Maybe med school

The murder of Dr. Tiller on Sunday got me thinking about my career's trajectory. I set out in a career in nursing in 2004 in order to work against Bush Jr.'s restrictive policies on abortion; I decided to train in the very information and procedures he was aiming to restrict. I could be the safe "back alley" abortionist should it come to that.

Fast forward to June 5... I work in county jail as a registered nurse: the only job I could get in a state overrun with mid level providers with more experience than I. Said state also has laws that restrict the performance of medical and surgical abortions to physicians, which means that, were I to get a job as a nurse practitioner, it would not be in an abortion clinic as I had originally envisioned.

By becoming a physician, I would no longer have to fight for the career I want because physicians are licensed to do everything. They are also better trained for their jobs and their role is better understood in the health care world. Maybe it is time to stop trying to have the career I want the hard way and go study for the lifetime pass to the field about which I feel most passionate.