a much more, maybe risky track, the chances are that the social systems and other things are in place so you'll be okay. One of the great privileges we have of growing up in North America is that we have the opportunity to follow our dreams for at least a little while. 

Opportunity

Passion

Risk

Values

Follow Your Passion

Paul Farmer at the age of about 21 knew exactly what he was gonna do with his life. He decided he was gonna become a doctor. And he decided that he was gonna provide healthcare to poor people. And he's still doing the same thing today. Me, I played volleyball. I studied anthropology. I studied the pharmaceutical industry. I did all kinds of different things. And that's what it took for me to find that thing which I just was so clear that I was passionate about. One of you guys might sort of sit down, find something that you want to do and just follow it for the rest of your life. That's great. Those are lucky people. Other people, you have to try new things. 

Exploration

Trying Different Things

When I was 12 years old, in 1972, I campaigned for George McGovern in Iowa. And I actually went around campaigning in this presidential election for the democratic candidate against Richard Nixon and loved it. But I remember the first time I came back from college at Brown University and we're driving in the car, and my father, who was just making conversation said, so what do you think you wanna study? And I said, well you know dad, I think I wanna study philosophy. And you know my mother was a philosopher. So, he pulled the car over, looked back at me and said, when you finish your medical residency you can do anything you want. I think all immigrant families understand this to an extent that your parents want you do to something safe. Have a skill that no one can take away from you no matter what. So, he really, really pushed me to go to medical school. I was able to get into Harvard Medical School, and they had a program that started the year I arrived here, where you could do your medical degree, and a PHD in anthropology. So that was perfect for me. So it worked out for me early on. 

Education

Experience

Family

Pressure

Philosophy and Medical Degree

For me, going to medical school was not the one thing in the world I wanted to do. I just sort of said, okay, there's gonna be a part of my life where I'm just gonna have to pay my dues so that I can get the skill, I can get the sheepskin, I can get whatever it is I need to bless me in doing this work. And then try to maintain the social justice work parallel. And, in fact, I'm really glad I did it because right now I feel like almost everyday I'm doing political social justice work. That's what I do everyday with my life. My activities are focused on trying to increase access to medical care, to treatment prevention for HIV for the poorest people in the world. That's what I do every single day. So I ended up being able to do that which I most wanted to do anyway. But I went through it through the sciences. Following your dreams is one thing, but you're gonna be much better at following your dreams if you have some sort of skill. And that paying your dues and getting some sort of rigorous training so that you actually know how to do something is very much worthwhile. 

Pay My Dues

Getting a skill is terribly, terribly important. Because coming to something with a set of skills puts you in a very different position from coming to something with just a bunch of commitments and good ideas. When I talk to people who say, I wanna do what you do, I wanna get into global health. What I try to do is to really understand what these people are telling me. And I talk to them about their lives and what it is about what you've done that's made you come to this conclusion? For some of them, frankly, they need a good travel agent. And they should just go find a good travel agent, travel around a bit, and then get on to whatever it is that they end up wanting to do. But others just can't get it out of their system. There's just something about the notion of going abroad, a powerful experience that they've had going into the home of a really, really poor person. And having that poor person be more generous to them than any person they've seen in the last year. Those people who just can't get it out of their system, what I tell them is, get a skill. Think of all the skills you can possibly pick up. Find one that really seems fun and makes you passionate, get that skill and then come back. Let me just give you an example of a young guy, really smart guy. Told me, I'm gonna into primary care medicine, cuz I'm gonna go back to my community, and I'm gonna go and serve my people. He was a Mexican-American. And then he came back to me and he said, Jim, I don't really like primary care, I wanna be a surgeon. And I said, go be a surgeon, please, go be a surgeon. Because you're much more valuable to us as a happy surgeon than you are as unhappy primary care doctor. And that's a very small example. So what he did was he went off and he didn't like surgery either, ended up going into emergency medicine, right? And now he's fully into his career in emergency medicine. And the thing about him is that what did was he really took the time to find that one thing that he just loved to do on a day-to-day basis. And now he's gonna put those skills to use serving poor people in Chiapas, in Mexico. And I think he's gonna be very effective, having gone through that process. And it took him eight years to go through that process, to find what it is that he really loved to do. I think it was really critical, in terms of him being able to be productive and effective helping us with health and Chiapas, our organization. So not only should you search for that thing that you're passionate about and that you find fun to do, but you shouldn't be shy about changing your path in midstream if you don't find what that is. 

