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26
COM Outlook . Summer 2012
become a friend. I am still learning the art
of friendship—a most valuable mutual gift.
Perhaps by becoming a physician, I can
help others and perfect this art.”
Interestingly, Drs. Coffin, Kretchmar, and
Potter said they have never faced any type
of overt ageism in their dealings with the col-
lege’s administrators, faculty members, and
student peers. What they found instead was
a warm and welcoming environment that has
allowed them to prosper in their own individu-
alistic way. “In general, I think the osteopathic
medical profession is more progressive in
its attitudes toward students who are older,”
stated Dr. Potter. “NSU-COM students have
certainly shown compassion and kindness
toward me and my ‘life-accomplished’ col-
leagues. Our professors seem to respect our
experience, while we older students under-
stand there is so much more to learn.”
“There are really no drawbacks to being
an older medical student except the obvi-
ous—in all probability, a relatively shorter
career when compared to others,” said Dr.
Coffin, who just began his family medicine
residency in Largo, Florida. “I feel that medi-
cal professionals are a little more accepting
of differences than most individuals, and
I feel fortunate to have not received any
adverse comments or treatment from either
faculty members or peers. To the contrary,
most are very supportive. The most fulfilling
aspect of being an older student is prob-
ably much like that of any medical student,
and that is being able to meet and work
with some fantastic individuals and faculty
members, being able to help patients dur-
ing some of the most trying points of their
lives, being able to see some amazing and
cutting-edge medical treatments, and prob-
ably most important of all, being able to be a
part of the art and science of medicine.”
“I have formed several wonderful rela-
tionships with my professors,” Dr. Kretchmar
admitted. “I call them friends, see them as
colleagues, and relate to them. I have also
helped a lot of my younger peers. I see their
angst—feel it myself—and sometimes can
pull them aside and show them a bigger
picture. I’m no star performer academically,
but I know how to help some of them gain
a bit of perspective. When someone feels
better as a result of my assistance, I have
done something useful and transformed a
little negative energy.”
Forecasting Their Futures
Because he is a recent NSU-COM
graduate, Dr. Coffin already knows where
his professional destiny will lay once he
completes his family medicine residency,
which is likely to involve doling out top-
notch medical care in a small practice in the
Tampa Bay area of Florida.
With three years remaining in her medical
school career, Dr. Potter’s ultimate goal is
to marry her myriad interests into a fulfilling
career once she graduates. “With a Ph.D. in
neuroscience and many years of experience
working in neuroscience research, a career
path combining psychiatry, internal medicine,
and clinical research would be very exciting
and optimal,” she stated.
And then there’s the philosophical Dr.
Kretchmar, who has a resolute viewpoint
on why he came to NSU-COM and what he
hopes to accomplish in the future. “I read
the college’s mission statement before
applying, and I want what NSU-COM
wants—to work with underserved popula-
tions, poorly understood populations, and
when possible, do austere medicine,” he
explained. “Any one of the primary care resi-
dencies will get me there, and to be frank,
the difference between an internist, a family
practitioner, or an emergency medicine
physician doesn’t matter to patients as long
as the doctor makes them feel better.
“I don’t care about money at all, although
my wife says I have to pay off my student
loans, so I have to make a little,” he joked. “I
intend to spend a lot of time raising money
to run the kinds of free clinics and overseas
charity projects I want to do. That probably
means I will be moonlighting in emergency
rooms and urgent care clinics to raise
money directly through my salary as well as
by attending professional dinners to speak
on behalf of this or that disaster or group in
need of supplies and doctors.”
With the perspective of age and maturity
on his side, Dr. Kretchmar has become a
fully evolved individual who can say without
hesitation that “I know I am here to do
better. I am going to give my patients what
they need, which is usually compassion first,
closely followed by having someone to listen
to them, just listen to them, right into their
bones and heart and lungs—and for more
than seven minutes,” he passionately de-
clared. “Any doctor reading this is probably
saying ‘Nice idea, but he can’t do it. He’ll
never make enough money to stay afloat.’
But my life has been punctuated by people
saying ‘You can’t do x, y, and z’ or ‘You
have to recognize your limitations.’
“I have been telling my students the
opposite for 20 years, which is this: If you
recognize your limitations, those will be your
limitations,” he concluded. “I will not limit
myself or my patients because
the system
is
not working. I will not let the limitations of
the
system
be my limitations as a physician.”