Get A Skill

What I found is that I have been very fortunate to be involved in two major changes. One was to change the way the world deals with drug-resistant TB. And the second was the way the world thinks about treating HIV among poor people. So I was really involved from the beginning, in the middle, and even now in both of these projects. And what I learned was that if you take on a problem and sit back and say, here's a big political problem, I'm gonna change the big political problem. That doesn't work. What we had to do was we had to go through a process. The first thing we had to do was to get familiar enough with the problem that we could actually do a project that worked. So we showed that you can treat drug-resistant TB in the slums of Lima. We showed that you could treat HIV in rural areas in Haiti, and no one had done it before. So just showing that you can do it was the first thing. And then we were armed with that experience and we went out and started working on policy. And we worked on very small policy changes. You'd go to this meeting or that meeting, try to change how five people think, and then ten people, and then twenty, and then thirty. But then, eventually, we change how the world thinks. We changed policy at the World Health Organization, and now for both drug-resistant TB and HIV poor people have a very good shot of getting treated. And five or six years ago, when we started these projects, there was almost no chance of getting treated if you happened to be born a poor person. And the way we did that was that we were expects on HIV and drug-resistant TB. So I think the way you change something, and the test of your own ability to change something, is the extent to which you're ready to dig into the details. You've really gotta dig into the details and put the time in to understand all the different aspects of a problem. So what we had to do is, we had to ask ourselves, all right so who are the people in the world who don't think you should treat drug-resistant TB, who don't think you should treat HIV? And who are the people in the world whose minds we could change, who could be really influential? We actually mapped those things out, and then started going after them one by one. And over a long, long period we got to the point of, well, actually it's not that long, six or seven years, we got to the point where we made real, real policy change. But if we hadn't had the credentials by actually digging into the problem in depth at first, I don't think we could have ever made the long-term shift. 

Perseverance

Dig Into The Problem

Does optimism ever set you up for disappointment, though? And you're like, I'm sure we could get this far, and then in the end it, you didn't work out as well, or at all. Like you thought it would? &gt;&gt; Sure, we get disappointed all the time. Because things are just so much harder in poor countries. But the most important thing, is that I think every time we've had a failure and a disappointment we've learned something from it. So now when I go into a room with very high ranking officials talking about whether this or that or the other thing is possible. Because we've done so many things and had experience in both success and failure. We speak from some experience, we speak from some authority. So yes, I've had absolute disappointments before. But you've got to be committed to learning from them. And you also have to just have something clicks in your mind that says, this great disappointment, this great failure, will be useful for me at some point. Because then I'll be able to not make the mistake again. And when I'm in a room with people who are asking me about the feasibility of this, that and the other thing, I'll have that as something that will allow me to speak from authority. 

Failure

Failure Is Useful

I think everyone has to have some period in their life where they do nothing but follow their passion, and follow their passion. For some people, it's following their passion means following a girlfriend or a boyfriend that they. I'm talking about something else. That I think that at some point in your life you have to spend all of your heart and soul on following that kind of activity about which you are absolutely passionate and finding that is really a full-time job for you when you're young. You guys are young and you live in Canada. Young people who do this kind of thing in India are in a totally different situation. It's harder for them to do that. Just frankly harder for them to do that, but for you guys you can and that's what I would recommend. I'd say carve out some period of time where you just do nothing but follow your passion. And then when you're following your passion at the same time be strategic and say okay, that's what I wanna do, that person is doing what I wanna be doing for the rest of my life. And what's it going to take for me to get there. And then, if you have to do two, three years of law school to get there. Or if you have to do whatever it is you do interning in a place where they don't treat you very well for a couple of years but where you really learn a skill. That's what it is. I would do it, you know what I mean. I would really do it. If you have a sick mother or father or responsibilities like that, that's hard. I can't tell you to ignore them. That's the last thing I would say. But my experience is that most young people in North America have that period of time where they can really go after their passion. Don't miss that opportunity. Just, you'll remember it as the most exciting time in your life. 

Take Time To Explore

I find it hard once I decide on something to let anything sway my opinion. &gt;&gt; Yeah. &gt;&gt; But I know it's necessary. How do you do that when you have your cause, and you know this is right? But maybe small elements of it, you need to keep an open mind and listen to other people. How do you do that? &gt;&gt; For me, it was trying to convince other people to do things like change policy, okay? For me it was, if you're gonna change other people's mind about something, you really have to understand what it is that they're saying. So one of the techniques that you're taught in rhetoric or in public speaking is that you start your speech. If you want to convince somebody of something, you start off your speech by giving the opponent's position as clearly, effectively, and compellingly as you possibly can. So that you sound like you're arguing for the opposite position when you begin the argument. Make it sound really, really reasonable. But then you have to know the weaknesses in that argument and then proceed to take it apart. But having given the argument of the other person first, and doing full justice to it, is what really gives credibility to what you do. So I think that's a great exercise. I think it's really important to really fully understand the perspective of the people who's opinions you're trying to change. And let me put it this way. What you've just talked about, being so sure of what you think that you just don't wanna hear what other people are thinking, I have been through that a lot. I spent a lot of time feeling like that. What changed me was actually having to go and change the opinions of, I mean, the people at WHO and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease just thought completely differently from what we did. So we had to understand where their thinking came from and understand it even better than they understood it themselves. And then present the other side that made more sense, and we won. &gt;&gt; [LAUGH] 

Goals

Understand the Opponent

[Raul] It sounds like, like a roadtrip. [laughter] Since I was four years old, I always had a dream of being a physician. And my community is a community that ah... is in poverty, ah, mostly farmworkers. My parents worked in the fields. They don't have a high school education, or they didn't have a high school education at that time. I was really invested and dedicated to getting an education. And I wanted to also make a statement to the community that I'm coming back. So, you know, there was always that dream of doing something to help others that motivated me to just kind of keep going. I had no plans of going to Harvard Medical School. In fact, my family didn't even know where Harvard was or anything else like that. And when my pre-med counselor at UCLA told me I should apply to Harvard, I asked her, "Harvard? Where's that?" And so she looked at me kind of strangely, but I said, "You know, it's not like we have "these conversations at our dinner table." And so, as you can imagine, I'm very grateful, and 17 years later, now I'm back. 

Raul Ruiz Highlight

I had no plans on going to Harvard Medical School. In fact, my family didn't even know where Harvard was or anything else like that. >> [LAUGH] >> When my pre-med councilor at UCLA told me now I should apply to Harvard I asked her, Harvard, where's that? She looked at me kind of strangely but I said, it's not like we have these conversations at our dinner table. Needless to say, I went to Harvard and it was a great experience. What was challenging was the complete difference in environment and culture. Contrary to my nature growing up in a desert to experience snow storms, to experience clam chowder from Boston. >> [LAUGH] >> To travel the East Coast and to make it in a place where there was nobody else that I knew there. It was a learning opportunity that will help me develop as a human being. I think that we all need that. We all need to challenge ourselves often in order to help us grow as individuals. 

Culture

We Need To Challenge Ourselves

For you to attend college was kinda hard. You actually went around collecting donations, is that right? >> Yeah, so my father was unable to pay for my college experience completely. So I got some loans, I got some scholarships. But its still wasn't cutting it. So, I wasn't gonna let that prevent me from going to school. At that point, I wanted to prove to my father that I was going to put my part into it and that I was really invested and dedicated in to getting an education. And I wanted to also make a statement to the community that I'm coming back. So, I went around 120 degree weather here in the desert. I was wearing an itchy navy blue suit- >> [LAUGH] >> The only one I owned at the time. I was walking around with a little black briefcase, cuz I meant business. And I went knocking on the different businesses in Coachella and around the Coachella Valley, and I I had a contract for them. And I said, I'm a local student. I'm going to college. I'm gonna be a physician. And I wannaserve our community. And I wanna come back. And this is your opportunity to invest in your community. And what I learned though was that it's not the amount of money per se. It's the belief that the community had that inspired me and that gave me a social contract to realize that dream of serving the community. 

Beliefs & Faith

Community

Dedication

Hard Work

Social Contract

Sounds like a road trip. >> [LAUGH] >> Since I was four years old, I always had the dream of being a physician and my community is a community that is in poverty. Mostly farm workers. My parents worked in the fields. They don't have a high school education or they didn't have a high school education at that time. However, there was always that dream of doing something to helping others that motivated me to just kind of keep going. >> I've learned that for you to attend college was kind of hard. You actually went around collecting donations, is that right? >> So my father was unable to pay for my college experience, completely. So I got some loans, I got some scholarships. But it still wasn't cutting it, so I wasn't gonna let that prevent me from going to school. At that point I wanted to prove to my father that I was going to put my part into it and that I was really invested and dedicated to getting an education. And I wanted to also make a statement to the community that I'm coming back. So I went around 120 degree weather, here in the desert. I was wearing an itchy nave blue suit- >> [LAUGH] >> The only one I owned at the time. I was walking around with a little black briefcase, cuz I meant business. And I went knocking on the different businesses in Coachella and around the Coachella Valley. And I had a contract for them and I said, I'm a local student. I'm going to college. I'm gonna be a physician. And I wanna serve our community. And I wanna come back. And this is your opportunity to invest in your community. And what I learned though, was that it's not the amount of money per say. It's the belief that the community had that inspired me. And that gave me a social contract to realize that dream of serving the community, that was more important. And so as you can imagine, I'm very grateful and 17 years later now I am back. >> You're back! You're back with the three graduate degrees from Harvard. Can you tell me a little bit more about your degrees and basically how they paint your road in life? >> I had no plans on going to Harvard Medical School. In fact my family didn't even know where Harvard was or anything else like that. >> [LAUGH] >> And when my pre-med counselor at UCLA told me that I should apply to Harvard, I asked her, Harvard, where's that? And so she looked at me kinda strangely, but I said, it's not like we have these conversations at our dinner table. So needless to say, I went to Harvard and it was a great experience. What was challenging was the complete difference in environment and culture. Contrary to my nature going up in a desert, to experience snow storms, to experience clam chowder- >> [LAUGH] >> From Boston. And to travel the East Coast and to make it in a place where there was nobody else that I knew there. And so, it was a learning opportunity that will help me develop as a human being. And I think that we all need that. We all need to challenge ourselves often in order to help us grow as individuals. There's a term that we use in Road Trip Nation. It's called the noise, being subjected to people who basically don't think that you can get to where, you want to get to in life. And I know that that's something that a lot of you go through. Do you have any advice on how to deal with the noise? >> Yeah, yeah. When I was in high school there were some folks who said I should pick up a trade and not pursue my dream of being in education cuz I would fail. And my response was, watch me. There is no coherent reason, there is no logical explanation to keep you in a position that you do not want to be. Cuz nobody's gonna give us the answers. The answers are gonna be within us. The answers are gonna be within the drive and motivation and fire that we have to relieve needless suffering. Education is the remedy for good health and it's the antidote to poverty. >> What would your definition of success be and do you have any advice for youth out in the world today trying to find their road in life? >> Every person's success is different. And so, every person has to measure themselves up to their own values, to their own dreams, to their own concept of happiness. So, I can't answer what success is for others. They need to answer it themselves. My success is to make a difference in our society. To serve our communities, to make sure that because of my existence in this short time in our world, that somehow our community, our country and our world is just a little better. 

Evey person's success is different, and so every person has to measure themselves up to their own values, to their own dreams, to their own concept of happiness. So, I can't answer what success is for others, they need to answer it themselves. My success is to make a difference in our society. To serve our communities, to make sure that because of my existence in this short time in our world that somehow our community, our country, and our world is just a little better. 

Success

Everyone's Success Is Different

When I was in high school, there were some folks that said I should pick up a trade and not pursue my dream of being in education cuz I would fail. And my response was, watch me. There is no coherent reason. There is no logical explanation to keep you in a position that you do not want to be. Cuz nobody's gonna give us the answers. The answers are gonna be within us. The answers are gonna be within the drive and motivation and fire that we have to relieve needless suffering. Education is the remedy for good health and it's the antidote to poverty. 

Determination

The Answers Are In Us

And any advice for youth that are trying to pave their own road in life? &gt;&gt; Absolutely, one is, you need to always strive for excellence. And how do you do that? With personal responsibility. That means that it is your responsibility to better yourself. It is your responsibility to make sure your homework's done. To make sure you show up to your baseball practice. To make sure that your chores are done at school. That you respect your elders. That you are a contributing member to your home and to your community. It means not taking second best. It means going far and beyond what's asked of you. It means thinking creatively to find solutions when folks have given up. Excellence through personal responsibility. The second thing is service, service through social responsibility. So once you are striving for excellence with personal responsibility, utilize that excellence to better your community, to better your family, to better your neighborhoods, and serve your community selflessly. And you want to always strive to make your surroundings better. And the third advice I would give is realize your promise. What is the promise and the social contract that you're making not only with yourself but with your family and your community? And once you achieve excellence through personal responsibility, once you serve with a sense of the greater good, with a higher purpose, with social responsibility, then you are well on your road to fulfilling your promise. 

Strive For Excellence

So initially the only exposure I had to medicine was with family medicine. So I shadowed a physician from Coachella who went to UCLA and came back to work for a migrant farm working clinic. And so she was my inspiration, she was my dream. She was the example that it can be done. So I went to medical school wanting to be a family physician, and I realized that I had a deeper passion in taking care of really sick patients at a really critical moment. And so I switched my idea to become an emergency physician. When I did internal medicine and there was a code or cardiac arrest, I really wanted to be involved. When I did surgery, it was the traumas that really excited me. And I really enjoyed being in the emergency department. I mean, you see real life drama. You see real life people. People come as they are and the gown is the great equalizer no matter if you're rich, you're poor, you're intelligent or of low education. When you're sick and you're in pain and you're suffering, that gown is the great equalizer and I'm there to provide high quality care for everybody. 

Transitions

Emergency Care

I think a lot of us who grew up in poverty, who grew up with facing stereotypes and obstacles because of either our ethnicity, our ability to speak English, the color of our skin, whether we had the latest equipments in computers. I think a lot of us may have the tendency of feeling angry, of feeling as if we are constantly told that we are the problem. I think when you change that paradigm, we need to change that paradigm and view ourselves not as a problem but our actual solutions and having the capacity to work together through excellence, service, in order to fulfill the promise of our communities. Never giving up, never accepting no for an answer, and always, always reaching for that end goal of making our communities better. And therefore, it makes our states better and it makes our country better. And if we can make that better, we can make the world better. So I think that's very important is from viewing ourselves, as the solution, and figuring out what we need to do within our communities, within our neighbourhoods to better ourselves. It's not always gonna give us the answers. The answers are gonna be within us. The answers are gonna be within the drive, and motivation, and fire that we have to relieve needless suffering, to improve our highschool graduation rates, to improve college attendance, to improve careers with leadership position, to improve policy making from people who understand our communities because they live in our communities. And this is very important because it applies to any community who, for some reason, another has suffered from poverty. And like I always like to say when I speak to the students, is that education is the remedy for good health and it's the antidote to poverty. So as a physician looking out for the community well-being and community health, I'm also focused on promoting that education. 

We Are The Solution

Do you have any advice on how to deal with the noise? &gt;&gt; Yeah, yeah, when I was in high school, there were some folks that said, yeah, absolutely, you've gotta go to a four-year university. And there were other folks that said I should pick up a trade and not pursue my dream of being in education, because I would fail. And my response was, watch me, watch me. There is noise out there, there is noise when you turn on the TV, and what we see on television. The statistics, or folks wanting to criminalize certain communities and really creating obstacles and expectations. That is definitely noise. But it's just that, it's noise. There is no coherent reason, there is no logical explanation, to keep you in a position that you do not want to be. So tune it out, get in the zone, get in the ballgame, and play ball. &gt;&gt; [LAUGH] 

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians

Overview

Career

Roadtrip Nation Leaders in This Career

What Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians Do

Other Job Titles Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians May Have

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Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians

Overview

Career

Roadtrip Nation Leaders in This Career

What Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians Do

Other Job Titles Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians May Have

Tasks & Responsibilities May Include

Education

Level of Education Attained by Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians

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